7/28/2019 Newsletter May 13

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What should you be feeding your

cat?

All cats, small or large, are true carnivores. There-

fore to be able to survive they must eat meat.

Throughout domestication cats have not

changed and their nutritional needs have re-

mained on animal tissues as the

main source of their food. Cats

will never be vegetarians.

What food would your cat eat in the wild?

In the wild, cats would eat a whole raw

prey. This diet would include mice or any

other small rodents, rabbits, birds and

amphibians. This diet is high in moisture,

high in protein and very low in carbohy-

drates. Cats digestive systems are highly

efficient at metabolizing a raw diet meat,

organs and bone.

TM

Feed your cat a natural diet.

Cats are unable to adjust to low protein diets and

cannot easily digest carbohydrates diet. Cats

evolved as desert animals, so they have a low

thirst drive. The benefit of a natural raw diet is

that it contains 60 to 70% moisture. If your cat is

fed on a kibble diet, you need to make sure that plenty of fresh

water is available as lack could increase the risk of urinary and

kidney problems.

There are a lot of choices of different water foun-

tains that can be purchased online.

Using a fountain means that the water is always

fresh, never stale or stagnant.

There are many benefits of

a raw diet

Improved digestion

Reduced stool odour and volumeHealthy Coat

High in moisture

Easy to feedIn our July newsletter

- We will give you tips for raw feeding for beginners.

- The importance of a varied diet.

- More history about cat foodwww.purrform.co.uk

Cat Care Retrospective - The 1900s

Frances Simpson was an author , breeder; a show judge, and a fund-raiser for cat rescues, a show organiser, a committee member on many cat clubs

in the 1900s.According to Frances Simpson (1903): "One of the strangest and most profitable trades in London is the wholesale and retail business of horsemeat

for cats. In barrows and carts the hawkers of this horse-flesh cry their wares throughout the city and suburbs, and find a ready sale for them. It is

stated that 26,000 horses, maimed, or past work, are slaughtered and cut up each year to feed our household pets. Each horse means on an average

275 pounds of meat, and this is sold by pussy's butcher in half pennyworths skewered on bits of wood. The magnitude of this trade can be estimated

by the fact that it keeps constantly employed thirty wholesale salesmen. I may mention that a cats'-meat men's supper was organised last year in

London but the editor of Our Cats, assisted by Mr Louis Wain and others; and a most successful entertainment was given at the City of New York

Restaurant. The applications for tickets were so numerous that 400 men had to be refused; and when the 250 guests were seated, it was clearly

proved that every available inch of accommodation had been utilised. Having been present, I can testify to the

excellent supper and entertainment provided for the cats'-meat men of London."

Many of the horses would have been cab horses injured in road accidents or through overwork. It is ironic that

in modern times, horsemeat may not be used in pet-food in the UK even though surplus ponies from Dartmoor

and the New Forest are slaughtered (or shipped abroad for slaughter) annually. The only reason for this is

a strange English taboo against eating horsemeat. The illustration is from 1883 "The Cat's-Meat Man"

and is a song celebrating this "Purveyor of Cat's Meat to Her Majesty" (the legend on the basket and

barrow in the bottom right corner). The song goes "He calls 'Meat, Meat!', All down the street;

And dogs 'bow-wow,' And cats 'mi-ow,' While kittens sly Come purring by, As if to say -

'Do serve us, pray, For we're so small.' The man throws bits Of meat to kits, And cats and dogs;

Then on he jogs, And down the street Still cries 'Meat, meat!'"

In her chapter on the "General Care and Management of Cats", Simpson writes: "In the care, management,

and feeding of cats no hard and fast rule can be laid down, for the dispositions and constitutions of these

animals differ just as much as do those of human beings. Fanciers must therefore learn to treat their cats

individually and not collectively; they must study their character and make allowances for the fads and fancies

of the feline race. I am convinced that a varied diet is the best for cats, and fanciers should bear in mind the

importance of regularity in the hours of feeding, whether two or three or four times a day. fresh water should

always be supplied, and unfinished food should not be left standing about. For one or two pet cats the scraps from the kitchen table given with some

judgement will probably suffice; but in the case of a large cattery with several inmates, some sort of system in feeding is necessary. I would suggest

that the chief meal for two days a week should be fish, mixed perhaps with rice or Freeman's Scientific Food, raw meat twice or three times a week cut

up into fairly small pieces, horse-flesh (if obtained from a reliable source) twice a week. Lights, liver, or sardines may be given occasionally.

(Article from Sarah Hartwell)

Spratt's biscuits of various kinds, soaked and mixed with stock, are relished by

some cats. Vegetables should be given frequently, and grass supplied, as green

food purifies the blood and keeps the bowels in good condition. Persian cats

require special attention as regards their coats, and should be combed and

brushed regularly, and, if the fur becomes matted, the knots should be cut

away. Avoid washing your cats; there are other means of cleansing their coats,

particulars of which will be given in the chapter on exhibiting."

Did you know?

The commercial pet food

industry started in 1860 with

James Spratt's invention of

the first dog biscuit in Eng-land. Made from vegetables,

beef blood, wheat, and beet

root, Spratt reportedly was

inspired by observing sailors

throwing hardtack to dogs at

the docks. His biscuits were

very popular and other com-

panies soon began making

their own versions. By 1890,

commercial pet food manu-

facture had spread to the

United States.