From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2009-01-30 16:58:53 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re:IBD-FYI Rabbit meat
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Isn't it always the way?
AFTER not succeeding in finding what you needed
and posting I finally encountered what looks like a
perfect veterinary report for you.
Whole rabbit is also LOW in taurine:
http://www.felineinstincts.com/orderNow/Taurinedeficiencyinrabbit.html
contains a veterinary paper in part on an attempt at
a vet school to deal with IBD in cats by giving whole,
ground raw rabbit to cats. On skimming it looks like
the result was very mixed, with better stools for a
number and better coats, but more infection, and
in a matter of months some developing heart disease.
A FEW SHORT QUOTES
Since cats eat most parts of their prey and essential
nutrients are concentrated in different organs, the
rabbits were not skinned, dressed or cleaned, but
rather ground in their entirety. The ground whole
rabbit diet was frozen in smaller batches and thawed
prior to feeding.
...
Although it appeared that the raw rabbit diet was
significantly beneficial for the stool quality and
appearance of health in the cats, the sudden and
rapidly fatal illness of one of the cats that were fed
the raw rabbit diet for 10 months was chilling and
unexpected. The affected cat was diagnosed with
dilated cardiomyopathy due to a severe Taurine deficiency.
Moreover, 70% of the remaining raw rabbit diet fed cats,
which appeared outwardly healthy, also had heart muscle
changes compatible with Taurine deficiency and could have
developed heart failure if continued on our raw rabbit diet.
For the remaining three months of the study, the raw rabbit
diet was supplemented with Taurine and Taurine levels
returned to normal.
...
This study demonstrates positive and negative effects of
feeding a whole ground rabbit diet for cats. The growth
curves of cats on both diets were identical, indicating the
raw rabbit diet supported normal growth. The single most
positive aspect of the whole rabbit diet was the stool quality.
Cats fed the raw rabbit diet consistently had extremely firm,
non-odorous and well formed stools. By comparison, cats
fed the commercial cat food never had stools as well formed,
and usually had stools ranging from unformed to soft-formed.
However, the reason(s) for the differences in stool consistency
of the respective diets is unknown. Cats fed the raw rabbit
diet appeared to have better quality coats, something already
claimed by cat breeders feeding horsemeat supplements. The
most negative aspect of feeding the raw rabbit diet exceeded
all of the positive attributes, however. The raw rabbit diet
should have been balanced, but nevertheless caused severe
Taurine deficiency over time in all of the cats fed this diet.
Taurine deficiency not only affects the heart, but also the
reproductive health of queens and viability of fetuses and
kittens
END QUOTED SECTIONS
Low taurine also undermines vision.
They kept mentioning "wild diet" but of course in the wild life
spans are typically far, far shorter than in captivity. There can
be individuals who are exceptions, of course. Also, once
people breed in too many health defects for appearance sake
you can degrade the health of any domestic animal (or plants
-- and this actually has happened to many food plants) to the
point where the wild versions are healthier, stronger, and
longer lived.
The article is:
Taurine Deficiency In Rabbit
A Winn Feline Foundation Report
The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of
California.
Investigators: Angela G. Glasgow, DVM; Nicholas J. Cave,
BVSc, MACVSc; Stanley L. Marks, BVSc, PhD, Dip. ACVIM
(Internal Medicine, Oncology), Dip. ACVN; Niels C.
+Pedersen, DVM PhD
You can also find the article mentioned in
http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-practice-news-columns/complementary-
medicine/feline-focus-treating-cats-holistically.aspx
http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-practice-news-columns/complementary-
medicine/natural-aids-for-treating-ibd.aspx
Remember that the term "IBD" does NOT always mean the
same thing between species.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/237/4816/764
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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