by Bonniel Rostok

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: May 17, 2009

That chipmunk your cat is ogling out the living room window is the perfect food. Any of the delicacies an outdoor cat may leave in bits and pieces on your doorstep provide the all necessary feline nutrients. Cats, unlike dogs, are obligate carnivores, not omnivores like our canine friends. And as such, their bodies are designed only for the intake of specific nutritional substances.

The feline digestive system has evolved to digest primarily proteinmeat, bones, and organs and small amounts of plant matter. Both cats and dogs have short gastrointestinal tracts so food passes through their bodies quickly, not allowing for proper absorption of sugars. While their stomachs are highly acidic, they do not produce the enzymes necessary to digest the grains so commonly found in store-bought cat food, much less the contents of a vegan diet.

Dr. Francis Pottenger, Jr. conducted a ten-year study on the effects of heat-processed food on cats between 1932 and 1942. The origin of the study was not, unfortunately, for the benefit of feline kind. He was, in fact, trying to account for the high mortality rate he was experiencing in his laboratory cats whose adrenal glands he was removing. However, as is the case with many things that go awry in labs, the results of his attempt to extend the lives of his study group offer invaluable information on how we should be feeding our cats.

Pottenger initially fed his lab cats a combination of cooked meat scraps and grains which, at the time, was considered to contain the ideal combination of nutrients for a domesticated cat or dog. His cats, however, had reproductive problems, skeletal deformities, and organ malfunction. He continued with this diet as more cats were delivered to his lab. This increase in the number of cats is what led to the Penicillin style aha moment. Because his source for cooked meat couldn't keep up with his demand, Pottenger began receiving raw meats from a local meat packing plant. Voila. The group he designated for the new raw diet began showing improvements in just a few months. They reproduced well, the kittens were healthier, and their life spans were longer. These results turned Pottenger's attention to a new study: the effect of cooked foods on animal health. For the next ten years, his findings were consistent. Cats fed raw meats were healthier by far than those fed a processed diet.

This information has been slow to translate into public knowledge. In the 1920's, prior to Pottenger's experiment,

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