Secrets to a long-lived pet. (Part II)

In our previous article we explored G in G.E.N

Let us explore N - Nutrition

'“ You cannot make up for lost time. You can only do better in the future.'“ Ashley Ormon

Having read our introduction on the benefites of opting for genetically diverse bloodlines, for some, the opportunity to do so has passed having already brought home your pawfect companion.

Do not fret. There are still changes that you can make to better your furbaby’s life expectancy and health.

It is no secret that the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancy, but did you know, studies that found that when a Japanese child migrates to the USA, their life expectancy and lifestyle diseases are the same as their American counterparts. ( I will attempt to find the exact study and input the link here)

Extensive studies have proven that diet and lifestyle have the ability to alter genes. From identical twins that embark on different lifestyles post graduating to couples experiencing similar lifestyle diseases and life expectancy. Nutrition and Environment cannot be ignored when we are looking for the key to unlock a healthy long life for our pets.

An expensive pet is not necessarily a healthy pet.

If you have drawn the short straw in terms of the diversity in gene pool or if your pet has a completely unknown background and presented itself at your doorstep, this maybe good news for you.

Reversely, if you managed to get a pet with a diverse bloodline but do not take the necessary steps in preserve this gift, the hard work gone into selecting the bloodline maybe moot.

Nutrition is a switch with an ability to turn on or turn off genetic markers that can cause health issues in your pets.

Most pet parents continue to feed the kitten what it was weaned on for the rest of it’s life or subsequently switch to a popular brand based on what others recommend that their cats or kittens love… a decision made entirely by flavor or marketing.

Few will take the effort to study the labels and sift through the fan fare to look at what our furbabies are consuming.

According to Dr Gary Ritcher, a leading vet, a cat on a typical commercial diet is exposed to upwards of 120% more carcinogenic causing substances than a human.

If 1 in 4 humans are likely to get cancer imagine what 120% or more means for your pet.

Many expensive pets are fed '“better” diets. These diets are usually what’s popular and easily available or aggressively marketed to be best for your pet. Some are even pushed by health care professionals. Sadly, many of these labels have been known to contribute to the 120%.
What is unknown to most is that these labels spend millions ensuring that they condition your pet’s taste buds and stomach so that it will not be able to easily make the switch.

Sometimes its not what is measured in the food that important it is what is NOT measured in the food that speaks volumes.

“ The power to change your life, lies in the simplest steps”
Steve Maraboli

Start with a small action. Cut out junk wet food and supplementing your furbaby with a clean fresh treat or meal. This simple step does wonders for its body.

Nutrition is the process of taking food into the body and absorbing the nutrients in those foods.

What is your furbaby absorbing? Deteriorating health ( regardless of the name of the illness) may be viewed in my opinion as the body’s cells inability to defend, repair and replace itself with healthy functioning versions of itself.

If you don’t give the body what it needs to do that, it is logical that it will be unable to do so.

When a label prints it meets 100% of your pet’s needs, it does not mean that your pet is able to absorb 100% of the nutrition it requires from it.

For example:
Calcium from limestone and calcium from bone is indistinguishable in its measurement but makes a distinct difference to your pet.
The extraction of this calcium also makes a difference. These are the small things that add up when you pet is taking the same food day in and day out.

Many brands are made in the same factory using the same raw materials. They change up the ratio and miraculously, all of them still meet the nutritional requirement of your pet. This is simply again because:

Protein from meat vs Protein from plant is regarded as Protein.
Fats from omega oils and Fats from junk are simply labeled fats.
We cannot just look at a label that says X% protein, X% fat. X% animal and go… ah ok.. it meets the requirement I can feed it to my pet.

So how can someone without really digging know if your pet needs a change?

Simple - Look for the signs. It is always there.

Skin & Behavior
If your pet is picky with food and has a dull rough coat, these are the first signs it needs better nutrition.

Ignoring these signs or continuing the practice of looking at tasty flavors and videos on other pets gobbling up food will lead to muscle ( organ) damage , neurological ( the nervous system), immune issues ( allergies, inflammation, cancer) and lifestyle diseases ( obesity).

In essence: Premature aging and death.

Kibble

Wet

Cooked

or

Raw

How is WinterForest different, as a cattery different? Our opinions are made on what’s best for the breed we work with, the living environment of our cats.

We have to take into consideration the ease of adaptation of kittens into their new living environments as well.
Neutered Siberians, well cared for can easily live past 16 year of age.

