Parasite control for your cats and dogs

By Dr. Karen Becker Well, the good news for many of us across the U.S. is we had a mild winter with above-average temperatures and not a lot of snow. The bad news is warm winter weather means an early and heavy bug season, specifically for fleas and ticks. These pests are surfacing from their dormant life cycles sooner rather than later this year. In fact, many veterinarians are predicting a 2012 flea and tick season that will be the worst in a decade. And it's already underway in some parts of the country. No Need to Panic Widespread panic is more or less what the sellers of chemical pest preventives would like to see as a result of an early and heavy flea and tick season this year. But before you start having nightmares about massive flea infestations or blood-bloated ticks all over your dog -- which could easily prompt you to run out and buy every chemical pest agent you can find – take a deep breath. Everything you need to do to control pests on your pet this year falls into these three easy-to-remember categories: •Keep your pet pest-free •Keep your home pest-free •Keep your yard pest-free I strongly discourage pet owners from automatically applying harsh chemical agents to repel or kill pests. I see animals every day at my Natural Pet clinic that suffer from the side effects of toxic chemicals and drugs they were exposed to for any number of reasons, including pest control. And to make matters worse, many of these pets still get fleas and ticks even with the use of toxic chemical agents. That's why I believe in using natural pest repellents and other non-toxic pest control methods whenever possible. If you live where fleas and ticks are prevalent during the warmer months, vigilance in keeping your pet, your home and your yard pest-free should allow your four-legged companion to enjoy his summer right along with the rest of the family. All Natural Tips for a Pest-Free Pet If fleas are a problem, comb your pet with a flea comb at least once a day, every day during pest season. Do the combing on a white towel or other light colored cloth so you can see what's coming off your pet's coat and skin as you comb. Flea 'dirt' (actually flea feces) looks like real dirt, but when suspended in a little rubbing alcohol or water will dissolve and release a red color (blood) allowing you to discern real dirt from flea dirt. Drop the combings into a bowl or other container of soapy water and flush it down the toilet when your combing session is over. Bathe your pet. A soothing bath will kill fleas (via drowning), help heal skin irritation, and make your furry companion feel more comfortable and less itchy. Also, clean animals aren't as attractive to fleas. Pick a non-grain (no oatmeal) shampoo specifically for pets. Be aware that some pets have a condition called flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), which is sensitivity to flea saliva. This is actually a very common condition in dogs. It's not the bite of a flea that causes most of the itching, it's the saliva. And the saliva can cause irritation way out of proportion to the number of fleas on your pet. That's why lots of dog owners assume the terrible itching their pet is enduring can't be flea related because they don't see any fleas. In fact, a pet with FAD can be made absolutely miserable from the saliva of just one or two fleas. And it can make her uncomfortable for many weeks – long after the fleas are dead and gone. If ticks are a problem where you live, the best way to control them is through daily grooming and nose-to-tail body checks of your pet. You should examine your dog or cat closely for ticks whenever he's been outside, and at least once a day, regardless. If you should find a tick attached to your pet, it must be removed carefully and safely. Don't squeeze the tick, pull on it, press down on it, burn it, or otherwise try to kill it while it's still embedded in your pet. You don't want to inadvertently harm your dog or cat, and you don't want to cause the tick to secrete more saliva into your pet or leave pieces of the rostrum (the 'sticker') embedded in your pet's skin. The safest way to remove a tick is with a twisting motion. Our Tick Stick tick removal tool is great to have on hand if you ever need to get a tick off your pet. In addition to the above suggestions, I also recommend you make liberal use of an all-natural pest repellent like Natural Flea and Tick Defense, which is effective against flies and mosquitoes as well. It contains all natural ingredients -- safe oils and pure water. Other safe alternatives to chemical pest repellents include cedar oil (specifically formulated to be applied to pets) and natural food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) (both of which can be applied directly to your pet's skin and coat – follow label application instructions), and fresh garlic (it must be fresh, not processed -- work with your holistic vet to determine a safe amount for your pet's body weight). Don't waste your money on garlic in pill form or brewer's yeast pills. The B vitamins found in brewer's yeast responsible for boosting the immune system can be naturally delivered by feeding your pet a meat based, living food diet. I don't recommend feeding allergenic brewer's yeast to pets. Powdered garlic or garlic in tablet form has lost the medicinal component, Allicin, found in fresh garlic. Garlic pills can be dangerous to pets. DE can also be added to your pet's food if your pet has internal parasites. DE is not effective against heartworms as they are present in the bloodstream, where DE isn't. All Natural Tips for a Pest-Free Home Your first line of defense against a flea infestation in your home is to keep your pet pest-free using the suggestions outlined above. Vacuuming all the areas of your home your pet has access to is a given in controlling fleas indoors. Vacuum the carpet, area rugs, bare floors, upholstered furniture, pillows, your pet's bedding and even your own if your pet sleeps with you. Use the crevice tool and other