> Thanks for your Great Reply!!!

Your welcome!

> I don't have all the details about the Paleo Diet since I
> though it would be mostly RAF - Raw Animals Food - and yet I see a lot
> of CAF - Cooked Animal Food -in all the message and some actually seem
> to specifically stay away from Raw.  Please enlighten me sometime in a
> future Post if you can.

The restriction is that the foods you cook must be *able* to be eaten
raw.  I have no doubt that if I ate all my food raw, it would be
healthier for me, too, but I am not able to get myself past the
texture of purely raw meat.  Rare, definitely, but not raw.  ;-)
Also, living in Alaska, *fresh* meat is not an option unless I hunt
it myself, which I do not do, and then the risk of parasites would be
great.  Once a box of meat sits on a barge floating up the Pacific
Coast for several days, it is hard for me to think it is sufficiently
fresh, but I don't really know.  The longer I feed my dog this way,
maybe it will rub off!!

> > The acronym for feeding Bones And Raw Foods to cats and dogs is
> > *BARF*! ...
>
> Hahaha!!! - :)!!! - That's Funny!!! - Is that a real Acronym or did you
> just make it up now in this Post?

No, I didn't make it up.  It is a real acronym!

> >  "Give Your Dog A Bone"
> > written by Ian Billinghurst, an Australian veterinarian.  This book
> > is essentially a canine version of Neanderthin
>
> Cool!!! - When did it come out and can I find it in the Unites States?

I don't remember the copyright date (I'm at work now), but I bought
mine through:

http://www2.dogandcatbooks.com/directbook/

> Pulverizing is like Juicing with just added the Pulp back I guess then,
> or I just you could just use a Blender or a Vitamix or something of that
> Nature.

Yes, I use a juicer.  A blender would also work.  A grinder, like a
hand-cranked, clamp to the counter model, doesn't really grind the
veggies small enough, though.  You want the cell walls broken down.
But I do use my hand grinder for chicken wings and organ meats
that I mix with Eclipse's veggies so that everything will mix well
enough that she can't pick anything out!

> > I have learned much about feeding animals this way from the Wellpet
> > mailing list.

In case anyone is interested, the website for subscribing to this
list is:

http://www.listservice.net/wellpet/

Not everyone on Wellpet (not even a majority, for that matter) feeds
BARF, but lots of them do.  It is a fairly busy list, but folks are
pretty good about sticking to the subject headers, so it is also easy
to delete posts quickly that you have no interest in.

> I didn't know my Cats could handle Beef Bones since they are a lot small
> than actual Wild Cats that could probably take down a Cow - I don't
> think my Cats would have much of a chance!!! - It would be funny or sad
> to watch since they might get trampled on.  So I guess I'll stick with
> Fowl and Fish Bones but I think Bone Meal from Beef if it's done without
> Heating or Cooking would be good too and if no one does it I guess I
> could get my own Grinder and do it myself

I probably wouldn't give beef bones to a cat either.  :-)  But fish
and chicken wings, certainly!  You might want to pound the wing up
with a hammer to pulverize the bones inside when you are just
starting out.  It is a good way to get them used to dealing with the
change.  And a chicken wing segment is about the same size as a
mouse.  (BTW, a mouse is 100% nutritionally complete for a cat, as
long as they consume the whole thing.)

I don't know of any bonemeal made from raw bones.  As far as I know,
it is all *steamed* bonemeal.  And the health of the animals donating
those bones can be questionable.

I suppose drying out the bones and grinding them somehow would be a
good way around it, but it seems like a LOT of trouble for nothing!
Giving the kitty something to gnaw on seems a lot more natural, and
it strengthens their jaw muscles, too.  A cat that only eats
ground-up food has no reason or means to develop strong facial
muscles.  Strong muscles maintain healthy teeth, and chewing on
bones cleans teeth naturally.  Pets who eat bones have very healthy
(odor-free) mouths, teeth, and gums.  And I must admit, I like to
gnaw on bones myself!  I figure that the connective tissue and
cartiledge must contain something that I'm probably not getting
anywhere else in my diet.  I've always chewed the ends off my chicken
bones, even as a little kid.  It just seemed the right thing to do!

If anyone wants more info, feel free to write to me privately.

Lisa in Alaska