Vitamin drops for a cat & dog

I give all of my pets a vitamin called Eco-green. It was recommended to me by a guy who has been working in holistic animal care for twenty years...he runs a shelter and works with a bunch of other shelters, so he sees tons of animals.

He also works with a university lab where he has any animal that dies in his shelter autopsied to check for any deficiencies or anything, and they're always really healthy on the diet regimen he does, which includes those supplements. So I think his opinion is pretty trustworthy. His name is Eric Weisman, if you google that you'll find his site and his 800-number, and he's always happy to answer questions. He's VERY radical though, so be forewarned!

Eco Green is a people vitamin, but that way you know it's human grade and not going to have all the weird crap they put in cheapo supplements.

I just googled the name, and I see alot of sites for it.

Do you know if there is a variation? Or can I just get the first one I see for example?

How much should I use for them?

Okay, i googled it too, I see what you mean...apparently there are about a million different things called ecogreen! Try "Ecogreen Multivitamin", that should get you the right stuff. The name of the company is Now.

The only thing I don't like is that they're not drops you put in water or anything, they're pills. I chop up a pill and mix it into the food, but it's not too much of a hassle, really. I kind of prefer that to something in the water, because you know they're getting the whole thing and it's not just evaporating or oxidizing before they get it.

The dosage I was told is 1/2 to one full tablet per ten lbs. body weight. That's for cats, but I think he uses the same dosage for cats and dogs. Since it's just vitamins, I don't think you have to be as precise on the dosage as you would with a real medication, you know?

Yeah.
I agree.

I think what I will do, if one pill is good for 10 lbs, I will just give buttercup ONE whole pill, and Kitten 1/2

Kitten is ........ maybe 5 lbs?
She LOOKS like an 9 month old kitten.
Still long legged, skinny, baby soft fuzzy hair...

she is just 8 years old. heheh

So, do you know if the vet says the pills are good for both a cat and dog?
Or is he just saying it is ok for a cat?


The brand NOW is sold here in Austin in quite a few places.
I will look around next time I shop

He definitely recommends them for both dogs and cats. I imagine he'd tell you supplements marketed as dog vitamins and ones for cats are the same things anyway, just packaged differently

Oh, and just to be clear, he isn't a vet, he has a master's in nutrition-- he just started working with animals about twenty years ago when he found that there wasn't much info out there about holistic care for pets and his clients were interested in it. I think he seems really experienced, but that's just my opinion based on reading his website and talking to him a few times, so I can't swear that he's an expert or anything. I happen to agree with him about his ideas on human nutrition, so I just figured he's prolly a good source of information--but some people would think he was waaay out there! :wink: So, you know, you might do your own research and find something that sounds better to you...I'm sure there are lots of different opinions on it.

Your kitty sounds so cute! Have you posted any pics of your pets?

From what I just read, I can assure you that he is not a vet, and his master's is certainly in human nutrition. Granted, there is not a lot of solid information on veterinary nutrition, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, considering how often the medical profession rewrites their nutritional recommendations. Bottom line: there's a whole lot we don't know about nutrition in animals or humans, but no shortage of people who claim to have the answers. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that dogs and cats have dramatically differing metabolic systems, and that anyone who says any nutritional supplement is good for both dogs and cats has no idea what the hell he is talking about. Taurine alone is enough to make the differences clear. Truthfully, my experience has been that the best way to meet nutritional requirements is to feed a good brand of pet food. Beyond that, I would certainly recommend that you consult with your veterinarian, who can specify which vitamin and/or mineral supplements would be appropriate. I would steer widely clear of any prepackaged mix on the order of "Eco-Green" or any other such standardized assortment.

Interesting.

Good points.

So, if I can ask.. what would be a good food ?

For my dog, who is 54lbs and 2 years old, I am feeding her Nutro Max.

I know to check and make sure that corn is not one of the main ingredience, and that a protien source derived from animals should be with in the first 2 ingredience.
Nutro Max does that.

If that is a complete food, then I wont need a vitamin suppliment?
Would I have to have a blood test to assure that she is ok?

Cowdoc, you're totally right about the taurine, obviously. If we'd been talking taurine and the like, I wouldn't even venture a guess. I know the guy who I've talked to has different recommendations on dosages of other things like taurine, carnitine, etc. for dogs and cats.

I was just assuming that whatever food shewolf is feeding would have those, since most foods do, and that all she was looking for was a vitamin supplement. Eco green is just vitamins, would you think that you'd use very different dosages (per pound) of vitamins to dogs and cats? Or do you feel like vitamins are completely unnecessary? I always thought it made sense to give additional vitamins, since I've read that food can lose the potentcy of the vitamins if it's not fresh.

Okay, for starters, Nutro Max is a good food. I am personally unconvinced that corn is necessarily bad for dogs, especially adults. Rapidly growing puppies can be a different story. Blood tests, unfortunately, will rarely give you an relevant information regarding vitamins. Secondly, vitamins in non-fresh food can indeed lose their potency, particularly water-soluble vitamins. It's extremely difficult to cause any harm with the water-solubles (B-complex, C, and K) but that is not true of the fat-solubles (A, D, and E). Vitamin A toxicosis is relatively easy to produce in dogs. Again, one of the reasons I like to avoid pre-packaged combinations, even more so if they are primarily designed for humans. There are a whole lot of factors involved in such decisions, and I have trouble making any blanket recommendations. Information is scanty, but if your veterinarian is astute and honest, he will tell you what he knows, and - much more importantly - what he doesn't. You can reach your decisions from there. Is that any help at all?

I dunno about shewolf, but very helpful and interesting for me.

Im sorry.
I did not mean to word my answer as if i thought corn was a horrid food for dogs either.
I just remember doing some basic reading about dog food and how to select a good kind before we got our dog, and that corn should not be the first ingredient. That was usualy a tell tale sign in an unbalanced , cheaper food that may not be a good enough quality for long term feeding for a dog. But a good dog food will have a protien source derived from an animal as ingredient #1 or #2 .
that was one of the tips on how to find a good food.



Paying attention to expiration dates on packages would help this problem right?
And with a fresh food, ( well.. as fresh as you can find) a suppliment shouldnt be a HUGE necessity.. but of course, check with my dogs vet as well.. ?


absolutly. Thank you.

Makes sense to me, shewolf. Thanks for the discussion.