Latest / Back In The Closet - Two Crazy Cat Ladies / The Lies We Believed About Cats

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The Lies We Believed About Cats · Back In The Closet - Two Crazy Cat Ladies

0:00
Don't be it. I'm Jay, I'm Adrian, and
0:03
together we are. Crazy I'm.
0:08
Gonna cut you. I think I just peed.
0:10
Buckle up. We're back in the closet.
0:18
Welcome to another episode of a Back in the Closet with the 2
0:21
Crazy Cat. Ladies, we are bonafide crazy
0:24
tonight. We are bonafide crazy Jack.
0:25
Williams on Full Tilt and he's trying to eat his brother.
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Yeah, so for those of you guys that are joining us here live,
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welcome. Welcome so much.
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And also, you probably heard Adrian say as soon as I hit
0:39
live, don't be a douche. She was talking to Jack.
0:43
He knows what I mean. Anyway, welcome guys.
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This is a long overdue podcast. Yes, we have that we had
0:51
scheduled like 2 weeks ago, two or three weeks ago that you guys
0:55
were getting really excited about because we're going to be
0:58
talking about all the lies that we believed about cats before we
1:01
knew better. Once you know better, you do
1:03
better. So there's like there's there's
1:08
a a lot of them right as we like started thinking about this.
1:11
So how this all started was or how this idea for this podcast
1:15
started was there is a a conventional veterinarian young,
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believe it or not, most young veterinarians are more proactive
1:24
thinking. I feel like these days this one
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is not well. It's not in this.
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Yeah, so this she, she kind of slammed us on social media.
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She played one of our cat tips where we were talking about how
1:37
kibble doesn't clean your cat's teeth.
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And she did like a she. Was like they seem like very
1:44
nice cat ladies but they don't know science basically.
1:47
Right, so, so, so this this she's she's a a beautiful
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person, right? Or she seems to.
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This is not this is not to like. This is not a re slam.
1:58
This is literally like one of those moments where we realized
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and I and you know what, this particular veterinarian comments
2:04
on a lot of our stuff. Yeah, she kind of.
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She does. She wants to challenge, right?
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And that's fine. That's totally fine.
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I think challenging, I think challenging beliefs is what gets
2:14
us is what moves us forward, right?
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If if we live on the assumption that what we have learned is
2:20
true is actually true, we are, we have very little hope for
2:24
advance, right. So that's the famous quote.
2:28
It is. It used to be my just changed my
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cover photo on Facebook and it that's.
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What it was which is my. So, so I, I, I feel like
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challenging beliefs is a great thing.
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Totally fine. But anyway, back to the story.
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She kind of slammed us on social media saying like, these cute
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ladies don't really know what they're talking about because
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kibble in long and short kibble she was.
2:51
Cute, she said. That we seem nice.
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OK, these nice little cat ladies are cute, but they don't know
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what they're talking about. So, so she of everything that we
3:07
have said, because there are things that we have learned that
3:11
can actually be challenged because there's only like maybe
3:13
one or two studies around it, right?
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So there are a lot of things that that that we have learned
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and most of what we know now when you think back is more
3:24
common sense medicine is more common sense understanding.
3:28
But this, this, this beautiful veterinarian, conventional
3:32
veterinarian decided that she was going to disagree with
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kibble cleaning teeth, right? Which I mean, I feel, I feel
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like this has been long. I mean, we've just been in this
3:45
industry so long and we're 20 years in.
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It has long been debunked, this myth.
3:52
But we were like, you know what? This is a good a good time.
3:55
Thinking about a lot of the stuff that we've.
3:57
That people are still, you know, this day in 2025, people are
4:02
still. Veterinarians are still
4:06
believing and pushing these beliefs that really defy common
4:10
sense, right? And, and not all of them are
4:13
defying common sense, but we decided that we we would discuss
4:20
all of the like many of the lies that we have believed about our
4:24
around our cats. Can I start this off by saying
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if kibble cleaned our cat's teeth, I would be the first one
4:31
to celebrate it? Oh gosh.
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Right the through out let's go Let's go back to the days of our
4:37
cats love processed bits of. If kibble were in any way, shape
4:42
or form healthy for our cats, we would all celebrate, wouldn't
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we? Wouldn't we?
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I would love it. We all remember the days.
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The budget, the everything about it, I would love that.
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I would, absolutely. Love that.
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It would be fantastic, but let's start with that one.
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That's number one. Right.
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The facts are, if you know, and I know that there's a bunch of
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studies out there mainly paid for by large.
5:03
Ions and Purina and. That will say that the chewing
5:10
of kibble helps pop off tartar and build up.
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If you if you listen to scientists like Doctor Emily
5:16
Stein, you understand that most of the issues that are cats deal
5:19
with actually happened below the gums as well.
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Cats here's a fun fact cats cannot get cavities There's like
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we get cavities like oh, I have excellent cavities.
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I got to get them filled. Cats can't get cavities because
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none of their teeth have flat surfaces.
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Tartar buildup, gum infections, periodontal disease is a big
5:42
deal. And if kibble cleaned cat's
5:45
teeth, I don't care how many studies are out there, we would
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not have 90% of our cats experiencing dental disease by
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the age of seven years old. Right.
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So that's where it comes to like the common sense, like let's
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look at the, the like the science of the epidemic. 70% by
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the time that they're three, right?
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70% of cats in the United States of America have dental disease
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by the age of 3. And that is science, that is.
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Right, literally registered statistics, right.
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That's registered statistics, right.
