Advices,critics,all you got!

[Baya08]

Hi everyone! I probably asked a million questions since i started feeding raw exactly one month ago and i’m pretty sure i will have more coming so bear with me lol

So this is the recipe i’m using now and the changes i noticed in my cats,i have two 5 years old females both weighting around 8lb,indoor only,i feed each cat around 3 ounces per meal for two meals per day (i believe 3 ounces is around 2.5-3 tablespoons please correct me if i’m wrong).


3lb Chicken breast
0.6lb/300 grams chicken hearts
Beef or lamb included for variety (amount depends on what i have available but It’s generally around 1lb)
0.3lb/180 grams chicken liver
150UI vitamin E
4000mg fish oil
Two egg yolks
2 tsp eggshell powder (can’t grind bones)
150mg vitamin B complex
1 to 2 tsp lite salt


* the supplements are adjusted depending on how much beef/lamb i add to the recipe,this is for an extra 1lb so a total of 4lb of meat

* I also know now that it’s better to use chicken thighs which i will start doing when i make my next batch
* The recipe is also lacking taurine because i couldn’t find it at pet stores and the ones intended for human use has other things added to it which i’m definitly not comfortable using but i will keep looking,in the mean time i give them canned food at least once every week to balance out any missing nutrients.

as for the changes i noticed,they both have softer and shinier fur,increased activity levels,no more vomiting,better appetite and somehow they became less agressive towards eachother? I don’t know how that is related to their diet but i was very surprised with such sudden change.
Yet one of my them does have some problems,the biggest of them all is CONSTIPATION! I read that it might be dehydration and even tho she doesn’t touch her water bowl anymore i’m pretty sure the water i add to the recipe and to the meals is more than enough so it can’t be that,i also doubt it’s too much calcium since i only use a mild amount of eggshell powder..i tried adding pumpkin,more water,plain yogurt and it sometimes works but not always! She can go 4 days without pooping! She also has a bald spot between her shoulder blades that appeared suddenly last week and i’m hoping it’s not an allergy..she also seems to always want more food,will literally lick the empty food bowl after every meal and i certainly do not wish to overfeed or underfeed her!

i’m sorry if this was too long and boring to read i’m trying my best to do this right and would love to get any advices or recipes and experiences that can help me achieve that

 

[kittyluv387]

Yes adding more fat by using thighs is better for constipation. Also I think you can use less eggshell powder which would help with the constipation. I use a tiny bit less than 2 tsp of eggshell powder for a 4.25 pound batch of meats. You do absolutely need taurine. What country do you live in?

 

[Willowy]

Thighs have slightly more taurine than breasts, hearts are a good source too. Can you get more hearts? And clams and scallops are good sources, can you get some of them?

 

[LTS3]

Dr. Lisa of Catinfo.org uses this powdered taurine supplement: Source Naturals, Taurine Powder, 3.53 oz (100 g)

Constipation is usually caused by too much calcium. Catinfo.org has info: Making Cat Food

 

[dhammagirl]

I get taurine powder at bulksupplements.com

 

[Baya08]

Yes adding more fat by using thighs is better for constipation. Also I think you can use less eggshell powder which would help with the constipation. I use a tiny bit less than 2 tsp of eggshell powder for a 4.25 pound batch of meats. You do absolutely need taurine. What country do you live in?

Hi! I thought about using less eggshell powder but wouldn’t that lead to a calcium deficiency? Because every recipe i found says i should use 1 tsp for every pound of meat. I live in Algeria,normally i would just order online what i can’t find but at the moment it’s restricted due to the corona situation.

 

[Baya08]

Thighs have slightly more taurine than breasts, hearts are a good source too. Can you get more hearts? And clams and scallops are good sources, can you get some of them?

Yes i can definitly get more hearts,is it safe to add more than the recommended amount since they’re rich in other vitamins and nutrients? As for the calms and scallops i doubt i can find any here and even if i did they wouldn’t be fresh

 

[kittyluv387]

Sorry nevermind I didn't realize you were adding heart and a pound of red meat to your recipe.

