I have heard that catkins is a good program for cats…I haven’t read much on it because I don’t have a cat but it might be useful for those of you who do…
Keto pets ~ anyone have one?
Jodi
(Jodi)
#22
The article recommends cheap canned food, which I used to use. When I switched my cats to a better quality grainfree wet food (more $$ of course😏) from a cheaper canned wet food, I was impressed by the difference. Less vomiting, more energy, and I believe one has finally kicked his chronic ear infection issue.
If I can get them all eventually transitioned to raw or mostly raw, it will save money and I believe it is healthier. But right now I’m okay with spending more to improve their health.
Just some info for cat owners who might read the article. I am not a cat expert lol, just live with some.
trekkin1
(Jo Lo)
#24
FWIW I asked Dr Ted Naiman about this and he said “my dog eats nothing but meat”…
A friend’s seeing eye dog developed cataracts because of high carb diet in the high grain dog chow, is why I asked… leading to a sad loss of “sight” for the blind individual.
clackley
(Cathy)
#25
I looked at the cheapest brand (store brand) cat food yesterday to see what was in it. It was mostly meat but had guar gum and rice listed as well. So not the best but I am guessing better than kibble. Picking a brand that is even better is always going to be better for your cat. I think cats are the ‘canary in the tunnel’ for modern day ‘food’.
trekkin1
(Jo Lo)
#26
Cats are a lot more extreme carnivores than dogs are… yes, canaries in the coal mine of food.
brownfat
(Todd Allen)
#27
After helping me collect the eggs my dog, Mouse, had pancakes for breakfast. Eggs beaten with braunschweiger, salt and a pinch of tumeric and black pepper fried in butter and topped with sour cream.
mikki
(eat more)
#28
i really do wish i could like multiple times…or how about a like button and super duper like button? lol
mouse is adorable…i like chickens a lot too (or maybe any animal)
brownfat
(Todd Allen)
#30
Mouse is a female rat terrier, 7 years old. I fed my previous dogs conventional dog foods, supposedly decent brands such as Science Diet. And 3 out of 4 died of cancer at only moderately old ages of 9 to 13 years. With Mouse I’ve fed very little dog food, she shares my meals when appropriate or I prepare something separate for her, So far she’s doing great but she’s still young as rat terriers tend to be long lived breeds compared to the larger dogs I’ve had. I’ve only been keto for ~8 months and I transitioned her more slowly, I’d guess she’s been eating primarily keto for about 6 months. Reading about the ketopet sanctuary’s results treating cancer with ketogenic diets gave me increased confidence in ‘experimenting’ with Mouse. She’s been super easy readily accepting most anything offered and very rarely shows any signs of issues like diahrea or eating grass and vomiting which were fairly common with my other dogs, I’ve got my fingers crossed that she will be with us a long time.
chate1
(Terri )
#31
Just wanted to share… we lost our beloved Golden Retriever, Maile, this year on January 16th. She was 10 1/2 years old. Maile was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and lived 8.5 months after diagnosis without any surgery, chemo or radiation. I consider that remarkable because she was told she would live about 2 months without amputation, chemo and radiation and WITH those invasive interventions would live about 6 months. Well… we started visiting an amazing place called Into the Sunset Pet Transition Center in San Diego (doggie hospice) and although they didn’t put her on a keto diet per say, they did immediately put her on a grain free diet of real food/meat and veggies and some added supplements/fats (Omega 3 was one). Anyway, they did use increasing pain meds to control the pain of this very painful and aggressive cancer with eventual metastasis (never did she looked drugged or on meds amazingly- these people know what they are doing!) Doing so, she lived 8.5 months of a high quality, happy and love filled life (boy was she excited at meal time!) Sadly, we had to put her down because the tumor did start growing and finally broke through the skin compromising her wrist and we did not want her to experience a fracture and be in pain and scared for her last moments. Very hard decision (worst day of our lives!) however, she lived to her last moments super happy and feeling good which is not common with this cancer. I say all this because I am convinced the diet helped her live much longer than expected by her regular vet and surgeon and her life was good! I wished we could have provided the exact
protocol used by keto pet…What an amazing place!!! But I think we did a lot for her just by using the principles. If ever we have another dog… I will only feed them a keto or LCHF diet from the start. I’ve been keto for 16 months myself so knew all about it. To all you all considering keto for your pet… do it!
clackley
(Cathy)
#32
I adore terriers. I had a mixed breed terrier that lived to be 16.5 yrs. old and I think if she had been keto, could have been longer. She was put down because she had dementia and other conditions of aging. She was I wonderful dog and I miss her to this day.
clackley
(Cathy)
#33
I feel your pain. It sounds as if you made some very good decisions for your dog. It is so hard to lose them…
amber
(L. Amber O'Hearn)
#34
Humans are uniquely ketogenic. Non-human carnivores do not switch to a ketogenic metabolism merely by avoiding carbohydrate. Generally, they do not have the ability to suppress GNG with protein intake, so they only become ketogenic when protein/calorie restricted. Humans are the only species I know of that can easily get into ketosis while getting enough protein and calories.
That said, I do think cats and dogs thrive best on a natural carb-free diet. My cats have been on raw meat diet for about 7 years and are much healthier than before.
clackley
(Cathy)
#35
Amber I am not fully understanding your post. You seem to suggest that dogs and other non human mammals aren’t able to do gluconeogenisis. I would be interested to understand more about that and what you think of ketopets sanctuary and their work and successes.
amber
(L. Amber O'Hearn)
#36
No. I mean they don’t go into ketosis on a carb-free diet because they continue to use gluconeogenesis when protein is available to continue on a glucose-based metabolism. They need to be calorie / protein restricted to start using a ketogenic metabolism. In other animals its basically only used as a fallback in food shortage.
I have no idea what the ketopets sanctuary is so I can’t comment on that.
amber
(L. Amber O'Hearn)
#38
I see. it’s cancer treatment for dogs through inducing ketosis, which it looks like they probably do through mild caloric and protein restriction, and they measure. Looks like a wonderful initiative.
clackley
(Cathy)
#39
I don’t see caloric restriction as part of their protocol but it may actually exist. Dogs are known to eat until they burst (or almost) so most people need to restrict food to a certain degree - keto or otherwise. But ketosis is a definite aim and dogs do benefit from keto. Does it have more to do with what they are not eating? Kind of the chicken and egg question.
And then there is the confounding factor that those dogs are feed primarily a raw food diet. That may have a lot to do with the successes.
All the same, keto for pets is a very good idea in my opinion and in my case, my little dog loves it and is thriving.
amber
(L. Amber O'Hearn)
#40
Well, I disagree that people need to restrict food. That’s only the case with a diet that is sending the wrong hormonal signals. Proper diet induces proper satiation.
My claim is that dogs on a natural raw meat diet are not actually in ketosis, unless special measures are taken, which would artificially reduce protein. The papers I’ve read about this phenomenon in carnivores were mainly in felines, though. I don’t recall finding canine data. I’ve written to the sanctuary asking for clarification on this point, but no response yet.
I’m glad your dog is thriving.