First incident: Soon after we movedto Maui, I learned that there was aneighborhood bully. A neighbor saidthat a disturbed cat had killed histwo newly-adopted kittens a coupleof months earlier. Two or three timeswhen Carmella was out at night Iheard screaming skirmishes. I neversaw the instigator, but guessed itwas that stealthy Maui Mangler cat.Early one evening, I heard somescreaming and then Carmella suddenlybolted into the living roomthrough the pet door. Shaken, bloodpooled on the floor from her bleedingneck. She was apparently bittenby the Maui Mangler.The blood flow stopped quickly and naturally. Carmella got a big dose of consolation from me, then she walked upstairs. I followedher a while later, and after a search, found her inside the bathroom cabinet, behind the closed door under the vanitysink. She remained there, fasting and healing for over 24 hours. Then she came downstairs, ate a breakfast, and all was normalagain.Curiously, after that conflict, there were no further signs of the bad cat again.Second incident: I like to vary my pets’ diets, to avoid the ruts of routines. I noticed bags of frozen pork chunks in a grocerystore freezer case and bought one, figuring that Carmella would enjoy the flavor. She did, and I fed her that occasionally overthe next few months. Then I noticed a change in her physical appearance: her coat, especially her belly and rump, had becomea bit mangy with sparse fur, and she had lost about two pounds.Concerned, I realized that raw pork is notorious for parasites, soI stopped feeding her that for good. Still, the mange persisted. IGoogled information about natural pet remedies for parasites.Ground raw pumpkin seeds was a popular remedy that severalpeople endorsed, so I tried that. After adding some to her foodseveral times, her coat became healthy again and she regained thelost weight. I have continued to add some pumpkin seed meal toher meals once in a while. She also occasionally likes to munch onwhole pumpkin seeds.Today, as usual, Carmella is thriving.12
ccccccI’ve learned a lot from being the care giver of my fourkitty companions, and I am still learning with Carmellaand wondering about her diet as it relates to her health andlongevity. Does her diet contain too much fat, too much fish,is the food pure enough, are there too few organs, too littleor too much of some particular nutrients? I’ll keep learning,with observation and intuition as my guides.May your love affair with kitty be long and extra special, andmay he or she live the best of all nine lives! If you have anyinsights and stories to share, your correspondence would bepurrfectly welcomed! I’d like to write more on this subject infuture issues.Now here are the basics of “<strong>Raw</strong> Kitty Care 101.”DDietary TransitionI don’t have any experience with dietary transition. The threecats I’ve adopted took to a 100% raw food diet right away.I have heard from other cat guardians who have said thattheir cats would not eat any raw food in lieu of their cookedfoods. I suggested blending in some raw ground meat, avocadoand veggie pulp with their meals, and keeping bowlsof plain raw egg and avocado near their regular food dishes,but I haven’t yet received any positive feedback on that. Ialso recommend raw cat kibble and treats. If you have anysuccess stories about your finicky cat, please share them.DWhat To FeedMeats. The goal, of course, is to feed our pets as similarlyas is practical to how they would eat as predators in nature.<strong>Cats</strong> are carnivores. Their digestive organs are the same asthose of humans. <strong>How</strong>ever, their digestive organs and digestivesecretions are designed to function best on a relativelyfatty, high-protein diet of mainly raw animal meats as well asgrass and other vegetables.So you shouldchop or slice meatsas finely as possibleto ease the digestiveburden. Large chunksof food tend to lead tofrequent barfing.Meat choices:• Fowl (chicken and turkey, sliced or ground)• Hoofed mammals (cow, steer, lamb, deer, buffalo). I don’tfeed any of these to Carmella—I don’t believe they arehealthful; cats do not prey upon them.• Fish (tilapia, salmon, white fish, smelt, anchovies, clams,scallops, etc., sliced, filleted, ground)• Organs (liver, heart, gizzard, etc.) I am not convinced that Ineed to add them to Carmella’s diet, considering her huntinghabits; I believe she is getting taurine and all the otheressential nutrients she needs. Liver seems too toxic to feedto any cat.• Bone and marrow, finely chopped or ground. I rarely feedthese to Carmella because of her hunting habit.Vegetables. <strong>Cats</strong> have pointy incisor teeth which are suitedsolely to tearing flesh. They do not possess flat molars whichwe have for mastication, that is grinding and crushing plantfibers, to release their nutrients. As such, cats are not suitedto digesting fibrous vegetables well. Nonetheless, the fiberand microflora in raw vegetables will be very useful for theirbowel health. <strong>Cats</strong> will eat grass, and when they eat rodentsand birds they ingest their bowel contents, which wouldinclude semi- or fully-digested vegetables and seeds andgrains. To increase their nutrient intake, we can help cats byfinely chopping, blending and juicing fibrous vegetables and13
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