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About Us |
Welcome to Food Fur Life! I'm Chumley. I was rescued by my mom and dad when I found the food they put out for feral cats in a colony they managed. I was starving. I was so hungry, I fought off all the other cats before they trapped me, three days later. I was neutered and got a shot. Because I chased all the other feral colony cats away, they didn't want to return and release me. Honestly, I was sooo relieved. I was really sick even though they didn't know it yet.
I just wanted to be safe and eat. But all the foods they offered me didn't help me feel better. None of it agreed with me, not the most expensive foods, not the vet prescription foods. The vets said it had nothing to do with me testing positive for the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). They thought I had food allergies, or maybe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). My mom, Laurie, took me to a Holistic Vet. She knew all about food for cats. She told my mom I needed to eat a raw diet, and that kibble wasn't a healthy food choice for me (or any cat). My mom's professional career on Wall Street was running the Institutional Equity Research Department. She is really good at research! The Holistic Vet told her that she should research the nutritional needs of an "obligate carnivore," because that's what I am. This premix and this website are the result of her research and that of her friend, Carolina.
Carolina has four cats, one is a very handsome white Ragdoll rescue kitty, Bugsy. Bugsy was never OK from the very day he was adopted. Bugsy’s first diagnoses were LPS Stomatitis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and he also seemed to be allergic to chicken. After doing a thorough elimination diet, his mom and vet finally settled on expensive Veterinary Diet fish-based wet and dry foods. He did improve on that! Until… until that one day his mom woke up at 2am with Bugsy jumping in and out of the litter box. All she saw was blood – all that fish and dry food had finally caught up to him in the shape of a urinary tract infection. Bugsy was very sick and in a lot of pain. The vet gave him a course of clavamox, and that sent him into a monster flare. Bugsy had violent diarrhea that would persist, no matter what, for almost 1 1/2 years! His mom tried EVERYTHING. Many rounds of metronidazole …. Sulfasalazine…. Prednisolone…. Tylan…. Amforol…. Herbs… all kinds of "diarrhea treatments," with Reglan and Cerenia for emergencies…. oh yes – tests, emergency visits, different diets, different probiotics…. Dry, wet, grain free, high fiber, high protein, low carb, hypoallergenic foods – from different RX companies – in both wet and dry…. They tried it. They tried it all, to no avail. Finally, all that medication took its toll on Bugsy's liver. They had no choice but to suspend all medications before his liver was seriously compromised. Bugsy's mom scheduled an exploratory surgery to look for cancer, because there was nothing else to do.
Bugsy's mom was scared of raw food, too. But there was a turning point, and it wasn't only that Bugsy may have cancer that couldn't be treated because of his liver. That turning point was a discussion about the AAFCO regulation (or lack thereof) of pet foods, what’s behind its marketing, production and what are allowed as ingredients. Bugsy's mom and my mom didn't want to feed us that food anymore. The fear of homemade raw food didn't exactly melt away, but the idea of feeding fresh food our bodies were meant to use DID make sense - and like it is for so many, out of desperation, Bugsy's mom started to transition him to raw food. He loved it! But because of his sensitive system, she took a week to walk him up to a meal that was 100% raw. And his diarrhea stopped. Completely.
Well that was all it took for my mom! My brother Lazlo had been diagnosed with large cell lymphoma - he had a big lump in his tummy. They couldn't take it out with surgery, so he had to go to a special vet, far away, every week for a chemotherapy treatment. My mom felt Lazlo needed to be as healthy as possible to handle the chemotherapy and beat the cancer - and if he beat the cancer, to stay in remission. She started introducing us to raw food, too, despite Lazlo being on steroids and in chemotherapy. Supposedly cats with suppressed immune systems shouldn't eat raw food - that meant me and Lazlo. Both mom and Carolina felt that made no sense. They thought feeding us fresh food, using the same meat they would eat, a food our bodies were designed to use, would help us feel better, get better, and stay better. I loved it! My brothers and sisters weren't sure it was food at first. It took some time to get them all to eat it. But now, like me, they love it, too.
And my brother Lazlo? He beat the cancer! He was given four weeks to live if the chemotherapy didn't work. That was in July, 2011. Lazlo passed away in December (2015), but it wasn't from that cancer. It never came back. Mom doesn't know if the raw food is what kept him in remission. But just like fresh foods make mom and dad and their friend Carolina feel good, fresh, homemade food helps keep us cats healthy, too!
After seeing the dramatic change in Bugsy after feeding him homemade raw food, Bugsy's mom and my mom founded a Facebook Group called Raw Feeding for IBD Cats, and it helps lots of kitties to have a better life through a healthier diet. Then they decided to partner in creating Food Fur Life, to make it easier for busy moms and dads to feed their kitties a healthy homemade diet, too.
We hope your kitties love the food we eat, too.... and most importantly, we hope they help your kitties thrive on this diet like we have!
Happy Eating!
Bugsy's mom was scared of raw food, too. But there was a turning point, and it wasn't only that Bugsy may have cancer that couldn't be treated because of his liver. That turning point was a discussion about the AAFCO regulation (or lack thereof) of pet foods, what’s behind its marketing, production and what are allowed as ingredients. Bugsy's mom and my mom didn't want to feed us that food anymore. The fear of homemade raw food didn't exactly melt away, but the idea of feeding fresh food our bodies were meant to use DID make sense - and like it is for so many, out of desperation, Bugsy's mom started to transition him to raw food. He loved it! But because of his sensitive system, she took a week to walk him up to a meal that was 100% raw. And his diarrhea stopped. Completely.
Well that was all it took for my mom! My brother Lazlo had been diagnosed with large cell lymphoma - he had a big lump in his tummy. They couldn't take it out with surgery, so he had to go to a special vet, far away, every week for a chemotherapy treatment. My mom felt Lazlo needed to be as healthy as possible to handle the chemotherapy and beat the cancer - and if he beat the cancer, to stay in remission. She started introducing us to raw food, too, despite Lazlo being on steroids and in chemotherapy. Supposedly cats with suppressed immune systems shouldn't eat raw food - that meant me and Lazlo. Both mom and Carolina felt that made no sense. They thought feeding us fresh food, using the same meat they would eat, a food our bodies were designed to use, would help us feel better, get better, and stay better. I loved it! My brothers and sisters weren't sure it was food at first. It took some time to get them all to eat it. But now, like me, they love it, too.
And my brother Lazlo? He beat the cancer! He was given four weeks to live if the chemotherapy didn't work. That was in July, 2011. Lazlo passed away in December (2015), but it wasn't from that cancer. It never came back. Mom doesn't know if the raw food is what kept him in remission. But just like fresh foods make mom and dad and their friend Carolina feel good, fresh, homemade food helps keep us cats healthy, too!
After seeing the dramatic change in Bugsy after feeding him homemade raw food, Bugsy's mom and my mom founded a Facebook Group called Raw Feeding for IBD Cats, and it helps lots of kitties to have a better life through a healthier diet. Then they decided to partner in creating Food Fur Life, to make it easier for busy moms and dads to feed their kitties a healthy homemade diet, too.
We hope your kitties love the food we eat, too.... and most importantly, we hope they help your kitties thrive on this diet like we have!
Happy Eating!
