We are what we eat: The temple
One of the first things you learn in holistic healing is that the physical body is the foundation for all healing. After all, on this earth, it houses the mind and spirit. Some also refer to this as the “temple”. We all know that what makes this physical foundation or temple are cells. Next, we know that mitochondria power those cells. And in order for mitochondria to power the cells they must have nutrients! That is why I want to talk about (and will talk about often in many other posts to come) the number one most essential thing to keep your kitty healthy which is their food. Like concrete bricks under the home, you cannot skimp on this step in building a healthy foundation. This is the first most important step.
You ARE what you eat (!) as explained above: Body < cells < mitochondria < nutrients (and water). I really like this site and article which explains more about mitochondria, https://experiencelife.com/article/the-care-and-feeding-of-your-mitochondria/ Even though it is geared towards people it’s the same basic make up as in your kitty. So what does a kitty’s mitochondria need to eat? Meat, apparently. For its digestibility as well as what is in meat, such as taurine, Arachidonic Acid, Vitamin A and B12, as well as protein. Cats are not herbivores or omnivores. Cats are carnivores. As a matter of fact they are classified as “obligate carnivore” which you can read more about here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6380542 and here http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/cats-obligate-carnivore-proceedings?rel=canonical. Basically, an “obligate carnivore” is an animal that has strict nutritional requirements as they are unable to “synthesize” or “metabolize” certain nutrients in their body like herbivores or omnivores. Therefore, these nutritional requirements must be consumed.
With that being said, this can be a very difficult moral and ethical decision for vegetarians or vegans to feed their cats meat. I myself will only occasionally eat fish and (for ethical reasons) do not eat meat. This is just the beginning of many future posts I promise to write on this subject. I recommend you read, educate yourself, research, research, research, look deep inside yourself and make your own decision on how to care for your animal including what you feed them. In all my research I have never read about cats dying when placed on a well thought out, carefully planned, supplemented vegetarian or vegan-fed diet. On the contrary, my research has pointed to the commercial meat-filled pet foods leading to disease - but more on that later. For now, for more information, I recommend this article that talks more about vegan diets for cats that seems very fair and unbiased, http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vegan_cats
As a final reminder, the purpose of my posts is to help those come to their own conclusions and I would never dictate to anyone on how to care for their pet or what to feed them. I do want to continue to stress the importance of diet/food for cats as I believe this is what led to an early death for my baby, Spot, and the inspiration for starting this site. There are two books I highly recommend checking out. I’m currently reading and loving these two informative books:
Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs, and What it Really Means to be Vegan
by Jed Gillen
Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food
by Ann N. Martin
My next upcoming post is all about Vegan/Vegetarian diets for cats … stay tuned!