Customer Reviews

Reigning Cats & Dogs: Good Nutrition Healthy Happy Animals

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a simple nutrition program based on raw meat and pureed raw veggies. It's not a bad introduction to raw food diets for dogs and cats, but I would definitely recommend further reading on the subject matter. Contains a good section on the different vegetables one can feed as well as info on nutritional supplements, purified water, fasting, detoxification, and natural flea control. McKay does sell her own line of nutritional supplements which she recommends in the book.

This is my faorite book out there on animal nutrition. Pat tells us why our pets need wholesome, raw foods. The book is large type, simple to read and includes a simple raw food diet, easily prepared. As a "health food store for pets" owner..I highly recommend this to all interested in a more natural, healthier way of life for their companion animals.

Being a nutrition consultant (for humans) I found this book extremely informative. This raw meat & veggie diet is the only thing that seems to have helped my puppy's digestive problems. After trying EVERY top quality commercial dog food on the market, I gave this diet a try. His health improved tremendously. He stopped itching, his coat turned shiny and his digestive problems ended. The nutrition information provided really makes sense when you stop to think about it. Though it can be more expensive initially, I believe it will pay off in the long run -- a healthier and happier dog! Not to mention fewer visits to the vet. Thank you Pat McKay for this wonderful book that I really did "stumble" upon in a natural food store.

Upfront, I am a wholehearted proponent of raw diets--I believe in them, and I think they're a wonderful feeding option. That being said, this particular book isn't the way to go if you don't know much about it. I say this for a few reasons.

First, the author states that dogs and cats cannot synthesize their own taurine or linoleic acid. This is incorrect. ONLY CATS cannot make taurine, and so need a taurine source in their foods. Also, in the case of linoleic acid, dogs CAN synthesize it into arachadonic acid, while CATS CANNOT, and need an acrachadonic acid source in their foods. These two points are what make cats obligate carnivores. I don't know if the author knew this and was oversimplifying for the sake of readers or what, but it is patently wrong.

Second, she states that she makes a beef and onion broth for her dogs. It is now widely known that onions given to dogs can and have caused hemolytic anemia. While they do need a significant serving of onions to show ill effects, it is far better to avoid them altogether.

Finally, she lists raisins as an acceptable food for dogs. It has been shown that as few as SEVEN grapes (and therefore, raisins) can cause both gastrointestinal distress and even kidney failure in dogs.

This author is not a veterinarian, a veterinary tech, or even a licensed dietician. While I support her arguments that a raw diet is good for our companion animals, she needs to do more research about what is and isn't safe for them before disseminating the information.

A better choice of reading would be anything by Dr. Ian Billinghurst.

This book is very informative and insightful. Very easy read. It was recommended to me at my local natural pet food store "My Pet Naturally" here in Los Angeles and I quickly read through it. I shuddered when I recognized all of the symptoms of the yeast infections that our family dog suffered through for years until she was finally put down last year. We went through all sorts of expensive prescription dog foods, corizone shots, steroids, antibiotics, the works! After hundreds of dollars in vet bills nothing ever made that animal more comfortable and she died just miserable. After reading this book I'm certain that if we had put her on the Pat McKay diet she would have lived a much healthier and comfortable life. I now see the same things happening in my cats. Overweight, constantly hungry, lethargic. I'm starting them on this diet immediately.

I first started following the recommendations in this book 20 years ago. I had just adopted a 3 month old collie/shepherd mix puppy from the pound and was shocked to find that she wasn't interested in dog food at all. Every day it was a struggle to get her to eat even the smallest amounts. To make matters worse, she also turned out to be severely allergic to fleas and was completely bald from the ruff down from biting herself constantly. None of the usual flea fighters did any good. When she was about a year old, I discovered this book and decided to give it a try just as I'd tried everything else.

Immediately I noticed that she loved the food! She ate with vigor and yet did not get fat, she just had more energy. Better still, the flea problem DISSAPPEARED within a few weeks and never came back. Obviously, I kept her on the raw diet (with some modifications for convenience & nutrition) for the rest of her life. She lived to be 17 years old - very unusual for her breeds - and stayed young-looking and extremely healthy her entire life. In fact, she never had a single health problem and only needed a vet once in all those years.

Her body finally gave out on her 3 years ago and we immediately when back to the shelter to adopt another dog. We put this one on a raw diet right away and she loves it so much it makes us laugh to see the way she scrambles across the wood floor to reach her food that much faster.

I highly recommend some form of raw diet to everyone I know!