Today, it cannot be taken for granted that mother’s milk is best for nursing kittens and puppies. Unless your kitten or puppy’s mother was healthy before, during, and after pregnancy, it is very likely that the litter will suffer from personality disorders, be susceptible to a wide range of immune diseases, and have shortened life expectancies due to genetic predispositions.
Once people bond with their pets, most will spend whatever it takes to get them better or prolong their lives. The good news is that, by taking an active role, most problems can be prevented!
This article addresses:
- What to do if you fall in love with a pet store or rescue kitten or puppy
- The role of nursing and weaning in their immune system development
- Best food for kittens and puppies
The Impact of Where You Buy Your Pet
Pet Stores
Buyer beware! Pet store kittens and puppies have a high risk of developing illness throughout their lives. Why? Since the mid-1980s, families and empty-nesters have been buying puppies and kittens at a pace that has turned breeding facilities (often called puppy mills) into big business.
Even though you may spend a lot of money for your new pet, price is no guarantee of health. Commercially bred mothers are bred too frequently. Their bodies do not get a chance to fully recover before they are bred again, and again. Complicating matters, puppy mills tend to cut corners when it comes to food costs. Nutritious food is always important for good health, but it is especially crucial for a breeding mother. Commercial pet foods, despite label claims, are sorely lacking in nutritional value.
Stress: Stress is known to compromise strong immune systems. Imagine the effect on weakened ones. The living conditions in puppy mills are highly stressful for mothers. This stress can be passed on to puppies and kittens, affecting their disposition, personality, and behavior.
Premature weaning stresses the developing immune system. Moreover, the time they spend away from their mother while in the puppy mill, subjected to the same stressful living conditions, is equally stressful.
But that’s not the end of their stress. Shipping to pet stores puts them through a great deal of strain. If they get acclimated there at all, they experience travel and transition stress all over again when they come to your home. No wonder they suffer from diarrhea and eating disorders.
Rescue Facilities
Most of the animals sold in rescue facilities were abandoned. The kittens and puppies are largely from feral mothers. Feral mothers’ diets consist of weak and diseased rodents, putrefied carcasses, or discarded leftovers from trash cans. These leftovers likely harbor pathogenic bacteria, causing the mothers to be sick and diseased.
Feral females are often impregnated by feral males who are likely to be equally sick. Another problem confronting the feral female is that they are often impregnated before they are physically ready and can become pregnant again while still nursing puppies or kittens.
The health consequences to the offspring of feral mothers and premature weaning may be immediate, or they may not develop until the animal is older.
Today, pet owners are paying a very high price. Although this article may seem dismal, introducing an all-natural formula as soon as you bring your kitten or puppy home can minimize their health risks. In fact, you can take part in reversing the poor health predispositions of their offspring.
Stress: The stress of living a feral life takes a toll on puppies and kittens’ immune systems. If their mother was constantly on the run to avoid harm or capture, the litter is likely to be skittish, reclusive, and defensive. Each generational decline adds to the genetic predisposition for poor health, bad behavior, and personality disorders.
The Importance of Mother’s Milk
Milk from a healthy mother provides the building blocks necessary for puppies and kittens to develop strong immune defense systems. Unfortunately, most female cats and dogs that are bred have not received the diet or supplements necessary to fortify and nourish their bodies before, during, and after pregnancy.
Kittens and puppies nursed on low-quality mother’s milk or weaned prematurely are more likely to have undeveloped immune systems. However, this need not be a problem if proper care is given during their transition from the teat to solid foods.
The Best Food for Puppies and Kittens
The best food for kittens or puppies is a diet that is most natural to their ancestry.
You can domesticate an animal’s behavior, but the domestication of their diet to commercial pet foods has been the primary cause of their decline in health, behavioral issues, personality disorders, and predisposition to disease. It is a fact that over 80% of all chronic diseases are caused by an unhealthy digestive system.
Kittens and puppies given an all-natural nursing and weaning support formula as a supplement while nursing, and prior to being weaned to solid foods, are not only likelier to be healthier and live longer, but they are also smarter, happier, and better adjusted.
