#cat supplement for raw food

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Do ferrets need a raw meat diet or is fancy cat food ok for them?? I'm getting conflicting answers, I hear a lot of people are against raw feeding dogs and ferrets, but a lot say kibble is bad

Anon.

Hope this helps lol.

[queen-mabs-revenge]

on the one hand it's a relief that my little furfreak refusing to eat isn't a loss of appetite, but on the other hand the fact that she just ate an entire can of tuna but refuses to eat anything else is just apex asshole behavior what point are you starving yourself to prove, babe???

[coldflasher]

me every day begging ppl on facebook to listen to their actual vet and not someone on the internet who has zero qualifications whatsoever

[saint-ambrosef]

PSA: the vast majority of commercial dog food is terrible for your dog, and you cannot feed a dog a "vegan" (or vegetarian) diet.

Dogs are what is called facultative carnivores, meaning they can and will eat food that is not part of their typical, ideal diet if circumstances call for it. This is why they are often called omnivores (the line between facultative carnivores and omnivores is debated). Comparatively, obligate carnivores, like cats, cannot process non-carnivorous food at all.

This means that although the primary and default diet of domesticated dogs is other animals, dogs' digestive systems are capable of digesting other food sources like plants if a carnivorous option is not available: in other words, if they're hungry enough, they can "get by" on less ideal food sources.

Although dogs' systems can tolerate some plant material in their diet, they will not thrive on a long-term diet high in carbohydrates. This is because while dogs' pancreases do produce amylase (the enzyme that breaks down carbs), it's not nearly as much as true omnivores like humans, and can even vary quite a bit from dog-to-dog. They also don't produce cellulase at all. So a diet high in plant material for too long can be hard on their systems and lead to long-term serious health affects that will shorten their lifespan, such as early organ failure and heart disease - yes, even if they "seem great" on the day-to-day.

Ideally, a dog's diet should not be more than 15% plant material. However, the vast majority of commercial dog food is only 30% animal-derived ingredients, because 30% is the industry required minimum in order to be commercially sold. Even a lot of brands that boast about having "high animal protein" are often only hitting the 60% benchmark. Why? Because plant foods like legumes, sweet potatoes, and grains are a much, much cheaper way to "bulk up" the dog food than using 85-95% animal products. And then they artificially add in a ton of vitamins and nutrients to make them "nutritionally complete" (because plant nutrients are less bioavailable to carnivores), whereas a dog would easily get them from a diet with correctly proportioned inclusions of organs and bones.

Don't even get me started on ""vegan"" dog foods. A diet that is 100% plant based is straight up animal cruelty for a facultative carnivore like dogs and you cannot change my mind. You're literally taking years off your pet's lifespan in the name of your ideology. If you want a pet you can feed a completely plant-based diet without consequence, get a rabbit.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an easy or cheap pet, and dogs aren't an exception. I understand that feeding a dog a proper diet is an expensive venture. The best dog food you can buy at the pet store will still be below the ideal, and it will cost $$$. Just do the best you can for your circumstances. Even occasionally swapping commercial food for a little raw animal supplementation can help. Avoid kibble with legumes or potatoes.

And if you're thinking of getting a dog... I mean this gently, but you need to seriously consider whether you can actually afford to feed them. Don't get pets unless you can afford all the care they require.

[fangirlinginleatherboots]

question for ya !!! do you have any recommendations on switching cats to healthier more nutritional food? i'm currently feeding mine dry food because it's the easiest to afford but i want to do better for them !! do you have any recommendations on what some good stuff to start feeding them would be? and how to make the switch easier for them?

Yes! I do! Sorry for the delay in replying to this.

So first off, cats cannot hydrate adequately from drinking water. They are built to gain hydration from intracellular moisture, meaning that the food they eat needs to have fully hydrated cells. Kibble is not only dry, but the heat used in processing severely damages its nutritional value. Wet food is better, but the moisture isn't necessarily intracellular. Often it is still processed with heat and water is added back in later.

I am a huge advocate for feeding raw food and it's much easier and more affordable than you would expect. Switching even 20% of your pets food over to something fresher (ideally raw) has a massive positive impact on their health, so it's not all or nothing.

