Metabolic health coach Marc Bates has released a YouTube video examining Dr. Francis Pottenger Jr.'s landmark 1930s cat experiments, revealing alarming parallels between multi-generational feline health deterioration and current human health trends.

The analysis focuses on Pottenger's study of 900 cats across four generations, where cats fed cooked foods experienced progressive health decline culminating in complete reproductive failure by the fourth generation.

"When I saw a proper analysis that showed the epigenetic issues the cats had over four generations, where the fourth generation essentially disappeared," Bates stated, explaining his realization that the study revealed profound insights beyond simple raw versus cooked food debates.

According to Bates, the cats' deterioration stemmed from taurine deficiency caused by cooking, which created cascading epigenetic stress patterns across generations. Each successive generation "continually fell under heavier stress and epigenetic problems."

Bates draws direct connections to modern human populations, identifying ultra-processed foods as the equivalent threat. "In humans, the problem is eating processed foods, essentially, anything that's considered ultra-processed causes great stress on the human body and doesn't provide proper nutrition," he explained.

The video positions dietary choices as multi-generational decisions affecting gene expression patterns inherited by future generations, suggesting humans may be experiencing early stages of a similar health crisis to Pottenger's cats.

Unlike the experimental cats, Bates emphasizes that humans retain agency to reverse these epigenetic trends through species-appropriate nutrition choices.