Pet Cancer Awareness Month

Lately us cats and dogs have been contracting “human diseases” at a growing rate every year. The incidences of cancer and diabetes in pets is at an all-time high, most of it due to poor diets and not enough exercise which often leads to obesity. And we know where that goes! No place good!

Who is talking about our health?

All of this has been well documented by the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine in their monthly newsletter Cat Watch. CATSTER Magazine repeatedly publishes articles about the connection of diet and disease. Mom particularly likes Dr. Judy Morgan's Live FB chats and her weekly newsletter as well as Dr. Karen Becker’s daily newsletter for all sorts of information on this topic and more. In the end, everyone comes to the same conclusion that our wellness starts with the diet – cats and dogs are “what they eat” – just like you humans!

If you have been following us for awhile, you may have read our article about the importance of pet insurance in the big picture of caring for your pet.

Why are you bringing that up now you might ask? Because of the high cost of caring for your pet if it contracts a serious disease - that’s why!

Mom says we cannot stress it enough to have some form of pet health insurance according to what you can afford. Mom says that our monthly insurance premium for three cats is as low as the cost of a couple of nice dinners out in decent restaurants…pass up a couple of dinners out with friends in a month – and there is the money for the monthly premium(s) to insure your pet(s)!

Pet Insurance Research

Recently, after reading about pet insurance here, Consumer Advocate shared their research on pet insurance with us.

The group did a deep research study and testing of all the current pet insurance carriers in the pet industry. Mom was very impressed with their report and comparisons based on different criteria, and was very happy to see that their #1 company was Healthy Paws – who we use!

They generate helpful, honest and accurate information to match you with companies that are best suited to your specific situation so you can find what you need, when you need it! They make pet parents lives easier by “doing it all for you” and saving you time! Mom says she wishes she had know about them when she needed to get pet insurance!

Mom recommends that every pet parent read this report, draw conclusions and sign up for pet insurance. It will be worth it in the long run – especially knowing that pets are getting ill with many more diseases than previous generations dealt with. When you adopt a pet, you sign up for a lifetime commitment and today pet insurance should be as important as choosing the right vet, spaying & neutering and microchipping your pet.

In the case of cats, mostly because more cats are living indoors only, we are living longer, but still can develop cancer and diabetes in addition to hypertension, autoimmune diseases and others brought on by the same conditions – poor diets and lack of exercise leading to obesity and more.

How to Help Us Live A Healthy Life

That begs the question – what can you do as pet parents to help us cats and dogs have a active & healthy lifestyle to help prevent some of these illnesses from starting to begin with?

• Feed your cats and dogs raw, fresh whole protein human grade food that closely resembles their biologically appropriate raw food diet according to their species. Today the BARF diet of raw, fresh food is readily available at many better pet products stores, assorted online sites, some PetSmarts and even ShopRite Supermarkets. A raw food diet has no chemicals, fillers or preservatives which all canned and dry food have - and raw food has been not baked and processed. A raw food diet is affordable too. Check out our Food and Nutrition section to learn more.

• Limit chemicals and other related “poisons” from entering our bodies. That involves several different areas – but in the case of indoor cats for example, after the first round of vaccinations, mom does not believe that us cats need any more boosters, etc. There have been incidences of sarcomas developing at the injection sites in some pets – including dogs who would need to continue vaccinations as they go outside. In our case, mom stopped giving us kitties flea meds as well since we do not go outside.

• And speaking about indoor cats – indoor living has many benefits for us kitties – with the number #1 reason being that it protects us from diseases and other outdoor dangers. Housecats should not be free-roaming if you want us to live long, healthy & sustainable lives! And if we don’t go outside, we don’t need the vaccinations and flea meds as mentioned above.

• Besides having a traditional vet, consider connecting with an integrative and holistic vet as well. The integrative vet has to be a traditional vet first and then they can go on to study integrative veterinary medicine. If you are lucky enough to have one in your neighborhood, you can consider just having that one vet who can pull from the “best practices” of both Western and Holistic medicine.

Holistic & Traditional Medicine

Today in the case of treatments for cancer, diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune disease, etc, there are options to consider both in the traditional and holistic protocols. Mom says the two biggest directions in the pet industry based upon results from the recent trade shows are the raw food diet and hemp oil and CBD products for pets…both holistic approaches but now moving onto mainstream mainly due to our Millenials who often favor more natural treatments as a “first option” then more antibiotics, steroids, and similar drugs to treat a serious condition.

Raw food is improving the animal from the inside out with a diet that closely resembles what they are hard-wired to eat. And hemp products and CBD oil have offered a more holistic approach to treating many issues and illnesses with many glowing reviews from pet parents as to their effectiveness.…in addition there are many natural product options that can support and help many issues that pets have from flea preventatives, to all sorts of supplements and grooming aids.

As always, the recommendations listed here are based on our own personal experience and research as a passionate pet parent. At no time do we receive compensation for our opinions.