There are two main raw "diets": BARF and Prey. Both of these are going to contain organ, muscle, and bone. BARF stands for biologically appropriate raw food. This will contain a mixture of ingredients that have great nutritional value, but would not be something the animal would find naturally in the wild. Some of my favorite ingredients mixed in are green lipped muscles, raw goat milk, blueberries, and kale! The Prey diet is much higher in protein and does not contain as many of these "forageables," digestive aids, and supplements. Prey diets are better for cat only households or for dogs that work physical jobs.

My favorite brand of raw food is Steve's Real Food, but I'm also partial to Stella & Chewy. Both of these companies offer food that can be fed both to your dog and your cat, so you can feed the household out of one bag. That being said, Steve's has begun focusing a lot more on cat food and now offers the Quest line of cat diets. It's priced comparably to wet food and is very easy to feed. They also offer guides on transitioning your cat from one food to another since they are imprint eaters and it's not always easy.

Again, it's not all or nothing! Replace 20% of their diet with a balanced raw food and you'll see a difference. The poop is better and less, the pet stays hydrated and doesn't chug water, coat quality often improve and shedding is reduced. A full raw switch also removes the kibble brain fog and may even stop your cat from barfing all the time. Raw fed pets are more alert and less stressed, in my experience.

Obviously every pet is different, but the science of how they evolved to eat is sound. It just takes some shopping around to find the right fit.

[bonefall]

do you have anything extra planned for Sorreltail? I’m rereading TNP and I like the chapters with her and Leafpaw the most.. they’re so cute. Also lmao @ Leafpaw calling Mothwing beautiful in every chapter

[ID: BB!Sorreltail. She's a big, spiky, fluffy white cat with chocolate brown accents and peanut-butter cream patches. Her eyes are bright yellow.]

just a little, a smidge really. I'm very normal about BB!Sorreltail.

Sorreltail is head of the Kitchen Patrol, she developed a love of it because no one would cook her grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers are her FAVORITE food, she loves chasing them, she loves their crunch, loves their funny long rabbit legs.

Not forgetting her lifelong friendship with Squilf and Leafpool, ABSOLUTELY not. Gal Pals <3

She gets along with most cats, unless they try to eat raw meat in camp, in which case she pummels a lecture about tapeworms into their head.

Sorreltail has epilepsy from her childhood nightshade poisoning! It gave her neurological damage; it expresses as absence seizures.

An absence seizure isn't convulsive like the 'classic' clonic-tonic; she suddenly 'spaces out', eyes rolling up, losing control of her body for a brief period of time. Usually about 5 seconds.

She is not conscious during a seizure, and it will interrupt her train of thought in the moment. She's able to go right back to whatever she was doing, but needs to be reminded of what she was talking about if she was mid-sentence.

She often has multiple, brief seizures in a day.

Some days are rough and she can have several dozen. Other days see none at all.

She had a seizure on the Thunderpath and was grazed by a car. Her assessment was delayed as a result.

Rainwhisker and Sootfur went ahead and got their names without her "LIKE A BUNCH OF JERKS"

Her treatment plan is valerian supplements; she likes this treatment because it helps prevent her from getting drowsy.

Valerian acts like catmint, making her giddy and more hyper. She really appreciates the stimulant because she's an active, outgoing gal.

She looks a LOT like her papa Whitestorm, her siblings look more like Willowpelt. (Graystripe, Darkstripe, Cricketclaw, and Featherkit are Dappletail's kids now; they have no relation to Willowpelt.)

The spiky fur and face mask are actually passed down from Thistleclaw himself, the wolf-tail is a Bluestar family trait from Snowfur.

The coloring was initially based on a grasshopper but then I realized it also kinda looks like ice cream.

ThunderClan cats tend to be large and fluffy, Sorreltail is a good example of it.

She's going to live a LOT longer, in fact, she's alive up to the current arc! However, she sadly lost her mate Brackenfur in Po3. She misses him every day. They had four kittens in one litter; Cinderheart, Honeyfern, Poppyfrost, and Molepaw.

Because Sorreltail is staying alive, Sorrelstripe is named Duststripe after Dustpelt instead. Lilypaw and Seedpaw are his and Ferncloud's. Ferncloud is also surviving.

[cozza-frenzy]

Cat Food Prep Part 4 - Finally done!

