Rotten Pork Chowder

Today Maggie visited a holistic veterinarian office, the Animal Healing Center, where they practice traditional veterinary medicine, accupuncture, massage and also specialize in nutrition. It was hard to find because it doesn’t look like an office at all.

Our veterinarian was Dr. Katie Kangas who has been practicing for 17 years. She worked with wildlife rehab (birds, raptors, mammals) after she graduated, and was the Director of the Veterinary Medical Department at San Diego Humane Society before she joined this practice. She is also a certified veterinary accupuncturist. The office is so homey I don’t think Maggie even realized she was at the vet. (And it was not stanky!) She is usually uncooperative (fierce!) but today she was very laid back. It was a nice room with comfy chairs, and she got to walk around and sniff while we talked.

I scheduled the visit to get more information on feeding raw foods safely (for all the cats) and also to ask about Maggie’s tendency to regurgitate after eating if it’s more than just a half-size meal. Here’s what we talked about:

• The vet was very pleased to hear I was feeding raw and/or wet food and had managed to convert 9-year old Fergus off his dry food diet. With the improvements in his health (fat loss, coat improvement, more energy, no more constipation) she thought he could be a spokescat for diet change!
• Proper proportions of different foods to make sure the diet is balanced. I’ve been feeding a combination of raw chicken pieces (with bone), prepared ground raw meat for cats (like Bravo or Nature’s Choice, which include bone and organ meats plus some supplements), Pounce (a dehydrated raw food mix for cats), and high quality canned food (Tiki Cat, Weruda). She said that was a good mix. Fergus wants to always have raw chicken pieces but they can only have those for about a third of the diet if not mixed with organ meats.
• The regurge problem. She said that is fairly common when cats eat fast. She recommended continuing to feed her meals divided into smaller portions, mashing up the meat into fine pieces, and mixing with the Pounce which I make rather soupy. She also recommended adding pumpkin or a quarter teaspoon of psyllium husk, and possibly a probiotic supplement (like Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics) to ease digestion.
• Raw food safety. I’d heard different things about this, including that cats’ digestive systems are not susceptable to salmonella. Turns out that is correct. She said in her 17 years of practice (including raw fed animals) she has never seen a single cat with salmonella, nor has any vet she knows. She knew of one case which was a dog. I also asked about the possibility of salmonella being shed from feces, and if that might be a danger with parrots in the house. (Birds are much more sensitive to bacterial and fungal infections.) She also said she knows of no cases in which young children (also sensitive) have picked up infections from raw fed pets, and that there has been research on it as well. Normal safe handling of raw meat is sufficient (washing thoroughly and cleaning utensils and cutting boards well). The prepared raw diets are frozen immediately after grinding to avoid bacterial growth.
• Nutrition information. The doctor highly recommended a book by Kymythy Schultze, who is a Clinical Nutritionist for both pets and humans. Natural Nutrition for Cats (2008) follows an earlier book called Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs (1999) and covers feline nutritional needs, cat food ingredients, the wet vs. dry issue, as well as special needs cats. Many of the questions I asked about the vet said were covered in this book.

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The vet was also very impressed with Maggie’s silky coat and milk moustache.

I asked about our flea problem as well, and the products she recommended were:

1. Program oral medication to control fleas in the environment
2. CAPSTAR oral medication to eliminate adult fleas on the animal if needed initially
3. Boric acid or diatomaceous earth for carpets or bedding. DO NOT treat with birds present.
4. Flea control on the animal, carpet, or bedding with Buck Mountain Herbal Gold, made of organic neem oil, yarrow and diatom flour.
5. Frontline or Advantage if needed in heavily infested environments.

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I was very impressed with Dr. Karga’s depth of knowledge and the time she took to discuss all my questions, as well as doing a routine exam.

Relaxing in the car on the way home…