Can you recommend a raw food supplement?

[brookesphynx]

So, I've been feeding my cats commercial frozen raw food (Nature's Variety, and then switched to Primal) mostly out of fear that I would mess it up if I tried to mix their food myself... But, commercial raw food is expensive!! And, my cat's don't really love it, but they LOVE raw chicken necks and raw ground meat.

Anyway, for their sake, and for the sake of my budget, I've started looking for an alternative. I found a source for ground whole chicken (including bones and organ meat) and also beef at a fraction of the cost but now I need help with what supplements to add to it.

This is the part that scares me, and this is why I've been spending so much money on commercial raw food. I've been looking at Feline Instincts. Is this a good one? Any thoughts or recommendations are much appreciated!

 

[sharky]

it is a good one ... I do have some issues with it ( lol HUGE suprise right) ... it is one of two that my vet recommends...

 

[brookesphynx]

What are you issues with it?

Do you know the other brand your vet recommends? Or do you prefer Feline Instincts over the other brand?

 

[sharky]

she now uses items from standard process but also recommends one from Wysong... the Bone meal has me in a issue

.. I need to relook at it to remember the others

I double checked also the psyllium....

 

[auntie crazy]

I take it you'll be offering ground foods mostly? With a few bone-in meals here and there?

There's a possibility that grinding affects taurine, so you might want to supplement that. Also, if your beef products aren't coming from a grass-fed beef source, you'll want to add an Omega-3 supplement. This can be a sardine a week, or you can use Salmon oil (capsules are better, as they don't spoil like liquids do).

I don't use any supplements at all, but I feed using the frankenprey model. Two sites that talk extensively about ground foods are catinfo.org and catnutrition.org, hopefully one or the other will contain some info helpful to you!

Good luck! And let us know how the transition goes.

 

[brookesphynx]

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

I take it you'll be offering ground foods mostly? With a few bone-in meals here and there?

There's a possibility that grinding affects taurine, so you might want to supplement that. Also, if your beef products aren't coming from a grass-fed beef source, you'll want to add an Omega-3 supplement. This can be a sardine a week, or you can use Salmon oil (capsules are better, as they don't spoil like liquids do).

I don't use any supplements at all, but I feed using the frankenprey model. Two sites that talk extensively about ground foods are catinfo.org and catnutrition.org, hopefully one or the other will contain some info helpful to you!

Good luck! And let us know how the transition goes.

Thanks for the links.
Yes, the ground meals will be ground chicken/organs/bone or beef/organs/bone. I give chicken necks or wings as a treat once or twice a week but have never given them as a meal.

So, you're saying I won't need an all-around supplement (because of the organs and bone) but will be safe just giving them additional taurine and omegas?

This is the part that's been confusing me, because what little bit I've been reading about supplements is that they're designed for ground meats without bone. I've been afraid that if I give them the wrong type of supplement they may end up with too much calcium or something...

 

[auntie crazy]

I know a solid answer would be more reassuring than a waffling one, but all I can offer is that I don't THINK you need any more supplements than those two. Without knowing precisely what you're feeding, it's difficult to offer more than that. And even then, all you'll have is just one person's opinion.

Does that make sense to you? I hope you don't think I'm putting you off! Do you know the percentages of the meat/organs/bones in the products you'll be feeding? If the bone content is high enough (between 5 and 10 percent), you won't want to feed chicken necks or other bone-in meals, even as treats, as too much bone can make a kitty constipated. If the rest of the percentages are close to 80 - 85% meat, 3 - 5% liver and 3 - 5% other organ (what organs are included in the mix?), then I, personally, wouldn't feel the need to supplement beyond the taurine and the Omega-3's.

Can you obtain the ingredients list, with amounts and/or percentages?

 

[swoshum]

Oooh I'm so glad I checked here, I'll make it really simple for you: you don't need to add any supplements! How easy is that?

The trick is to feed the cats a prey model raw diet, meaning you model it after what they would eat in the wild. So you wand mostly meat, some bones, and some organs (10 - 15%). I feed my kitties a chicken drumstick each per day (yes, bone and all), and some liver once a week in addition to their chicken meal. I also add hearts and gizzards, beef heart, egg, fish, etc. Now if your cats are older, they may not be so keen on eating bone to start with, so you'll want to start 'em out small and train them to eat bigger bones. I'd recommend starting out with chicken wingettes and see how they handle them, then eventually work them up to drumsticks if you can. If not, then two or three wingettes each per day should be fine!

 

[brookesphynx]

I should be able to get an ingredients list. I actually emailed the supplier for that a few hours ago!

