Content guidelines

#1

If you wish to discuss a topic but don't see a place to post it on the Bulletin Board, please contact the Holisticat Crew, and one of us will guide you. General posting guidelines have already been covered under the topic "Forum Etiquette". Here are some more as they relate to specific content of posts.

Message guidelines based on my pet peeves and biases:
Drugs and chemicals - should be used as a last resort, not as the only option and certainly not the first one. Please give natural methods a chance. Or we'll have to wonder why you're here:)

Various treatment modalities - While you might think a certain modality e.g. homeopathy, is bunk, don't pooh-pooh it on the Board. If you don't wish to use it, don't, but do respect the right of others to utilize gentle healing methods that fall outside the confines of "conventional medicine".

Whole prey - Don't be a Nazi and act like anyone feeding ground meat might as well be feeding kibble. Keep some perspective. As long as a person is feeding a balanced fresh raw diet, that's far preferable to commercial food esp. dreaded kibble. If you are someone who thinks whole prey is *the* only way, as opposed to *a* way to approach rawfeeding, this is not the forum for you. Holisticat will continue to stay open-minded and allow even commercial food <gasp> folks to hang out here while gently guiding them to better alternatives, so get used to it.

Ground raw meat recipes - Without saying unkind things about other recipes floating around, please be aware that this is a site with an established 10 yr history with 1,000s of cats, and a book + website to go along with it. For all these years, we've always backed up what we say by examining scientific studies. This is very different from assertions and speculation based on assumptions about what cats do and don't do. This intellectual rigor is distinctive to this community. So don't kick us in the teeth by referencing other sites as purported cat authorities. Please show some respect and not recommend other recipes you see at various websites. Also, if you have questions about recipes on a particular website, email them first. You don't go to Target and ask them about Wal Mart merchandise, do you?

Cat physiology - Cats are unique, so don't treat them like small dogs in terms of either nutrition or training or health. Before you recommend a product or website, check to make sure they actually talk about cats and not "pets" because frequently cats are lumped in with other animals. However, many things other animals can ingest are toxic to cats. Don't even think about selling essential oils here!