Schultze - Natural nutrition for cats - the path to purr-fect health

Contents

by Cindy Geisler, D.V.M

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about pet food and improve their cats health through better nutrition.

Every once in a while, someone emerges as the forward-thinking pioneer of a new paradigm. In the mid-1990s, Kymythy Schultze appeared on the scene as one such individual, and her trailblazing work in the field began a true revolution in animal nutrition. She was the first to recommend a grainless diet for cats (in her 1997 book Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats); her now widely accepted diet was truly ahead of its time. She built upon the foundational work of raw-feeding proponents Juliette de Bairacli Levy and one of my mentors, Dr. Richard Pitcairn, but questioned the value of the large amount of grain in their recommended diets. Because Kymythys nutritional advice is biologically sound and achieves great results, many of the other experts in the field of animal nutrition have since revised their texts.

I met Kymythy in 2002 when I attended one of her wonderful lectures. Shes an extremely articulate and passionate speaker; and her diet guidelines are science based, logical, and well organized. She isnt preachy and admits that her recommendations arent for everyone, but once you hear her speak on the subject, the common sense of her reasoning is obvious. She has an enormous amount of care and empathy for the well-being of all animals, which drives her to do everything she can to help give them a better quality of life.

I once joked with Kymythy that she was the Queen of Raw. Now Im calling her the Queen of Change for having the courage to write about the unhealthy relationship between the petfood industry and the veterinary communityand advocating for reform in the status quo. The petfood recalls should be a wake-up call for every cat lover. Kymythy is determined to be a conduit for a change for the better, positively affecting millions of wonderful furry beings that count on us to do the right thing and make the best decisions for them. Im very excited that shes now offering her wealth of knowledge to all of us. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about pet food and improve their cats well-being through better nutrition.

In my practice, I see many felines with dietrelated health problems. Im very pleased that Ill now be able to recommend this book for straightforward, accurate, and easy-to-understand answers to my clients health and diet questions.

The Evolution of Change for
the Better

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated
Mahatma Gandhi

Although it may give my age away, Ill admit that as I write this Preface, the song Aquarius is running through my head. In case you dont remember the play or movie Hair, the song was an anthem for revolution and change. Unfortunately, I know why the tune is on an endless loop in my mind: Its a reaction to the thousands of cats that are now dead or will be soon due to eating toxic products. One of the biggest petfood recalls is happening at the very moment Im typing these words. But dont be fooledthis is far from the first such incident in history (in fact, the recall average is more than one per year during the last decade). Its just that this is a really big one, so people are angry and blame is flying. The toxins that have been found have changed and multiplied so many times that its hard to know who and what to believe. The petfood companies marketing and public relations people are on hyper-drive smoothing things over. After all, there are billions of dollars at staketheir billions.

Only one thing is certain: Laboratory analysis has confirmed that more than 100 different petfood products contain one or more ingredients that can kill your beloved animal friend. The brands range from the cheapest to the most expensive veterinarian recommended ones. Well never know the full extent of the damage done or how many animals died without anyone connecting it to the food they ate. And if the cats didnt die right away, we wont be sure whether the toxins in their food may have contributed to their deaths in the future.