A lack of calcium, or the inability to properly assimilate calcium has been known to cause dental facial problems as an example. Reports, photographs and x-rays made during Dr. Pottenger's 10 year cat study clearly illustrates this fact.

Many of the cats eating a deficient diet as deemed by Dr. Pottenger had dental facial problems such as an underbite, cramping of the teeth, and in general, under-developed faces.

Although, these problems are irreversible once they have occurred, with puppies and kittens it is important to try and prevent these problems with good wholesome foods and a quality calcium supplement. With mature dogs and cats, good food and a good quality calcium supplement simply help to provide the calcium needed for living.

There are many other functions and benefits beyond the obvious of minerals like calcium. Calcium not only is important for strong bones, but it also is said to help with blood clotting, activating enzyme action, and helps normalize the contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles.

Don't underestimate minerals. They are the spark plugs of life.

As mentioned earlier, calcium is the single most important supplement you can provide your pets with. An excellent source of calcium for your pets is finely ground egg shells.

The goal that we want to achieve when providing a calcium supplement is to help provide our pets with twice as much calcium as phosphorus. Our pets require a 2:1 ratio between calcium and phosphorus. This is the ratio I personally follow but others suggest lower ratios, anywhere from 1:1 and everything in between up to 2:1. One reason why I provide or follow the 2:1 ratio is because ultimately it is better to have more calcium than less calcium. If you follow the 1:1 ratio, then your room for error is non-existent. At the same time, the nutritional content of foods naturally fluctuates. So sometimes the food we feed will be naturally lower in calcium and on other days, higher. I also follow the 2:1 ratio as this is what veterinarians such as Dr. Pitcairn and others have suggested.

While it's impossible to purrrfectly obtain this ratio (or any ratio) we can, at the very least, get close to creating this ideal ratio for our pets by using finely ground egg shells as a calcium supplement.

When the body is getting the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus, then this will help prevent a calcium deficiency, will further help prevent calcium related health problems and will also help prevent problems that are indirectly caused by an imbalance in the calcium to phosphorus ratio.

Ground egg shells are extremely high in calcium and contain virtually no phosphorus.

1 teaspoon of ground egg shells contains approximately 1900 mg of calcium. This is a whopping amount of calcium!

Different meats contain different amounts of calcium and phosphorus. Therefore, ideally I would like to provide a specific amount of calcium based on the meat being fed to help create the 2:1 ratio. However, since ground egg shells are so concentrated and the difference in the amount of phosphorus in meats is relatively speaking minute, it would be difficult to successfully make serving amounts for ground egg shells that could easily be given for each meat. So for simplicity's sake, I have created 1 chart for all meats.

Based on my evaluation of the nutritional analysis of various meats, the amount suggested is quite close to creating the ideal 2:1 ratio.

Now wait, I know what some of you are thinking! You are thinking... how do I know how much meat I am going to be feeding anyway?

Well, not to worry — Part 3 of my book explains how to make and feed. You can also read the page earlier about feeding.

So add the following amount of ground egg shells using the table below:

Weight of Meat 	                Ground Egg Shells



100 grams                       1/4 tsp
200 grams                       1/2 tsp
300 grams                       2/3 tsp
400 grams                       3/4 tsp




1/4 pound                       1/4 tsp
1/2 pound                       1/2 tsp
3/4 pound                       3/4 tsp
1 pound                         1 tsp



1 Jumbo Egg or 1 Large Egg      1/8 tsp
2 Jumbo Eggs or 2 Large Eggs    1/4 tsp
4 Jumbo Eggs of 4 Large Eggs    1/2 tsp
6 Jumbo Eggs of 6 Large Eggs    3/4 tsp
8 Jumbo Eggs of 8 Large Eggs    1 tsp

If you have access to enough egg shells and if you have the inclination, you can make your own finely ground egg shell powder.

Remember, even if you don't have enough egg shells, you can always ask friends, neighbors, relatives and others to save their egg shells for you.

Choose the direction based on the type of eggs you are using...

Free Range Eggs:

1. Simply collect egg shells.
2. Wash egg shells (optional). If you do wash the egg shells, it's easier to wash the egg shells before you crack them than after.
3. Let the egg shells dry on the stove top, in a gas oven (the pilot light will dry the egg shells) or in the sun.
4. Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding.
5. Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although most likely it will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

Non Free Range Eggs:

1. Simply collect egg shells.
2. Wash the egg shells. It's easier to wash the egg shells before you crack them than after.
3. Let the egg shells dry on the stove top, in a gas oven (the pilot light will dry the egg shells) or in the sun.
4. Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding. In addition, this helps to get rid of the mineral oils that have been applied to the egg shells to keep them from drying out in the store.
5. Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although most it likely will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

If you are unable or don't have the time to make your own ground egg shell supplement, then you can order a ground egg shell supplement which is found in my online store.

I know that was eggshellent information but there is more to come. Keep reading:

• Why Feed Natural Homemade Pet Food?
• Let's Take A Closer Look A Natural Homemade Pet Food
• An Early Conclusion About Natural Homemade Pet Food
• Feeding — How Much To Feed Dogs and Cats
• Water — Pets Drink Water While Eating
• The Importance of Calcium
• How To Make Your Own Calcium Supplement
• Pet Supplements — A Quick Introduction
• The Benefits of Enzymes
• Nutritive Herbs