Clarification: We do not raw feed, nor do we endorse raw feeding. This is a fully cooked, nutritionally balanced pet diet that's safe for consumption when prepared correctly.

Alright - after some interruptions, finally ready to post the finale! This is probably the most important part; adding the supplements and oils to make this nutritionally complete. Normally I'd look upon proprietary products like Balance.it's blends with a lot of skepticism. But all that's essentially in this powder is pre-measured amounts of pharmacy-grade vitamins as well as inulin - a type of prebiotic fiber found in vegetables. We could buy things separately and measure it all ourselves, but I'm not taking that risk.

A little less than 3 packets of their carnivore blend (for lower-carb, higher-fiber diets) gives us enough for the recipe - and because this is our more accurate scale, we also measured our salt and fish oil this way.

The Omega-3 isn't just a dietary supplement here; it helps ensure Canela's fat intake is nutritionally complete. And with our Canola Oil and Iodized Salt measured as well, it's time to mix!

We've already added our oils and made sure everything is well incorporated - so compared to how it was before, it's now softer and more pate-like. But this is a VERY big bowl of food, so I'm sprinkling a thin layer of Carnivore Blend and Iodized Salt over the top, mixing very thoroughly between each addition.

And by the time we put it into our molds (these are 1oz silicone molds, intended for baby food) it looks very much like canned cat food. Each one of these is the equivalent of about half a small can.

And in the immortal words of beloved UK children's show Blue Peter, here's one I made earlier. These trays are frozen until solid, then it's just a case of popping out the frozen portions and keeping them in a ziplock bag. Defrost in the microwave for a minute and a half, and it's back to its original color and texture. So that's our pork and sweet potato cat food! This forms the bulk of Canela's diet - and she'll be getting regular checkups from the vet to manage her overactive thyroid, so we'll be able to make sure she's doing okay long-term. There's far too much association between home-made and raw online, to the point we've even been harassed for it on here, so I hope these posts might encourage other pet owners to explore safe, cooked options for their animals. Thanks for reading!

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

My cat is my baby 🐱❤️ So how would you see Pietro as a cat dad if he he and the reader ever adopted a cat?

-🐬

my cat is my baby too!!

I love men that love cats (I think pietro is a dog person, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like cats) maybe there were lots of strays in his area growing up, so he used to pet and feed them

he would treat it like it’s an actual child. good quality food, sometimes makes it meals (like raw meat, egg and supplements and stuff) he’s cute like that. gets them nice ceramic plates - raised ones with cute designs on it too. spoiled rotten

lots and lots of toys. a huge cat tree in the living room. designated spots for the cat (ie on the sofa, windowsill)

I love the idea that if it’s your cat, he comes overs instead of you going to him, so he can be around the cat. and the cat would curl up on him and sleep on him. nuzzle up into him bc it missed him(🥲)

my cat is a ragdoll, so he loves being held (I can literally carry/cradle him like a baby for like 5 mins) so I love the idea of him just walking around with a cat in his arms and he’s so casual about it

you’ve got me on a rant, anything to do with cats, and I won’t stop talking😭😭

[devoted1989]

can my cat be vegan?

This is a very long article but it is comprehensive and will answer all your questions if you’re thinking of putting your cat on a vegan diet. I hope it will be helpful.

the obligate carnivore 

Not all carnivores are obligate carnivores.In fact, most aren’t. But all members of the cat family are. 

As obligate carnivores, they cannot digest plant-based foods efficiently. Eating meat is a biological necessity. 

 One of the defining characteristics of an obligate carnivore is a requirement for a high amount of protein in the diet. They are so dependent on protein that if their diet is lacking an adequate amount to supply their energy needs, they will break down their own body muscle and organs. 

The true carnivore will occasionally eat other foods, but the primary nutritive source must be meat for them to survive. This is because the protein in animal tissue has a complete amino acid profile. 

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Plant proteins do not contain all the amino acids critical for the health of obligate carnivores, and unlike humans who have the physiological ability to turn plant proteins into the missing pieces needed for a complete amino acid profile, cats don’thave that capacity. 

Cats need the amino acid taurine in their food to prevent blindness and certain kinds of heart disease. Cats cannot produce taurine in their own bodies; rather, they must eat foods containing taurine to obtain it. 

