Chicken liver vs chicken

waddle

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Messages
402
Purraise
187
Location
Minnesota
I have one cat with IBD and another with a finicky stomach. Looking for alternatives to Dr. Elsey’s until their production is back up to speed, I found firstmate, but the turkey formula also contains chicken liver. This probably needs to be avoided since many IBD cats cannot have chicken? My other girl seems to possibly have an issue with chicken as well so I’ve tried to entirely avoid it.
 

daftcat75

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
12,641
Purraise
25,128
I would try Rawz where your single protein varieties really are single proteins. No crossing the streams with meat from one protein and organs from another. You can get a turkey (or rabbit or duck) from Rawz and be assured that there are no hidden chicken ingredients. Rawz is expensive and hard to find. But worth every penny if your cat(s) are stable on it. I'm told that Rawz will send samples if you write them. Once you find the flavors your cat(s) like, you can order cases online if you don't have a local retailer who sells them.

Where to Buy | RAWZ
 

daftcat75

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
12,641
Purraise
25,128
Another thing that's tricky with IBD is the gums. Carrageenan should absolutely be avoided. Agar agar probably should be as well. The verdict is still out on locust bean gum as that was often included with other gums. And xanthan gum, it makes smooth foods smooth and it made Krista's poops smooth too. We briefly tried Tiki Cat Velvet Mousse and experienced "The Moussening": mousse in, mousse out. 🤦‍♂️ Krista had no issues with guar gum. And she had no issues with Rawz (once we figured out the right proteins for her) because Rawz doesn't use any gums.
 

daftcat75

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Messages
12,641
Purraise
25,128
Having flashbacks here. Although chicken meat, chicken liver, and egg yolk are all different proteins, your cat(s) who are sensitive to chicken meat should probably avoid the other two as well.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

waddle

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Messages
402
Purraise
187
Location
Minnesota
My IBD girl has actually been doing great. The other one is causing me more concern! But I think she may be having a tooth issue and am taking her to the vet on Wednesday to get that checked out. Maybe she has IBS or IBD too. I hope not bc there is no way I could pill her without losing a finger.

I cannot find any food that doesn’t have some potential issue. I did get samples of rawz. They didn’t seem to like it that much. There is no place anywhere near me that sells it, so if I wanted to try it again I’d have to order a case online and be out $70+ if they won’t eat it. Everything else either has chicken or fish or gums or some other junk in it.

I tried actual raw food and they wouldn’t touch it.

They do like freeze dried but I know there are concerns about bone content in it (I’m feeding northwest naturals).

Of course they both love kibble and would be quite happy to just eat that all the time. But I am trying to feed wet or freeze dried raw the majority of the time. Sophie has lost too much weight though. Hoping it is a tooth issue and once we fix it she’ll eat more and gain it back.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

waddle

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Messages
402
Purraise
187
Location
Minnesota
Hmm, I see one of the sites does allow returns so maybe I will try the rawz again.
 
Top