Cat Welfare

Cats

Owning and caring for a cat is very rewarding. Studies have shown that people who own a cat have reduced blood pressure and are less likely to suffer from heart conditions. Having a furry companion can also help owners who suffer with depression, anxiety and even help children and adults with conditions such as autism.

With pet ownership comes responsibility. Even if you are caring for a cat on a temporary basis, you are required to care for him or her properly, in line with the Animal Welfare Act.

Basic Requirements

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (in the United Kingdom), owners must provide their pets with a suitable environment, suitable diet, allow the pet to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, and be protected from pain, suffering, injury an disease (including being free from parasites such as fleas and worms).

Flea & Worm Treatments

Anything you can buy in a supermarket or without a prescription will not work, and most likely it will be highly toxic and potentially fatal for your pet, not to mentioned literally a waste of your money. There are lots of great flea treatments and worm treatments but only the products from your vets work. At Goldie’s Cat Rescue we use Advocate as a flea treatment (or Stronghold if Advocate is not available). In cases of extreme infestations we also use Capstar, which is a fast acting tablet that lasts 24 hours. It is safe to be used in conjunction with Advocate.

There are lots of great wormers too. Drontal and Milbemax are the most well known and are the most effective tablets. If you have problems with administrating tablets to your cat/s, then speak with your vet about using Profender spot on treatment.

Money is tight for everyone nowadays. You can ask for a prescription from your vet and then save yourself a few pounds by purchasing flea and worm treatments online.

Goldie’s Diet

Here at Goldie’s Cat Rescue, we only feed the cats under our care a high protein diet, which is extremely low or free from any carbohydrates, including free from rice, grains, cereals and vegetables. Unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores. This means that they need much more then dogs, and really do thrive on high protein diets. There are many studies currently being carried out that the supermarket cat food, which has become readily available in the last 30 years or so,  is to blame for medical conditions such as kidney failure and hyper thyroidism that have become prevalent in cats over the last 20 years. For example, it is already known that soya can cause problems with the thyroid gland in humans, so why would we then also include this as an ingredient in veterinary prescription cat food to try to manage this health condition in cats?

There is also veterinary studies that show that the highly processed cereal grains found in dry foods are at fault for diabetes in cats, rodent ulcers (stomatitis) and urinary tract infections, so again why would you manage a health condition in an animal using an unnatural diet. I am yet to come across a feral cat who suffers from diabetes. This is because in the wild, a feral cat would only ever consume carbohydrates such as grass or ones in the intestinal tract of their prey, being a  less then 5% of their total diet. This same principal applies to cats who have renal disease (which can also been known as kidney failure). Too many times to count, I have had vets inform me that a cat in kidney failure should be placed on a diet of low protein and high carbs, and with the main meat content being pork or another red meat. I do not agree that cats should not be fed red meat (this is elaborated on below), especially one who has decreased kidney function, I most certainly do not agree that they should not be on a low protein diet. Instead, the phosphorus in any meat should be broken down. This is easy to do by mixing in cooked egg whites into their meals or to use a medicine/paste that does the same.

Run as quick as possible from any one who tells you that cats need dry food to clean their teeth. This is not true. When you eat a custard cream or a jammy dodger, they hardly provide the high level of dental hygiene that your dentist would be impressed with. A cat in the wild would get abrasive action on their teeth and gums from the bones in its captured prey. We advise all adopters and cat owners to instead feed their felines raw or cooked meats which contain ground bone. All you need to do is speak to your local butcher. Also you cant try mixing in broken up egg shells in their food. Please remember to brush your cats teeth on a regular basis if you are able to, ensure your cat has regular, a least yearly, if not 6 monthly for senior cats, health check ups, and follow your vet’s advice about regular cleaning under general anaesthetic.

A lot of our pets have allergies to red meats such as beef. This is once again because it is not a natural diet for them. At Goldie’s Cat Rescue, we only feed foods that solely contain white meats or rabbit meat. Please ensure that you read the labels on packaging – even though it may say it is ‘chicken flavoured’, you may just find the highest meat ingredient is actually pork or alike! This means that a majority of supermarket cat foods cannot be fed to our cats. Some supermarkets are now realising that their consumers are becoming more aware of what they are feeding their pets and have launched their own home branded high protein foods. You can also find many on pet and shopping websites such as Zooplus and Amazon.

Contrary to popular belief, cow’s milk is not good for cats, they are actually lactose intolerant, so this should be cut out of all cats diets immediately (if you find new born kittens and have no access to a vet, goats milk mixed with water can temporarily be given until you are able to obtain a milk substitute such as Cimicat for the kittens).

If you would like further information on particular brands and foods we use or how to better manage your cats health conditions such as hyper thyroidism, diabetes or kidney failure through diet, then please send us an email with your queries, as we will only be too happy to help.

 

Email: goldiesoldies@hotmail.com