Answers: How Can My Cat Avoid Hepatic Lipidosis? |
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Written by Guillermo Díaz, MV
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Saturday, November 19, 2011 02:46 PM |
 I'm transitioning my reluctant kitties to a raw diet and a few times they have refused to eat the new food. I always end up giving them something else since I have read all of the warnings about cats going without food for too long and getting hepatic lipidosis. How dangerous is it for a cat to go without eating? What should I look out for?
Hepatic lipidosis, also called fatty liver disease, may be the most common disease of the liver of the cat. It occurs when there is an excessive accumulation of fat inside the |
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Answers: Chunks and Bones, Is It My Cat's Teeth? |
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Written by Guillermo Díaz, MV
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Wednesday, October 05, 2011 01:04 PM |
 Knowing that chewing on meat chunks and small pieces with bones, such as chicken wings, are "nature's toothbrush" for cats, I want my cat to eat these to help clean her teeth. But, she refuses to eat meat chunks no matter what I try. Someone told me this could be because her teeth hurt. I have noticed some tartar on her teeth. Could this be why she won't eat chunks?
Domestic cats are strict carnivores. They evolved to hunt, ingest and efficiently digest small prey. They have |
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Answers: Is It Okay for My Cat to Have Milk? |
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Written by Andrea Tasi, VMD
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Saturday, September 10, 2011 12:18 PM |
 My cat absolutely loves milk. If I have cereal, she won't leave me alone! I worry about letting her have milk though, as I've been told that adult cats are lactose intolerant and milk could give her diarrhea. How much can I safely let her have? Would lactose-free milk be safer to give her?
Not all adult cats are lactose intolerant, but many are. Lactose intolerant cats may vomit, become gassy or "gurgly," have soft stool or even outright diarrhea after ingesting milk. If a cat enjoys milk and suffers none of |
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Answers: The Stomach Contents of Prey |
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Written by Lyn Thomson, BVSc DipHom
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Saturday, July 16, 2011 01:51 PM |
 I've read that cats get some nutrients and roughage from the stomach contents of their prey. But, I have also read that cats will avoid eating the stomach and intestines of larger prey, such as rabbits. Do cats benefit from eating the stomach contents of small prey such as mice, or is it just unavoidable? If it is providing some benefit, should something be supplemented in raw food to make sure cats are getting everything they need?
Cats tend to consume the whole of a small prey animal |
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Answers: Take a Breath and Cut the Mouse in Half |
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Written by Margaret Gates
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Saturday, November 12, 2011 04:11 PM |
 I have two new kittens and I want to add whole prey foods to their diet. I purchased some frozen mice, which I thawed out and gave to them. They went wild over the mice, but only played with them. How do I get the kittens to take the next step and actually eat the mice?
I do have an answer for you, but you're not going to like it.
Kittens, like many predatory animals, have to be taught to hunt, kill and eat their prey. They know some of it by |
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Answers: Feed Raw and Dry at the Same Time? |
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Written by Lyn Thomson, BVSc DipHom
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Saturday, September 24, 2011 01:35 PM |
 I have been told that it's not a good idea to feed dry food at the same time as raw food, and that it's even bad to feed some kinds of canned foods in the same meal as raw foods. Why is this? Will a meal that has both processed, cooked foods and raw meats make my cat ill? What is it in some processed food that causes problems when eaten with raw foods?
As a raw feeding vet I am often asked how a raw diet can make such a difference to our cats' health. The simple answer is that by feeding a species-appropriate diet, the |
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Answers: Does My Overweight Cat Need Exercise? |
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Written by Elisa Katz, DVM CVA
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Friday, August 19, 2011 12:31 PM |
 Do cats need to exercise? My cat is a bit overweight and I wondered if exercising would really help him lose weight, like it would for a person? If it would, what should I get him to do and for how long? I never think of cats doing anything for an extended period of time, just short bursts of activity, like chasing or climbing. Is it known, for example, how many calories a cat burns chasing a toy for ten minutes?
The short answer to your question is yes, cats do need exercise. We can conclude this because, while their |
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Answers: What is Arginine and Is It Essential? |
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Written by Elisa Katz, DVM CVA
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Saturday, June 25, 2011 02:50 PM |
 I read that the amino acid arginine is as important to cats as taurine, but I have never heard of it. Is it true that a cat can get really sick from eating just one meal that has no arginine in it? If I feed a raw diet, is this an amino acid I should worry about or supplement?
Amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. There are 20 different amino acids that commonly make up proteins, 11 of which are essential for cats. ¹ An amino acid is considered essential if the |
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My cat almost always vomits after I feed her anything with beef in it. When I mentioned to a friend that I thought he was allergic to beef, she corrected me and said that vomiting was a sign of food intolerance, not a food allergy. Now I'm confused. What's the difference between the two? If they are two different things, what are the signs to look for in each case?
