Customer Reviews

Natural Cat Care: A Complete Guide to Holistic Health Care for Cats

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Celeste Yarnall, a former beauty queen and present cat breeder and nutritionist, has California credentials, which means that she doesn't hesitate to talk about what others would consider flaky and New Age: astrology, dowsing, Eastern philosophies, homeopathy, alchemy, flower remedies, herbs, etc., etc--and their place in your cat's health picture. She also advocates a raw foods diet with plenty of supplements to go along with it for cats, something which I've recently been exploring, with mixed results (It's very difficult to convert the average feline to another way of eating after she's gotten used to the old way. Patience and persistence are key, and the end result, a longer-lived, healthier cat, is worth it). There are more and more books out there about alternative nutrition and health for pets, but this one, in my opinion, is well-written and well-researched and well worth buying.

Celeste has written probably one of the best books on this subject. I am a small breeder and have raised my animals with a raw diet, I make at home with a supplement powder for over 10 years. If anything, raising this way keeps you a small breeder since it is alot of work cutting up meat for your cats if you have more than a few. I think it is great just to keep a breeder in check to raise this way. Breeders that raise in this manner all raise a little differently and have slightly varied diets but it is basically the same - raw, as these animals are designed by nature - one only has to look at their teeth and digestive systems to understand that. Does not your own doctor tell you to eat more whole raw fruits and vegetables ? It is because we are designed for that, not all the prepackaged, preservative, sugar, salt filled foods which cause health issues.
My animals, some which are from varied breeders working with varied bloodlines and programs, do not suffer IBD, blood in their stools, heart problems, eye problems, skin and coat problems, etc. Tooth issues are mild tartar, like we all suffer, nothing like the tooth and gum problems animals suffer on commercial foods. No, raising this way is not a cure-all - purebreds are purebreds and each breed has it's own issues, along with the fact that a purebred is pure because it is not outcrossed and therefore will not be as hardy as your average mixed breed. However, raising in this manner works superbly for purebreds or I would not continue raising. Vet bills, etc. would have wiped me out long ago if I raised conventionally and had to deal with all the typical problems.
Dark meats contain Taurine, which is imperative for heart health. Pottenger was the beginning, we've come a long way since then as studies have progressed. The cat world is far behind the dog world with regards to natural, raw diets.
It is hard to change older animals over - and some just cannot tolerate it or need digestive enzymes to assist as they've lost the natural ability to digest raw meats because of the generations of commercial feeding. Start natural raising with a kitten, far less headaches. Find a good natural breeder to assist you and a vet that is holistic or partially holistic that knows the benefits of a raw diet.

Dr. Yarnall may have been a beauty queen and actress at one time. However, that does not diminsh the work she has devoted her life to, and that is the health and well being of cats and dogs. This book has served as a great reference to me over the years. I also have her book, Natural Dog Care, as I found much of the information in both books to be interchangeable between the species. Some of the information has even helped me with my human family members! I'm very excited about her latest book, The Complete Guide To Holistic Cat Care. I have a kitty from Dr. Yarnall's breeding program, and I follow the recommendations she makes for my kitty's feeding and care. She's a super healthy, beautiful, and affectionate 9 year old girl, and I'm lucky to have her, as I understand Dr. Yarnall has discontinued her breeding program. If I ever have any more cats (or even dogs), I will feed them the supplemented raw recipe and care for them naturally, as I have learned from reading Dr. Yarnall's books. I've seen the wonderful results it produces (especially compared to the condition of the animals of even family and friends fed commercial pet food), so there's no way I'd ever stop!

I can't get past the first couple chapters. The book is scattered, hard to read and basically unenjoyable. A complete waste of time and money. Plus the foundation of this pseudo-doctor's feeding regime is the Pottinger Cat Study. This is an antequated study from the 1930's that had no controls. Reading it, any nutritionist worth their salt would know the diet Pottenger fed lacked taurine which caused his problems. Why doesn't Dr. Yarnall? Now, we have that and much more in today's food. How else can generations of cats reproducing year after year and living long heathly lives on commercial diets. This book is just one big long scare tactic to sell her product.

But, it has one pratical use. It's a great sleep aid.