Taurine is supplied almost exclusively by meat and seafood and little to none from vegetables. 

Cats require approximately 200-300mg of taurine per meal, which is easily supplied by a diet that is more than half raw meat.  

 

Ornithine, another amino acid, is manufactured in the body and is necessary because it binds the ammonia produced from the breakdown of protein. Most animals manufacture the amino acid ornithine through various processes, some of which require arginine.  

In cats, the only method of producing ornithine is to convert it from arginine. Arginine helps remove by-products of the broken-down protein in their diet. arginine is only found in low amounts in plant-based diets.  

An arginine deficiency will lead to drooling, lethargy and convulsions due to the toxicity built up from the protein – and even death. 

Cats also lack the enzyme which can convert beta-carotene to retinol, the active form of Vitamin A. Therefore, they require a pre-formed Vitamin A, which is present only in foods of animal origin, and is usually included in cat foods as retinyl palmitate or acetate. Deficiencies of Vitamin A are rare, but signs include night blindness, retarded growth, and poor-quality skin and coat. 

Arachidonic acid is one of the essential fatty acids. Cats cannot manufacture arachidonic acid from linoleic acid or gamma-linolenic acid, so it must be supplemented in their food. Arachidonic acid is necessary to produce an inflammatory response. It also helps to regulate skin growth, is necessary for proper blood clotting, and is necessary for the reproductive and gastrointestinal systems to function properly. Arachidonic acid is found in animal fats as well as peanut oil.  

Cats on a vegan diet can develop abnormally alkaline (high pH) urine due to the more alkaline pH of plant based proteins in comparison to the acidic pH of meat-based foods which cats have evolved to eat. 

When the urine pH becomes too alkaline, there is an increased risk of formation of bladder crystals and/or stones. 

Such stones can create irritation and infection of the urinary tract and require veterinary treatment. In male cats the stones can cause an obstruction of the urethra, so the cat cannot urinate. This is a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate veterinary care. 

 

the cat’s biological make-up 

The feline digestive tract is short and is unable to process the nutrients contained in plant matter. It also causes them to need a highly digestible diet. Not only is the cat’s diet necessarily full of highly digestible proteins and fat, the proteins and fat can be very quickly digested as opposed to plant matter, which is slowly digested.  

Cats have scissor-like teeth and generally, strong jaws made for grasping and tearing up their prey. Their jaws do not allow motions for actual chewing or masticating; rather, they are made to cut their prey and eat them quickly. They do not chew their prey because they can mostly digest them in their stomachs. Their tongues are raspy because they use them to scrape the meat from the bones. 

Domestic cats did not evolve much further beyond their ancestral need to eat an all-meat diet because they thrived on this particular diet. They were physically and powerfully designed to eat primarily meat. 

 

the risks of commercial pet food 

However, questions must be asked about the origins of the commercial meat-based foods we are feeding our pets. 

The domestication of the house cat together with the growth of the commercial pet food industry, has changed the food we feed our cats, especially in the past 50 years or so. In the quest to profit from slaughterhouse waste products, owners developed meat by-products, digests, and meals.  

Over time other non-animal products were blended as filler to help make the pet foods even more profitable. It has only been in the past 20 years or so that commercial pet food manufacturers have started looking at pet nutrition seriously. However, much commercial pet food is made up of meat products not fit for human consumption simply because it makes financial sense. 

Even if we are not going to cross over to a vegan diet for our feline friends, we must make sure that we are not feeding them the “excesses” of factory farming. Apart from the obvious desire to feed our cats a high - quality food, it is worth spending more on a scientifically based diet that may lead to a long and healthy life. 

 

attention to possible health issues 

Is it possible to raise your cat vegan? Only if proper attention is given to providing a food that is nutritionally balanced and complete. Supplementation of taurine and arginine is absolutely essential. Cats also requireconsiderable amounts of Vitamin A. 

 In the case of commercial vegan cat foods, a urinary pH level of 6.5 is should be targeted. 

Cats on a vegan diet can develop abnormally alkaline (high pH) urine due to the more alkaline pH of plant based proteins in comparison to the acidic pH of meat-based foods which cats have evolved to eat. When the urine pH becomes too alkaline, there is an increased risk of formation of struvite (also known as magnesium ammonium phosphate) bladder crystals and/or stones.  