nifty attachments to vacuum along the baseboards and around the corners and edges of furniture. Don't forget to vacuum hard-to-reach places like under furniture, beds and closet floors. Dump the contents of your vacuum as soon as you're finished and get them out of the house. If feasible, designate a single sleeping area for your pet – preferably one you can clean easily. Fleas accumulate in pet sleeping spaces, so if you can limit those, it will be easier to control the situation. Your dog's or cat's bedding should be vacuumed daily and washed frequently. You can apply a light dusting of food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) on your carpets, bare floors, and pet bedding. Make sure the DE is food grade, not pool filter grade as the latter is toxic if ingested. Like diatomaceous earth, cedar oil can be applied to your environment and pet bedding, as well as directly on your dog or cat. It is an all-natural insect repellent. Pestigator.comi has a wealth of information about the use of cedar oil as well as a wide variety of cedar-based products for indoor, outdoor and direct pet application use. You can apply sodium polyborate powder to your carpets and wood floors to get rid of fleas at the larval stage. Instructions at Fleabusters.comii state you should keep pets and children out of the room while you're applying the product, but they can come into the area safely immediately afterward. The powder works for a year once it's applied unless you have your carpets steam cleaned. All-Natural Tips for a Pest-Free Yard Keep your grass mowed, weeds pulled, and bushes trimmed. Clear away debris as it accumulates and do regular inspections of your property for places where pests are apt to hide and multiply. Food grade diatomaceous earth can also be used to control pests in your yard. However, it doesn't work immediately and must be reapplied frequently (monthly for best results). To use dry with a powder applicator you'll need about 1 pound per 500 square feet. You can also mix it up as a paste and apply it with a hose-end sprayer, using 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Mosquito Barrieriii is an all-natural, liquid garlic based solution that can be sprayed on your lawn. Its repellent effect should last about a month according to the manufacturer. Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that eat flea larvae. Many people have had success using them in their gardens and yards to keep the flea population under control. Under the right conditions, nematodes work quite well. They can be applied with a lawn sprayer and have been known to reduce the flea population by 80 percent in 24 hours. More research is needed, but it seems nematodes are most effective in moist, sandy soil away from direct sunlight. The worms don't survive in the hot sun. (Fortunately, neither do fleas.) Nematodes can be purchased at some pet stores, nurseries and online. When a Chemical Preventive or Treatment is Unavoidable I can't overemphasize the need to avoid the unnecessary application of chemical products due to their known and suspected levels of toxicity. However, if you're faced with a situation in which you have no choice but to use a chemical pest preventive on your dog or cat, here are some ways you can reduce the danger, especially of spot-on products: •Follow dosing directions precisely. If your pet is at the low end of a dosage range, step down to the next lowest dosage. Be extremely cautious with small dogs and do not under any circumstances apply dog product to your cat. •Don't depend exclusively on chemical treatments. Rotate natural preventives with chemical ones. An every other month rotation works well for many pet owners at my practice. Many of my clients are able to apply one round of chemicals in the spring and another in late summer and completely avoid infestation while dramatically reducing the frequency of chemicals used. •Monitor your pet closely for adverse reactions after you apply a chemical product – especially when using one for the first time. •Since your pet's liver will be tasked with processing the chemicals that make it into the bloodstream, it can be very beneficial to give your dog or cat a supplement to help detoxify her liver. I recommend milk thistle, which is a detox agent and also helps to actually regenerate liver cells. You can get milk thistle through your holistic vet, who should also guide you on how much to give your pet depending on age, weight and other prescribed medications. I recommend one dose daily for seven days following any flea, tick or heartworm application. I also recommend chlorella, a super green food that is a very powerful detox agent. Your holistic vet should also advise you about how much chlorella to give your pet. If you use both these cleansing products throughout the summer, you can help protect your pet's liver from the toxic effects of chemical pest preventives. The Bottom Line No matter what combination of pest repellent systems you use, including chemical agents, your pet can still attract pests and parasites. In fact, even animals loaded with chemicals to the point of toxicosis can still, for example, acquire heartworm. My advice is do all you can to avoid pests, relying on natural preventives as much as possible, and then have your vet run a SNAP 4Dx test every six months to check for the presence of heartworm and tick-borne diseases (Lyme, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichia). Also, again thanks to the mild winter we had, I'm seeing a lot more positive fecal results for GI parasites. I recommend you have your vet check a sample of your pet's stool twice a year as well. From kittycatorganics.com I personally use Buck Mountain Herbal Gold parasite dust for animals. It is designed for flies, fleas, ticks, lice, mites and more. My holistic vet suggested this. It is very affective. I use it on my own cats. They only supply products to Veterinarians, Commercial Herdsman & Pet Stores. They do have a web site, so you can get more information about the dust. Best of luck.