Our choices may not be representative of what is best for your breed or your cat but we will elaborate on it so that you may make the appropriate choices for your furbaby.

Free Feed or Scheduled meals

WinterForest adopts a free feed approach. This decision was undertaken as our cats free roam the home and share feeding and drinking areas.
Being in different stages of their growth and taking into account that the Siberian is a slow growing breed as well as hormonal fluctuations of our intact cats, our cats are in always in various stages of feast and fast.

Fully capable of self regulation, there is not a moment of boredom, they are surrounded by activities the entire time they are home.
Chasing down birds, chasing each other’s tails.. jumping from cat tree to cat tree or even going from one window still to the other searching out the most comfy human bed of the hour, there is rarely a dull moment.

The dynamics of such living is different from most households.

Free feeding kibble eliminates the possibility that any one is not getting sufficient nutrition. It is a more expensive approach but one that has given us a peace of mind. Despite being super adorable, we have yet to produce a fat / chubby kitten in all our years. Our kittens are heavy, lean, alert and active without any discernable fat.

But wait! Isn’t kibble bad?
Well, there are plenty of different kibble available in the market and in an effort to cut down carcinogenic elements in their food. We have selected a highly bio available, small batch, low temperature baked kibble. ( Check out our earlier article on the differences in kibble type, production and how it impacts your furbaby)

In most pet homes however, there is usually one or two fully grown individuals. They are left at home most of the time and may have a rather sedentary lifestyle. In such an instance, free feeding once they fully mature may not be suitable.

Regardless of your decision to free feed or do a measured scheduled feeding, it is important to chose a low carb, high animal protein, preferably baked at low temperature kibble. The first ingredient listed should always be the animal protein and have 55% or more of vitamins and minerals from meat.

There is no need to be alarmed when you pet refuses its kibble for a few days as it is perfectly normal for cats to choose to eat less or go without a meal or two. What is important is that your kitten is alert, active and drinking.

It is important that your kitten continues on the diet it is used to for at least the first 4 weeks after coming home with you. Any dietary changes should be done slowly. Rushing will be detrimental for your kitten’s health.

A change in diet maybe as drastic to some kittens. For them it is going from a very tasty instant noodle only diet to one that is full steak at every meal. The stomach needs time to transition and build the necessary enzymes to work on the new diet.
Be prepared for inconveniences when you start a change.

Similarly, during their ages of 8 weeks to 15 weeks an immense strain is placed on the kittens digestive system and again sometime from 5.5 months to 8.5 months.
In this short period they can increase their intake by 4 to 6 times the amount. Some catteries choose to cut, or regulate amounts of feed but it isn’t something we at practice. Our water and food bowls are never empty.
If significant increases are necessary, it should be supplemented with wholesome animal based diets.

Wet or Dry

Mention that you are feeding a kibble only diet and many pet owners may admonish you. Stating how much greater a wet diet is.

Dry food has un parallel convenience as it keeps for long periods and acts as a wonderful buffer. A wet diet has a moisture content closer to nature and complete wet diets cite how much closer to a natural diet and thus healthier for your cat.

Many buy into this idea and make the switch to a wet diet, motivated primarily to avoid UTIs and Crystals.

Scratch beneath the surface of this claim and you would actually notice that most wet food is junk and unsuitable as a meal for your pet. It should be given only as a treat ( less than 10% of its diet) to entice your pet to take water.

Many popular wet foods have unnecessary chemicals and ingredients that will inflame your kitties gut and cause health issues. These wet food are processed similarly to dry foods and contain the similar amounts of carcinogenic substances.

Pet pawrents mistake that salt or sodium is the problem in wet food and only look at sodium content, however there are other things in a wet food that you should be really paying attention to.

There is little proof that a commercial wet diet lowers the chances of UTIs or Crystals but a diet full of unnecessary fillers and chemicals naturally increases the occurrence of health issues. Your cat’s gut is its first defense against any infection as it contributes to its immune health and strength.

Switching from a high quality kibble to an inferior wet is counter intuitive.

Your choice of cat litter type, number of boxes and placement of litter boxes are key factors contributing to UTI and should be looked at instead of simply switching to any commercially available wet diet.

For those that have the ability to feed a purely wet diet. It is important to ensure that the wet food clearly states that it is a complete diet and have not had significant recalls. It is also important to alternate the proteins. There should always be more red meats in your cat’s diet. Choosing a white or fish only wet diet requires more chemicals and minerals to be put in to balance and complete your cat’s diet.