 

advice from vegancats.com 

“Unless you are very committed to following the advice outlined on our site by feeding your cat a properly balanced diet as per the information below, we recommend that you mitigate the risk of urinary tract problems by feeding males cats a 25-75% vegan diet and females a 50-100% vegan diet. Of course, many cats (both male and female) will thrive on a simple vegan diet and never have any complications from urinary tract infections or crystal formations, but you need to be prepared to adjust the diet accordingly for cats who may be prone to such issues”. 

We do not believe in making companion animals suffer through recurring health complications simply because we’d like to feed them an exclusively vegan diet; rather, we believe that people should do the best they can to find a balance that keeps their companions healthy while reducing dependency on meat products to the greatest extent.” 

Whatever you decide – it is, of course, your decision - it is advisable to research the pros and cons and to discuss your options with your vet. It may turn out to be healthier for your cat to not eat the way you do. In the long run, it is best to give your feline companion a long happy life than to make him/her conform to your choices. 

Jennifer Larsen, DVM, PhD, veterinary nutritionist and assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of California, Davis Veterinary School says the following guidelines should be followed if you are considering a vegan diet for your cat: 

 

· Only consider or feed commercial diets that have gone through feeding trials and meets the requirements for AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) compliance. 

· Consult with a veterinary nutritionist who can analyse your commercial or homemade vegetarian pet diet and make recommendations for additional health safeguards. 

· Schedule more frequent wellness exams, including blood work, with your family veterinarian - at least twice a year, even for young pets eating vegetarian diets. 

 

what the experts say 

Pet care professionals who warn against vegetarian diets for cats empathize with pet owners’ concerns that lead to these decisions. Believing its biologically or physiologically ok to switch your cat to one of these diets is to deny all the science proving otherwise. 

Below you will find some of the leading veterinarians in the world stating their opinion on a vegan diet for your cat: 

Lew Olson, PhD, author of Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs, makes this analogy: “Trying to feed a cat a vegan diet would be like me feeding my horses meat. You’re taking a whole species of animal and trying to force it to eat something that it isn’t designed to handle. 

“People do this to make themselves happy,” says Olson, who worked in psychotherapy before changing careers in the early 1990s. “It’s not about the animal. When people tell me they want to feed a vegan diet, I say, ‘Get a hamster, get a rabbit.’” 

 “For cats, it’s really inappropriate. It goes against their physiology and isn’t something I would recommend at all, “says Cailin Heinze, VMD, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and assistant professor of nutrition at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. 

 Vitamins A and D: Dogs and cats cannot make vitamin D in their skin, so it needs to be in their diet. And the vitamin D needs to be D3, which comes from animal sources, not D2, which comes from plant-based sources. “People and dogs can use D2 to some extent, but cats really need D3,” Heinze says. 

 

the risks of feeding your pet a vegetarian or vegan diet  

· Inadequate total protein intake (less than the 25 grams per 1,000 calories recommended). 

· Imbalance of the certain amino acids, such as taurine and L-carnitine (dogs and cats) or essential fatty acids arachidonic acid (cats only), in particular. 

· Deficiency in vitamins and minerals (such as B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, and iron) that are obtained ideally, or only, through meat or other animal products. 

· If allowed to continue long enough, these dietary problems can lead to serious and sometimes irreversible medical conditions. The one veterinarians mention most often is taurine-related dilated cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart with weak contractions and poor pumping ability). Low taurine can also lead to reproductive failures, growth failures, and eye problems. 

· For the sake of your cat’s health, wellness and longevity do not make the mistake of putting them through this slow death. The chances of you seeing the sign of their immune system and organs shutting down before it’s too late is very slim. 

 Veterinarian Marla McGeorge, a cat specialist at Portland, Oregon’s Best Friends Veterinary Medical Centre, argues that the problem with forcing your cat to be vegetarian or vegan is that such diets fail toprovide the amino acids needed for proper feline health and are too high in carbohydrates that felines have not evolved to be able to process. As to those powder-based supplements intended to bridge the nutritional gap, McGeorge says that such formulations may not be as easily absorbed by cats’ bodies as the real thing. 