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So so if if these so if kibble that is high in starch, high in
6:24
carbs, the things that are cats as also science, you know that
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biologically do not do not need. And I know there's the argument
6:34
of like, oh, but they can eat corn.
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Yeah, they can. Or every cat would be dead.
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Obviously they can figure it out and they'll, you know, the, the,
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the amount of cats that are. Can you stay with me?
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I'm trying but. But there are cats.
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There are cats. The amount of cats that are fed
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a all day buffet of kibble. Low quality, highly processed,
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ultra processed foods that are full of starches and carbs.
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If it yeah, if it were healthy, if it were actually cleaning our
7:10
cat's teeth, then we wouldn't have this epidemic, right?
7:13
You know what, I think it's fascinating.
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You have, you know, you have veterinarians.
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We just one of the most recent things saying here's something
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we believed cats are seniors by the time the new one out is by
7:24
the time they're seven years old.
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Seven the longest living cats in the world live to be 383436
7:31
years old and when you look at what their lifestyle was, it
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was. Bless you.
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It wasn't just about the food. Jake Perry is the cat dad of
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some of the longest living cats in the world and he actually fed
7:46
them some kibble that also fed them fresh food amongst other
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things and enrichment, giving them an environment that was
7:55
stress free. Stress free and what they needed
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as cats like to fill their feeling instincts huge.
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So this is not just about like, oh, cable is the devil and but
8:07
let's not, let's not. Try to believe.
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That cable cleans our cat's teeth.
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Right, Let's just get to yeah. So when it comes to to this like
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#1 myth and why we decided it to that the main reason why we
8:19
decided to do this podcast is that there are still so many
8:24
that believe in so many veterinarians that still tell
8:26
their clients that your cat needs, needs to eat dry food or
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they're going to get dental disease because wet food is
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going to make their teeth unhealthy.
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Listen guys, food doesn't. No food, no food.
8:40
Cleans teeth, right, like there are raw meaty bones.
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I get that I get that like in the like in the zoos and in the
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wild, like the the tigers, they eat raw meaty bones, which does,
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which is where they're getting this from.
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Sorry, sorry, which is where they're getting this from.
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If if they crunch something, which by the way, you guys
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mostly know I'm here. I'm seeing it in the comments
9:06
here too. Most cats don't actually chew
9:09
their kibble anyway, but when they do, the idea of chewing it
9:15
is that like if they choose something then it breaks off
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that tartar. And that's not untrue.
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That's not untrue. But if you chew carbs and
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starches that are going to build up on those teeth, on that
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enamel and create disease because it's sitting there and
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you're not brushing your cat's teeth or giving them anything
9:38
that is going to rebuild their, their, the mouth microbiome,
9:44
right? Like if they're then then we
9:47
have more dental disease. I don't know why this is not
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easily understandable to those who have been painted, if you
9:58
will, by the big food pet food companies.
10:03
Science, right? I mean, I don't know.
10:05
We live in an age where you do realize that if the first thing
10:09
I do when I see a research study and I love, I love when new
10:13
research comes out. But the first thing I do is I go
10:17
to the bottom and I see if there's any conflict of
10:19
interest, who paid for the work to be done.
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And that helps inform the information that you find,
10:25
right. And keep in mind too, I mean,
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even if you, when you look at some of these studies, it's like
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there were 6 cats that were studied for three months.
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What I mean even even our IBD clinical trial for the gut
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restore kit was three months with 30 cats.
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This is like that is more indicative science, but when you
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it's, it's it's remarkable. So look at you have to look at
10:50
that when you're looking at research.
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And I get that there are, you know, some of these huge
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companies, huge pet food companies out there are paying
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for research on are doing things for shelters, are investing
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their money in ways that and that's fantastic.
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But please don't ask me to override my own common sense
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when it comes to kibble cleaning cats teeth.
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No. So let's move on because we
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wrote out a list. I know there's so many more, but
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we want. To keep the comments something
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that you believed. Well, yeah, yeah, let us know in
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the comments. For those of you guys that are
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joining us live, let us know in the comments.
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Certain lies and we keep it short so we can read it or
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myths, right, that you have believed.
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So a second myth is that cats should free feed food all day
11:40
long. Also, something that is still
11:43
not as much these days, but it's still being propagated by the
11:48
veterinarian industry, believe it or not, you're saying that
11:52
the vets are saying no, you're going to stress your cat out if
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you try to feed them on a routine basis.
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You need to just pour out the food and leave it there all day.
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That's going to be. That is the best way to feed
12:05
your cat. It's crazy to me, and this is
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this is. Where all the.
12:10
Other studies from a conventional vet saying you know
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the best thing to feed is kibble because wet food you can only
12:16
leave out, raw food is way too dangerous, way too dangerous.
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And wet food you can only leave out for X amount of hours,
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whereas kibble you can leave out all day.
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And I was like. You're a vet.
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How is that a thing? Yeah.
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When you think about cats physiologically, cats are
12:34
little, as Doctor Marcy Koski would say, predatory beasties.
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They live on their their few waking hours that they do have
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because they sleep 14 to 18 hours a day.
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They are hunting, they're stalking, they're chasing,
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they're doing their feline things.
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And then they get like a little slow or a little, a little small
12:56
meal, right, of something that is biologically appropriate to
13:00
them because it's a a little, a little being that was just out
13:04
there being a rodent or a bird or whatever it was to think that
13:08
our cats. I love that Jay used Jay used to
13:11
always say because I I didn't want to pull up the all day
13:14
buffet because why now we're going to have to make time to we
13:19
have to change. We have to do mealtimes like
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that was the first thing when we started doing wet food treats.
13:25
It was like what we we're not leaving the cable down all day.
