I am a fairly new listener to Dog Talk on Podcast and I really with I was able to also listen to Cat Chat (any plans on making this show also into a podcast?). I listen while I am at work and I have been listening all week so I have listened to about 15 shows this past week. I love the show and I just wanted to thank you for giving your time and talents to us every week. The variety of topics and information on your show about dogs and cats too is wonderful!!

I have a few questions if you have time to answer them. (I also don't mind of you answer them on the show. I may try to call in next week if I can.)

My husband and I live in Michigan and we are owned by 2 dogs and 4 cats...all rescues. The dogs are a 7 yr old little lab mix female named Onyx and a 3 yr old Aussie mix male named Topaz. Our cats are Razzle who is a male polydactyl manx, Jellybean (f), Malcolm (m), and the baby is Alex (m). They are all 1-2 yrs old. So we have a full house!

We lost our beloved 8 yr old Manx, Zagnut and his 7 yr old "sister", Skittles in 2006 due to the Diamond pet food recall. We have spent the last year researching and changing foods for the cats and dogs and have settled on By Nature dry for the cats and raw for the dogs. We started the raw for the dogs in December and they are off the kibble completely. We have noticed an energy boost, excellent soft, shiny coats, and their extra weight is just about gone!! We are pleased with the results.

I have heard you call dry cat food "kitty crack" many times on the podcast and I have a question about feeding cats an all wet food diet...isn't this bad for their teeth? I have always heard all wet food is horrible on their teeth. Maybe it's the brand of canned that makes the difference. We were feeding them Wellness canned for a while along with free feeding the kibble. I am not against feeding only wet food although we do have some food aggression issues amongst the cats and it is sometimes a problem but I was wondering about the issue with their teeth.

My other dog related question is about Epilepsy and that immune supplement you are always talking about. Would this have any benefit for our Epileptic dog? We don't currently supplement, but I may start adding the omega fish oils. I was just curious about that supplement and Epileptic dogs in general. I'd love if you could have an expert on sometime in the future talking about Canine Epilepsy.

I loved your shows on the transports! My husband and I volunteered at a local No-Kill shelter last year (we no longer volunteer there due to personality conflicts, but I believe in and truly support their mission and they do WONDERFUL things for animals!) and they also travel to Ohio and northern Michigan to pick up animals that are days, sometimes hours from being euthanized. My husband was one of their transport people for a few months and he has probably transported 50 or so animals to the safety of our shelter himself. Most, if not all, of those animals have been adopted and are enjoying their forever homes and many needed to be nursed back to health due to the conditions of the shelter they were previously in. What people do to animals and how they are disposable to some people just sickens me!! I am very glad that you found out about these transports and are educating people about the kindness and generosity of others.

The shelter that we volunteered for is called The Animal Welfare Society of Southeastern Michigan (www.animalwelfaresociety.net) and they have an annual benefit dinner with a silent auction. I was wondering if you would be willing to donate a Dog/and or Cat Bible to them so they can auction it off. I am sure they would appreciate it.

Thank you again for your wonderful show and everything that you do for the animals!! Pets and kisses to your pack from mine!

Heidi in Michigan

Hi Heidi,

Thanks for your kind words about DOG TALK® - so glad you're enjoying it. Unfortunately CAT CHAT® is on Sirius Satellie radio which owns the shows after I broadcast them -

As for your other questions, the completely fallacious claim by pet food companies that dry food is a dental aid is debunked in THE CAT BIBLE (which you can buy with a link on my website) but there are also numerous Q&A's posted there by topic, which explain in detail (even to a doubting husband!) the truth and logic of why dry food is not a toothbrush.

And in answer to your question about epilepsy - I was doing a little recent research fro you before telling you with assurance that nothing new has been discovered. Very little is known about the condition and at this point it is only manageable with medications which you vet would monitor. However, I firmly believe (and even more vets using it for patients confirm my own experience) that Platinum Performance has multiple health benefits to dogs (and cats, horses and humans, each in different formulations, obviously!)  I highly recommend getting some for your dog and seeing if you don't see improvements within weeks.

While I am always willing to send copies of my books to rescue groups to raise money, I prefer to do so for groups with whom my listeners and readers are affiliated. You said you had problems with them and have left - so I wouldn't even know to whom to send it or that they have a use or need for it, since they did not request it. Sending books is actually quite expensive for me - I have to buy the books, package them up, take them to the post office etc. so I need to be selective about where they go and that I am doing it for one of my "constituents"!

If you do decide to buy the book, send me your mailing address and I'll send you an autographed bookplate to put in it.

Best wishes,
Tracie