Bone broth to supplement wet cat food?

bpenniman

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Im reading about bone broth and how good it is for cats and kittens. Im reading its really good for kindey disease and other kidney issues and also bad for kidney issues. The internet is always full of contridictions on everything but would it be good to add a little bone broth to my cats' wet food or the new kittens wet food and dry food? Im getting her tomorrow and my geriatric guys had some previous health issues before i adopted them and im hoping i can give my new kitten a fresh start. Heres a picture of bone broth i got for myself a couple wks ago:
Is it fine for cats too?
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Azazel

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Bone broth is a good source of nutrients but I don’t think it makes any significant difference in kidney disease. In fact, it has phosphorus so most kidney cats probably shouldn’t be eating it as an add-on to canned food. That’s also what you need to be careful about when adding it to commercial cat food. It can create imbalances in phosphorus-calcium ratios and intake.

Many of us who make our own homemade raw cat food use bone broth, but we are very meticulous to follow recipes and calculate nutrients to make sure the meals are nutritionally balanced. I think a little bit of bone broth here and there is fine but if you want to make it a regular thing I would look into making sure it’s nutritionally balanced with the rest of the food you feed.

If you’re looking for something to prevent kidney disease the best you can do is feed food that’s high in moisture (e.g., all canned).
 
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bpenniman

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Bone broth is a good source of nutrients but I don’t think it makes any significant difference in kidney disease. In fact, it has phosphorus so most kidney cats probably shouldn’t be eating it as an add-on to canned food. That’s also what you need to be careful about when adding it to commercial cat food. It can create imbalances in phosphorus-calcium ratios and intake.

Many of us who make our own homemade raw cat food use bone broth, but we are very meticulous to follow recipes and calculate nutrients to make sure the meals are nutritionally balanced. I think a little bit of bone broth here and there is fine but if you want to make it a regular thing I would look into making sure it’s nutritionally balanced with the rest of the food you feed.

If you’re looking for something to prevent kidney disease the best you can do is feed food that’s high in moisture (e.g., all canned).
Okay thanks! I mostly feed them seperately so i can skip the bone broth for boots, my older cat with kidney issues and try giving smaller amounts to sunny. What about kittens? Is it good for kittens? Im getting her tomorrow and want to make sure she grows up big and strong with the best nutrients possible.
 

Azazel

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Okay thanks! I mostly feed them seperately so i can skip the bone broth for boots, my older cat with kidney issues and try giving smaller amounts to sunny. What about kittens? Is it good for kittens? Im getting her tomorrow and want to make sure she grows up big and strong with the best nutrients possible.
Yeah I wouldn’t give it to your kidney cat since it will increase her phosphorus intake. If you’re not doing all canned food already though I would strongly recommend it for a kidney cat (well, for all cats actually).

I think it’s a good source of nutrients for your kitten but the issue is that if you feed lots of it it may throw their calcium to phosphorus ratio out of whack. I don’t use bone broth myself so I’m not sure about the amounts in it, but the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio is 1.1:1. Commercial cat foods are formulated to be within a safe range of calcium to phosphorus and my only concern is that too much bone broth on the side will throw this off whack.

Another good treat that you can give your kitten that’s chock full of nutrients is raw egg yolk (no whites). Half of one a week or one every couple of weeks is a great source of nutrients and also helps with reducing hairballs. And, in general, canned cat food is healthier for cats than kibble so if you can do mostly or all canned it would also be great for your kitten’s health. Lots of people start off with canned and leave dry out for munching since kittens eat a lot, but then stop feeding dry once the kitten is older.
 

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Bone broth is good for all cats in general, maybe not so much for cats with health conditions and may need special diets.

Pet stores and web sites sell packages of just bone broths now. Here are some:


I'd choose one that doesn't contain extra stuff like herbs, veggies, etc.

It's easy enough to make bone broth at home, too. No slow cooker or Instant Pot is needed although those make it super easy and frees up the stove for other uses.

i Need instructions on how to make broth for cats...very simple instructions
Bone Broth For Cats & Dogs | Cats & Dogs Naturally
 

daftcat75

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Im reading about bone broth and how good it is for cats and kittens. Im reading its really good for kindey disease and other kidney issues and also bad for kidney issues. The internet is always full of contridictions on everything but would it be good to add a little bone broth to my cats' wet food or the new kittens wet food and dry food? Im getting her tomorrow and my geriatric guys had some previous health issues before i adopted them and im hoping i can give my new kitten a fresh start. Heres a picture of bone broth i got for myself a couple wks ago:
Is it fine for cats too?View attachment 307161
This bone broth has added salt (sodium) which could be problematic.

Your best bone broth will be homemade. Store bought bone broth is usually too dilute to be as therapeutic as you have heard. But if you do have a cat with kidney disease, you will want to make meat stock instead. Meat stock has all the same goodness but a lower concentration of minerals (hard on kidneys) and glutamates (hard on leaky guts e.g. IBD.) If you follow the instructions in the video or transcript below, meat stock is the strained stage 1 liquid. It is not necessary to continue to stage 2.

Bone Broth Is Excellent Nourishment for Older Pets

This is much easier and quicker in an Instant Pot. I make turkey meat stock in a crock pot in 10 hours. But in an Instant Pot, it's only 1 hour.
 
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