Diatomaceous Earth for Pets
What Can DE Do for my Pets?
Diatomaceous Earth is a rather interesting substance, it's been around for hundreds of years, and particularly its most popular uses are in agriculture to keep livestock food from molding or having any little critters (usually grain beetles) living inside the silos. Recently, the amazing uses of Food grade DE is becoming popular because it does a lot for people, gardens and pets. Here I am going to outline some ways you can use it for both cats and dogs.
Fleas and ticks are a common problem, and especially fleas can spread and multiply rather quickly, leaving most people to deal with an infestation before they even realized it. Diatomaceous earth has the unique ability to dehydrate any kind of pest with an exoskeleton. On a microscopic level, the DE particles actually lacerate and cut through the outside of a bugs exoskeleton, causing them to lose water constantly until they dry up and die.
Because of the particle size, which is extremely small, the DE cannot harm mammals because our cell size is too large. This means that you can actually dust the powder into your pets fur and bedding area and will not harm you pet at all.
The best method is to spread or 'poof' a thin layer of the DE dust through your pets fur coat, massaging it in so that it goes beneath the surface, and also making sure that there is a generous amount around the area that your dog or cat spends a lot of time, like bedding or a sleeping area for example.
DE for Internal Parasites
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth can also be fed to your pets by mixing it into their food as a means to get rid of any internal parasites. Especially cats and dogs that might take it upon themselves to do their own hunting and eating outside are quite likely to develop intestinal parasites from time to time. Purchasing a de-worming medication from a Vet is often quite expensive, but thankfully Diatomaceous Earth (remember it MUST be food grade) can bring about the same positive health benefits at a fraction of the cost.
Mix the food grade diatomaceous earth into your pets daily diet. The amount to give you pet should never exceed 2% of their total diet. So whether you have a large or small pet, try to figure out about how much weight they eat per day, and then give them about 1-2% of that weight in DE at the very most. It won't harm your pet if you give them too much, but sometimes it can cause temporary constipation.
Another side benefit, other than eliminating the unsightly tapworms or other gross things that might be living in your pets belly, the diatomaceous earth is extremely high in silica which helps to strengthen the nails/claws and fur of your pet.
To find more information about Diatomaceous Earth and its other popular uses; including human consumption, getting rid of household pets, using it in gardens and more, continue reading... more is being discovered about Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth all the time.
