About Michelle Rossi Expertise My area of research is in regards to feline diet and digestive physiology as well as history of domestication and how it applies to dietary adaptation in Felis catus.
Experience In total, between my own pet cats and the ones Ive taken in/ re-homed as rescues, I have fed a total of over 95 cats and kittens a natural, raw diet.
I have a cumulative of 7 years worth of experience, from feeding a partly prey and partly processed food diet to a completely prey (home bred quail, young home bred chickens, captive bred feeder rodents/ rabbits) and raw meaty bones diet (chicken neck bones and wings), which I currently feed.
I have assisted numerous people in formulating a raw diet which is suited for their animals and their lifestyle.
Education/Credentials Biology degree with an emphasis in Ag and animal husbandry related courses.
I have worked in veterinary medicine and am currently completing my RVT certification. I was accepted into a veterinary medicine program, but due to unforeseen life changes, I am currently unable to begin vet school.
Please consider that I am not a veterinarian, nor do I play on on TV. ;-) I will offer advice to the limit of my own knowledge and when in doubt of my own qualifications to address specific issues, I will refer to you a medical professional who is more suited.
For a good book about carnivore diet, I recommend "Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health," by Dr. Tom Lonsdale DVM
Here are Dr. Londales suggestions for feeding cats and dogs:
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf
Here is a partial list of veterinarians who are supportive of natural feeding:
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM
DrPierson@catinfo.org
Question I have a cat that gets open sores on his body. We had an environmental allergy test done along with a fungal test and both came back negative. My vet suggested trying a chickenless food. These are hard to find. Is there a cheap dry food (we will have to feed our other cat the same) that has no chicken or chicken by-products?
Answer Hi Greg,
Sorry for the delay, I've been having some internet problems.
The following is the list of foods and supplemental feeding information that I have in my adoption packet for my cat rescue. I do not think that its a good idea to feed a diet of only dry food, however. Heres some info about why I say this. http://www.catinfo.org/index.htm
Wet food, meaty bones, such as chicken necks and wings, as well as fresh water should be given daily.
Sprinkle one fish oil capsule and one vitamin e oil capsule on food every day."
If this were my cat, I would first make sure that all food fed was fresh and raw. If I were dealing with a suspected allergy to chicken, I would probably start with either lamb, beef, or rabbit and feed only that for a month, then assess his condition. If no improvement, I would try another protein source, and so on until the condition improved.
Frequently animals test allergic to chicken when they are on processed food, but when they get the REAL thing, they are no longer allergic. You may also consider a visit to a homeopathic vet to get the skin problem helped a bit - diet will do it of course (but not processed) but some additional external help would be beneficial for your kitty.