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I. Was like fine, I'll do it.
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She said cats aren't cows. Yeah, they're not meant to graze
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all day. You wonder why obesity is an
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epidemic. For another epidemic.
13:40
Diabetes, an epidemic for our cats.
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It's incredible. Back to the starches and carbs
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in kibble because we conveniently leave down a a
13:50
through of food so that they can an all day buffet so that they
13:55
can just graze on their food as much as they want.
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And now all of a sudden diabetes and obesity is an more than 60%
14:03
of cats in the the US are obese. Like let's look at that science.
14:09
Let's look at those statistics and then let's kind of bring
14:12
back these, you know, like, see who is funding your science
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around the all day buffet is OK, right?
14:20
Like it's just, it's a it's a thing.
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Also, the Ohio State University did a study, right?
14:28
And there's many other studies, but Ohio State University did a
14:32
study on the routine feeding of cats and how feeding them on a
14:37
routine basis reduces their stress and helps helps them to
14:42
digest. I mean, this is also, I don't
14:45
want to say common sense because not all of us know nutrition,
14:47
right? So it's not really common sense,
14:50
but if you know as a human that eating like literally all day
14:58
long or right before bed, right, you're going to sleep 14 to 16
15:02
hours and you're going to eat a big meal, you know, that is not
15:06
good for your body. Nowadays, we know these things.
15:09
Back in the 80s, we didn't back in the 90s, we didn't know that
15:13
much. Right now, we know that our
15:16
bodies need time to restore, heal itself, replace the, you
15:21
know, like and digest the food. And so if we are feeding our
15:26
cats on a routine basis, as Ohio State University study showed,
15:31
it helps to reduce the disease markers.
15:34
It also helps to reduce stress, which is probably why it reduces
15:39
the disease markers. But but it's also so much
15:43
healthier for our cats on a digestive level.
15:48
So yeah, even if you're going to feed kibble, like feed it
15:55
routinely and that's what well. And I think that there's, I
15:57
mean, my own response to the more that we, you guys know our
16:01
motto, learn, share, grow. Yes, it's uncomfortable to learn
16:06
some things and a lot of this stuff.
16:08
Like we had. Arguments.
16:10
You were doing What's wrong? It's like, hey.
16:13
Not even wrong, but like when you realize what you were doing
16:16
is not ideal for your family. Members, why can't it be ideal?
16:19
Like I, I remember arguments that we had about wait a minute,
16:23
we're switching all of their meals to wet food.
16:25
Wait a minute, we're not leaving their food out overnight like
16:28
they're hungry. Like what do they do?
16:30
What are they going to do if they want to eat?
16:32
I think a lot of the signs need to needs to be evaluated for
16:35
what is convenient, the science for what is convenient for
16:39
people. People want to hear what they
16:41
want to hear. So it was a hard pill for me to
16:44
swallow. That's like that on every level.
16:47
Not just cats, obviously, right? We all know.
16:49
That for sure, yeah. But it did help for me to look
16:54
at, to look at the source, right.
16:56
With everything, you guys always look at the source.
16:59
Where is this information coming from?
17:00
Or who paid for this information?
17:02
And it can be very informative. It it at least at least informs
17:08
your perspective of what you are learning.
17:11
As I say, follow the money, follow the.
17:14
Money. Follow the money.
17:15
There's a It costs a lot of money like.
17:20
Hundreds. Hundreds of thousands, if not
17:23
millions, sometimes of dollars, to come up with some of these
17:28
studies, and by by. Peer reviewed.
17:31
Scientific. Right.
17:33
Yeah, so. To release it as science, right,
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It can cost. It costs a lot of money.
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There. There is really good science out
17:42
there, and there's more. Oh, there's fantastic science
17:44
out there, but what is what is science?
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What is science? Science is learn, share and
17:49
grow. Like that is actually what
17:51
science is. It is forever evolving because
17:55
like if like there would be no science if we we would not need
18:00
science anymore if OK, right? So we got to move and all right,
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this is going to go by really so #1 kibble cleans, cuts teeth go
18:07
badly. No, this is going to go by
18:08
really fast because there's so much to talk about #1 was kibble
18:12
cleans, cuts teeth #2 is all day.
18:15
Buffet is great for our cats. #3 is cats will drink water when
18:18
they're thirsty also, which is funny.
18:22
I don't hear it a lot, but you guys message us.
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Thank you so much on Instagram. I, I, I answer all the Instagram
18:29
DM. So I see like what people are
18:32
telling me that their vets are saying every single day.
18:35
What people are, you know, dealing with on a regular basis
18:40
every single day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, like we're
18:46
getting these messages and there are still veterinarians that are
18:49
like, Oh no, your, your cat's fine Like they'll drink when
18:52
they're thirsty. No guys that now this is
18:55
science, right? And it's not like it's it's
18:59
there is no I love it when one of our cats licks their butt
19:04
hole on live. But science is the anatomy of
19:11
cats, right? So our cats are desert animals,
19:17
carnivores and desert animals, right?
19:19
Obligate carnivores and desert desert animals.
19:21
So they have a low thirst drive by nature science shows.
19:27
And you, you don't even need science.
19:28
Just watch your cat drink, right?
19:30
Watch your cat drink from the water bowl.
19:32
Watch the comic. Like, literally.
19:34
Slow. Motion.
19:35
Yeah, literally. Look closely when their tongue
19:38
goes down to that water and what they bring in, it's like a drop
19:43
at a time and it's not. Like a dog's tongue.
19:46
A dog's tongue is like a ladle, right?