 

With thanks to Veg Family, Feline Nutrition, catsanswers.com, cattime.com, veganhealth.org, Huffington Post, Well - Minded Pets, PetNutritionSystems & vegancats.com 

 

[lupinedreaming]

In looking up info about different cat food, I quickly discovered that raw cat food is a big trend.

It seems like a bad idea to me 😬 I would worry about salmonella or parasites. I know there are some commercial brands of raw cat food, but a lot of people seem to want to prepare raw food themselves. And these people aren’t trained in cat nutrition!! Traditional commercial food, even the unhealthiest stuff, is still a complete diet. With raw, it sounds like you need to add supplements and things too because just some raw chicken doesn’t have everything a cat needs

This trend is a little concerning tbh

[gokartkid]

heeeeyyyy i wanna hear ur thots on no.5, 8, and 18 for yukierre 👉🏼👈🏼

5. Describe their cozy night in.

pierre sees one of those 'tin fish date night' things on his instagram reels (not even tiktok because he's on those ig reels constantly) and he thinks that yuki would probably like that-- right?? and they've both been really busy and working recently. he goes to the grocery store and looks for the best ones, tries to find the ones that he saw in the reel but some of them aren't there and the ones at the store he's like well-- the packaging is really pretty. so maybe they'll be good!

he gets fancy wafer crackers, and doritos, and a couple cheeses too and then takes them all home and sets up their table rlly nice. yuki's working later than he is, has been sending pierre photos close up of his face looking tired/meh all day. pierre lights a couple candles and makes the whole set up, very pinterest!

yuki gets home and is like, dumping his bag by the front door and toeing off his shoes and calling out to pierre "godd you wouldn't believe what happened at work today, this guy was being so annoying and--" and then he walks in and he stops and is like "oh my god. tinned fish! did that trend just reach you on reels hahahaha" and he comes over and kisses pierre and is like "thank you, wow this is really nice!" and then they set up KUWTK on the tv and eat and have gay sex or whateverr

8. What happens if one of them gets sick?

yuki is soo bossy when he gets sick! hes like pierre i need that pillow yes that exact one to hold me up. also can you go to that one chinese place i like to get their wonton soup its the best one. also come cuddle me and watch netflix-- you can't say no! youuu got me sick! you won't get sick again (pierre does get sick again but he doesn't mind because he feels really weird not just, like, being around yuki)

18. How likely are they to have fur babies? How many and what kind?

they get one cat who they spoil sooo much, they do that whole like raw feeding-best diet thing, where its like kibble + wet food + duck feet + quail egg + supplements etc. etc. they could set up a successful fuckin, asmr pet feeding account if they wanted. they airtag her collar even though she's an indoor cat because they both like to know where she is. pierre puts hats on her and posts her on his ig allll the time. yuki stops him from making a dedicated instagram profile for her. later on they get a new small kitten and at first socialising them with each other is such an ordeal but the kitten bullies the older one into liking her hahaha

otp asks!

[nobedofroses]

December 14

pairing: Pero Tovar x reader

warnings: mentions of sex, mentions of a cat catching/eating mice

words: 681

a/n: classic cat dad story

Last, Full List, Next, More Pero

🏔🏔🏔

Pero hadn’t wanted to get one. He said that cats were not proper animals, that if you really wanted an animal, it should be a hunting dog. But when you started withholding sex for the rest of the day whenever you saw a mouse, he agreed that maybe a cat wasn’t such a bad idea. 

You got a cat that was about two years old from other neighbors who already had a plethora of cats on their property. They told you that as long as you provided water and maybe a bit of cream now and then, she would do all the mousing you needed. 

Since your husband wanted no part in the naming, you decided for yourself. You named her Nieve, which meant snow in Spanish because of her silvery-white fur. When you announced this to Pero, you saw the barest hint of a smile on his face, but he quickly fixed his expression to be indifferent. 

Weeks went by, and Nieve made true on her previous owner’s promise. She caught at least one rodent a day for the first week, which caused you dismay at the fact that there had been so many. From then on, she usually caught two or three a week so you started supplementing her food with the leftover meat from your and Pero’s meals. Pero noticed you would do this and took over the task, telling you that she should be getting the raw meat instead because the salt wasn’t good for her. So each day he cut off little chunks of meat for her, putting them in a little bowl by the fireplace where her water was. 

