Act 1 - Scene 9
Calcium

A lack of calcium, or the inability to properly assimilate calcium has been known to cause dental facial problems as an example. Reports, photographs and x-rays made during Dr. Pottenger’s 10 year cat study clearly illustrate this fact.

Many of the cats eating a “deficient” diet as deemed by Dr. Pottenger had dental facial problems such as an underbite, cramping of the teeth, and in general, under-developed faces.

Although, these problems are irreversible once they have occurred, with puppies and kittens it is important to try and prevent these problems with good wholesome foods and quality calcium supplements. With mature dogs and cats, good food and a good quality calcium supplement simply help to provide the calcium needed for living.

There are many other functions and benefits beyond the obvious of minerals like calcium. Calcium not only is important for strong bones, but it also is said to help with blood clotting, activating enzyme action, and in helping with normalizing the contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles.

Don’t underestimate minerals. They are the spark plugs of life.

As mentioned in Part 1 - Scene 6, calcium is the single most important supplement you can provide your pets with. An excellent source of calcium for your pets is finely ground egg shells.

The goal that we want to achieve when providing a calcium supplement is to help provide our pets with twice as much calcium as phosphorus. Our pets require a 2:1 ratio between calcium and phosphorus. While it's impossible to perfectly obtain this ratio we can, at the very least, get close to creating this ideal ratio for our pets by using finely ground egg shells as a calcium supplement.

When the body is getting the proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus, then this will help prevent a calcium deficiency, will further help prevent calcium related health problems and will also help prevent problems that are indirectly caused by an imbalance in the calcium to phosphorus ratio.

Suggested Doses of Finely Ground Egg Shells:

Finely ground egg shells are extremely high in calcium and contain virtually no phosphorus.

1 teaspoon of finely ground egg shells contains approximately 1900 mg of calcium. This is a whopping amount of calcium!

Ideally, I like to provide a specific amount of calcium based on the meat being fed. Different meats contain different amounts of calcium and phosphorus. Therefore, in an ideal world I would suggest a certain amount of calcium based on the meat being fed to help create the 2:1 ratio that I have been talking about.

Due to the fact 1 tsp is such a small amount, the difference between each meat is so minute that nobody will have the measuring spoons required to get the correct amount. So for simplicity's sake, I have created 1 chart for all meats.

Based on my evaluation of the nutritional analysis of various meats, even though I am using only 1 chart for all meats, the amount suggested is quite close to being the ideal 2:1 ratio.

Now wait, I know what some of you are thinking! You are thinking... "how do I know how much meat I am going to be feeding anyway?"

Well, not to worry... Part 3 of my book explains how to feed. More specifically, Part 3 - Scene 4 explains my feeding method. Remember to read Part 1 - Scene 4 also for notes about feeding.

So add the following amount of ground egg shells using the table below:

Weight of Meat	Ground Egg Shells
100 grams	1/4 tsp
200 grams	1/2 tsp
300 grams	2/3 tsp
400 grams	3/4 tsp
¼ pound	1/4 tsp
½ pound	1/2 tsp
¾ pound	3/4 tsp
1 pound	1 tsp
1 Jumbo Egg or 1 Large Egg	1/8 tsp
2 Jumbo Eggs or 2 Large Eggs	1/4 tsp
4 Jumbo Eggs of 4 Large Eggs	1/2 tsp
6 Jumbo Eggs of 6 Large Eggs	3/4 tsp
8 Jumbo Eggs of 8 Large Eggs	1 tsp

How To Make Ground Egg Shell Powder:

If you have access to enough egg shells and if you have the inclination, you can make your own finely ground egg shell powder.

Choose the direction based on the type of eggs you are using...

Free Range Eggs:

• Simply collect egg shells.

• Wash egg shells (optional).

• Let the egg shells dry on the stove top or in the sun.

• Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding (optional).

• Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc. and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although it most likely will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

Non Free Range Eggs:

• Simply collect egg shells.

• Wash the egg shells.

• Let the egg shells dry on the stove top or in the sun.

• Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding. In addition, this helps to get rid of the mineral oils that have been applied to the egg shells to keep them from drying out in the store.

• Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc. and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although it most likely will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

Editor's Paw Note:

If you are unable or don't have the time to make your own ground egg shell supplement, then you can order ground egg shell supplement online through pet-grub.com.

If you want to learn more about supplementation and how I do it, simply read my notes about food supplementation which can be found in Appendix A - Scene 8.

For those that don't know, I have also created www.nutritioninfoods.com. This web site features the nutritional analysis for 878 foods which have been gathered from the USDA's nutrient database.

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Katherine’s Official Gospel

Did you know that... Dr. Pottenger found that during his 10 year cat study with over 900 cats that the cats fed raw meat over their life span showed resistance to infections, to fleas, and to various other parasites, and showed no signs of allergies. They are friendly and predictable in their behavior patterns. When thrown or dropped as much as 6 feet to test co-ordination, they always landed on their feet and came back for more play. Now you know!

source: Pottenger’s Cats: A Study In Nutrition by Francis M. Pottenger, M.D.

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