19:48
The cat's tongue. It's literally do do it
19:51
yourself. Take a video of your cat
19:53
drinking drinking water and then slow it down and look and see
19:57
how much water they're consuming.
19:59
Because they have evolved from desert animals, they are
20:02
biologically meant to get the majority of the moisture that
20:05
they need from their food. Right.
20:08
And dry food is at most 10% moisture, whereas you're looking
20:15
at 75 to 85% moisture in wet food, raw foods, things like
20:21
that, right? So, so again, just another kind
20:26
of like, OK, why? Why would anybody say that or
20:30
think that right? Next way Judith has a good point
20:35
pet food companies own and run veterinary clinics and hospitals
20:38
Ground Zero for spreading propaganda.
20:41
I think this is something to it's true when you have a
20:44
veterinarian. We feel super blessed right now
20:46
to have a feeling specific that who has her own practice, but we
20:53
have heard from many of you that you've been to the vet for
20:55
whatever and all of a sudden the vet disappeared and all of a
20:59
sudden all the protocols changed.
21:01
What used to be OK to talk about with your vet is not OK to talk
21:04
with your vet. When you look at who owns
21:07
Banfield and. The VHS or not VHS VCA, VCA,
21:16
yeah, VCA Banfield. There's another one like, but
21:20
basically the one that are binary.
21:22
All of that clinic. Right.
21:23
Well, we've heard from veterinarians that have had
21:25
their own practice that have been bought out with with, you
21:28
know, like this is excellent. Like I'm going to need to retire
21:30
in the next 10 years anyways. Great.
21:32
But what happens when they're bought is that their protocols
21:35
change. So they are no longer able to
21:38
give the individualized care that they're used to giving to
21:41
their clients. They now.
21:43
Follow a protocol so it makes sense.
21:46
Also, this is exactly where Jay always says follow the money and
21:49
we've done this when we look up, that's because we don't just
21:51
have one vet because emergencies and whatever.
21:54
So we have a couple that we know who owns the clinic, not just
21:59
who the vet is, but who owns the clinic because that will also
22:03
impact the protocol care. For for your cats.
22:07
So which leads us to the next myth.
22:10
Cats need annual vaccines forever, right?
22:14
Oh, and Annie is here right now to exemplify one of the hardest
22:18
lessons that we have had to learn, which was from.
22:21
Pooh Bear. Attached to us by our Pooh Bear.
22:25
We didn't have his vaccine records.
22:26
He wasn't with us when he was a kitten.
22:28
He was going to be a shelter cat.
22:29
We. Knew he was back then because he
22:31
was with my sister when he was a kitten, right?
22:33
But she didn't have any paperwork.
22:36
So he had to go into the vet and they they didn't tell us.
22:41
We, we just, we didn't have his, his rabies vaccine on record.
22:45
And so they just revaccinated him while he was injured, which
22:48
is why he went to the vet and he, if you guys no Pooh bear at
22:53
all, you know that he suffered from a terrible autoimmune
22:56
disease. For the rest for the.
22:57
Rest of his life. And so when we found Annie, she
23:01
was not spayed. She was on the side of the road
23:04
and we took her to our vet, our feline only vet, and she said,
23:08
well, you know, if she's not been spayed, she's not been
23:10
vaccinated. So we'll just go ahead and do
23:12
her initial. Which makes sense because they
23:13
usually do it all at the same time.
23:15
So we're like, OK, all right, but we've learned this.
23:20
Really hard lesson. So can we please just get a
23:23
tighter test because we don't know, we don't know her history
23:26
at all. We know nothing.
23:28
And she said, well, it's not it's if she hasn't been spayed,
23:32
she hasn't been neutered. And even the vet tech was like.
23:35
If she hasn't been spayed, she hasn't been.
23:37
Neutered. She hasn't been vaccinated.
23:39
Thank you. It's a wine talking right there.
23:42
There's not enough wine for that.
23:43
I think I'm just over thinking. But then she hasn't been
23:47
vaccinated. So, you know, a tighter test is
23:50
really expensive. We actually haven't done that
23:51
before. Even the vet tech was like,
23:53
listen, even if you want to do this, it's going to be a more
23:55
expensive test. Way more expensive than the $30
23:58
vaccine. And the law doesn't.
24:00
And the law won't recognize it. And we're like, well, we.
24:02
We're not here for. The law.
24:04
We're not here for the law. We have been through 12 years of
24:08
of a auto a cat that is suffering that we are constantly
24:13
trying to figure out how to help his autoimmune disease because
24:17
he was over vaccinated. I don't care about the law.
24:20
I just want to make sure that my cat that if we're going to keep
24:22
this cat, I just want to make sure that she is healthy and
24:25
that that we're not. I love you so I love you
24:28
Sterling. I I I've been watching him for a
24:31
minute. You're late.
24:31
I just want to I I've been like sending them kisses and loves
24:35
my. Heart I love.
24:37
You too, but. So we insisted on the tether
24:39
test being done. Do you guys know?
24:41
So this is, this is back to the myth that we believe we all get
24:44
that reminder. Your, your vaccines are due.
24:47
You need to bring your account in for the vaccines.
24:49
You need to get this redone we need.
24:51
And we all get those reminders all the time.
24:53
Like, oh, hey, it's kind of like, oh, you're going to skip
24:55
an oil change. Well, your, your car is going to
24:58
crap out on you. Like you have to get this done.
25:01
And with Annie, we insisted on the tiger test.
25:03
Do you know that Doctor Anna called.
25:05
Us I don't feel like that's a good analogy because if you do
25:08
skip out on an oil change, they can be.
