I believe that a well balanced diet is essential for building a healthy immune system in my cats.

I have also noticed other benefits over the nine years I have been feeding a natural diet.  These include extreme health - glowing coats which look almost glassy with shine, excellent muscle tone and boning resulting in deceptively heavy cats and kittens with muscles that ripple and loads of energy.

There are three basic components to my diet:

• 70% meat - usually ground beef with heart, kidney or liver added 

• 15% cooked wholegrain oats

• 15% Vegetables - usually cooked pumpkin.

These get mixed up and then I add my powder mix at the rate of 0.25 tsp per cat per feed:

• 1.5 cups of yeast

• 2 cups dolomite (calcium)

• 0.25 cups of kelp

I will often substitute the kelp for some of the Vets All Natural Vitamin supplement.  If you are really busy, you could just use this supplement on its own.

I also add oil - an Omega 3 oil mix which includes Vitamins A & D & E, at 0.5 tsp per cat per day.

I also grow wheatgrass for my cats to nibble on.  They also enjoy raw chicken necks and these are good for cleaning teeth but messy as they play mouse with them and toss them around! They get them right before I'm about to wash the floors.

Kitten biscuits - Royal Canin or Science diet, and Royal Canin tooth diet biscuits are always available for in between snacking together with fresh filtered water changed daily.

If you want to do more reading, I can recommend the following books:

• Anitra Frazier- - The New Natural Cat

• Celeste Yarnell - Cat Care, Naturally.

• Dr Pitcairn - natural Health for Dogs and Cats