Heart is basically a richer muscle meat so I have seen people include up to 1/3 of the muscle meat requirement as heart. I personally include 20-25% of my muscle meat requirement in the form of hearts. But it still won't be enough taurine. You need to immediately find a source. Are you sure you can't find any online with just taurine? The reason adding a ton of chicken hearts doesn't help is because the cat's natural food, the mouse has an extremely high amount of taurine in its heart. Mouse heart has way more taurine than chicken heart or muscle meat. So it will not be enough. It is absolutely essential you try to find something!

Have you thought of doing an all chicken diet? Just wondering since red meat does cause more constipation in humans.

 

[Baya08]

Sorry nevermind I didn't realize you were adding heart and a pound of red meat to your recipe.

Heart is basically a richer muscle meat so I have seen people include up to 1/3 of the muscle meat requirement as heart. I personally include 20-25% of my muscle meat requirement in the form of hearts. But it still won't be enough taurine. You need to immediately find a source. Are you sure you can't find any online with just taurine? The reason adding a ton of chicken hearts doesn't help is because the cat's natural food, the mouse has an extremely high amount of taurine in its heart. Mouse heart has way more taurine than chicken heart or muscle meat. So it will not be enough. It is absolutely essential you try to find something!

Have you thought of doing an all chicken diet? Just wondering since red meat does cause more constipation in humans.

Wow the mouse heart thing makes so much sense! And yes i can find it online but unfortuntly the orders are restriced at the moment so i’m still looking for it locally,i’m not stressing it much because i still give them good quality canned food at least once a week and they have alot of taurine added in there so *i think* they should be fine for a little while,please correct me if i’m wrong or if you have any other suggestions.

also,yes i actually started with an all chicken diet but included the other proteins for variety because every article i read said i needed to include at least 3 proteins in their diet in order for them to benefit from various nutrients in the different meats,i didn’t know it could cause constipation

 

[kittyluv387]

Wow the mouse heart thing makes so much sense! And yes i can find it online but unfortuntly the orders are restriced at the moment so i’m still looking for it locally,i’m not stressing it much because i still give them good quality canned food at least once a week and they have alot of taurine added in there so *i think* they should be fine for a little while,please correct me if i’m wrong or if you have any other suggestions.

also,yes i actually started with an all chicken diet but included the other proteins for variety because every article i read said i needed to include at least 3 proteins in their diet in order for them to benefit from various nutrients in the different meats,i didn’t know it could cause constipation

Well I can't say the red meat is actually causing constipation or not. It's just a suggestion you can try to help. When those articles say you need to add variety of meats they are talking about single protien meals. For example I stick to 3 different white meats. I have a chicken recipe, turkey recipe and rabbit recipe that are completely separated from each other and not mixed in. I prefer to stick to white meat because red meat isn't really natural for a cat. You don't see feral cats hunting down sheep or cows. Rats, mice and rabbit are all white meat actually. Until you get some taurine I would suggest that you increase their canned food intake to once a day and it would be a good idea to increase the heart in your recipe for the taurine and the constipation. Also if you start using chicken thigh instead of breast your cat will feel more satisfied from her meals due to the higher fat content.

 

[Baya08]

Well I can't say the red meat is actually causing constipation or not. It's just a suggestion you can try to help. When those articles say you need to add variety of meats they are talking about single protien meals. For example I stick to 3 different white meats. I have a chicken recipe, turkey recipe and rabbit recipe that are completely separated from each other and not mixed in. I prefer to stick to white meat because red meat isn't really natural for a cat. You don't see feral cats hunting down sheep or cows. Rats, mice and rabbit are all white meat actually. Until you get some taurine I would suggest that you increase their canned food intake to once a day and it would be a good idea to increase the heart in your recipe for the taurine and the constipation. Also if you start using chicken thigh instead of breast your cat will feel more satisfied from her meals due to the higher fat content.