25:12
Doctor Anna called us and she said, girls, I, I if I wasn't
25:16
seeing this in my own eyes, I won't believe it.
25:19
Annie's tiger test for the rabies vaccine is through the
25:24
roof, she said. I could release her for
25:26
international travel. She.
25:27
Said it's five times higher then.
25:30
It's so high. So either Annie has rabies, she
25:35
doesn't, she does not, or she was super dosed.
25:42
With the live rabies vaccine with a live probably with like
25:47
dog size, like right, Like I mean, that's what they do just
25:52
so you know, when it comes to the vaccines.
25:54
And This is why we know now that and studies have shown that the
25:59
vaccines last. And I will conservatively say
26:04
these is especially the rabies vaccine, right?
26:06
That's the one that's really been tested.
26:08
The rabies vaccine for cats is the same rabies vaccine for £150
26:17
tiger that it is for your 3 LB kitten it's the same.
26:24
And so so a Tiger test is an. That's why.
26:26
She's tested off the charts and and it shows that it lasts at
26:33
least seven years. Right now.
26:37
We work with, we, we are so blessed to literally be in the
26:41
presence of on a consistent basis, a ton of veterinarians,
26:46
right? Like really good proactive pro
26:49
thinking, common sense medicine, amazing holistic and integrative
26:54
veterinarians. And they have seen cats that
27:00
have been vaccinated or seen cats or had cats right, that
27:05
have been vaccinated as a kitten.
27:08
And they titer test them every year.
27:11
And a titer test is a blood draw that you can get from your
27:14
veterinarian, which is what we do with Annie where you can test
27:19
and see what the antibodies are. Are they protected from said
27:22
disease? You can do this for a lot of
27:24
them. Rabies is the biggest, but
27:27
because it has the most side effects.
27:30
And it's the one that. They have tested I, I have
27:32
talked to a veterinarian that tested her cats 18 years later,
27:39
Titer tested her cats after they she got them as kittens,
27:43
vaccinated them herself and Titer test them every year or
27:48
every few years or whatever. She knew they weren't going to
27:51
be exposed so it wasn't like a huge deal.
27:53
But then titer tested them at 18 years of age and they were still
27:59
protected from rabies at 18 years of age with one vaccine.
28:04
So I'm just saying that this like this whole myth of we need
28:11
to do this over and over again. We need to be irresponsible.
28:15
We just need to be. You're not being irresponsible
28:18
by not getting vaccines. Here's the thing.
28:22
Here's the thing for You're being irresponsible by not
28:25
thinking and doing your own research.
28:27
Right. So all vaccines, all vaccines
28:30
come with all vaccines ideally are going to bring immunity to
28:36
whatever we're vaccinating against.
28:39
You have to look at the efficacy of the vaccine, you know like
28:42
the feeling, the chemo feeling leukemia vaccine, the efficacy
28:46
of those are I think it's around 60%.
28:49
So you can get the vaccine you're giving, you are
28:52
stimulating your cat's immune system, but it's 6040 that it's
28:56
going to take, right? So what is your cat's risk level
29:01
for contracting feeling leukemia?
29:03
Yeah. This is where you have the cat
29:05
with most of us, like, I mean like the people in our cat
29:08
community and the conversations that I have on a regular basis
29:13
with you guys. I think the majority of us are
29:17
like are using just kind of our common sense in the, in the way
29:21
of like, why would why would we? Like I don't, I don't feel like
29:26
I need to bring my cat into the vet for a very stressful event
29:30
and it's going to be costly, costly.
29:32
And I don't like it's not super costly, but it's costly for your
29:36
cat, right? Like it's a big thing to bring
29:39
them in to get a vaccine when I don't like I don't know how they
29:44
could contract rabies when they're here in my house
29:48
everyday. I love Tabitha.
29:50
And that's smart thinking. Thank you for this comment.
29:52
Isn't it true that vets tighter themselves for rabies?
29:56
It is true, and that is a very good which is.
29:59
Why Tabitha? Our veterinarians know full well
30:01
what a tighter test is. They all.
30:03
Know what it is? Because they get tighter tests.
30:05
Right. If you work in any place, even
30:08
as a human in human health, where you know you get the
30:11
regular sister, you do the whatever, like you're going to
30:14
be tested to see if you still have.
30:16
Yeah, but if you are a veterinarian, you have to have a
30:18
Raby shot, right? And you're going to, you have to
30:21
have a Raby shot and then the next year you're going to get
30:25
tighter tested and you're going to get, and this is like the
30:28
medical field is saying, OK, we're not going to revaccinate
30:32
you for rabies every year. We're not going to do that as a
30:35
veterinarian or vet tech. We're not going to do that.
30:39
But you are at risk. So we're going to tighter test
30:42
you. We're going to make sure that
30:44
you're still protected year after year after year after
30:47
year. You get those tighter tests.
30:49
So your veterinarian knows what a tighter test is, right?
30:53
And now we all since COVID, we all know what it is too.
30:56
What an antibiotic is. So annual vaccines.
30:59
I thought that that was absolutely part of being a
31:03
responsible cap parent for so long and did it when I could
31:07
afford it and didn't do it when I couldn't.
31:10
I remember bringing Mr. Biddles in once when I was still in
31:13
Tennessee, and it was like, oh, we need all these vaccines.
31:15
And I was like, I can't afford it.
31:18
Oh God, I'll be back. Sometimes it's just great that
31:22
us cat people are broke. Right.
31:24
Right, so better for our cats that we're broke.
31:26
So exactly, all vaccines have a benefit risk factor to them and
31:31
it's up to us to use our common sense to find out what that
31:34
benefit risk factor is for our cat.
