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Pottenger Cat Film—Summary
Film originally released by Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation in 1975; updated in 2006.
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Summary
This is a comparison of the effect of heat-processed and raw foods on laboratory animals.
Dr. Pottenger was one of the first to use crude extracts of the adrenal cortex for allergic states and the syndrome of depletion. An unexpectedly high mortality among cats undergoing adrenalectomy at his sanitarium and a chance observation regarding their food, led to the classical experiments outlined in this 16 mm film. The following quotations from Dr. Pottenger’s work describe his research on the use of processed and raw foods and their effect on laboratory animals.
“The experiment stemmed from the fact that we suffered steady mortality among the cats on which we were performing adrenalectomies for the purpose of standardizing adrenal cortex material. We were feeding these animals the meat scraps from the sanitorium together with raw milk and cod liver oil. The scraps consisted of liver, tripe, sweetbread, brain, heart and muscle. We were at a loss to explain the reason, for it had been taught that such a diet contained the substances necessary to maintain animals in a condition of health. In time, more cats had been given to us than we were able to feed on the scraps from the sanitorium. Therefore, we placed an order for raw meat scraps at the market where the sanitorium meats were bought; these scraps included muscle, bone and viscera. We at first fed the raw scraps to the cats in one particular pen. The change in the animals in that pen compared with the others was almost unbelievable, and demanded explanation; so the present study was undertaken. Over a period of ten years 900 cats were studied, while complete records were kept on 600. Routinely the cats were weighed, numbered and described. On donated cats, all possible information was obtained from donors regarding the history of development and types of food the cats had received, before they were placed in the pens. Clinical notes were kept. Each kitten was described, weighed on date of birth and other pertinent data noted, such as behavior of the mother during birth. Clinical notes were continued on all viable kittens. Calcium and phosphorus determination were done on femurs at close of the experiment, which ran for ten years. Feeding experiments were conducted to determine the effect of raw and cooked meat. Another series of experiments went on to compare the differences resulting from the feeding of raw and processed milk”.
This film is a dramatic exhibition of the vital importance of a preponderance of raw food in the diet of cats fed experimental diets. The degenerating cats developed all the diseases of civilization and the incidence of allergy increased from 5% in normal cats to over 90% in the third generation of deficient cats. Susceptibility to infections rose markedly and severe osteoporosis was universal. Mortality was high. None of the third generation of degenerating cats lived beyond four months of age. Four generations on raw meat and raw milk were required to bring some of the second generation of degenerating cats back to normal. This, of course, indicated a germ plasm injury. The exact mechanisms of damage to protein and perhaps colloidal minerals from the use of heat has yet to be adequately explained and needs further research. Enzymes were destroyed by pasteurization and cooking.