Darwin’s and Milo’s Sanctuary: A Purrfect Combination

This is a sponsored post*

I recently had a chance to e-chat with Michelle Hoffman, the founder and president of Milo’s Sanctuary, a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded on the belief that all cats deserve a second chance at life, especially those that have physical disabilities, are seniors, have a terminal illness, or have been abused and need someone to care for, love, and understand them. I was intrigued when Michelle told me that they feed raw at the sanctuary, and wanted to learn more.

I hope you enjoy Michelle’s answers to my questions as much as I did.

A little background about Milo’s Sanctuary

I founded Milo’s almost 20 years ago because I believe all cats deserve a second chance at life, especially those who have disabilities or been abused, the ones that are blind, have one eye, crooked legs, or they’re just too old for anyone to consider them. When I started rescuing seriously 28 years ago, I saw the special needs cats being overlooked at shelters and adoption events. That’s when I knew I had to do something to save these precious souls and educate people on their amazing spirits and that they don’t know they are “disabled” they only know they are cats.

What got you started on feeding a raw diet at the sanctuary?

I started feeding raw food almost 15 years ago. I met a vet at a spay/neuter clinic and we got talking about cats with digestive issues. We had one at the time who constantly had diarrhea and I had tried everything: medications, homeopathic remedies, alternate proteins – and nothing worked. She told me she had been feeding her cats a raw diet for years and didn’t have any of these issues. I decided to try it and she gave me her recipe and sure enough, my boy with the digestive issues no longer had them after only a week on the raw food diet. At that point you had to make raw food yourself since it was such a new concept.

However, as the sanctuary grew, having a full time job on top of running the sanctuary meant that my time was super limited and I just didn’t have time to continue making it. I did a lot of research into various raw foods.  I’m a former vet tech and I’m super picky about what cats eat. I came across Darwin’s. I loved the fact I didn’t have to do anything but defrost it, warm it up and give it to the cats. They took to it immediately and gobbled it up.

Raw feeding success stories

We have had great success in many of our tougher cases. We have a senior named Hank who was just not really eating anything, so we put him on Darwin’s raw food. Not only did he love it, but he started to gain weight, his coat became shiny and soft, and he had way more energy.

Valentino is another one of our cats who has a very sad background. He has mouth issues and intestinal issues from living on the streets eating garbage. We immediately started him on Darwin’s, and within a couple of weeks, we noted a lot of improvement in his energy and appetite. The intestinal issues stopped as well.

Lastly we have Purrcy, a purebred Sphynx that we were asked to take. Before he was two years old he had multiple surgeries to remove blockages in his intestines. He had PICA and was eating anything he could find, including toys, a yoga mat, cardboard, etc. His former owner told me he was on a raw food diet. When questioning her about it I found out all she was feeding him was store bought ground turkey. That was it, no supplements added, which, of course, cats need. We started him on Darwin’s and now he’s so happy and guess what? Not one sign of PICA anymore.

What advice would you give to rescues who would like to start feeding raw?

I would suggest that any rescue who wants to try a raw food diet to first use Darwin’s as it already has everything in it that cats need to thrive. Most cats take to it immediately because they instinctively know this is what they were designed to eat. If they are fussy or picky, we will add a little canned cat food they like and mix it together with the raw to slowly make the switch.

I think that as more rescues feed raw, they will see most digestive issues resolved, besides fewer vet visits and happier cats!

About Darwin’s Natural Pet Food

Darwin’s is doing everything right, both in terms of what’s in the food and what’s not:

• 100% meat – no animal-by-products or fillers
• Ethically sourced human grade ingredients from farms they trust
• Formulated under the guidance of veterinary nutritionists
• Free range, pasture raised, cage-free meats
• No GMO
• No steroids
• No hormones
• Made fresh: you will receive your meals 4-6 weeks from production
• Ready to serve

Delivered right to your door

Darwin’s is packed in eco-friendly packaging with dry ice to ensure that food is shipped and delivered safely. The packaging can be recycled or composted. They offer a convenient autoship schedule so you’ll never have to worry about running out of food. The timing of delivery is flexible, and Darwin’s friendly customer service team will gladly adjust your schedule as needed.

Feeding Darwin’s is as easy as opening a can

The food come packaged in convenient 8 ounce sealed packs. It takes about 24 hours for one pack to thaw in the refrigerator, so feeding is no harder than feeding canned food. The only difference is that instead of opening a can, you’re defrosting a pack of food.

Special offer: get 10 pounds for $14.95

Darwin’s has an introductory offer that can’t be beat so you can try this for your own cats: For $14.95, you get 10 pounds of raw food. You can customize the proteins depending on your cat’s taste preferences.

Use code PURRSOFWISDOM to take advantage of this special offer.

For more information and to order, please visit DarwinsPet.com.

*This post is sponsored by Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. Purrs of Wisdom is an affiliate partner of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.

Photo at top of post via Darwin’s Facebook page, used with permission. All other photos courtesy of Milo’s Sanctuary, used with permission.