Thank you Robfdavies and bonkers!  I'm sure Cato appreciates it!  e is still watching out the window for Kaffe every night even though I tell him that Kaffe has gone ahead to our forever home in the heavenlies... but I think he watches becuase Kaffe sometimes visits him!

The information on the overcooking of meats is alarming....considering how most pet food is cooked to death. I wonder if there are these cancer risks even in food that doesn't have chemical preservatives or melamine in it due to the heating of the meat....

My question precisely!  I beleive that petfood - both canned and dry - have to be cooked at very high temps to eradicate salmonella etc and in order to meet FDA standards.  Hmmm... I think I'll check on that soon.

This is 2-yr old Cato, who adored his big brother Kaffe and misses him very much:

[H. pylori and Cancer: Fact Sheet]

I lost my beloved Kaffe to stomach cancer a couple of weeks ago.  I have been musing as to how it could have possibly happened.  I think it would be a great help to all of us if we researched on possiblecauses or contributives to cancer development in cats and dogs.  My first stop was to check the short articles of the Cancer Institute on possible risk factors.  Of interest to me are the following, becuase they may be contributors to why Kaffe developed an aggressive tummy cancer.

(1)  H. pylori and Cancer: Fact Sheet

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/HPylori

Infection with H. pylori is the most important risk factor for gastric cancer. Other risk factors include chronic gastritis (inflammation of the stomach); older age; being male; a diet high in salted, smoked, or poorly preserved foods and low in fruits and vegetables; certain types of anemia; smoking cigarettes; and a family history of stomach cancers.
...
Nearly all patients with gastric MALT lymphoma are infected with H. pylori, and the risk of developing this tumor is over six times higher in infected people than in uninfected people (9). Furthermore, up to 80 percent of patients with gastric MALT lymphoma achieve complete remission of their tumors after treatment with H. pylori-eradicating antibiotic therapy (2).

(2)  Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines

Research has shown that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not present in uncooked meats. A few of these chemicals may increase cancer risk. For example, heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl, and fish. HCAs form when amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and creatine (a chemical found in muscles) react at high cooking temperatures. Researchers have identified 17 different HCAs resulting from the cooking of muscle meats that may pose human cancer risk.
...
... Frying, broiling, and barbecuing produce the largest amounts of HCAs because the meats are cooked at very high temperatures...
Recent studies have further evaluated the relationship associated with methods of cooking meat and the development of specific types of cancer. One study conducted by researchers from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics found a link between individuals with stomach cancer and the consumption of cooked meats... They also found that people who ate beef four or more times a week had more than twice the risk of stomach cancer than those consuming beef less frequently. Additional studies have shown that an increased risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer is associated with high intakes of well-done, fried, or barbequed meats.
...
... Meats that are partially cooked in the microwave oven before cooking by other methods also have lower levels of HCAs.

(3)   Psychological Stress and Cancer: Questions and Answers
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/stress

------------
The last article on stress as a big contributing factor in the growth of tumors and cancers is I believe what pushed my sweetheart over the edge. 

We shoudl have a topic on minimizing stress for our pets!

While it would be very ideal to have all cats eating in the one area at the same time, I understand that there are situations where that may not be possible or that to force it would place the cats into a stressful situation where the transition to a new diet will be met with more confusion and resistance.  What I would do is to allow them each to eat where and when they are accustomed to eating for now as you gradually GRADUALLY introduce the new food - just a little at a time, served with their normal food.  The cats need to understand and accept that the new food IS food.  Unless they are starving, most cats will not eat something unfamiliar to them --- this instinct guards them against accidental poisoning in the wild.  So, present a little of the new food with their more familiar diet.  As for the timid siamese who eats only at certain times, what I found worked for my two who liked to nibble at food in the wee hours of the morning was to freeze small portions of raw in ice cube trays and then leave out a frozen cube or two on a plate on top of more ice for them to nibble at at will.  You'll find that by the time the raw cube thaws for eating, the cat is ready to eat.  Raw food can remain good this way for at least 2 - 3 hours - more if the weather is cold. 

Kaffe's Beaverton vet adopted this recipe (cooked version) for his own cats - he has 9 of them and thought the transition to home-made food cut the petfood expenses to nealry half.  I said, " 'told ya!"

He-he-he, it's amazing how much more WE know about feeding our furkids than the vets do!

Perseus:  It's amazing how much some pet parents know more than the vets do, period!   

Both my cats loved Nature's Variety Instincts canned food.  Their favorites are lamb and rabbit - never had a problem with Instincts, but I had a problem with the new Prairie/Homestyle canned --- all the veggies inclined the cats to have a rather higher pH than is comfortable.  Kaffe had a pH of 7 when fed Homestyle.  The product smells good though - just like "people stew" but I think one must use Homestyle in tight rotation with mostly-meat foods to avoid urinary problems in the future.

