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Cats/ground flax seeds

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Expert: - 5/19/2009


Question
How often and how much to give a regular sized cat.

Answer
Kathy,

Thank you for your comments.  Now that I know what you take the flax seed for, I am not sure that cats can digest it.  We use a Halo product called Dream Coat to do exactly the same thing.

Doing a simple search on the Internet suggested using flax seed oil and just putting on top of your pets food.  The suggested dosage is:

Here is a snippet from one article (http://www.budwigflax.com/Articles/Flax-Pets.html):

"In the majority of cases, giving your pet flaxseed oil is as easy as pouring a little of it on top of her food. A general rule of thumb is to give your pet 1-teaspoon of flaxseed oil for every 25 pounds of weight-a 75 pound Border Collie would get 3 teaspoons of flaxseed oil a day while his 12 pound kitty friend would get about ½ teaspoon. Of course, please check with your veterinarian before starting your pet on any new supplement, but research shows the vast majority of pets easily tolerate flaxseed oil."

I appreciate learning about this and thank you for your question.

Best regards... Norm.




Kathy,

And what are you treating with the ground flax seeds? I have never heard of giving ground flax seeds to cats, but am intrigued.

Best regards... Norm.

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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