July’s Facebook News Round-up!
In case you missed any, here are the stories we discussed in July (to join in the discussions, click “like” on CatCentric’s Facebook page!):
10 July: A Sad Lesson in Why We Should Never View Vaccines as Harmless
Dr. Becker summarizes this topic very nicely, but I’ll make it even shorter – Vaccinations for indoor cats are unnecessary and can cause great harm!
“It is my belief over-vaccination is one of the primary reasons the general health of housecats is deteriorating. Keep unvaccinated indoor cats from interacting with any other cats and your pet’s risk is virtually none.”
15 July: Antibiotic-Free Meat Map Launched for Consumers
A great initiative for you *and* your furry friends!
15 July: Penn and Cornell Researchers Spearhead the Development of New Guidelines for Veterinary CPR
Way to go! After years of lacking consensus on the proper way to conduct CPR for cats and dogs, over 100 board-certified veterinary specialists collaborated to release the first-ever evidence-based guidelines for CPR.
You can download the free series of PDF’s via this link: Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, Special Issue: Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation: Evidence and Knowledge Gap Analysis on Veterinary CPR.
The last PDF is, I think, the most important (RECOVER evidence and knowledge gap analysis on veterinary CPR. Part 7: Clinical guidelines). Of course, all of these will be made available on CatCentric.org!
15 July: Eastern Cougar Is Extinct, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Concludes
Very sad.
Before it’s too late, humanity *must* take steps to protect this extraordinarily beautiful world and all that inhabits it. We need to acknowledge we truly live in a microcosm, a fishbowl, and everything we do affects those around us. Each of us, every day, needs to be conscious of our impact upon our environment.
Recycle, walk, buy locally grown produce, do everything you can to make your “footprint” as small as possible. Go green, my friends!
15 July: Even Healthy Cats Act Sick When Their Routine Is Disrupted
An interesting study outcome and analysis. Vomiting and litter box issues are some of the most common causes for concern in cat owners, and here’s evidence cats don’t have to actually be “sick” to exhibit these behaviors.
I’ve long advocated for both scheduled feedings (three a day at minimum!) and environmental enrichment; this just adds more weight to those recommendations. ;-}
15 July: First Ever Videos of Snow Leopard Mother and Cubs in Dens Recorded in Mongolia
And speaking of conservation, “For the first time, the den sites of two female snow leopards and their cubs have been located in Mongolia’s Tost Mountains, with the first known video of one mother and her cub recorded by scientists from Pan
thera and the Snow Leopard Trust.”
“…This is one of those exceptional moments in conservation where after years of effort, we get a rare glimpse into the life of an animal that needs our help in surviving in today’s world. These data will help ensure a future for these incredible animals.”
15 July: Demystifying the Cat Diet
Articles like this both encourage and aggravate me. Clearly, an understanding of the uniquely specific needs of an obligate carnivore – like cats and ferrets – is growing and becoming more mainstream. So yay!!!
Unfortunately, American consumers are having a much harder time shaking the deeply-rooted fear of bacteria, despite the fact obligate carnivores have extremely effective natural protections against ingested pathogens. (They’d have to or they wouldn’t even exist today!)
If you’re on the fence about raw feeding because you’re concerned about e-coli, etc., click here: Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, oh my!, and gain the confidence to start feeding your little tiger the diet on which he’s built to thrive!
18 July: VERY Bad News for Raw Feeders
The vast majority of non-holistic veterinarians already advocate against feeding raw diets, as per their indoctrination… oh, excuse me, their training at the hands of the pet food industry. Now the American Veterinary Medical Association has plans to make this stance an official policy.
Why am I not surprised?
20 July: Can You Guess the First 5 Ingredients in This Popular Veterinary Diet?
Dr. Becker, telling it like it is!
“The fact is, pet foods containing garbage ingredients like most of those mentioned above, will not keep healthy pets healthy. Because they are the opposite of species-appropriate nutrition for dogs and cats, they will simply create more ill health and obesity – just like the vast majority of poor quality processed junk pet food on the market today.”
20 July: The Domino Effect
An exceptionally good look at the motives behind the American Veterinarian Medical Association’s move against raw feeding. The AVMA claims their proposed policy’s goal is “…about mitigating public health risks, not about restricting or ba
nning any products.”
Yet, they have no such policy against kibble feeding, despite the fact there have been dozens of confirmed cases of pathogenic-contaminated kibble sickening and killing people, but NO such cases linking the feeding of raw food to pets with human illnesses.
It’s pretty darn clear the AVMA’s goal is NOT about mitigating public health risk. It is, in fact, all about supporting their partners and financial donors in the pet food industry.
22 July: Geriatric Pets Need More Protein
Dr. Tudor uses simple, easy to understand language to explain the faulty reasoning behind the still-prevalent myth that low-protein diets are a healthy option for our carnivorous canine and feline friends.A great initiative for you *and* your furry friends!
22 July: Do Cats Need Fiber in Their Diet?
Why do so many vets buy into the pet food industry propaganda in the face of so much that is common sense? Why do we need studies to prove that evolutionary adaptions should be heeded if the health of our beloved house-cat is to be maintain
ed?
Dr. Tudor gets it: “In light of the cheetah study the observation should be turned around. The dry food is causing the vomiting and preventing the hair to reach the intestines as intended. Owners who decrease or eliminate dry food from their cat’s diet almost always experience less vomiting and fewer hairballs in their pets, despite the same degree of grooming and hair consumption. Going back to the study, maybe plant fiber is not a good substitute for animal fiber and has unintended consequences in strict carnivores.”
23 July: Why Does American Veterinary Medical Association propose the vote against raw food?
Another vet speaks out against the AVMA’s proposed anti-raw policy:
“While it is true that raw food contains bacteria, the studies ignore the fact that dogs and cats have evolved to eat raw meat and internal organs. In 15 years of recommending raw diet, I have not seen one single client with reported salmonelosis. Dogs and cats are naturally resistant to intestinal pathogens and can’t be compared to humans.”
23 July: Dry pilling cats: uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous
I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s totally worth another reminder. Never pill your kitty without a chaser!
(Side note: Wow – that cat is the spitting image of CatCentric’s own Allen!)
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has a few questions.
“As the FDA waits, it has to decide who pays the cost of the uncertainty. Will it be the dog treat manufacturers, who refuse to issue a recall on their own and make even more money i
n doing so? Or will it be beloved dogs and cats who pay with their health and their lives and whose owners receive no real warning about the danger posed by dog treats?
By allowing the treats to stay on the market as the years-long investigation drags on, the FDA is guaranteeing more pets will die. Why?” said Kucinich.”
I’d like to know, too. Maybe Bernadette M. Dunham, DVM, PhD, Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), who’s email address is bernadette.dunham@fda.hhs.gov, can tell us. (Remember to always be polite in your correspondence!)
26 July: Change in diet ended dog’s epileptic seizures
How much proof do we need that the pet food industry and their brain-washed legion of veterinarians do NOT have our pets’ best interest at heart?
“Swedish veterinary researchers showed a connection between wheat in dogs’ diets and epilepsy 20 years ago.”
27 July: Catswell Chicken Treats Voluntary Recall
Heads-up, my cat-loving friends, we’ve got another Friday dump-and-run recall…
Catswell is recalling multiple feline treats due to concerns they may contain propylene glycol (which can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage). Not surprisingly, these treats are – from what I can tell right now – made in China.
28 July: AVMA vs Raw Food: Action Alert!
Dr. Hofve completely destroys the AVMA’s claims that raw-feeding pets poses a health risk to humans…
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July’s Facebook News Round-up! — No Comments