This book describes in simple, easy-to understand language how to care for your cat "naturally": feed a raw food diet, use herbs and home remedies for simple ailments, how to monitor your cat's health and even deal with some behavior issues. The part that interested me most was the section on raw foods- the book claims that having a nutritionally correct, raw food diet will prevent many problems cats have- it got me to thinking that if I could grind up chicken carcasses and add all the strange-named additive powders (I'm unfamiliar with most of them) for my kitties, one would stop loosing his facial fur, the other quit having upset stomachs and fleas will find them both unattractive! I really skimmed over the pages about herbs and flower essences, because I can't imagine myself mixing up remedies at home. But if that's something you're interested in, this book is full of information and charts to help you get started. I've never used things like aromatherapy or acupuncture for myself, much less my cats, so I was kind of skeptical about some of the content. If I did decide to introduce a raw food diet, or try herbal remedies, I'd do more reading first. But this attractive, reader-friendly book (I went through the entire volume in one day) was a great introduction for me to the ideas.

And it answered one question for me: why does my cat like to chew on plastic grocery bags? and the other one lick photographs? Apparently these behaviors aren't as strange as I thought: the plastic and photo chemical coatings are made with animal fat or fish oils, and the residue has a smell that attracts kitties. I had no idea.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

Sandy Arora has been researching and working with holistic cat health for eight years, running a web site and email list devoted to the subject. Her book provides her reasoning behind using a raw food diet for cats, and recipes to do so, as well as hints for transitioning cats to the raw food diet. She’s had remarkable success with her system, with chronically ill cats regaining health. Sadly, the recommended foods (the ideal cat diet doesn’t include easily available meats like pork & beef) are expensive and frequently difficult to find- emu, rabbit, pheasant and quail aren’t carried by most supermarkets, although one can raise mice pretty easily. Thankfully, she realizes that the ideal isn’t reachable by most of us, and tells us what to look for- and what to look out for- in commercial foods. There is also good information on litter boxes, dental health, vet care, etc. Where she loses me is when she reaches the part about homeopathic remedies for symptoms that could signal serious illness, although she does recommend a trip to the vet for symptoms like blood in the stool.

A good, solid book for an introduction to a raw/natural diet for cats, but do research outside the book for medical issues. ( )