Back in 2007, Felidae Senior for cats was readily accepted by both Kaffe and Cato.  But I noted that around the beginning of this year (2008), the smell and consistency was different from what it used to be.  There were also visible light brown flakes in the mix.  Both cats began to refuse this food and I had to remove it from the rotation of commercial feeds I used to give. 

[Kaffe's "Franken Prey Recipe 1."]

This is Kaffe' basic raw food recipe, which he ate daily until for some reason, he could no longer keep raw food down and prefered the cooked version.  He used to like eating this when formed into little "meatballs" and sprinkled with bonito flakes.  My grandsons used to refer to this dish as "Kaffe's Burghers."  I alwasy referred to it as

Kaffe's "Franken Prey Recipe 1."  



1 Kilo      Chicken thigh with the bones

200 g      Chicken hearts

100 g      Chicken liver

2       Raw egg yolk only

150 g      Mixed veggies (cooked broccoli, cooked squash, raw grated carrot)   

2000mg   Taurine

2000mg   Fish Oil

400IU      Vit. E

100mg      Vit B-Complex (B-50 x 2 tabs)

2 caps      Multi-glandular (Multiplex glandulars)

1/8 tsp      Kelp
1/8 tsp      Dulse

*** when NOT grinding the bones, add 1.5 teaspoons eggshell powder

Phos: 2306 x 1.2 = 2767
Cal:    135
additional calcium supp:  2767 – 135 = 2632 /1800 = 1.46 or 1.5 teaspoons eggshell powder

1 tsp eggshell = 1800mg elemental calcium carbonate

1-2 tsp      Psyllium husk when constipation occurs or for hairball season

Kaffe's Beaverton vet adopted this recipe (cooked version) for his own cats - he has 9 of them and thought the transition to home-made food cut the petfood expenses to nealry half.  I said, " 'told ya!"

Gorgeous kitty! 

awww... that is simply soooo precious!  Athena bites with such conviction! ahaha 

["People-Food" Baked Trout]

I'll never forget that day in Novemebr last year when Kaffe screamed at me to have a helping of this "people food."  He ran to the kitchen when I took the trout out of the oven, screamed his distinctive tenor "ngeoww!" at me and then ran to the dining room table where he actually sat on one of the chairs fully expecting to be served there with the rest of the family. 

"People-Food" Baked Trout

1 kilo    Trout fillets (you can use salmon or any filleted fish, really)

1 Tbsp   Lemon juice

1 Tbsp     Olive Oil

1 tsp     Aji-Mirin Sweet-cooking Rice Seasoning (Kikkoman)

1 Tbsp   Soy Sauce (Kikkoman)

1 tsp     Rosemary herbs

Method:

1.  Seasoning mixture:  Combine lemon juice, olive oil, Aji-Mirin, soy sauce and rosemary herbs in a small bowl.

2.  Trout:  Brush or baste the trout with the seasoning mixture.  Cover all surfaces with this "sauce."

3.  Oven:  Wrap each trout fillet in tin foil, place on a flat oven pan and bake in 350 deg F oven until done (between 30 - 40 mins).

4.  Serve hot.

That is correct: there are no sutures - the vets now just make a tiny incision perhaps 1/4 inch (if that) o the sack and pop out the jewels through and "snip" --- at least that was how it was with Kaffe and Cato... I had to clean "the area" with that mustard color liquid... forgot what it's called... to prevent infection. Ah! yes - with betadine!  But Cato's incision became infected anyway and he had to have a course of amox.

Oooh. He got the cone........Thankfully not for too long.

So I put the cone right back on, but didn't realize I put it on upside down.  Then I see him walking funny and I'm wondering what the heck is going on?  THEN I realize it's covering his shoulders!  I'm such a bad mommy....

ha ha ha ha ha!!!     Oh, that's funny! 

If I remember corretly, the small incission closes up really quickly... I think by the 3rd or 5th day, or when the "wound" is dry, the little guy can lick himself already!

I also switched from raw to home-cooked with Kaffe after the vet told me he had the beginnings of CRF and on hindsight, probably the beginnnings of other more serious health issues.  I wanted to keep him on raw, but for some reason, he couldn't keep it down - he would barf if out.  On the otherhand, he was able to keep down the cooked versions of the recipes...  now I know of course that his tummy cancer had a lot to do with it.

On the CRF Support group, they advice agaisnt feeding raw to cats with compormised immune systems - and that includes cats with CRF and cancer.  In other groups, they advice feeding raw especially to cats with compromised immune systems --- so, really, there is still a lot of differing opinions out there!  IFor myself, I know I would have kept Kaffe on raw if he could have kept it down.