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trusting your gut
March 31, 2007 |
Or in this case, theirs.
The cats have been on a raw food diet for over a year now, with fantastic results. Their FLUTD completely cleared up. Their coats have become much softer and shinier. Their teeth are white, their breath is odorless (as are their poops!) and they’ve became much more lean and active.
But this past week, there was something ‘off’ about their chicken. They wouldn’t touch it. This is free-range, organically-fed, antibiotic-and-hormone-free human grade meat. Not cheap stuff, either. But they wouldn’t eat it. I became concerned after their second meal was left alone, not so much as a nibble. And I did what any (somewhat sane) pet mommy would do. I ditched the chicken and bought some fresh meat. After 36 hours of eating only chunks of dehydrated chicken, their special treats, they gladly sank their teeth into it.
I don’t know what it was about that batch that bothered them, but I knew enough to respect their instincts. Four cats can’t be wrong (especially when one *cough* Scully *cough* is such a food fiend).
It reminded me of last year’s food recall when several dogs died of liver failure due to a corn fungus in their food. A few owners told of their dogs’ reluctance to eat the food, how they turned their noses up until hunger drove them to eat it, and it was only in hindsight that they realized what their pets knew all along. I cannot imagine the grief and guilt I would feel if that were my dog.
And now again pets are dying. You do your best to protect them and yet in some twisted irony, that which is intended to sustain them - kills them. The recalls are spreading. I pray comfort to those who have lost their precious companions.
Without intending to sound smug, it does make me glad that I have such a large measure of oversight as to what my cats are eating. I know where it comes from and what happens to it along the way. Even when things go somewhat awry, their senses, honed after generations of carnivores, alert them. A lot of people think raw feeding is inherently dangerous. At the moment, I can’t think of anything that would be safer.
