Customer Reviews

Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I don't have my heart in my throat each time there is a pet food recall announced because I made it myself and know exactly what my dogs and cats are eating!

There are lots of books on the market for feeding your pets the BARF diet, this is just one of them. While I agree with the concept, this book makes it a little more comlicated then it needs to be. Good starting point, but I wouldn't base my whole thought process on it.

I was new to RAW feeding prior to buying this book. I had done some research and reading on the Internet and already understood the concept of RAW feeding - the core food groups and the recommended proportions of each. However, I needed a book that would help me make the transition from just reading to actually preparing the meals for my pets. This book did not do it for me. It is more of a very basic "theory" book than a "practical" one. I bought the book online - if I had had a chance to flip through it first, I would have gone with another book.

This book pretty much just explains what the food groups are, how they contribute to the health of your pets and the respective pros and cons. But, like I said, you can get this information for FREE on the Internet! Schultze only gives ONE easy recipe for BOTH dogs and cats, with varying amounts of ingredients depending on the weight of your pet. After joining a few RAW feeding discussion lists, I was told that most of the things I read in the book are NOT recommended by fellow raw feeders (eg: feeding GROUND meat, veggies, kelp & alfalfa supplements and BOTH cod-liver oil and fish oil, etc.) Even I knew going in that you can't use the same recipe for both dogs and cats and yet Schultze only provides one recipe. Cats, I am told, especially don't need veggies, kelp or alfalfa and they don't need cod liver oil.

This book would have been more useful had I not done any of my own research first so overall I found the content to be quite disappointing. Somewhat informative but NOT very practical.

I've heard this book mentioned so many times, I decided to pick up a copy. The first thing I noticed was the absence of an index. That should have been enough of a red flag for me to give up on the book, but I read on. It took me about twenty minutes to finish the whole thing. I skipped the thirty or so pages of pointless one-sentence testimonials from random pet owners who feed their pets raw.

Who is the target audience for this book? It isn't people who are already feeding raw. All of the useful information can be found in other, older, far better books than this one. In fact, you can easily obtain all of the books Schultze copied her info from. It can't be for people who are new to feeding raw, because there is very little practical advice on how to go about feeding *your* dog. And it sure isn't cat owners, because the book is really geared toward dog people.

There's nothing really wrong with "Natural Diets," but there really isn't any reason to read it, either. Next book, please!

Schultze's book attempts to provide "the ultimate pet diet," and it may be that raw or natural foods are wonderful for pets. But her book contains so much misinformation that it's impossible to rely on it at all.

On page 4, while summarizing the results of a study she does *not* provide any citations for, she states:

"The cats that were fed cooked food swiftly deteriorated in health until, by the third generation, they could no longer reproduce."

Unless there is something she's not telling us - like that the cats were also deprived of critical nutrients - this can't be true. If it was, we wouldn't have to worry about spaying and neutering pet cats - we'd have to worry about bringing them back from the edge of extinction. Virtually all commercial cat foods are cooked, whether kibble or canned, and many cats eat nothing else their whole lives - even for generations - and yet somehow we still have cats.

On page 5, she states:

"When the first- and second-generation cooked-food cats were placed on a raw food diet, it took four generations for their line to recover from the ill effects of consuming cooked food."

Unlikely. For any diet to have an effect as strong as the one she describes beyond the second generation after cessation of use, it would have to cause *genetic* change. Feline genes aren't so susceptible to mutation that a diet of good food that is cooked in a normal way - food like humans eat - could cause it, and if genetic change did occur, the cat line wouldn't have recovered.

These are just two examples, culled from the first pages of the book, but there are many others. I simply do not feel comfortable trusting my pet's health to a diet based on such unreliable information.

I have read more literature on natural diets and "raw food" then I'd like to admit, and I like to think I know a little about the subject, so I approached this book with the "here we go again" mentality. I was pleasantly surprised!

Kymythy Shultze is very straightforward in her presentation of the facts surrounding commercial pet food. She lays everything out on the table in a matter-of-fact way which I find refreshing. It isn't the biggest book, nor is it a "complete guide" but I believe it is an accurate and enlightening book.

Best Features:
· Easy-to-read style
· Honest author who seems "friendly" and definitely credible
· Compiled facts for maximum information
· Short and to the point, yet not too superficial

Other reviewers have mentioned that you can find all of the information contained within its pages in other ("better") books. No, Shultze doesn't have any astonishingly new or outrageous views that can't be found in other natural pet food books or articles... and it is definitely geared more towards dog owners.. But this little book is a great introduction for the curious. Like any book pertaining to dogs, you will want to read more than just one before you consider yourself "informed" and I think this is a good book to begin with. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is partially familiar with natural pet diets or any dog owner willing to learn. I also think it would make a great gift for someone you love who has pets!

I just finished reading this book. And I really urge every pet lover to read it as well. It has really opened my eyes on the way I have been feeding my pets over the years (commercial food) and I just can't wait to take the next step and apply all that I have learned in this book to my everyday pet's life.
It is so well explained, clear and logical. My oldest cat suffers from bad kidneys, as most cats fed on commercial food. I hope, also I do not doubt it, that changing his diet to a normal carnivore diet will help him get better and enjoy life longer.

I am very happy I have read this book, and trust in it completely, and encourage every cat and dog lover to do the same (read the book) and give more time and better food to their companion.

And thank you Kymythy R. Schultze for writing such a wonderful book.

this book is a nice intro to the ultimate diet. the downside to this book is that it does not go into enough detail. also, half of the book is filled with testimonies on how well the diet has worked. i would like to see more scientific proof, as well as common sense recipes/ways to feed your pet the barf diet.

Feed your dog in a biologically appropriate manner and watch them get really well for the first time in their lives! This book sets you in the right direction to get you started without confusing you with a lot of recipes and potions. Understand the concept of "building a prey animal", then follow your instincts. This book is a great place to enter into the underground world of natural pet nutrition, leaving the pet food industry behind.

This book is chock full of information, and unlike some other books about pet health, the dogs aren't the only ones who have their day!

This book is a great way to start feeding your cat a raw diet, and discusses safe foods, exact amounts, and otherwise is very specific and helpful. There is also just enough variety in recipes for feeds that the beginner is not overwhelmed by choice, but can be flexible to respond to the pet's approval/disapproval of feeds.

I bought this book soley for the feeding information and recipes, but realized once I got it that it's a great resource for overall pet health. A great value and a good resource.