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Natures Menu
Raw Meat Diet
WHY FEED YOUR PETS A RAW MEAT DIET?
Many of us share our lives with dogs and cats who are beloved friends and companions. We want to give them the best possible care so that they live long, happy, healthy lives. Unfortunately, we are losing them in ever increasing numbers to cancer, heart, kidney, and liver failure, dental problems, allergic reactions, failing immune systems, and urinary tract disorders, to mention a but a few of the miseries that plague our pets.
Many of these problems have their roots in nutrition, or rather, the lack of it. By disregarding the basic nature of dogs and cats and feeding them food that they were never intended to eat, pet food conglomerates have set the stage for any health problems. The fact that many animals can live long, healthy lives eating these foods, has less to do with the quality of the food, than the animals’ ability to survive on less than good nutrition.
Dogs and cats have ancestors that date back 70million years. Dogs have been domesticated for 10,000 years, cats for less than 3,000. Up until the mid 1920’s, dogs and cats ate as nature intended. Cats hunted mice and birds, but dogs, being more opportunistic feeders ate whatever presented itself and actively foraged to fill in the empty spots.
Nature designed dogs and cats as carnivores, eaters of raw meat. Their systems were designed to extract the maximum benefits from meat in its raw state. Once meat is processed under very hot temperatures during canning or palletizing, amino acids and enzymes are de-activated. Amino acids are crucial in a diet because they are the organic molecules that compose the building blocks of proteins that make up most of the cells of the body. Active enzymes are also absolutely necessary because they are protein substances produced in living cells that help break down food so that it can be digested and absorbed by the body. Without amino acids and active enzymes, food cannot be digested properly and then, no matter what claims the nutritional statements make, the nutritional values are NOT being adequately delivered to the animals’ body.
Cats are known as Obligate Carnivores, this means that they MUST eat raw meat. Cats are more efficient at extracting protein from raw meat and have a very limited ability to utilize carbohydrates (grains). Cats have a very short intestinal tract, making it more difficult to break down many of the complex carbohydrates and starches contained in grains. Furthermore, they lack sufficient enzymes that are absolutely necessary for these processes to occur.
Dogs are carnivores as well, but have some flexibility in what they are able to consume and digest. In a natural setting they will fill out their diet with the seasonal consumption of wild food stuffs, everything from vegetables to nuts, berries, and even the occasional cricket. These naturally foraged items all have a place in their natural nutrition, but no one has ever spotted a dog or cat dragging down an ear of corn or a head of wheat in the field and eating it. Why then are we feeding our dogs and cats wheat, corn, and cereal products, from which most, if not all nutritional benefit has been removed?
Over the years we have come to accept the word of the giant pet food companies that only they know what is best for our pets to eat, but this is far from the truth. Statistics can be manipulated, half-truths told, substandard materials cloaked with wonderfully evocative names and delightful advertisements made, which to persuade us to buy a specific brand of food. Even cardboard can be coated with enough vitamins, minerals, etc., to meet the daily requirements of dogs and cats. . . but it will still be cardboard. The basic problem still remains, commercial food is dead food with little to offer but convenience.
My mother always said, “You are what you eat.” That always puzzled me as a child, but as I get older it makes a lot more sense. Our overall health and well being is a direct result of what we eat. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the health of our pets. People can choose to eat wisely, but dogs and cats have no alternative, but to eat what they are given (shoes and other stolen goodies don’t count), so if we truly care about them, we should feed them what they really need.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTS
Nature's Menu quality is based upon our use of the finest, freshest ingredients possible. All Nature's Menu diets are composed of approximately 80% muscle meat, 20% organ meats, and are packaged in 1/4 lb. patties--12 per bag. Using the most current information and drawing upon lengthy experience, our two veterinary nutritionists have formulated a superior blend of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements which is added to the diets to meet and exceed the daily recommended nutritional needs of dogs and cats in all stages of life.
BEEF DIET
This beef comes from Wisconsin Dairy cows. There are no preservatives, no grains, no hormones or antibiotics within 90 days of slaughter, and no fillers added.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein....Min. 20%
Crude Fat........Min. 12%
Crude Fiber......Max 1%
Crude Moisture...Max 68%
Ingredients: Beef muscle, beef liver, beef heart, beef kidney, see the Vitamins & Minerals tab below for further details.
ORGANIC CHICKEN DIET
100% certified organic, free-range chicken, organically fed, no growth horomones, no antibiotics, no preservatives added.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein....Min. 20%
Crude Fat........Min. 12%
Crude Fiber......Max 1%
Crude Moisture...Max 72%
Ingredients: Chicken muscle, chicken heart, chicken gizard, see the Vitamins & Minerals Tab below to see further details.
TURKEY DIET
This Grade A turkey product contains no growth hormones & no antibiotics within 90 days of slaughter. There are no dyes, fillers, or preservatives.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein....Min. 18%
Crude Fat........Min. 15%
Crude Fiber......Max 3.5%
Crude Moisture...Max 62%
Ingredients: Turkey muscle meat, turkey heart, turkey gizzard, turkey liver. See the Vitamins & Minerals tab below for further details.
FREE-RANGE LAMB DIET
The muscle and organ meats used in the Lamb diet come from Wisconsin-raised lamb. It is a nearby farm in our area and we visit it frequently. The lamb are naturally grazed and live in a clean, humane setting. Nature's Menu Lamb Diet has no growth horomones, no antibiotics, no irradiation, no preservatives!
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein....Min. 20%
Crude Fat........Min. 15%
Crude Fiber......Max 1%
Crude Moisture...Max 56%
Ingredients: Lamb muscle meat, lamb liver, lamb heart, lamb kidney, lamb spleen. see the Vitamins & Minerals tab below for further details.
All vitamins are NOT created equal. We use the finest vitamin/mineral/trace element mix, which has been formulated specifically for use with our meats. We take into account those nutritional properties the meat already possess so that we are not over-vitaminizing your pet. Our veterinary nutritionists are two of the best in the country, writing nutritional guidelines and doing top research that others can only copy.
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