This was how you went from being Nieve’s favorite to her clearly liking Pero more. It felt a little unfair, but then again, you didn’t have to deal with her claws digging into the tender skin of your side and thighs, and you could tell that Pero was starting to love her back. 

Instead of insisting that she spend the night outside, he would turn a blind eye when you didn’t put her out. And then when it got colder and snowy, he insisted instead that she always be inside unless she specifically requested an outdoor jaunt by pawing at the door. 

And he became the one to refill her water, chastising you anytime you let it get less than an inch and a half deep. Nieve constantly followed him around the house and even the property, and he would always hold the door open for her behind him. 

You didn’t let her sleep in the bed overnight, preferring to keep your bedroom door closed because you didn’t want to have sex with a cat staring at you. But on mornings when you woke up early and Pero stayed asleep, when you went to wake him up for breakfast, you would find Nieve curled up by his chest and smile to yourself, letting them sleep just a bit longer. 

As his constant companion, he often talked to her as he worked and did tasks around the house. Annoyingly, he also used this in little disagreements, telling you that Nieve agreed with him and thought you were wrong and should be nicer to him. 

This routine was funny for a minute, but if he tried to use it too much, you would jokingly threaten that if they liked each other so much, maybe he should sleep on the bench with her. That always effectively stopped him from bringing it up for the rest of the day. 

But at the end of the day, you were glad to have another little being there at your small house. When Pero was away she gave you company, and when he was doing long and toiling work on the property, she did the same for him. Now, all you had to worry about was Pero asking to get another cat to keep Nieve company when you both were away. One cat was fine, but if you had to vie for Pero’s attention, you didn’t want it to be two against one.

🏔🏔🏔

[inquisitorius-sin-bin]

O great xenobiology expert I have a question - given that Pau’an are meant to eat raw meat, what would happen if they had to live off cooked meat for an extended period of time? Or even not have access to meat at all?

Sure thing!

So, nothing is "meant" to live off cooked food, right? Like, evolutionarily, animal systems developed in such a way to eat food without having to further process it. Even in hominids, the earliest evidence of fire control is possibly 1 million years old, but evolutionarily speaking this is not that long ago. And this is in South Africa. The oldest evidence elsewhere only dates back 400,000-300,000 years ago in Israel.

We cook food because it reduces the risk of disease, which is a very good survival adaptation! We even cook food for our recently domesticated animals, like cats and dogs, and this food meets their nutritional needs while also reducing their risks of disease! Just like us, they CAN eat raw meat, but it's a risk they don't have to take. This works because the major nutritional components of meat, protein and minerals, apparently hold up very well to most cooking methods. Unless you are cooking at very high temperatures for a very long time, you aren't altering the nutritional content by very much.

So, Pau'an may continue to eat raw meat because it's culturally appropriate, because they like it, and because they aren't very susceptible to food-borne illnesses, but they aren't going to suffer ill-effects from eating cooked meat.

My personal take in Ride or Die is that raw meat is the freshest, most convenient way to eat it. For travel, they need food to last longer, so they'll process it will preservatives. Cooked food is reserved only for occassions when they have a ceremonial bonfire.

Now, having to go entirely without it is completely different matter. Obligate carnivores do not have the proper enzymes to process nutrition from plants. Period. I mean MAYBE in Star Wars, they have ways around this, straight nutritional supplements that can be absorbed by different species. But eventually I would expect organ problems, particularly in the kidneys, as they would be burning through their body fat more than the energy their inputting, raising the acidity of their blood (ketoacidosis).

Disclaimer: I'm far from a nutritional expert. I've had nutritional problems myself as I struggle with trying to be a partial vegetarian to reduce my impact on the environment. It's part of why I haven't completely stopped eating meat myself. Please no one try to get any kind of nutritional advice from this post about Star Wars.

[hallieerin97]

I Hate asking anyone for help, especially out of nowhere. But my pets are my life and one of them needs help. Stevie is an 11 year old DSH brown tabby cat. He was adopted as a kitten from the local Humane Society. He was born with ulcers on both of his eyes, when they healed the scar tissue cause his eyes to become foggy and he has been partially blind ever since. Because of this, he was named Stevie, after Stevie Wonder.

