Kelly (Seattle, WA) on 06/28/2009

Our indoor/outdoor cat had been scratching and chewing his fur off the back of his legs and underbelly, and had bumps and sores on his skin all over his back and sides as well. His fur had also lost its lustre and looked ragged instead of smooth. We'd fed him high quality, high protein no grain organic foods for years, so we didn't think the food was the problem. Vets, even a naturopathic vet, told us he must be allergic to fleas and we were encouraged to constantly spot treat him with prescription treatment. This never really caused the problem to go away and it would sometimes get a little better, only to flare terribly until he lost all his fur on the backs of his legs and belly, and in patches all over.

My husband went to the natural pet food store to pick up his food and got into a conversation about our cat's issues with the person at the counter, who gave him some handouts about fleas, skin and fur problems. They contend that itching and fur loss was often the result of insufficient digestive enzymes causing an inflammatory reaction in the skin and other systems. They recommended, besides a raw food diet which provides the correct live enzymes for your pet's digestion, adding digestive enzymes to wet food as well as salmon oil.

For a cat, that's 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of enzymes (specially formulated for pets) and a few squirts of salmon oil added to any serving of food. Our cat was slightly reluctant at first, but quickly adjusted and we fed him this mixture to half a can of high protein no grain orgarnic wet food a day. Within days the itching stopped, within weeks his coat regained it's lustre and smooth appearance, is soft to the touch, and grew back more lush and full than ever. They also cautioned that the spot treatments were probably crippling his immune system and making him more susceptible to fleas. We have stopped those, and he hasn't shown any signs of itching or fleabites.