Raw feeding and Holistic Medicine!

  Raw feeding is something i thought i would never entertain. Being nieve, i thought my animals would get worms from raw food, and that in the summer we would be forever fighting flys off. Animals are no more likely to get worms from raw food than any other. Obviously a regular worming programme is escential whatever our animals are fed.

  I have found all but one of my cats have taken to the raw food very well and will devour a plate full in minutes. I have had no problems with upset stomach's at all, but would recommend only buying raw food as an everyday thing, or freezing it and only thawing out what you will need for that day. I appriciate some would say freezing the food can take away some of the goodness, but i have no problems and all my cats are very healthy and of good weights. As from late 2010, i have re introduced Royal Canin dry, Maine Coon food, into my cat's diet's, not because i dont hold onto all of the above, but i did find some of the cat's seemed to get looser poo's, the longer they were on just raw food. I feel a varied diet, some raw, some dry, and maybe even some good quality tinned food, is the best way forward.

  Cats need to get alot from their food and one very important thing is Taurine. A lack of Taurine in a cats diet can be very bad for their health. This important ingridient is found in abundance in raw meat. Cats benefit from raw mince and chunks of meat. Heart, liver and other offle. Raw chicken wings, bone as well. Contrary to belief bones are extremely good for cats and dogs teeth, we just need to get away from the storys about bones splintering and being bad news, what would an animal in the wild be eating? The other important factor in raw feeding is that nothing else works as well at keeping your pets teeth clean. It is a fact that all, and any manufactured wet or dry pet food, even if it says it is good for your pets teeth, is not! Pets fed on raw food that they have to chew will have a far less chance of needing expensive dentistry treatment by your vet, especially as they get older. As i have revised the above, i feel the need to add the fact, that i have read so much about animal diet's, and just like human's, one say's one thing, while another will contadict it. Taurine is the most important ingredient in a cat's diet, but i guess variety, make's sure they get a bit of everything they need. Of course, raw and wet (tinned food) has a much higher water content, which is also very, very, important, especially for cat's, as some of them dont seem to drink an awful lot.

  If you consider changing your pet's diet in any way, do remember to do this slowly, introducing new food little by little and gradually reducing the food you want to omit from their diet. This will make the change much easier for both of you, and cut down on upset stomach's. The new born kittens i raise will be weaned on raw food and Royal  Canin dry food, (baby cat, and kitten 36) this way, it is up to new owners as to which way they wish to feed their new kitten.

  Another very important change for me is using Holistic Medicine as and where i can. Holistic Medicine is made up from all natural ingridients. The same things that animals in the wild would seek out to treat themselves if they were suffering from various illnesses. These ingridients are mostly herbs, plants, flowers, and oils combined to be used as natural medicine, because it is all natural ingridients it is much kinder to an animals body and immune system. Of course, this will in no way, prevent me seeking my vets advice and conventional medicines if and when needed.

   The contraversial issue of vaccinations.  I did believe that using Holistic vaccines, called Nosodes was probably the best way forward, especially as i was wanting to use more Holistic medicine in general. However, i have learnt that Nosodes are made up of live tissue infected with certain diseases and viruses. These are used in small quantities, mixed with a liquid to a very dilute state. I feel that because of the way the Nosodes are made up, using this tissue and live viruses, it cant really be any better than the conventional type of vaccines from our vets. After all, they too are made of tiny quantities of live virus, and it is this that kicks the immune system into fighting these off, and therefore giving immunity to the same virus in the future.

  Nosodes also have to be given more often than conventional vaccines, and so, are constantley putting the immune system under attack, and putting it in a constant fight mode. Whereas, conventional vaccines are just given once a year as a booster after the initial course is given. This is where the controversy begins. There have been studys into the effects, and effectiveness, of vaccines. Some would argue that yearly boosters are needed to keep the animals immunity up to scratch and that, if vaccinations were not given, then we could end up with alot of viruses and disease's that were once stamped out, rearing their heads again. I have read a great deal about this issue and of course any decisions i make on wether or not i vaccinate, are purely my own choice, just as it will be every other pet owners choice. I am in no way trying to change people's views on vaccinations, or make them choose to do something they dont wish to do, but i do feel very strongly, that the vaccine issue should be something that more pet owners knew, and thought about.

