Would you like your dog or cat to live a longer, healthier life, with lower vet bills? Would you like your pet to live to 15-20 years like pets used to in the 1950s-60s? Optimum Choices offers "wholistic" solutions to help your pet achieve optimal health through holistic pet food. Despite the fancy advertising, many pet foods on the market are detrimental to your pet’s health. As a result, pets die sooner than they did 60 years ago. Dogs and cats commonly suffer from cancers, kidney disease, liver problems, thyroid disorders and other problems starting in mid-life. Much of this is due to their poor quality diets. Dry kibbles are nutritionally equivalent to meat-flavored cookies. We fed our previous dog raw pet food since that is what Nature designed a carnivore (descendents of wolves) to eat. She lived to be 18 years old. We transitioned our 18 year old cat from dry kibble to a raw diet (it took over one year) and put her on our revolutionary holistic bio-algae concentrates. She lived into her 20's and the vets could not believe her muscle tone and how well her shiny black coat looked (we feed no fish oils). We feel a natural, holistic pet food is the foundation for wellness.

Raw pet food or organic pet food is the best but obviously not everyone can afford it or wants to take the time to prepare or buy it. So, we offer affordable alternatives like Life's Abundance pet food (that is delivered to your front door and formulated by holistic veterinarian, Dr. Jane Bick, only available for shipping within the U.S.). For more details, click the green Life's Abundance button below.

Here are some shocking statistics:

• Nearly 50 percent of natural deaths in older cats and dogs are attributed to cancer. (Morris Animal Foundation Study, January 25, 2005)

• A recent study showed that over 60% of Golden Retrievers will die of cancer. Moreover, approximately 400 out of 1000 dogs will develop cancer and close to 200 out of 1000 cats will develop feline leukemia. (Kali’s Wish Cancer Foundation)

• Statistics from veterinary organizations and dog and cat registries show that the life span of America’s companion animals is much less than it was in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Why has our pet's health and longevity declined over the last 40-50 years? Pet food manufacturers often use poor quality ingredients such as 4D meat (dying, dead, diseased, disabled), by-products (feet, heads, beaks, hides, hooves) and moldy or contaminated grains. The food may then be preserved with BHA, BHT or ethoxyquine, which can cause cancer. (For more information, see "What's Really in Pet Food" by Born Free USA.)

Statistics show that the life span of America's companion animals is now half what it was in the 1950's and 1960's. Nearly 50 percent of natural deaths in older cats and dogs are attributed to cancer. To help prevent your pet from becoming a statistic, click on the happy dog below. Give your pet the fountain of youth and holistically help prevent cancer! For a FREE report on What Pet Food Companies Don't Want you to Know, sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

The premium brands of pet food typically use better-quality ingredients but if you feed kibble, even premium brands, it is grain or starch based as that keeps it from falling apart. Dogs and cats are carnivorous (meat-eating) animals. Look at your brand’s label. Meat or meat meal should be the first ingredient, not wheat, corn, soy, by-products or other non-meat items. Look specifically for the words beef, lamb, chicken, liver, etc., by themselves in the list of ingredients. The manufacturer can count the protein in non-meat ingredients towards the total protein of the food even though it is difficult for your pet to digest and absorb.

Even if you buy a high-quality pet food, by the time you buy it at the store, it could be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years old, due to the long distribution channel. Your brand could have the best ingredients on the label but their nutritional value could be severely decreased and the oils could be turning rancid by the time you buy the bag in the local store. Therefore, consider buying food from manufacturers who package it to mitigate this problem (and from a store that quickly turns over its stock) or purchase from a company that ships direct from the factory to you. That's one reason our customers love Life's Abundance. (Only available for shipping within the U.S. through an Independent Field Representative.) The pet food is formulated by well-known holistic veterinarian, Dr. Jane Bicks. The company has been around since 1998 and has an excellent quality control record. The pet food is shipped from one of their U.S. warehouses and delivered direct to your door by UPS.

So, what can you feed your pet to keep it in optimal health? Many holistic vets now recommend a raw food diet for both dogs and cats (provided they are not immune compromised). Dogs and cats are carnivores, designed to eat a diet high in raw meat and bones, with some vegetable matter. The raw food provides the natural enzymes they need to digest the food and raw bones act as natural toothbrushes. It is now possible to buy pre-made raw food diets (frozen or freeze-dried) at many local natural pet stores or on the Internet if you do not have time to prepare it yourself. There are some risks to a raw diet—there have been reported cases of dogs getting bones impacted in their digestive tracts and of animals dying of food poisoning from the bacteria in raw meat. You can minimize these problems by using ground bones and only feeding the highest quality raw meat. Also, don't mix raw meat with kibble at the same meal so the raw meat will move quickly through the digestive tract, as nature intended. For videos on how to easily prepare a raw food diet for dogs or cats, click here.

For pet owners who cannot afford the time and cost to feed an all-raw diet, Optimum Choices offers super-premium kibble and canned foods from Life's Abundance (only available for shipping within the U.S.) that contain premium ingredients, no by-products, no corn or wheat and no artificial preservatives. Life's Abundance kibble also includes probiotics, to help improve your pet's digestion. Life's Abundance is always shipped direct to your door, for your convenience. We feed our cats mostly raw food but include some Life's Abundance canned cat food in their diet, which is recommended by holistic feline vet Dr. Jean Hofve. For more information on raw food sources and Life's Abundance, click the button below.

For a "wholistic" and nutritional complement to any processed or cooked pet food, check out our bio-algae concentrates product for pets below. It is based on Dr. Michael Kiriac's successful quest to stop the ongoing cancer epidemic in animals in controlled trials in the former U.S.S.R. Click the green BioPreparation button below.

Other similar super premium brands may be available at your local specialty pet store. If you are in the Denver area, we can direct you to local stores that sell excellent brands of food and are run by very knowledgeable owners. We provide Life's Abundance online for those customers who prefer to have food shipped direct to their home (only available for shipping within the U.S.) or who may not have a good pet store near them. All Life's Abundance foods are formulated by well-known holistic veterinarian, Dr. Jane Bicks, DVM. They are completely safe and have never been involved in a recall.

For more information on commercial pet food and pet nutrition, see our Articles Page. For an excellent CD audio series by nationally renowned holistic veterinarian and pet food expert Dr. Jean Hofve and award-winning author Jan Rasmusen, click How NOT to Kill Your Cat or Dog.

Summarizing our holistic pet food philosophy:

1. No dry kibble, even grain-free dry kibble. Dry kibble is the least nutritious form of food to feed a carnivore.
2. Feed a variety of meat flavors. Wild carnivores do not kill just one species of prey. A variety of meat protein provides a variety of nutrients (especially amino acids).
3. Feed various brands. Each manufacturer has a different source of meat,  additives and their own formula for pet food.
4. No meat by-products, which can include beaks, feathers, hooves and other indigestible material.
5. No grains, no legumes, no synthetic vitamins. Contains only whole food/prey ingredients.
6. No chemical preservatives, such as BHA, BHT or ethoxyquin.