Chicken Liver: Cooked Vs Raw?

[MistyDawn]

What are the pros and cons of feeding cats and kittens cooked vs. raw chicken livers? We got some kittens and a couple of adults in from a bad situation that had a lot of fleas, so many that most of them are anemic. We got them to a vet last night and she said that, along with the medicine she prescribed, food like sardines (water only) and chicken livers are helpful in speeding up the recovery.

So should I give them the liver raw, or cooked? I want these poor babies better as soon as possible. Seeing their little pale gums terrifies me.

And, yes, we FLV/FIV tested first thing. Negative on every single one, thank God.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm not sure if it really makes any difference, but all I can tell you for certain is that when I fed it RAW to my guys, if I didn't feed it in small amounts mixed with muscle meat, they threw it up . Also, sometimes cats (even kittens) don't take to raw immediately, so if that's an issue, it might be better to cook it.

that the medication and TLC you are giving them helps them heal quickly.

 

[ArchyCat]

Maybe raw?

Many decades past, I knew of a human case that might apply.

In my small town, a young girl was being treated for cancer. Her treatment required lots of plasma. A minister at a local church recruited five men from his congregation to be weekly donors. So the minister and the five volunteers donated a pint of plasma per week. The overseeing doctor gave them prescriptions for vitamins, plus told them to eat three hardy meals a day. Plus once a week, on a Friday, they all gathered at the minister's house for lunch. The menu included 8 ounces of raw calfs liver each. As per the doctor's requirement.

So, based on that, I would say feed the kitties raw liver, if they will eat it. If not try warming it, or cooking it, if need be. I think what is important is the iron content of the liver.

Good luck and than you for the rescue(s).

 

[1 bruce 1]

What are the pros and cons of feeding cats and kittens cooked vs. raw chicken livers? We got some kittens and a couple of adults in from a bad situation that had a lot of fleas, so many that most of them are anemic. We got them to a vet last night and she said that, along with the medicine she prescribed, food like sardines (water only) and chicken livers are helpful in speeding up the recovery.

So should I give them the liver raw, or cooked? I want these poor babies better as soon as possible. Seeing their little pale gums terrifies me.

And, yes, we FLV/FIV tested first thing. Negative on every single one, thank God.

Pros to raw:
-Most cats like it.
-Very high in iron and good vitamins, etc.
-Very nutrient dense, a little dab'll do ya.

Cons to raw:
-It's gross to handle.
-Some cats don't like it.
-Cooking can lessen some of the nutritional value.

If you're not 100% sure, you can offer it raw and if they aren't takers, you can "sear" it so the outside is cooked up but the inside is still cool.
Remember that over-doing liver (very rich) can sometimes cause loose, black, tarry stools. So while it's tempting to give them all they want, the last thing these babies need now is diarrhea!
You're a great person for helping them. Keeping the fleas away will be the biggest help and recovery can begin. (Before you know it, the pale gummed kittens will be bright eyed and driving you crazy, knocking things over and tripping you up at your heels because they feel so darned good!)

 

[MistyDawn]

Hmm. I wonder if I could get it best of both worlds... Don't cook it but run hot water over it (to make the liver scent stronger, so it's more enticing) chop it up into little pieces, and add it to a small bowl of food?

 

[1 bruce 1]

Hmm. I wonder if I could get it best of both worlds... Don't cook it but run hot water over it (to make the liver scent stronger, so it's more enticing) chop it up into little pieces, and add it to a small bowl of food?

Give it a go!!! The worst is they won't eat as much as you want.

 

[nunnc84]

I heard kittens take to raw food more quickly than cats who have never had raw food. Just make sure the meat doesn't go bad. Pick up the bowls ASAP.

 

[MistyDawn]

Luckily, we've already seen a fair amount of improvement already. Their gums were chalk white yesterday, but some pink is already returning. We've genocided the fleas (I hope that joke wasn't too dark. I just really hate fleas. Do they even have an important ecological role? Would any species go extinct without them?) so since they made it this far, and had veterinary treatment, they should be out of the woods, right?

 

[ArchyCat]

Fleas are carriers for tape worms.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Luckily, we've already seen a fair amount of improvement already. Their gums were chalk white yesterday, but some pink is already returning. We've genocided the fleas (I hope that joke wasn't too dark. I just really hate fleas. Do they even have an important ecological role? Would any species go extinct without them?) so since they made it this far, and had veterinary treatment, they should be out of the woods, right?