From what I've been reading, I'm starting to think I might be better off getting meat without the bones. It will give me more options for supplementing..I'd like to continue to give them the chicken necks for their teeth. Plus, they love them and I would miss the crunching!

*sigh*

 

[auntie crazy]

Oh, don't be discouraged, BrookeSphynx! You can totally feed the food you've already found while you're looking around for a new food source. <<hugs>>

Finding appropriates product sources is tough, since raw feeding is not yet mainstream, but it's so worth the initial work, you know?

Let's take a look at the ingredients when they arrive and go from there.

(p.s. Have you considered a frankenprey diet? Then the whole menu becomes tweakable! )

 

[brookesphynx]

Originally Posted by swoshum

Oooh I'm so glad I checked here, I'll make it really simple for you: you don't need to add any supplements! How easy is that?

The trick is to feed the cats a prey model raw diet, meaning you model it after what they would eat in the wild. So you wand mostly meat, some bones, and some organs (10 - 15%). I feed my kitties a chicken drumstick each per day (yes, bone and all), and some liver once a week in addition to their chicken meal. I also add hearts and gizzards, beef heart, egg, fish, etc. Now if your cats are older, they may not be so keen on eating bone to start with, so you'll want to start 'em out small and train them to eat bigger bones. I'd recommend starting out with chicken wingettes and see how they handle them, then eventually work them up to drumsticks if you can. If not, then two or three wingettes each per day should be fine!

They love chicken necks, but if the pieces are larger than an inch I can't get them to eat it. Strangely, my 8 year old was the easiest to transition to raw!

I'll have to consider this model, too. I do really like the convenience of the ground meats, especially since I'm usually short on time in the mornings. The convenience factor was one of the other things that really drew me to the commercial raw (that, and the fact that I didn't have to worry about all this stuff!!)

 

[auntie crazy]

Yeah, my mornings are kinda crazy, too (tomorrow is going to rough indeed!).

Because of this, I set up my cats' feeding schedule so that morning feedings are always a chunked meat: heart, beef or pork. I cut, package and freeze these meats right after I buy them, and each morning, I move the foods I'll need for the next day from the freezer to the fridge to defrost.

When I'm ready to feed breakfast, all I have to do is scoop a couple of chunks from the baggie to the waiting plates, wash my hands, throw away the plastic bag and I'm done. Easy!

 

[gloriajh]

I just found this link - maybe it will be of some help to you too:
http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm
...
Supplemental Menu Items

It's best to include a supplemental source of omega 3 fatty acids in your pet's raw diet, unless you're regularly feeding plenty of oily fleshed fish and/or free range grass fed meats. Fish body oil derived from fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines and anchovies is an excellent adjunct to a raw diet. An easy way to feed this oil is to buy it in capsule form, pierce a capsule and drizzle the contents onto a raw egg or other food once or twice a week. ...

(I don't understand the inclusion of fish because of the crystals that (I'm told) form with a fish diet, but ??? ... maybe if the cats have a good raw diet that the crystals wouldn't form ??? I don't know - I still have more questions than answers right now.)

and, this was a surprise to me -
...
Feeding your cat very small amounts of bentonite clay is another way to supplement your cat's diet. ...

I found this link/info by googling "cats raw feeding 101"

 

[mschauer]

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

I don't use any supplements at all, but I feed using the frankenprey model. Two sites that talk extensively about ground foods are catinfo.org and catnutrition.org, hopefully one or the other will contain some info helpful to you!

Originally Posted by BrookeSphynx

This is the part that's been confusing me, because what little bit I've been reading about supplements is that they're designed for ground meats without bone. I've been afraid that if I give them the wrong type of supplement they may end up with too much calcium or something...

FYI - The recipes in the links show how to supplement ground meats that also contain bone. Also, some of the "all inclusive" supplements are quite expensive, I started out using one and it added $1.50 per lb to the cost of my foods. The cost of the supplements in recipes in the above links is negligible.

 

[amberthe bobcat]

For my BIG cats, who are fed an all raw meat diet, they are fed Wildtrax supplements from Wildtrax supply. These supplements are made for wild cats, but are great for domestics as well. Another great supplement is Oasis by Apperon. Again, this is another supplement designed for wild cats, but great for domestics.

Apperon also carries a very good calcium powder supplement you can add to your raw meat if you are not adding bone to the diet.

 

[koobe]

I cut up quail or cornish chicken into very small pieces then add liver, other organs. I add meat or bones to balance the equation. I was adding chicken wings for bones, but my kittens almost choked a few times. So now I use Solid Gold bone meal in addition to the quail and cornish chicken bones to make it easier for them.

Cheetah hates fish, so I add Omega 3 Oil in the diet for him.