Stevie has not had an easy life, but he has taken it in stride. He is so happy and full of life. He has survived hot spots, a house fire, a cancer scare, receiving the wrong medication that made him sicker and multiple ear and eye infections.

He has been scratching his ear and eye raw to the point of bleeding because of the ear and eye infections.

Despite our best efforts with the antibiotics and having a cone on him the infections keep coming back. After having the cone on for 18 months he’s found ways to get around it to scratch again. After many, many expensive trips to multiple vets for blood testing, skin testing, dental work, vaccinations and ear swab testing.

We have ruled out allergies, Thyroid issues, cancer and herpes (though they believe he has had herpes in the past, that could still flare up).

Our only successful diagnosis is a cocci infection in his ear, mild anemia and a type of dermatitis that is causing severe itching that he scratches at to the point of self mutilation. Our only course of treating him to keep him comfortable is to continue the antibiotics for his ear, give him expensive food and supplements, an oral corticosteroid, and continuous bloodwork every few months.

Anything we gain from fundraising will go to paying off the current vet bills, as well as paying for the corticosteroid that costs $163+tax every 6-8 weeks, and the bloodwork he will need to monitor for anemia and underlying conditions that may arise due to the corticosteroids.

[hickmanshistory]

Watching season two of Prehistoric Planet made me wish that I had a pet velociraptor, so I decided to break down what that actually may be like.

Hypothetically, let’s say someone got their hands on dinosaur genetics, Jurassic Park-style, but instead of using it to create exciting monsters, they used the genetics to simulate generations of selective breeding, for one purpose- domestication!

Compared to their “wild” brethren, these domestic raptors are neotenous, with big eyes and stubbier limbs. Additionally, their temperament is calmer, and their prey drive is reduced. Behaviorally, they’re somewhere between a cat, a crow, and a monitor lizard.

They’re not particularly snuggly, but they are highly curious and food motivated; with enough treats, they can be trained to use a harness or even do some simple tricks.

Based on extant animal behavior, it’s more likely that “wild” velociraptors engaged in mob hunting as opposed to true pack hunting, which is why I feel like their behavior would be more similar to animals that engage in similar behavior as opposed to animals like wolves/dogs. However, because they did likely engage in some social behavior, and needed the brainpower to do so, I’d imagine that they’d still make a friendly and interesting pet.

Modern bird fanciers have bred finches and parrots to come in a variety of patterns and colors, and mutations like piebaldism are closely tied to domestication. In the domesticated velociraptor, I’d imagine such traits are common. The one pictured above, Drumstick, would be considered a “cream” velociraptor, with the “wild-type” being darker. The coloration is based on the zebra finch and owl finch, specifically, as I feel like the rich brown and gray tones these animals exhibit would allow various breeds of velociraptor to develop. I don’t imagine they’d be as colorful as Gouldian finches or parrots, because their feather structure wouldn’t carry colors such as blue.

These guys could eat mass-produced diets, but do best if it is supplemented by raw meat. Like many pets, however, the domestic velociraptor is easily overfed. With its quick metabolism, and the need to use food and treats for training, it is very easy for the animal to become overweight. The animal pictured above is particularly obese. Regular exercise can help, but doesn’t replace a healthy diet.

[cozza-frenzy]

Taking a brief break from Systober again; had a lot going on. Time for a life update, I guess? Our cat, Canela, has been officially diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism - her thyroid gland is overactive and is producing nearly twice as much thyroid hormone as it should. So she'll be on medication for the rest of her natural life; not the best outcome, but definitely not the worst, as cancer and organ failure were also possibilities for her sudden decline. We're also supplementing her canned food with a home-made diet to try and encourage her to eat. I might make the occasional post about her meals, but this isn't something we're taking lightly. We're not raw-feeding her, her diet is tailored based on current AAFCO Standards for nutrition, and we're doing this under the supervision and approval of her vet. Trying to figure out her problems with food sensitivity has been a game of whack-a-mole, but we're hoping this will help her re-gain the weight she's lost. Also, a small system update; someone woke up. They're not new - they seem to be aware they've been dormant for a really long time - but that's about all the information we have right now. That would explain why we've had such a huge drain on our energy, though - Terry