Yes i know most recipes are usually seperated but rabbit and turkey are more expensive than chicken where i live so i can’t buy a big amount for seperate batches and it’s alot more affordable to mix the proteins,i’m also planning on ditching the lamb and beef when i can find a recipe that mixes the different white meats together,if i don’t find any i will definitly try to seperate them even if that means we will probably be sharing our dinners
I’ll go out tomorrow in another desperate attempt to find taurine,in the meanwhile i’ll make sure to increase their canned food to once a day like you said and will start using thighs and more hearts, thank you so much for your help

 

[kittyluv387]

Yes i know most recipes are usually seperated but rabbit and turkey are more expensive than chicken where i live so i can’t buy a big amount for seperate batches and it’s alot more affordable to mix the proteins,i’m also planning on ditching the lamb and beef when i can find a recipe that mixes the different white meats together,if i don’t find any i will definitly try to seperate them even if that means we will probably be sharing our dinners
I’ll go out tomorrow in another desperate attempt to find taurine,in the meanwhile i’ll make sure to increase their canned food to once a day like you said and will start using thighs and more hearts, thank you so much for your help

In that case you might as well stick to just chicken. No actual need to mix chicken and rabbit or something...because then you're feeding one protein in essence. The same mixture! You don't get different protein meals unless its separated proteins. Are there any common types of poultry in your country? Pheasants or quails perhaps?

 

[Baya08]

In that case you might as well stick to just chicken. No actual need to mix chicken and rabbit or something...because then you're feeding one protein in essence. The same mixture! You don't get different protein meals unless its separated proteins. Are there any common types of poultry in your country? Pheasants or quails perhaps?

Yes i tried quails last week and they wouldn’t touch it,i ended up throwing away the whole thing

 

[kittyluv387]

Yes i tried quails last week and they wouldn’t touch it,i ended up throwing away the whole thing

How did you prepare it for them? Same way as the chicken or did you give it to them whole prey style?

 

[Baya08]

How did you prepare it for them? Same way as the chicken or did you give it to them whole prey style?

Yes whole prey style! I also tried it again when they were hungry (dinner time) cut some of it to chunks and gave them different parts,still weren’t interested in the slightest.

 

[kittyluv387]

Yes whole prey style! I also tried it again when they were hungry (dinner time) cut some of it to chunks and gave them different parts,still weren’t interested in the slightest.

Those lucky cats! Quail would be such a delicacy here haha. But unless you give them chicken whole prey I can see why they would reject it. You may have to prepare the quail the same way you prepare your chicken. I'm assuming you grind up the chicken and prepare nutrients. You would have to do the same with quail or pheasant.

 

[Baya08]

Those lucky cats! Quail would be such a delicacy here haha. But unless you give them chicken whole prey I can see why they would reject it. You may have to prepare the quail the same way you prepare your chicken. I'm assuming you grind up the chicken and prepare nutrients. You would have to do the same with quail or pheasant.

I was scared to buy a big amount for a batch then have them walk away from it lol but i guess it won’t hurt to try a small batch! Thank you for the advice, also, i found a taurine supplement but it has ginseng added to it as well,i read that It’s completly safe for cats but i still wanted an opinion before buying it,would it be a safe alternative until i can order pure taurine online? I’ll even travel to another country/city to buy it if borders weren’t closed

 

[kittyluv387]

I was scared to buy a big amount for a batch then have them walk away from it lol but i guess it won’t hurt to try a small batch! Thank you for the advice, also, i found a taurine supplement but it has ginseng added to it as well,i read that It’s completly safe for cats but i still wanted an opinion before buying it,would it be a safe alternative until i can order pure taurine online? I’ll even travel to another country/city to buy it if borders weren’t closed

Well it does raise blood pressure a little bit so you shouldn't use ginseng on cats with hypertension and other issues. Might be something to ask the vet about. Does it say how much ginseng that taurine supplement contains? I also would ask the vet about what's a safe amount of ginseng for a healthy cat to consume.

 

[Baya08]

Well it does raise blood pressure a little bit so you shouldn't use ginseng on cats with hypertension and other issues. Might be something to ask the vet about. Does it say how much ginseng that taurine supplement contains? I also would ask the vet about what's a safe amount of ginseng for a healthy cat to consume.

It says 2 capsules contain 200 mg taurine and 130 mg ginseng,i guess that’s quite high! I will make sure to call a vet and ask