31:38
So it is. And make the best decision based
31:40
on the information that you have, right?
31:42
Like feel. Empowered to have that
31:43
conversation with your veterinarian because I feel like
31:46
that is what's going to help move the needle and help more
31:49
cats not suffer through what what our poo bears suffer
31:52
through. Yes, OK #5 is a big one and this
31:57
is going to be an Adrian 1 declawing.
32:01
She is eating a flip flop. Yeah, it's one she already ate,
32:05
so thank God she's not eating the good one.
32:07
She loves to chew on flip flops. This is Friday over here.
32:10
She's chewing, declawing you guys so about.
32:12
Declawing. It's just trimming nails.
32:15
About 30 years ago. It'll be 30 years next year.
32:20
Wow. I brought I found cats.
32:25
I found one in a my my Scotch boy I found in a parking lot at
32:31
a job. I had medic.
32:32
It was a it was a blood bank that I worked with.
32:36
I found him in the parking lot. And it was a few months later, I
32:39
found Mama on a riverbank in a garbage bag on or a plastic bag
32:45
on the Tennessee River. And I didn't know about getting
32:48
them fixed. I mean, my brain was not fully
32:50
formed 30 years ago. Let's be honest.
32:53
Yeah, she was only. Like 3.
32:55
Right, so I finally brought them in and I, I've talked to a
32:59
friend of mine who had a cat and they said, oh, you bring them to
33:02
this one clinic and they'll take care of them.
33:04
They'll get them spayed and neutered and whatever.
33:07
So I, I brought them in and they offered along with this is hard
33:15
to even talk about. They did the spay and neuter and
33:18
decline all in one fell swoop. I didn't even know what that it
33:22
was. It was just like, it's what you
33:24
do. Spay and neuter vaccinations.
33:26
And and decline. And so Scotch and Mama were
33:33
both. There was a chair.
33:35
Cats. So the person I was living with
33:38
at the time had a chair from her grandmother that was highly
33:44
valued and so that was the. I didn't really know what
33:47
decline was, but I knew that we couldn't have that chair unless
33:52
the cats were declawed, so they needed to be declawed.
33:55
I did not know what it was. It is not a nail trim.
34:00
I think everyone here is probably.
34:03
I mean, it's now. And this was like in the in the
34:07
90s. Yeah, it was in the 90s now,
34:11
like it's outlawed in some states.
34:14
It's outlawed in many countries, which should be here too, but
34:21
but declawing is not trimming your cat's nails.
34:24
It is not cutting off their nails so that that short enough
34:28
that they don't grow back. It is literally cutting off the
34:31
bone. It is.
34:33
It is literally deep, like amputating their paws.
34:40
It's it's amputating them, which is why it's so inhumane.
34:47
As we sit, as we sit here today, we say we have done or she has
34:53
done this before, right? Like thank.
34:55
You for making the distinction. Right, I didn't want to say we
34:57
have them, but we have right, like, I mean we all right, like
35:00
as a Collective Soul, we when we don't know better, we can't do
35:05
better and we didn't know better.
35:07
So that is the result that we had the the the IT is not
35:15
something that I don't, I don't feel like today that there's a
35:19
lot. I feel like you're like way like
35:22
Ice Age type human if you believe that declawing is not a
35:27
big deal. Like you're just like.
35:29
In time, Lori Christine, thank you for posting that The pop
35:32
project, please, if you guys, if you guys don't know about
35:35
declawing or if you feel like it's just I feel like most vets
35:39
now, it has been a long time since if that was like we're
35:42
just going to go ahead and do this.
35:45
But there was. Not a conversation when we got
35:48
Friday in Zorro with her, but if you don't know what declawing
35:52
is, please look up the paw project.
35:54
It is it is something where and the cat behaviors here is that
35:58
they will have nerve pain forever.
35:59
Phantom pain is real. I feel like this is this is one
36:06
of these things that we don't understand cats that don't cats
36:10
are both predators and prey. Their main defense is are there
36:16
claws? Ideally they'll they'll use
36:19
their claws on a predator before they use their teeth or or on
36:25
you if you are the one that they feel scared about because cat
36:29
bites are no joke either. But ideally they'll use their
36:31
claws when they don't have when they don't have their claws, you
36:36
will have cats that tend to bite more.
36:39
You will have cats that develop behavioral issues decline.
36:43
A cat messes with their muscular skeletal structure.
36:47
This is why scratches are so important for cats.
36:49
It is meant to help with their claws, to keep their claws
36:52
healthy to for them to exercise their whole muscular.
36:56
Skeletal it reduces their stress you're.
36:58
Going to have litter marks. Their hair as their claws.
37:00
Are painful they can't dig so this is something that is I I I
37:06
really feel like this is almost an archaic conversation but we
37:10
still have people that reach out and say I'm just going to go and
37:14
get my cat to Claude because my parents won't allow the
37:17
furniture to be and it's like well we have to understand what
37:19
we're doing before we make that decision so another lesson that.
37:25
We learned myth #5 OK, we're gonna, we're gonna have to cut
37:28
it short. There's so many myths, but let's
37:31
say myth #6. I need a drink after that.
37:34
You guys, thank you for hearing me out.
37:37
Thank you for being honest. Thank you for being honest
37:40
because it is a. It's a.
37:42
It's painful to talk about either.
37:44
It's a, it's a thing like when you realize what anything that
37:49
we've done right, like anything that any of us have done right,
37:52
but like that we kibble through for so long.
37:56
And I'm not talking kibble through like we've put it down
37:59
every morning, like we had a whole bag and a plastic.