Most complete wet diets are very unattractive and in pate.
The cans will indicate the amount to feed for the weight of the pet. They do not take into consideration the age of the pet. Your pet’s age is not a number that marks the passing of time. When feeding a diet appropriate for your pet’s age , you should look at how they are aging.

A growing siberian at age 5 is not the same as a fully grown persian at age 5, or a maine coon at age 5 You may have to exercise some discretion when proportioning for your cats and catering to their needs.

Pawrents need to respect a cat’s feast and fast phases. These periods can be as extreme as going from 350g of wet a day to only 80g. ( Yes this is for 1 boy in 1 day) you will have to be willing to throw out food from time to time.

Refusal to eat for a meal or two is no reason to be alarmed.
There is no need to go running to the store to get them another brand to eat or immediately opening another can to tempt them.

When your cat turns up their noses, its just them telling you that they have enough or that their tummy is unwell, perhaps from chewing something they should not have or a furball. Do not persist to force it to eat. Should they not eat by the 2nd day, schedule an appointment with your vet for a physical exam just to ensure that everything is ok.

To minimize food fatigue , we have found that rotating meats on wet diets daily from a similar brand does help preserve the cat’s interest. If your cat is on a superior wet diet, you can be assured that it is not unwell from its food and can look at other factors causing the behavior.

WinterForest feeds at least one complete wet meal a day to all our cats and kittens.

As mentioned earlier, a wet diet is always marketed as being closer to the natural diet of a cat.
What is a natural diet?
Put simply, a raw, balanced, whole prey diet ( rotated proteins) is a natural diet.

Many pawrents do not make that connection and are very apprehensive to give their cats a natural diet.

Never feed Raw meat from your butcher or super market directly to your pet

Raw or Cooked

Some pet owners advocate a raw diet and an even larger proportion are against it.
The main concerns against raw are factors like cross contamination, improper formulation either from lack of regulation or know how and disease break outs.

WinterForest is not dismissing the above possibilities but would like to highlight that these are addressed by the availability of freeze dried raw.

Do not take nutritional advice from your butcher. They are not in any authority to come up with a diet for your pet.

Not all Freeze dried diets are equal and A freeze dried diet does not address any moisture content concerns that you may have.
It eliminates all the above concerns and is a good transitionary medium for most pawrents interested in making the switch or removing kibble from a diet.

Freeze dried raw is a dry food and is a great alternative to kibble. Do not store them in your freezer or fridge as that results in condensation and spoilage when left in the open. Use Freeze Dried Raw the same way you would with kibble. We do not encourage reconstitution of FDR.

WinterForest is against cooking meats and feeding it without adding quality, animal based meal complete topers.

Precious and essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals are lost when heated above 39 degrees. This is true for any home made food , wet foods, kibble or air dried diets. Without adding back these essential vitamins and minerals, your pet could die as quickly as 1 month into a purely home made cooked diet.

When looking at a Raw diet. Freeze dried or otherwise, oxidation and quality of feed is crucial.

A fresh meat that is overtly processed can be more oxidized than a unprocessed whole prey left out for awhile.

WinterForest does not advise our clients to self make a raw only diet for their kittens or cat as there is a lot of science that goes into it. It may take quite a while to get it right. You can however try and give your pet small safe amounts of thawed raw or cooked food as treats instead of chemically heavy commercial products.

Should you choose to cook your pet’s meat. Meal toppers are essential and must be added to a cooled meal.
Meal toppers are sometimes extremely varied in quality and can be exposed to high temperature processing which results in carcinogenic elements. Our concerns with meal toppers are when their labels are shady and inexact. Amounts that should be used to supplement a chicken vs a fish or a lamb is never the same.

Don’t fall into the trap of shopping for pet food the same way you would shopping for clothes or gadgets. You should not be buying pet food, supplements or toppers based on reviews. Always look at the science and facts, the numbers the formulas, and if possible customer accounts on the improvements they see.

When interviewed, 2 owners of the oldest living cats age 30 and 33 mentioned that they fed their furbabies, home made, raw , kibble and wet. They ensured that their cats got real meats in their meals almost daily

This is the approach that WinterForest adopts, the right diet can impact your pet’s health positively and prolong its life, sometimes by 30% or more.

Assuming the cattery has done their work to deliver the best genetic health possible, the power is in now in your hands to decide not to turn on bad genes.

In our next article we will look at E. The internal and external environment of your pet and how it affects YOUR longevity.