THE REVOLUTION IN CAT NUTRITION

Comprehensive--and enlightened--feline nutritional guidance. Bicks, a veterinarian and pet nutrition consultant, covers in depth a subject all too often glossed over in cat care books--the obtaining of optimum feline health through nutritious feeding and vitamin/mineral supplementation. In Part I, Bicks offers succinct explanations of the benefits of, feline requirements for, and best natural sources of over 25 essential vitamins and minerals, and reviews the most common nutritional mistakes made by owners, including feeding cats bones (which can splinter) and using plastic bowls (which many cats are allergic to). In Part II, she offers sound advice on choosing between canned, semi-moist, dry, and homemade foods, and makes candid recommendations for (or warnings against) specific commercial brands of food. For kittens, strays, pregnant and older cats, and certain purebreds, Bicks offers individualized feeding and nutrition suggestions. Also provided are sound tips on conducting monthly at-home checkups, steps to take in emergency situations such as poisoning (universal antidotes are given), and special diets for cats with physical ailments and behavioral problems. (Brewer's yeast, chamomile tea, and a nip of warm milk before bedtime can help calm an aggressive cat, for example.) A well-organized, easy to comprehend nutrition manual comparable, if less radical than, Belfield and Zucker's pioneering The Very Healthy Cat Book (1983).