38:03
Bin. Because we didn't even have not
38:07
even a yeah, a plastic bin, like not even like just be like, oh,
38:11
that'll feed them for probably like 2 weeks, like 3 weeks, 4
38:15
weeks. I don't know.
38:15
We're gonna we're we're out. Bye.
38:18
You know, like and open the toilet so they have some water
38:22
right like that's who we were like we that's where we were
38:27
with our original cats and this is where we are now and This is
38:32
why we are so passionate about bringing this information to you
38:36
guys is because there's no judgement here.
38:39
We literally like did all of the stuff and things right?
38:46
We over vaccinated. We we, I mean for lack of a
38:51
better word, killed our cats like we we did.
38:54
Really. It is extreme, but no.
38:57
But I mean the things that we don't know, we can't do.
39:01
When we know better, we can do better.
39:03
And that is why we started this entire company 10 years ago is
39:07
to bring the information to you guys that we learn and we have
39:13
continued to learn along the way so that we can all grow
39:16
together. Couple comments I want to read
39:17
right here and they'll be valuable for the people
39:20
listening to the podcast later as well.
39:23
Stephanie, I love your compassion.
39:25
She said we had one cat that was the cloud too.
39:27
And you're right, it wasn't explained correctly back in the
39:30
day. And Pam, the crocheting a cat
39:34
behavior. I said back when I was a vet
39:36
tech, I was forced to participate in those brutal
39:38
surgeries. I can't imagine being there.
39:40
It made me absolutely sick and so mad that we were letting this
39:45
happen. That is, it's true.
39:49
I feel like there is so much, there's so much growth in this
39:53
community, so many things that we're learning that.
39:56
And Teresa said, I think all animal mutilation should be
39:59
outlawed, including decline, tail docking and ear trimming.
40:04
I cannot disagree with you. So you guys, I think that.
40:08
You're ear trimming in in cats like dogs.
40:12
I don't think in, I don't think in cats, but they do it in dogs
40:15
and they, yeah, it's like, why and the tailed.
40:21
Let's get to just like one more Yeah, hairballs.
40:25
Let's talk about hairballs, because all of us know about
40:28
hairballs if. You guys, this is something
40:30
that, and you all have seen the memes like the best thing about
40:32
waking up 3:00 in the morning is stepping in that right?
40:37
Or they should make an alarm clock that sounds like your cat
40:39
about to throw up on your important paperwork.
40:41
Whatever it is. This was something that I
40:43
actually did think was normal for cats.
40:46
They would throw up. Bear balls, anything on a
40:50
regular basis. Unshooed kibble.
40:52
You guys all know this one, right?
40:53
It comes out, oops, I just made balloons with my fingers.
40:56
It comes up just like it looks like it was in the kibble
41:00
through they're not crunching it up.
41:02
Here's the thing. What we have learned is that a
41:05
cat throwing up on a regular basis is as normal as you
41:09
throwing up. On a regular basis.
41:12
And over the course of understanding why cats throw up,
41:16
you think about this. Cats spend 40% of their waking
41:18
hours, which isn't a lot because they sleep 14 to 18 hours a day,
41:22
grooming themselves. They are made to ingest fur,
41:26
they are made to ingest feathers.
41:29
They are made to ingest these things.
41:31
So why are they throwing them up every day?
41:35
Every other day? This is something when you
41:37
recognize that is a more species appropriate, moisture rich diet
41:42
can have a huge impact on how your cat's whole digestive
41:46
system works. Document it if you're feeding
41:49
kibble right now and you're stepping in cat puke when you
41:53
get up at 3:00 in the morning. And you're ready to switch over
41:56
to document it. More species appropriate,
41:59
moisture rich wet food, fresh food, raw food, whatever it is I
42:04
was. Documenting watch I was like
42:07
this is not a thing because it was part of my cat duties.
42:10
Just forever it seemed. Just picking up the throw up.
42:14
In the morning, I will say this our very first video as a 2
42:18
crazy cat ladies on YouTube, don't go back and watch it or do
42:24
it's terrible. But I I actually said, yeah,
42:28
learn, share, grow, right. Like when we started this
42:30
company 10 years ago, we were actually still feeding kibble,
42:35
but we were, we had, yeah, they got what food treats, but they
42:40
were an all day buffet of kibble.
42:42
And what we had learned or what we had learned at that point was
42:47
that if we take if we do a higher meat kibble, right?
42:51
So we buy a more expensive like where the first four to five
42:56
ingredients are meat and we're not filling them with a lot of
43:00
carbs and starches that it takes away the hairballs or it slows
43:07
down the hairballs, right. So it was like, Oh my God, how
43:11
about that? Your cat, like your cats, will
43:14
no longer have all of these digestive issues.
43:17
If you're feeding a a better kibble, feed a better kibble.
43:21
Which is still. A step in the right direction.
43:24
A step in the right direction, I'll get that.
43:26
For us, that is the science that is out there since.
43:28
We have learned about how important moisture is in their
43:31
diet and kidney disease and all the other things like we can't
43:34
recommend kibble at all. But but if you're feeding
43:38
something that is high in protein and low in starch and
43:42
carbs, you are going to get less of those hairballs because of
43:46
the digestive tract, right? So the digestive tract of a cat,
43:52
a cat needs less than 2%, like 2%.
43:56
And there goes the balloons again, 2% of carbs in their
44:03
diet. And that in the wild that would
44:05
come from the contents of their prey, right?
44:07
The stomach contents of their prey.
44:09
So if you're eating a rat, you've got like the the, you
44:14
know they're. Whatever.
