What to Look For in the Best Cat Health Supplement for Your Pet

The best cat health supplement is one that provides everything your cat needs to remain vital, energetic and disease free. When it comes to choosing a health supplement for their cat, concerned owners should consider relying on all natural products. Nothing works better because nothing is more complete, more gentle and more simple than natural ingredients.

The reason that natural supplements are so effective is that they rely on the same kind of substances that animals are drawn to in the wild to fight off illness. Trained homeopaths have identified the kind of herbs and plants that animals use naturally and have brought them together in a unique blend to provide that same kind of healing for household pets.

Herbs such as Huang Qi, Mistletoe, Purple Coneflower, and Milk Thistle are used in the best cat health supplement because of their individual healing properties and combining them actually enhances those properties to make them that much more effective. Huang Qi, an ancient Chinese herbal remedy, is known for its ability to support a healthy appetite and improve immune system function while Mistletoe helps regulate blood pressure.

Purple Coneflower, or Echinacea, is widely used for its positive effect on the immune system. Milk Thistle is an antioxidant which helps to rid the body of toxins which can cause cancer and other serious illnesses as well as affecting overall health. Together, these and other natural ingredients can work to bolster your cat's natural defenses to help it fight off illness.

What makes a product like this the best cat health supplement is the fact that it works on a cellular level, to provide healing for the entire body. Every organ and every system are given a gentle natural boost to keep them functioning properly. Nothing else works so thoroughly to improve your cat's general health.

Of course, giving your cat a supplement is just one part of an overall approach to good health. Responsible owners will want to be sure that their cat is getting the best diet possible, free of artificial colorings and preservatives and loaded with natural protein. Making sure that your cat drinks enough is also important as water helps flush toxins from the system.

Even the best cat health supplement can only go so far. It is also vital that you promote good urination habits by ensuring that your cat has access to a clean litter box on a regular basis. Getting plenty of exercise also helps to improve energy levels and maintain healthy muscles and bones.

If you want your cat to live a long, happy life then you need to take the right steps to ensure prolonged good health. Diet, exercise, and the addition of a 100% natural supplement can all help to keep your cat active and thriving. Take good care of your furry friend with a little help from Mother Nature.

About the Author

Laura Ramirez is researcher of products that help restore health and vitality to pets and people and keep their immune system strong and healthy. To learn more about her findings, go to www.pet-health-supplements.com.

Pet Nutrition: Raw/Fresh Dog and Cat Food Vs. Commercial Dry Food

There are two main schools of thought surrounding the best nutrition for our dogs and cats: raw, fresh foods including muscle and organ meat, ground bone, fruits and vegetables and commercially available dry food that is processed and then enhanced with vitamins and minerals our pets need for complete nutrition.

Like many pet owners, I wondered which is more nutritionally balanced, which is easier to feed your pet and which costs more? This article will answer those questions and hopefully provide the information you need as a pet owner to make the decision for which is right for you and your pet.

Nutritional value: raw/fresh pet food vs. dry pet food

Raw food provides a diet that most closely mimics that a dog or cat may consume in the wild. It has minimal ingredients unlike commercial dry food, which is often comprised of proteins, grain and fruits and vegetables that sound good to us as humans but may not be natural for our pets.

Also, the intense heat used to process commercial pet food destroys or reduces nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Pet food manufacturers must supplement the food after heat processing to replace those nutrients.

In addition, veterinary surgeon and raw feeding proponent Tom Lonsdale states that food from dry or canned commercial food sticks to teeth and enables bacteria to proliferate, causing "sore gums, bad breath and bacterial poisons that affect the rest of the body".

However, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) €discourages the feeding to cats and dogs of any animal-source protein that has not first been subjected to a process to eliminate pathogens because of the risk of illness to cats and dogs as well as humans.€

Conversely, all raw/fresh food suppliers must meet federal requirements for food safety standards and some subject their foods to a process called High Pressure Processing (HPP) which eliminates harmful bacteria from raw foods, prior to packaging.

Ease of feeding your pet: raw/fresh pet food vs. dry pet food

The ease of feeding your pet commercial dry dog or cat food is well known. You open the bag or container, place it in the dish and voila, dinner! However, feeding raw/fresh foods from a supplier can be almost as simple.

Megan Trester, Sales Associate for a natural pet food store specializing in raw foods explains, €A 50-pound dog will need 16 ounces of raw food each day, or two 8-ounce patties. For example, they can store an 8-pound bag of raw frozen patties in the freezer and each evening take out two to thaw in the refrigerator for the next day's meals.€

Raw diets are great for cats as well, since this is what they have evolved to eat. Unfortunately, it can be hard to get a cat to accept a raw food diet. Even though their primordial diet consists of small rodents, birds, lizards, and insects, it's the hunt and kill that tells their brain to eat it. A plate of raw food doesn't provide that stimulation. In addition, cat's prey is about 100-102 degrees F. When fed raw food, it is often at room temperature. Cats are picky in order to survive. Food that is not freshly killed may have spoiled and will therefore make the cat sick.

Cost: Raw/fresh pet food vs. dry pet food

Finally, there is the cost of feeding your dog or cat a raw/fresh food diet. Dr. Tony Buffington, a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center said, on a per-calorie basis he estimates raw foods can cost €about 10 times as much as what you can get at a supermarket.€

In addition, Sharon Misik, an actress in California, during an interview regarding feeding her two huskies a raw products diet, said she €easily spends about $250 a month on raw products.€ By comparison, two large dogs fed commercial dry food can cost as little as $20 per month (Walmart) or closer to $45 per month for higher grade food available from specialty pet stores.

In conclusion, while raw foods may provide a balanced meal nutritionally for your dog or cat and be almost as easy to feed as commercial dry foods, you must evaluate for yourself if the cost is worth the difference in nutrition and feeding ease. It may come down to what food your pet enjoys and whether they have special digestive issues that may be corrected by a raw food diet.

About the Author

Nicole is a lifelong pet owner, pet stroller advocate, pet product consumer and creator of the site Pet Strollers Unlimited where you can find more ways to keep your dog or cat safe and healthy, as well as find dog humor and cat humor, cozy pet beds and gifts for your furry (or not so furry) friends.