i used to give so many different types of supplements to jericho i had a raw food
premix taurine lysine daily multivitamin colostrum probiotics enzymes and the list goes on i started
to ask myself does this make sense you know is this too much i started to feel like i was giving
more powders than actual food and especially considering that jericho eats raw and some
whole prey and now that i'm moving towards a prey model raw with whole chunks and raw meaty bones
plus the whole prey it just it just didn't make sense to me so now i'm only giving him
one supplement and honestly it's like a breath of fresh air it's such a relief and it's a whole
foods supplement that cats would likely get in the wild anyway hey friends it's jess and jericho and
this is probably going to go against everything that i've said in the past regarding you know make
sure it's complete and balanced and make sure you supplement and use this raw food pre-mix
but like i mentioned i'm moving towards a more prey model raw diet for jericho instead of ground
food and i'm going to feed him more whole prey so it just didn't make sense to me to feed all
of these powders when he's eating whole foods so the only supplement that i'm giving jericho now
is blue green algae and this provides a wide variety of nutrients and technically cats would
consume a little bit of algae when they drink from fresh water sources like lakes so first let's talk
about blue-green algae benefits what are the nutritional benefits of blue-green algae first
blue-green algae provides a wide array of amino acids and if you look at the graph that shows
the difference between a perfect protein amino acid profile and what blue-green algae provides
it's pretty close now you'll notice that taurine isn't listed and taurine of course
is essential for cats but taurine is especially high in hard working muscles like the heart or if
you're feeding thighs and if you're feeding it raw your cat's getting enough of it liver is also very
high in taurine blue green algae is also high in b vitamins and b vitamins are water-soluble just
like taurine so that's why raw is the best diet blue-green algae also provides essential fatty
acids and that can help contribute to controlling inflammation there are also some trace minerals in
blue-green algae so i see this supplement as like a whole food vitamin mineral amino acid essential
fatty acids and probiotics enzymes basically a whole food vitamin mineral supplement all in one
now of course this is a plant-based ingredient and cats are carnivores however the blue-green
algae as i mentioned would be available to them in freshwater lakes and it also has a microscopic
cell wall size so it's much easier to digest dr laurel of sun vet animal wellness talks about
blue-green algae and its benefits for cats and dogs just like i mentioned protein omega-3s b and
e vitamins and some trace minerals and stuff like this can help contribute to healthy skin and coat
strengthened immune system reduced inflammation and so much more give me a polydactyl thumbs up
so more cat parents can learn about this wonderful superfood for their cats thanks so much dr karen
becker also talks about algae specifically spirulina and she sees this as a wonderful
whole food supplement and also mentions the same benefits as dr laurel so as i mentioned in the
beginning i kind of want to take a step back and ask myself does this make sense and with raw meaty
bones and whole parts and whole prey now with algae i'm kind of going back to what nature would
provide our cats with so if you're with me in this transition comment below let's get back to nature
because a lot of us are feeding our cats not many foods that are close to what their natural
cousins in the wild would eat so comment below let's get back to nature and hopefully others
that come across this video and see all those comments let's get back to nature they might be
interested in watching this video and then more cat parents can feed their cats naturally so
again i consider blue green algae like this whole foods supplement that can help fill in the gaps
when you're feeding a prey model raw and whole prey diet and i like this much better because
it's whole food instead of isolated synthetic nutrients let's talk about natural versus
isolated synthetic nutrients so isolated synthetic nutrients are essentially an isolated version
of that whole food they're created in a lab some of them are human grade and some of them are not
and the importance of this is that some of these isolated synthetic nutrients can actually cause
more harm than good especially if they're given in excess there are two studies linked below and
one of them discusses a mineral analysis of uk pet foods and they found that many of those pet foods
either failed to meet the minimum requirements or exceeded the maximum requirements and they
say that if you feed these foods with imbalances especially in excess over a long period of time
especially if it's the only pet food that your pet eats this can cause real problems to your cat's
health the other study is titled not all forms of dietary phosphorus are equal and they specifically
measure the cat's blood plasma with eating the synthetic version and the natural version and they
found that the synthetic version of phosphorus can cause harm in cats whereas the natural version of
phosphorus coming from food does not affect them in a negative way and this is super important
especially with cats and the concern of kidney disease because we're all told that phosphorus is
the enemy but that's not the whole truth synthetic phosphorus especially when it's given in excess
amounts can be detrimental whereas natural forms of phosphorus like from raw meat and meaty bones
is completely fine because that's what the cat is designed to digest now another note on giving
blue green algae specifically of course you want to make sure that it comes from a clean source
because you can have this whole natural food that has all the natural nutrients but of course
if you're buying something that's toxic and has chemicals in it it's still going to cause problems
so the brand that i buy from sources from a lake in oregon they screen it they filter it they dry
it they test it they make sure that there's no contaminants and then they sell it so now let's
talk about how i used to give supplements to jericho and how i give them now so in the past
i used to mix all of his supplements in with his food basically gave him no choice and just
gave them to him now i just spill out a little bit of the algae pill onto his food mat with his meal
and jericho gets to decide when he needs it and when he doesn't need it i like this much better
because jericho has full control over what he eats and what he doesn't eat so he knows what it is he
can sniff it and and understand what's inside of it because their nose is way stronger than ours
so i like this a lot because he's choosing whether to eat it or not instead of me just
forcing it into him and i really feel like our bond is getting stronger because i'm giving him
a choice rather than just forcing something on him and i take the algae supplements too
so it's really fun to share food with him you can check out this video right over meow to see
what jericho eats in a day to see his updated diet thanks for watching so the only supplement whoop