No offense taken here. Hell just a few weeks ago I helped give a dog a bath that was coated in fleas so bad that the bath water ran red, and I might have cackled and said something along the same lines as a "species genocide."
Poor taste maybe, but they don't belong on our little buddies
I've heard it said that fleas are the most worthless species ever. Flies at least help decompose things, but fleas are just blood sucking dorks that have no real purpose that I can see.
If you're seeing pink, and the fleas are gone and they have medications (flea meds?), this is excellent.
Now, to be a potential downer, don't let your guard down 100%. Some fleas are as tough, so get a flea comb and comb though them at least once a day to catch any little rogue jerks that might have somehow managed escape.
You'll snare fleas, dunk them in water with soap ( a drop of Dawn dish soap is a good choice in that water).
To give you a cheer up, this constant combing, handling, etc., will further condition them to see human hands as "good things". Some cats hate any form of grooming but babies are easy. Just go slow, talk to them, make it a "warm and fuzzy" time between you and them and you'll have kittens that grow into cats that crave human hands.

 

[MistyDawn]

Fleas are carriers for tape worms.

I've been on the lookout for any "rice" in the litter box. None that I've seen. So far, so good.

No offense taken here. Hell just a few weeks ago I helped give a dog a bath that was coated in fleas so bad that the bath water ran red, and I might have cackled and said something along the same lines as a "species genocide."
Poor taste maybe, but they don't belong on our little buddies
I've heard it said that fleas are the most worthless species ever. Flies at least help decompose things, but fleas are just blood sucking dorks that have no real purpose that I can see.
If you're seeing pink, and the fleas are gone and they have medications (flea meds?), this is excellent.
Now, to be a potential downer, don't let your guard down 100%. Some fleas are as tough, so get a flea comb and comb though them at least once a day to catch any little rogue jerks that might have somehow managed escape.
You'll snare fleas, dunk them in water with soap ( a drop of Dawn dish soap is a good choice in that water).
To give you a cheer up, this constant combing, handling, etc., will further condition them to see human hands as "good things". Some cats hate any form of grooming but babies are easy. Just go slow, talk to them, make it a "warm and fuzzy" time between you and them and you'll have kittens that grow into cats that crave human hands.

Yeah, it's hard to have any sympathy for fleas. I'm a lover of biology, so I was trying to think of a good way to wipe them out without hurting any other species directly. It'd be easy to create some virus or something, but then there's the concern of it mutating to expand to other species. I was thinking, some human men, most famously Henry VIII, have genes that make them more likely to have daughters than sons, and the reverse also exists. I'm not 100% sure this would work in fleas, as my area of interest is in humans, so I don't know if the sex chromosomes, fertilization method, and gametes of the flea would work out well with this, so this is all on an "if it's possible/adjust the plan as needed" basis.

So the plan would be to breed a large number of male fleas with a genetic mutation (done either through selective breeding or more sophisticated means such as CRISPR) that makes at least 75% of their offspring male, and release them out into the population worldwide, after sufficient testing shows that they're both an efficient and otherwise harmless way to rid the earth of one of its most useless fauna.

No, NSA, I'm not a supervillain, I swear.



So, one of the adults (there are two adults and five older kittens) is refusing to eat. She's pretty thin, so this has been going on for awhile. I did get her to eat some cooked chicken, but now she's not even taking that. Our veterinarian ran all kinds of tests and found nothing else wrong with any of them that would cause her not to eat.

The next step is getting out the 100ml oral syringe, throwing canned food in a blender with water, and forcefeeding. I don't want to do this. It'll be stressful for her and difficult. It's the last resort. Anybody have any other ideas?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Have you tried using different toppers...FortiFlora, parmesan cheese, crushed kibbe, crushed treats, tuna juice, bonita flakes, crushed Purebites or something similar? What all cat foods have you tried? A variety of wet and/or dry?

 

[MistyDawn]

I've tried many different toppers, cheese, crushed food/blended food with water. We haven't tried different food. We figured now would be a bad time to swap kibbles, and I've tossed every wet brand at her that I've seen in any of the pet stores here.

Vet said it might be tapeworms. All the symptoms match up but she doesn't seem to be excreting any. However, the vet says they aren't always visible if she isn't eating.

 

[sabrinah]

So the plan would be to breed a large number of male fleas with a genetic mutation (done either through selective breeding or more sophisticated means such as CRISPR) that makes at least 75% of their offspring male, and release them out into the population worldwide, after sufficient testing shows that they're both an efficient and otherwise harmless way to rid the earth of one of its most useless fauna.

You could also introduce mutations to the mouthparts so offspring are unable to feed. Or you could disrupt their digestive enzymes. There are so many ways to destroy fleas! Someone needs to do it. Is the flea genome even sequenced? I know they sequenced Daphnia (water flea), but has anyone gotten around to the blood-sucking pest?

 

[MistyDawn]

I'm proud to report that everyone's gums except the girl that wasn't eating are back to a lovely pink! The adult female that wasn't eating started eating well today. We may keep her because she's bonded heavily with me over the span of all of this, and she's a semi feral. She's always excited to see me when I come in to give her medicine or just visit and check in.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Great news! And now that EVERYONE is eating, do they ALL have nice pink gums?

So glad to hear you may end up keeping one of them