Pets Need Wholesome Food Also
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Ask Jesse — Holistic Health For Dogs and Cats

Helping Others Help Their Pets With Love

Dogs and cats deserve a wholesome raw meat diet

Boomer Part 2: Cooked Meat and Calcium

Thanks Jesse for explaining exactly why the calcium is needed with raw meat. It seems then to me that if you feed cooked meat (as some people do) you would still need calcium?

Jesse's Answer

Yes, pets eating cooked meat need calcium too. The only problem is that cooked meat shuts down the acid production in the stomach. It has been said that carnivores produce up to 15 times more hydrochloric acid in their stomach than we humans. This is to help break down the meat (protein), bones, skin, fur, feathers, etc but the high level of hydrochloric acid also kills bad bacteria.

But when you feed cooked meat, the body says Oh, it's cooked and any bacteria has been killed. So there is no need to produce as much acid now.

The problem then becomes that without the strong acid, the calcium cannot be absorbed.

Calcium needs acid to be taken out of the solid state and into solution. Just like if you have a tea pot with calcium deposits, the secret is to rinse the tea pot with water and vinegar. The acid of the vinegar takes the calcium back into solution and so when you dump the water, the calcium deposits go too leaving a clean tea pot.

Without the acid in the body, the calcium cannot be absorbed by our pets causing the body to create calcium deposits.

So the problem is, if you feed cooked meat, the body still needs calcium but if you feed or give calcium, then you will create calcium deposits. So now you have two problems when feeding cooked meat... a lack of calcium because the body cannot utilize the calcium or absorb the calcium in the food... and the second problem then becomes calcium deposits.

You can still get calcium deposits in dogs or cats eating raw meat as they get older and their digestive system gets weaker. That's just the reality of aging.

But many pets who have calcium deposits, once they begin to eat raw meat see the calcium deposits go away. Ultimately, calcium deposits indicate a weak digestive system and/or an unhealthy form of calcium.

  1. Boomer: Part 1
  2. Boomer: Part 2
  3. Boomer: Part 3
  4. Boomer: Part 4

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Testimonials

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The following are testimonials shown in random order. In addition to reading these testimonials, you may also want to read The Sick Pet Project.

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No More Doggie Odor

2006-10-01

I read your book seven months ago and immediately started to use the diet you advocates for my three pets — two dogs and a cat. I have had only good results. There has been a marked increase in energy, especially in one dog who was sickly. Their teeth are now white and clean, which they were not previously, there is no more doggie odor. I had absolutely no problems with fleas this autumn, which is unusual. The animals have good appetites, their coats are shining, the dogs' noses are cool and moist whereas previously they were dry and hard. I have the highest regards for Jesse and consider him an extremely intelligent and enlightened young man.

— Mrs. Rousse

One Word — Fantastic

2005-08-15

We thought we would write to let you know how our cats are doing on the fresh food diet. In a word — fantastic! We have four feline companions in total, ranging in ages from 5 months to 9 years. All are healthy & full of vigour now. When they were eating canned and dry food they often had diarrhea (we fed vet recommended food), would throw up regularly after meals and had constant problems with hairballs (we brushed them a lot). All that is stopped now. One of our males, part Russian Blue, had recurring FUS (feline urological syndrome). With this natural way of feeding it has completely cleared up. Another remarkable thing is they almost never drink water now (we always leave fresh water out), all they need is provided in their food. We feel a lot better about feeding fresh meat and such rather than man made food with preservatives and chemical additives, etc. We want our cats with us for a long time and feel with this diet they will enjoy lengthy and healthy lives.

Thank you for introducing us to the feeding of fresh wholesome food the way Mother Nature intended. It did take a little while for them (and us) to get used to it, like asking kids not to eat junk food, but now they attack their meals with gusto! Thanks again.

— Lori and Russ

My Australian Shepherd Has A Second Life – Thank You!

2008-12-16

Hello! I would like to first say Thank You for your information! My Australian Shepherd is 14 years young and was having problems walking up stairs and jumping up on the bed/couch. He was on the raw food diet for about 2 – 3 weeks when he started running up the stairs, jumping on the couch/bed. Because of his age and having such a hard time, I was preparing myself for his trip to Rainbow Bridge, feeling that it would be sooner rather than later. Now I feel the later is the best word. He is so happy, you can see it in his eyes when he is lying on the couch!! My dogs teeth have turned white! It is truly amazing! Again, Thank you!

– Jennifer