  If we have our children vaccinated as baby's, ask yourself why?  their vaccinations are not repeated every year in the fashion of a booster like we're expected to do with our pets. This is because, once the virus or disease is in our system it will always be there, lieing dorment. If we are exposed to that disease or virus our immune system goes to work and fights off the cause of the illness. Our body's remember the disease or virus and jump into fighting it off whenever we are exposed to it, if it were to occur again. This is exactley the same reaction our body's would have to a disease or virus it had never come across before. It would be exposed to it and our immunity would fight it off. That immunity would remain in our bodys just the same, and would react to the same things, therefore gaining our own natural immunity to that diease or virus, so if we are led to believe that yearly boosters are needed for our pets, then why dont our children need them? One theory is that vetenery college's need the funds from the sale of vaccines and as one of the biggest selling med's, and most often used, and repeated, it is these vaccine's that keep the vet's and college's going. Hardly fair really, when we consider, we should be doing what is best for our pet's, and overloading their immune system's and sending them into a yearly state of being falsly set to fight against something that is already sat there, awaiting the time is is needed to fight anyway, is just unethical, as far as i believe it. 

  There are some vets that do contest the need for yearly boosters at all, and some that say "we dont need to have them done as often". One such vet actually had a programme on the TV covering this theory, and openly said "that there are no true medical reasons why our pets should be vaccinated every year" of course, if you did'nt see the programme, you only have my word for it. 

  I admit there can be some side effects from all types of medication, and while i have been witness to some of the side effects of the yearly boosters. I have been told by a long running and respected breeder of Maine Coons, who used the Nosodes on a kitten once, that she would never use them again, as that kitten became ill, and it took her six months to get it completley well again. My experiance of the side effects from the yearly booster's, from conventional vaccines, did'nt last as long as six months, but were non the less disturbing for myself to see, and my cats to cope with. Although i have asked my own vet, and a vet from a very well known cat magazine, about the connection between my cats reactions and the boosters, neither would commit to saying the illness was caused from the booster, but as all my cats were fit and well before the boosters were given to them, and consequentley, all of my cats, baring the ones in the house, fell ill immediatley after the boosters were administered. This has happened on more than one occasion after booters were given, so make your own conclusions to this issue, as i have.

  If we look at animals in the wild, we notice that obviously they do not have vaccinations at all. New borns aquire immunity through their mother's milk, while this does decline after a few weeks, the baby would then be building up its own immunity in the same way as any adult animal. While it may be a contravertial issue, in the wild, only the strongest and fittest survive. If there were a disease or virus that wiped out a whole race, then we must conclude, that, that particular race were weak in the first place. Only the fittest survive. A natural selection, to only have the srongest race's to reproduce and keep a race going. Obviously we do not want our beloved pets, of any kind, to be wiped out, but this would not happen. Yes, maybe we would lose certain breeds, but not the whole race. The fittest would survive! Our pets would build up their own natural immunity and be a stronger race for doing so. Of course, non of us want to see our presious pets suffer, and would seek a vets help and advice when needed, but i do wonder how much suffering we inadvertantley cause by still having these yearly boosters.     

  Conclusion. I appriciate this may have gone on a bit, but it is something that concerns me a great deal, and as pointed out earlier, should be something more pet owners are educated on. Making an educated decision, with all the facts in front of us, is surely the best way forward.

  All kittens born at Kyamron Maine Coons will still be given their conventional vaccinations by my vet, at 9 and 12 weeks of age. This is when the animals immunity from its mother is declining, so we give the first vaccinations to boost  that immunity back up again. It is after the second jab at 12 weeks, that our pet should be covered for the rest of its life, without the need for further boosters. Obviously it is up to new owner's, as to wether they continue with yearly boosters or not. Please do bear in mind, that if you put your cat or dog into kennel's when you go away, they will not accept a pet that does not have an up to date vaccination record, neither will they accept a pet that has been vaccinated with Holistic Nosode's. 

  I will only continue to have boosters given to the adult cats that i take to show's. This is a condition of the GCCF's and any show manager's. Of course, i may revise my plans at any time. Wether i continue to show. Or wether i decide to take up giving boosters again. Time will tell!    

  For some interesting reading, you can visit:-www.holisticpetsupplies.co.uk. There are articles on Holistic Medicine and lincs onto other sites. It also gives the name of a book that can be purchesed on Holistic Medicine. There are also lots of sites on the internet that will explain in more detail some of the issues i have raised above.

                                             Thankyou for reading this document, and your patience!