Buyer Beware

---Article by Dr. Karen Becker --- Pet food companies are marketing new formulas of cat food as “preventive” diets available “over the counter.” Many are grain free and canned – which means they have higher moisture content than kibble (this is a good thing). Several include novel proteins (not a good thing). These diets are advertising they “prevent” many of the diseases that afflict cats who’ve been fed a lifetime of inexpensive, low quality, grain filled diets – many produced by the same companies now offering the new health care diets. Curiously, pet food marketers are comparing their new cat foods to veterinary prescription formulas, thus the over-the-counter spin. What’s odd is some of the new cat foods are actually more species-appropriate than prescription diets, so it’s curious why they are being advertised as an alternative, when in fact they’re better nutrition. It’s buyer beware when it comes to pet food marketing claims. Savvy pet owners are educating themselves about proper nutrition for their cat or dog and aren’t being misled by clever promotional campaigns. The worst thing pet owners can do is count on pet food brand marketers to inform them about the nutritional quality of the food they sell. The best way to insure good nutrition for your cat is to feed a balanced, species-appropriate diet, either homemade or a high quality commercial formula. Check out kittycatorganics.com for a very high quality organic cat food.

Why Cats Knead

By Dr. Becker It's really remarkable to watch – especially if it's your first time experiencing it. It's another of the many unique and fascinating things about cats. Your kitty jumps into your chair with you, or perhaps onto the bed next to you, and begins pressing one front paw, then the other against you in a rhythmic motion. His eyes are either closed or hold a far away look. Often there's purring. Sometimes there's drooling. It can go on and on and on. Some kitties knead with their claws pulled in. Others extend their claws as they push, and retract them during the pulling motion. Sometimes it's not a person they're kneading but a soft surface like a pillow or blanket, or even another kitty. To humans it looks like the cat is lovingly kneading dough to make bread. The kitty, on the other hand, appears to be moving closer to ecstasy with each press of a paw. What the heck is he doing? Why Your Cat "Makes Biscuits" This kneading, also known as 'making bread' or 'making biscuits,' is an instinctive feline behavior kittens display shortly after they're born. The reason for the movement in kittenhood is to stimulate the flow of milk from the mother's mammary glands. Cats that continue the behavior into adulthood with their owners might be: •Showing contentment •Calming themselves during periods of stress •Marking their human with the scent from the sweat glands in their paws One theory is adult cats who still knead were taken from their mothers too soon. This idea has been pretty well debunked because nearly every cat kneads. More than likely it's an instinctive lifelong behavior that is simply comforting to felines. However, kitties weaned too early may become the cats that go on to "over-knead." The behavior might also have its origins in wild cats who built nesting places with grass and leaves in which to rest or give birth. It does seem the behavior in most cats precedes settling down for a nap. Some intact female cats will knead more frequently as they're going into heat. For some cats, kneading can be come an obsessive behavior. These kitties may also try to suckle on their person's skin, stuffed toys, blankets, clothing – even the family dog. If You Need to Curtail the Behavior... If your cat's kneading is uncomfortable due to claws, or seems to be obsessive, there are a few things you can try. When she starts the motion, try gently pulling her down into a lying position. This may settle her down and she'll drift off to sleep. You can also try gently covering her paws with slight pressure from your hands, making the motion more difficult to perform, or distracting her with a food treat or toy. What you don't want to do is punish your kitty for a behavior that is entirely natural.

Did you know...dogs and cats, especially those who suffer from allergies, gastro sensitivity, urinary illness, hotspots, ear infections, paw biting, skin itching, or hairballs, should never be fed food containing corn & wheat! Be an informed pet owner, read and understand the ingredients in pet food before you make a decision on what to feed your pet. "Their health depends on you."

Check out the web site listed below for cat food which contains no corn or wheat as well as no meat by-products.

kittycatorganics.com

Therapeutic Cat or Dog food

By Dr. Karen Becker


Recently the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) added a fifth 'vital health assessment' for veterinarians in determining the health status of their cat and dog patients.

The four existing assessments are: temperature, cardio function, respiratory health, and pain.

The new "5th Vital Assessment"1 is nutrition.

Per Michael Cavanaugh, DVM, and executor director of the AAHA:


"Incorporating nutritional assessment into the routine examination protocol for every patient is important for maintaining optimal health, as well as their response to disease and injury.

The goal of the new guidelines is to provide a framework for the veterinary practice team to help make nutritional assessments and recommendations for their patients."

Integrative and holistically-oriented vets have always done nutritional assessments on our patients.

In fact, I view species-appropriate nutrition as the first and most influential of the three pillars of health - the other two pillars being a sound, resilient body and a balanced, functional immune system.

