Well, I've written quite a few posts on feline nutrition. I think it's really important, and I HATE deliberate (or ignorant) misinformation. I have succeeded in getting one pet food tv ad amended, as they were falsely claiming 'no cereals'...and now they have cleverly amended it at strategic points (but not all the way through) to 'no cereal or meat by-products'. And what I really hate is they claim 'Vet so and so recommends..." which gives authority to the ad, but it is authority to a LIE. So lets say it again to be clear...CEREALS are not meant to be the diet, as by-products or in a human-grade form, of an obligate carnivore. My other gripe with this 'vet-endorsed' product, was that the whole line included fish...a known allergen to cats (digging a little further of course, the company sitting behind the cat products was a major fishing company!!)
Of course, there are a growing number of very aware vets out there. And these vets really try to get the message of feline nutrition out - battling against others of their own profession who are less educated, or who may be influenced by Big Pet Food, and also battling against being gagged or having legal action taken against them by these big businesses.
I recently read another great reader-friendly article written by a vet who specialises in felines. It had the important message of meat, not cereals, and moisture (so wet food, not dry). It also had some interesting information on known cat allergens, the biggest ones being soy, corn, seafood, beef and lamb. And interestingly again, their experience was that a low-carb species appropriate diet can stop the need to clean our carpets...no more vomiting or 'hairballs' (hairballs are apparently not at all 'normal' or ok).
It's a nice read: http://www.vin.com/vetzinsight/default.aspx?pid=756&catId=5860&Id=6421099
And it was a good read on a slightly different front for me, as I keep working on transitioning Ava into more wet food. It is definitely a patience and persistence thing, and it was encouraging to read Dr Lisa Pierson's comments to the above article, saying that it is ok to take a break for a bit when transitioning, and then KEEP TRYING with the transition.
As an update, Ava is now eating 3-5 small pieces of rabbit along with a smaller serve of Ziwi-peak air-dried cuisine (NOT kibble, so no cereals at least) at two meals, and around 1/2 single serve can over a further two meals (4 meals a day). I noticed that she liked small pieces, so I've had more success with cutting her rabbit into smaller sizes. (She also likes a bit of hand feeding!). The other major 'winner' trick in the transition process is tapping into her 'hunt - eat - rest' cycle. In other words, she wants to play first, before she seriously eats. And she is the type of cat who likes to graze - over the course of a couple hours, she might finish the serve (and it isnt a big serve, she just likes a few mouthfulls at a time!)
We have actually had to work hard at getting her to eat full-stop, so we aren't taking anything away - she just needs to eat. If on some days, we don't get a lot of wet into her, and she needs more Ziwi-peak, then that's how it goes. But we've had some small movement in the transition process!
And a completely unplanned side-benefit has also occurred. Kato decided one-day that he likes Ava's Ziwi-peak!! We then started giving him the Ziwi-peak treats (its basically the same nutritionally, but smellier to tempt them more) in place of the treat-portion of kibble we were giving each day in an attempt to trick him into eating some de-hydrated liver. There has been a marked increase in success at his eating the liver. And he has not had kibble at all for weeks!! (Actually, he has had about 5 pieces - the allure of kibble has returned and given us back some powerful magic. We had a very easy time of getting Kato when he snuck off like a ninja across to the neighbour's balcony. Rattle rattle of the kibble container equals running Kato...and his 5 pieces!)
Of course, there are a growing number of very aware vets out there. And these vets really try to get the message of feline nutrition out - battling against others of their own profession who are less educated, or who may be influenced by Big Pet Food, and also battling against being gagged or having legal action taken against them by these big businesses.
I recently read another great reader-friendly article written by a vet who specialises in felines. It had the important message of meat, not cereals, and moisture (so wet food, not dry). It also had some interesting information on known cat allergens, the biggest ones being soy, corn, seafood, beef and lamb. And interestingly again, their experience was that a low-carb species appropriate diet can stop the need to clean our carpets...no more vomiting or 'hairballs' (hairballs are apparently not at all 'normal' or ok).
It's a nice read: http://www.vin.com/vetzinsight/default.aspx?pid=756&catId=5860&Id=6421099
And it was a good read on a slightly different front for me, as I keep working on transitioning Ava into more wet food. It is definitely a patience and persistence thing, and it was encouraging to read Dr Lisa Pierson's comments to the above article, saying that it is ok to take a break for a bit when transitioning, and then KEEP TRYING with the transition.
As an update, Ava is now eating 3-5 small pieces of rabbit along with a smaller serve of Ziwi-peak air-dried cuisine (NOT kibble, so no cereals at least) at two meals, and around 1/2 single serve can over a further two meals (4 meals a day). I noticed that she liked small pieces, so I've had more success with cutting her rabbit into smaller sizes. (She also likes a bit of hand feeding!). The other major 'winner' trick in the transition process is tapping into her 'hunt - eat - rest' cycle. In other words, she wants to play first, before she seriously eats. And she is the type of cat who likes to graze - over the course of a couple hours, she might finish the serve (and it isnt a big serve, she just likes a few mouthfulls at a time!)
We have actually had to work hard at getting her to eat full-stop, so we aren't taking anything away - she just needs to eat. If on some days, we don't get a lot of wet into her, and she needs more Ziwi-peak, then that's how it goes. But we've had some small movement in the transition process!
And a completely unplanned side-benefit has also occurred. Kato decided one-day that he likes Ava's Ziwi-peak!! We then started giving him the Ziwi-peak treats (its basically the same nutritionally, but smellier to tempt them more) in place of the treat-portion of kibble we were giving each day in an attempt to trick him into eating some de-hydrated liver. There has been a marked increase in success at his eating the liver. And he has not had kibble at all for weeks!! (Actually, he has had about 5 pieces - the allure of kibble has returned and given us back some powerful magic. We had a very easy time of getting Kato when he snuck off like a ninja across to the neighbour's balcony. Rattle rattle of the kibble container equals running Kato...and his 5 pieces!)