Dear Kitten

After discovering the great evil that is dry cat food, I switched Simon to my favorite advertised wet cat food brand [see funny video]. I am happy to report that after only a few days of the new diet, he is already more playful and his coat is even softer/shinier.

I had happened upon a youtube video channel [cat mojo] that first opened my eyes to the importance of good nutrition for your cat. It recommended a raw meat diet since that is what cats have been evolutionally designed to eat. So I investigated that a little bit more, ultimately realizing how expensive and impractical it is. I kept researching about wet vs. dry food and found that many veterinarians themselves are untrained and uneducated about this subject, which doesn't surprise me because medical doctors for humans also do not typically have nutrition as a major component of their training. Ever since I started my public health program, I have become a firm believer that most of the diseases that plague us stem from our poor diets. The same should not surprise us when it comes to the animal kingdom. I learned that cats who are fed dry food are consuming far too many carbohydrates (which they don't nutritionally need at all), receiving far too little water (10% moisture vs 78% in wet food) and contrary to popular belief not actually benefiting in terms of their dental health. To me, I would say dry food is essentially the McDonalds of cat food. Too much junk, very little nutrition. I found that there were many other people saying the same kinds of things on other websites, blogs and youtube videos. I specifically looked for veterinarians who were educated in this area and came across this one. Once I decided that I should definitely switch Simon's food, I began another search for quality, affordable wet food. That was a task unto itself, but eventually I found a comprehensive list of acceptable brands on the cat doctor's website here. This was a God-send because reading competing comments on the internet about this topic can get a bit confusing and frustrating. I share all of this not just to document my own journey, but as a reminder about the importance of inquiry, doing your own research and taking action whenever you discover something you are doing is unhealthy (for yourself or others). Sure, Friskees may not be top of the line canned food, but it is way better than dry food and it's not gonna break the bank to feed my cat. Plus, he is consuming more protein (which he nutritionally requires) and less carbs. His kidneys and other body systems are probably rejoicing, and I will hopefully enjoy many more years with a non-obese, non-diabetic cat. I'm all about disease prevention and proactive healthy living for the sake of the public's health, and I don't see why that shouldn't extend to our furry friends as well. After all, that's just part of being a good steward of my little part of creation :)

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  Genesis 1:24-26

Plus, I have heard the horror of what can happen when someone doesn't properly educate themself about an animal's specific dietary needs..... in this case, it was a poor bunny that had to be put down because it suffered intestinal blockage as a result of being fed an inappropriate diet. Smh.