And while I applaud the traditional veterinary community's addition of a nutritional assessment in determining the well-being of dogs and cats, I'm a little concerned with where this initiative could be headed.

Here is how the AAHA introduced their new "5th Vital Assessment" initiative in October 20102:


DENVER -- Nutrition is integral to optimal pet care. However, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) found through its Compliance Study that only seven percent of pets that could benefit from a therapeutic food were actually on such a regimen.

The compliance discrepancy along with the many factors considered in assessing the nutritional needs of a healthy dog or cat, as well as the pet with one or more medical conditions, led to the development the AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines.

The phrase 'therapeutic food' gives me pause, especially when I see that a major manufacturer of 'therapeutic' pet food has provided an educational grant to print the AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats3 in several languages.

Coming Soon to a Veterinarian Near You ...


... a big push to switch your pet to a 'therapeutic' dog or cat food.

My discomfort with the therapeutic food angle grew when I came across a PetfoodIndustry.com article in January of this year.

According to the article, the same pet food manufacturer who provided an educational grant to the AAHA "... will make regular visits to more than 22,000 veterinary hospitals and clinics to help build support for and implement nutritional recommendations as the '5th Vital Assessment' in pet healthcare."

To accomplish this the pet food company plans, among other things, to add sales staff to call more frequently on vet offices across the country in order to sell more therapeutic pet foods.

Then I came across another PetfoodIndustry.com news item, also from January, announcing that a pet health insurance provider is adding coverage for therapeutic pet food.

According to the article, "... coverage now includes half the cost of therapeutic pet foods purchased through a veterinarian to assist in care of a pet for two months."

'Therapeutic' Pet Food Ingredients Revealed


The following is a list of the first five ingredients in some of the therapeutic pet foods you may hear a sales pitch for the next time you take your pet to the vet for a wellness exam.

A can of cat food marketed as capable of improving feline bladder health:
•Pork By-Products
•Water
•Pork Liver
•Chicken
•Rice

A bag of kibble advertised as good for feline gastrointestinal health:
•Chicken By-Product Meal
•Brewers Rice
•Corn Gluten Meal
•Whole Grain Corn
•Pork Fat

A can of dog food to improve cardiac health in senior dogs:
•Water
•Corn Flour
•Pork Liver
•Rice Flour
•Beef By-Products

Dry dog food marketed for canine renal health:
•Brewers Rice
•Pork Fat
•Dried Egg Product
•Flaxseed
•Corn Gluten Meal

Regular readers here will immediately recognize the remarkably inferior, species inappropriate ingredients in these pet foods.

For the uninitiated:
•By-products are what are left after all the good stuff is harvested for the human food industry. Beaks, feet, feathers, wattles and combs are chicken by-products. There could be something beneficial thrown in, like the heart or gizzard, but because there's such potential for undesirable pieces and parts in 'by-products,' it's better to avoid them altogether.
•Corn in any form (including corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, corn flour, etc.) is an extremely allergenic food and difficult to digest. It's also one of the three crops most highly contaminated with aflatoxins.
•Brewers rice is a low quality ingredient that also happens to be a by-product. In addition, it's a grain. Grains are not species-appropriate nutrition for carnivores.

Read here for the secret to cracking the code on your dog's (or cat's) pet food label.

Just Say No to 'Therapeutic' Pet Foods


Unfortunately, veterinary students don't learn much about nutrition in their coursework. They graduate, go into practice, and become easy targets for pet food companies eager to fill their reception areas and storage closets with inferior quality 'prescription' diets for dogs and cats.

Now that the AAHA has added nutrition as the 5th vital assessment of a pet's health, I think many pet owners will be hearing more about diets during vet visits. I also suspect many of these conversations will end with a recommendation to buy a 'prescription' (therapeutic) pet food to take home with you.

I absolutely do not recommend the extremely low quality, species-inappropriate pet food formulas being sold through vet practices as 'therapeutic.'

I encourage my Natural Pet clients and all of you reading here to learn everything you can about the vital importance of biologically appropriate, high quality nutrition to the health and longevity of your pet.

I believe the more informed pet parents are about the type of food dogs and cats need to thrive, the less vulnerable they'll be to a sales pitch for low quality pet food - even when it's recommended by a veterinarian.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

References:
1 Nutrition, the 5th Vital Assessment
2 Nutrition Can Positively Impact Pet Wellness: AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats Now Available
3 AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

The New Profile Picture

The new profile picture shows one of many new pieces of cat furniture which has recently been added to www.kittycatorganics.com Take a look at all the wonderful new items I've added. My cats simply LOVE this new furniture. They are either running and jumping on it, jumping down, scratching the rope or lounging on one of the two hammocks on this piece.

Cats and Music

There are Two means of refuge from the Miseries of life: Cats and Music.