44:16
Vegan, right? Or like, yeah, you're getting
44:18
the platform. That's also something that is a
44:19
new I feel like we should do a podcast on fiber.
44:22
Vegan. I don't think rats are vegan.
44:26
I just make that up. I think I'm yeah, they're not.
44:30
But they eat mainly plant matter, right?
44:33
They, they they're, they're rabbits.
44:35
They eat mainly plant matter and they're eating with gummy
44:39
contents. And that's where they would get
44:41
for, that's what they would get for carbohydrates in our kibble.
44:46
We're looking at 6040 to 80% carbohydrates, starches and
44:54
that's why we're. If you don't believe us that
44:57
your cat, if they're eating kibble, is eating an
45:00
extraordinary. Amount try us out for two weeks.
45:03
Biologically inappropriate carbohydrates.
45:07
Notice that they don't. Every food that you eat shows
45:11
the carbohydrate count in it, but they've conveniently taken
45:14
that off of like cat food. So there's an equation.
45:18
DM us, text us whatever you want to do.
45:21
We have a blog on it. How you do the math to find out
45:23
what the carb count is and whatever food that you are
45:26
feeding. Real quick.
45:27
I know that we got to wrap it up, but I love that Judith, when
45:30
we were asking earlier, what's a, what's a myth that you
45:33
believe until you knew better? And I feel like this is a great
45:37
way to top this off. And I know that we've got a lot
45:40
more, we may have to do a Part 2 of this, but that cats are low
45:44
maintenance. It's I can't see it anymore.
45:46
It was basically the cats are low maintenance pets.
45:49
We were just talking with people.
45:51
We talked with a lot of people actually who are like our
45:53
college kids, TikTok, they're so young, whatever.
45:56
Like thinking about getting a cat because I want to get a dog,
45:59
but I think I need to start with a cat so I can start being
46:01
responsible like a practice pet. First of all, cats are not small
46:06
dogs. Just because we grew up in
46:09
America and think that dogs and cats are the domestic pet that
46:13
we grow up with. They are two very completely
46:17
different species. And looking back now, I do wish
46:21
that I would have realized that adopting a pet would be like
46:24
adopting an African parrot. And I needed to go get the book
46:28
on it. I needed to go find out, like,
46:31
do they need to spend time in a cage?
46:32
Do they prefer a perch? Are they going to fly away?
46:35
What kind of bedding do they need?
46:37
What kind of food do they need? How many times a day?
46:39
What's an appropriate diet for them?
46:41
How many times a day do I feed them?
46:43
Like what? When do they sleep?
46:45
How do they like to sleep? Like all those things?
46:48
I wish I would have realized that cats need that book too.
46:52
They are obligate carnivores. They are crepuscular predators.
46:58
They are prey animals. They need so much when we put
47:04
them in our four walls. Sure, it's fine if you've got a
47:08
little love loaf that loves to sit on the couch and cuddle you
47:11
when you're watching TV and seems relatively fine all the
47:15
time. But this is a little beautiful
47:19
species that has so many of their own instinctual needs.
47:22
So I feel like them being low maintenance is, you know, it's.
47:28
A lie in this House. Yeah, we are learning that more
47:32
and more. I just how not low maintenance
47:34
cuts are nothing to give them an enrichment environment, to give
47:38
them the the nutrition that their bodies thrive on to
47:43
provide the enrichment that makes them happy and fills them
47:47
with a feeling of fulfillment. It's so much more than what I
47:52
realized 30 years ago, right, Andy Bell, Like, don't touch me.
47:56
You touch me, I'm sleeping. Right.
48:00
You said right, Anyone. We think we know so much about
48:02
cats, then we have to get the individual Kitty and all their
48:05
preferences and needs. I feel like, yeah, every cat
48:10
that we've been blessed to have in our family has been an
48:14
incredible teacher to us. So we know there's.
48:19
Oh my gosh, can you see this girl?
48:23
She just tucked her little face in her paws.
48:26
Annie Bale, Oh my God, I love you so much, baby.
48:30
She's going to be one of our biggest teachers.
48:32
Yes, OK. So thank you guys so much for
48:35
joining us. Angela, thank you for the
48:38
comment, She said. You guys should really focus on
48:39
future posts on all this info you shared here because these
48:43
are the most important points that are still not known.
48:46
All cat parents, yeah. Yeah, Angela.
48:48
Thank you for that. Sometimes we think that we talk
48:51
about stuff too much and then it's like, oh wow, we should
48:55
talk about this or talk about that and, and yeah, we forget
48:58
that. Just the average.
49:01
Especially if you're in like a cat.
49:02
Parent cat parent it's. Really exciting to learn about
49:06
this beautiful new being that wants.
49:07
To know about like how to properly care for this
49:13
individual. And now it's not like a book
49:15
that you get anymore. It's I'm scrolling on social
49:18
media. So how can I learn about, you
49:20
know, like, Oh my God, I could learn about this on social media
49:24
on how to take care of this kitten that I just adopted or
49:27
found on the side of the road. It's kitten season.
49:29
Like we're yeah. So we love you guys.
49:33
Thank. You guys for hanging out?
49:35
Amazing, amazing humans and amazing cat parents.
49:39
And thank you for joining us tonight.
49:41
And thanks for especially tonight, being sympathetic,
49:46
empathetic, non judgmental. I feel like we're all learning
49:49
together and it I love that this is a safe space for us and for
49:53
all of you to be able to share things that we've learned that
49:56
may have been painful experiences.
49:58
So cheers to us all knowing better, doing better, learning
50:03
more, sharing with all of us, and all growing together.