In the wai book, it says that animals naturally will be at an ideal weight. Isn't that because they have to work for their food and don't eat till they are hungry (because it is an effort).
If you had wild animal and gave it access to unlimited food how do you know it wouldn't eat too much?
ideal weight is natural
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johndela1
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Well this is easy to observe. I have 5 cats. All of them have unlimited access to both cat food and kitten food, and limited access to some "people food" (mostly a bit of oil and some raw egg, though they've sampled all sorts of things). This may bore some of you to death, but I'm gonna do this case by case : P
The first cat is exclusively an outside cat. Even though she has access to cat food, she rarely eats any (I end up throwing it away because it goes bad), and hunts for her food instead. She eats birds, lizards, etc. She doesn't wait until she's hungry to start hunting - if she sees a small critter that seems to be within her reach, she goes after it. Of course, she sleeps more than she hunts. She is not overweight at all.
The second cat goes in and out. She eats cat/kitten food, but hunts lizards and bugs for fun (and brings me the bugs as gifts). I've never seen her eat them. She wasn't overweight until recently, but after she had babies, she became depressed for two or three months. During that time she barely moved, whined a lot, ate a lot, and gained a lot of weight. She has a double chin now! I believe she is cheering up, though.
The third cat is indoors only, but that doesn't stop her from hunting. She literally hones her hunting skills all day. If she sees a bug, she'll catch it. If she sees something that may look somewhat like a bug, she will spend all day trying to catch it. She eats cat food and kitten food, and she's not overweight.
The last two cats are still babies, 4 months old. They are eating a lot of kitten/cat food, a lot of "people food", and still nursing from their mom. They both practice hunting for fun, and they don't seem to have associated it with food yet. They don't follow the hunt, eat, then sleep cycle, unless I specifically hide all the food for a while, make them chase something until they're exhausted, and then give them the food back. (The ultimate trick if you want your kittens to let you have a peaceful night's sleep, cause they'll fall asleep as you do!)
I also had a cat before, who wasn't overweight until I moved out. She now lives with my ex-boyfriend, who doesn't give her nearly as much attention as I did (I had her trained to sit on command and use the toilet, to give you an idea of how much time I spent with her) and has doubled in size, even though her diet hasn't changed. None of the other cats I've ever owned (there were lots) were ever overweight.
Hope you found this interesting. In my experience cats don't get fat just because the food's there, there are definitely other factors involved. And in my opinion, it wouldn't make sense if animals waited until they were very hungry to start hunting, they need a constant stream of energy throughout the day just like we do, and hunting itself is very tiring.
The first cat is exclusively an outside cat. Even though she has access to cat food, she rarely eats any (I end up throwing it away because it goes bad), and hunts for her food instead. She eats birds, lizards, etc. She doesn't wait until she's hungry to start hunting - if she sees a small critter that seems to be within her reach, she goes after it. Of course, she sleeps more than she hunts. She is not overweight at all.
The second cat goes in and out. She eats cat/kitten food, but hunts lizards and bugs for fun (and brings me the bugs as gifts). I've never seen her eat them. She wasn't overweight until recently, but after she had babies, she became depressed for two or three months. During that time she barely moved, whined a lot, ate a lot, and gained a lot of weight. She has a double chin now! I believe she is cheering up, though.
The third cat is indoors only, but that doesn't stop her from hunting. She literally hones her hunting skills all day. If she sees a bug, she'll catch it. If she sees something that may look somewhat like a bug, she will spend all day trying to catch it. She eats cat food and kitten food, and she's not overweight.
The last two cats are still babies, 4 months old. They are eating a lot of kitten/cat food, a lot of "people food", and still nursing from their mom. They both practice hunting for fun, and they don't seem to have associated it with food yet. They don't follow the hunt, eat, then sleep cycle, unless I specifically hide all the food for a while, make them chase something until they're exhausted, and then give them the food back. (The ultimate trick if you want your kittens to let you have a peaceful night's sleep, cause they'll fall asleep as you do!)
I also had a cat before, who wasn't overweight until I moved out. She now lives with my ex-boyfriend, who doesn't give her nearly as much attention as I did (I had her trained to sit on command and use the toilet, to give you an idea of how much time I spent with her) and has doubled in size, even though her diet hasn't changed. None of the other cats I've ever owned (there were lots) were ever overweight.
Hope you found this interesting. In my experience cats don't get fat just because the food's there, there are definitely other factors involved. And in my opinion, it wouldn't make sense if animals waited until they were very hungry to start hunting, they need a constant stream of energy throughout the day just like we do, and hunting itself is very tiring.
In my experience, they never overeat when fed raw foods exclusively all their life, and if they can always eat as much as they want.johndela1 wrote:In the wai book, it says that animals naturally will be at an ideal weight. Isn't that because they have to work for their food and don't eat till they are hungry (because it is an effort).
If you gave it unlimited access to raw food only, there is never a trigger to overeat. Even not when bored or depressed, because there is no 'rewarding' effect of beta-carbolines (from cooked foods) and opioid peptides (wheat / milk proteins in cat food)If you had wild animal and gave it access to unlimited food how do you know it wouldn't eat too much?
That excludes finding out what the effects of raw foods are, as even a little cooked food may already cause overeating. Whether you end up at your natural weight while have access to natural food, depends on whether the natural food is 100% raw, all of it, all of the time.Biev wrote:All of them have unlimited access to both cat food and kitten food, and limited access to some "people food"
Yes, one can be skinny or overweight on any diet (but on a raw diet one will not be overweight)...She eats cat food and kitten food, and she's not overweight.
Of course there are other factors involved, but that is specifically true for when they are not fed raw foods 100% exclusively.In my experience cats don't get fat just because the food's there, there are definitely other factors involved.
If there is there is always (solely) natural raw food available, they will never get fat, regardless of other factors, due to the absence of 'compensatory effects' (beta-carbolines, opioid peptides)
Maybe they dont need it as we do, as they are carnivores, who, by nature eat very few, but very big meals, and who sleep much more than we do.they need a constant stream of energy throughout the day just like we do, and hunting itself is very tiring.
Huh. Good point. I put myself in the category of the carnivores that sleep a lot : ) I bet I sleep as much as they do lately.
Well, maybe I should have specified that when I give my cats "people food", it's before cooking it. They get raw fish, meat, egg, whenever I have them. Also they get to lick a bit of foil, sometimes a bit of yogurt for a treat (although they may nibble on something they're not supposed to once in a while if my back is turned long enough). But of course they still have access to dry cat food, and that's cooked.
Well, maybe I should have specified that when I give my cats "people food", it's before cooking it. They get raw fish, meat, egg, whenever I have them. Also they get to lick a bit of foil, sometimes a bit of yogurt for a treat (although they may nibble on something they're not supposed to once in a while if my back is turned long enough). But of course they still have access to dry cat food, and that's cooked.