INGREDIENTS FOR CATS
Some of this information will also apply to dogs, but there are extensive differences between the canine and feline formulas.

Cats have relatively short digestive tracts. They are heavily reliant on what they are eating to provide the enzymes necessary to digest that food. In the wild cats will obtain necessary enzymes from their prey. This offal has the digestive enzymes cats need for efficient digestion. Even the most expensive commercial food cannot have the enzymes cats need for digestion — if they did, they would digest themselves on the shelf and the food would have no shelf life.

To compensate for this lack of enzymes, cats slow the digestive process down significantly to try to "catch up" by producing their own enzymes or stealing enzymes from other organs to help with digestion. Not only does this stress the cat's system, but crucially it allows the food to putrify as it is going through the digestive tract. Toxins from this putrified food leach into the cat’s system and are responsible for many ailments. They may manifest as "allergies", "irritable bowel" or other short-term complaint and also contribute to long-term diseases.

Vetraceuticals nutritional formulas contain the right enzymes, sourced in the right way. They are acid stable so that they function in the right part of the cat's system. Adding these enzymes makes your cat's digestive system perform efficiently – processing and absorbing the nutrients in needs, and ensuring the waste travels through quickly. This not only helps with digestive disorders, allergy symptoms and long-term disease prevention, but also reduces odor of both breath and feces.

Enzymes are only one component of the Vetraceuticals feline formula. They also contain:

Probiotics
These are helpful bacteria that should be present in the cat’s digestive system. Probiotics are the cat's first line of defence against pathogens and help with digestion. They are easily destroyed through inadequate nutrition and other stresses. Adding them in this formula helps the cat's probiotic system recover and develop.

Antioxidants
Your cat's cells are under attack by "free radicals". These are high velocity particles that occur both through natural metabolism and also other factors such as poor diet and through slowed digestion producing putrified food in the cat's system. The cell damage caused by free radials results in many of the diseases associated with aging and is linked with cancer and short-term disorders also. Antioxidants make these free radicals harmless by stabilizing them.

Not all antioxidants are created equal, however. Vitamin C is added to many products to make the claim "high in antioxidants". This is a very cheap ingredient that cats require little of. Vetraceuticals contains very high potency antioxidants:

<•| • top • |•>

CoEnzyme Q10
Green Tea Extract
Grape Seed Extract
DL-Methionine
(also a vital amino acid for hair, skin and coat)

Vitamin E (4 tocopherols)
Lipoic Acid

L-Glutamine
Adding these to your cat's diet ensures you are doing all you can to prevent cell damage. These antioxidants are not in the formulas because they are cheap, but because they are right.

Immune System Stimulants

Beta Carotene Complex
Although ctas lack the enzyme to convert this to Vitamin A, Beta Carotene and other Carotenoids strengthen the immune system and are also antioxidants.

Amino Acids

Taurine
This amino acid is essential to cats for proper eye and heart function. Supplementing this will help prevent degenerative heart disease and Feline Central Retinal Degeneration.

L-Carnitine
This amino acid is used in metabolism. Suplementing his supports cardiac muscle and may help protect cats from hepatic lipidosis — a serious liver disease.

Vitamins and Minerals
It is vital to add vitamins and minerals to your cat ’s diet that are either destroyed in the food preparation process or missing from the food. These include:

Vitamin A
For coat, skin, growth, vision, digestive and reproductive function. Retinyl Palmitate — A preformed source of Vitamin A. Cats must consume their Vitamin A from a preformed source as they lack the enzyme to convert Beta-Carotene to Vitamin A.

Vitamin B1
For muscle and nerve function as well as metabolism.

Vitamin B2
Vital for metabolism, red blood cell production, growth and muscles.

Vitamin B3
For the proper function of enzymes, nervous system, hormone production, skin.

Vitamin B5
Metabolism. Lack causes intestinal problems, hair loss. As other B vitamins has a calming, stress-reduction function.

Vitamin B6
Critical in protein synthesis. Proper function of hormone and nervous system.

Vitamin B12
Vital for red and white blood cell production. For immune and nervous system function.

Choline
Integral to all cell membranes. May ward off feline Alzheimer’s.

Inositol
Calms behavioural disorders, aids in healthy coat and cognitive function.

Biotin
Plays a major role in metabolizing energy for the cat's body. Important for healthy skin, fur and coat as well as for growth, digestion and muscle function.

Folic Acid
Necessary for the formation of red and white blood cells. Vital, therefore, in immune system function. Deficiency can cause anemia and susceptibility to infection. Important for nervous system function.

Zinc
Important for the function of the immune system.

<•| • top • |•>

Green Whole Foods and other components

Spirulina
A concentrated super-food nutrient. Loaded with amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, natural carotenoids, this phytonutrient is a powerhouse of free-radical scavenging activity. In-vitro studies have shown its cancer fighting abilities.

Wheat Sprouts
Whole food nutrition providing vitamins, minerals enzymes and phytonutrients. The sprouted form of wheat is high in antioxidants and helps produce Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD) which is a powerful enzyme that attacks free radicals.

Barley Grass
Another whole food high in vitamins, enzymes, amino acids and minerals. Also contains high levels of cleansing chlorophyll, which also has antioxidant properties.

Alfalfa
A cleansing nutrient high in many nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins, mineral and chlorophyll (with its own cleansing and antioxidant properties). Alfalfa is often used to help treat arthritis and prevent cancer.

Chlorella
Is single cell green algae that is high in many vitamins, enzymes, protein, and cancer fighting carotenoids. Chlorella has the highest concentration of chlorophyll compared to all the green algae. Chlorella is a powerful de-toxifier because it has the ability to bind toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides and eliminate them from the body. Chlorella has been helpful in treating bad breath, body odor and fecal odor. Chlorella is alkaline and helps balance the body's pH. Chlorella has also shown to be helpful in fighting cancer.

Kelp
Rich in vitamins, chelated trace minerals and amino acids. Can help support healthy thyroid function.

L-Glutamine
An amino acid, which has been used to help with inflammation. It has proven useful in the treatment of certain gastrointestinal diseases as well as arthritis. Glutamine nourishes the cells that line the digestive tract and helps prevent and treat certain intestinal problems. Glutamine can cross the blood-brain barrier and once in the brain it is converted to glutamic acid and increases the concentration of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). Glutamic acid and GABA are critical for proper brain function.

Lecithin
A vital component of cell membranes.

As you can see, Vetraceuticals® provides hugely powerful nutrition without adding anything to the diet that should not be there. Not only that, it delivers these nutrients in the right way.

<•| • top • |•>