Wholefoods and sharing mealtime with our pets: a centuries-old catalyst to companionship
The pursuit of food and survival likely brought dogs, and cats together with humans hundreds and thousands of years ago, in a new relationship of companionship and sharing mealtimes.
An early piece of evidence of the unique dog-human bond can be attributed to modern archeologists who found the famous Bonn-Oberkassel dog in a burial site at least 15,000 years old, buried alongside two humans. Another historic example: the ancient Egyptians valued the ability of dogs to hunt and to protect them, while they believed cats brought good luck to those who housed and cared for them. The stalwart Norwegian Forest Cat’s feline ancestors became pals with the Vikings and hopped aboard their ships as mousers with unique forest-honed climbing skills, while Britons and the Crusaders carried more black and white cats to Norway in the 1400s.
The bond between animals and mankind is clearly long-standing. And certainly, during this time of relationship establishment, bread was broken at mealtimes between humans and furry friends. The easiest way for a dog in ancient times to grab a meal (and a warm place to sleep) was probably to befriend a human, especially one with hunting and farming skills. Even for a mousing cat, the precious gift of a scrap of fish or meat from a kind human hand would have been a welcome bonus, and vital during lean times.
The humans appreciated the safety the dogs provided from enemies and other predators and the mousing or rat chasing work of the cat. The foods was an earned reward. But the bonus was perhaps the development of an affectionate mutual friendship, or at least pleasant interaction, leading to play, petting or relaxing together as the days wound down to mealtimes.
Brought together by a healthy meal
Evolution of this animal and human connection produced the traits we know so well today: loyalty, the “skill” of a dog knowing when and how to beg for praise, food or treats, and the affectionate purr and headbutting of cat hoping for a snack, a loving word, or a cuddle. Brought together by a healthy meal or warmth, lingering to get to know each other, they began creating a bond that has lived and prospered through the long passage of time.
Perhaps this long history of togetherness and shared moments is in the DNA of our pets. (Remember, it’s said the DNA of dogs and humans show a unique mapped connection as well.) So, it’s understandable that your pet is likely aroused by something more than good food smells at mealtimes: maybe it’s the distant ancestral memory of connection, of sharing foods by a fire. The dog begging wistfully at your table? The cat mewing at your knee? An ancestral memory might be aroused in each of them, from a long-ago cave of memory. A time-honed sense that the human will be eating something good, which might be offered to the animal with luck.
This takes us straight to the idea that we can still share a healthy, natural meal with our pets. And that many wholefood choices are still as good for our dogs and cats as they are for us.
This is not a thumbs-up on sharing junk food or fast foods with your pet, something vets would of course look down upon as much as we would. But good, fresh, healthy organic wholefoods are beneficial for both pet and human, and so the idea of “sharing our food with Duchess or Finn” becomes a worthy one, with history of the strong, beneficial animal-human bond on its side.
Sharing wholefood is a form of connection
Wholefoods provides tremendous nutrients to your pet. Sharing wholefoods is a form of connection. Raw wholefood is as much a boon to their health as it is to ours. It offers natural, necessary vitamins and minerals, a naturally balanced biodiverse goodness that manufactured kibble or highly processed foods made with a synthetic additive load simply cannot hope to match.
As you prepare your own healthy dinners, for example, you can plan to “share a wholefood meal” that evening with your dog in a way that doesn’t quite mean your dog reaching up for your plate. Wholesome meats, nutritious broths, and pure dairy products suit us all.
We recently watched a newly adopted kitten take swiftly to his new raw fermented diet. He was drawn to the natural nutrition so eagerly that the family’s older cat, watching every nibble and lick, decided he was ready to become a cleanfood convert as well. An instinct for natural nutrition and availability joined forces. Now the two cats happily “dine cleanfood gourmet” with their family every day, just as they might have hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Kure cleanfood is created from meticulously selected and prepared wholefoods rich in natural nutrition. Just as you make your own dinner from healthy, fresh meats, fishes, broth and milks, with an eye on making sure you are getting your superfoods and the benefits of wholesome dairy products, you can also plan an “alongside” meal of healthy Kure foods for your loyal companion. In this way, mealtime becomes more of a ritual of respect and love than pouring dry kibble in a bowl or flicking open another can.
Vary the foods you offer at mealtimes; dogs open to Kure diets will benefit from the broad nutritional of a rounded diet of rotating broths, milks, and meats. While cats are pickier, try adding a Fish Bone Broth or Chicken Bone Broth to the menu even if you cat is only just learning about goat milk. A more diverse microbiome helps create better health.
(And if you start to notice that your pet’s Kure diet is a little healthier than yours, maybe it’s a signal to take a little more care with your own selection of recipes for your table, including a better balance of fresh organic wholefoods, superfoods, and nutritious cleanfood.)
Still a timeless tribute to our connection
Like a timeless tribute to an ancient, sacred bond, taking time to choose to feed your pet wholefoods also honors their ancient biology and their innate need for the cleanfood that allowed them to develop and thrive over the course of thousands of years. It’s the same way wholesome cleanfood was key to your presence today on this earth, thanks to many generations of your ancestors doing their best to eat wisely throughout the run of time.
Elevating your modern-day relationship with your dog or cat today with wholefoods at mealtimes continues this historic tradition of interdependence, affection and natural health that sprang from the simple need to survive. Choosing a cleanfood diet with Kure for your pet is also, in its way, perhaps a small tribute to that long-ago loyal Bonn-Oberkassel dog, and the two people who spent their lives with him. And it’s part of the way you’ll be creating your own loving history of the bond you and your pets share today.