Does Raw Fed Cat Need An Iodine Supplement?

[klb715]

I have been feeding my cat a raw food based on the 80-10-10- rule for about 4 years. He seems to have been doing very well. It saved his life as he was suffering from cystitis. I add no supplement to his diet except nutritional yeast which he loves and it seems to keep the fleas away. In addition to his basic diet he gets fish oil, and other raw meat and seafood tidbits now and then. But I have been concerned about iodine which I have not added to his diet. Does he need it? Does it occur in any of the meats and organs?

This summer I noticed that he wants to drink a lot of water. He has barely drank extra water on this diet. In the last couple of months his appetite has increased and then this week I noticed a large hard lump on his neck.

Took him in tonight for an exam and blood work. My doctor thinks it may be:
Cancer or a goiter due to lack of iodine in his diet. She is a hard core give him a "scientifically based kibble".

I cannot seem to find any information about iodine for raw fed cats. do they need it or not?

If anyone knows about this would rawfedcats(at)yahoo.com input and resources.
Thanks

 

[klb715]

That was supposed to be, " I would appreciate any input and resources."

 

[kittyluv387]

Per catinfo.org, which we regard as reputable source:

"The iodized Lite salt (or, for non-US residents, regular iodized salt) is not an optional ingredient. It is a definite requirement when using only chicken or turkey parts – or any whole carcass that does not include a thyroid gland."

 

[klb715]

Oh no, I'm sick if lack of iodine has caused a goiter in him. Can it be reversed?

 

[kittyluv387]

Sorry you'll have to ask your veterinarian about that.

 

[klb715]

Doctor will let me know tomorrow if its cancer or goiter.
She believes he should be eating a scientifically formulated kibble. And if he needs wet food just add water.

 

[kittyluv387]

Well many of us here don't feed kibble. A lot feed homemade, commercial raw and wet food. But when you feed homemade you have to be really sure about your recipe.

 

[klb715]

Hahaha. I spent months researching my recipe in every raw fed site there is. I was sure about my recipe. Until, yesterday when Dr guessed the kump we found may be a goiter.....or cancer. We will know more today after results ofvblood work. He's been on it for nearly five years, it saved his life from serious cystitis. Ladt blood work a few months,ago showed no abnormality in his thyroid.

But, this still doesnt answer my question.

 

[klb715]

Just got the blood work back. Thyroid levels fine. WBC elevated. No definitive diagnosis for the lump in his neck!
Watch for changes in lump.

 

[mschauer]

But, this still doesnt answer my question.

What question hasn't been answered? Iodine is most definitely needed in the diet of a cat. Most iodine is stored in the thyroid and that is why if thyroid isn't included in what we feed we must add it in supplement form.

 

[klb715]

There is such conflicting info on this. There is only one cat food recipe online that includes an iodine supplement (lire salt w/ iodine)
I just consulted Stella and Chewy, a commercial raw food manufacturer. They said raw meat is a natural source of iodine.

 

[LTS3]

What question hasn't been answered?

I think it's this:

Oh no, I'm sick if lack of iodine has caused a goiter in him. Can it be reversed?

Goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland which in cats is related to hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism can be treated with radio iodine treatment, methimazole, and / or Hills Y/D.

This has info on iodine and whether a deficiency causes hyperthyroid: Insights into Veterinary Endocrinology: Does Iodine Deficiency Cause Thyroid Disease in Cats?

 

[mschauer]

There is such conflicting info on this. There is only one cat food recipe online that includes an iodine supplement (lire salt w/ iodine)
I just consulted Stella and Chewy, a commercial raw food manufacturer. They said raw meat is a natural source of iodine.

Iodine is found in the tissues through out the body with the highest concentration found in the thyroid. The problem is we don't know how much is in the meats we feed. I supplement iodine a little below what is needed to meet AAFCO recommendations but I can't say I know that isn't still too much.

If Stella and Chewy's thinks there is enough iodine in meat then why do they add calcium iodate ( a source of iodine) to their foods?

The following popular on-line recipes all call for adding iodine:
Recipe: Feline Nutrition's Easy Raw Cat Food
Recipes
Making Cat Food

Here are some ingredient lists for commercial raw products along with the iodine source used:

Rad Cat Chicken (dulse as iodine source): Chicken thigh and leg meat, chicken heart, chicken liver, gelatin, water (sufficient for dry ingredient hydration), organic dried egg yolk, organic dulse powder, egg shell powder, organic psyllium husk powder, vitamin E supplement, manganese gluconate.

Primal turkey (kelp): Turkey, Turkey Necks, Turkey Hearts or Turkey Gizzards, Turkey Livers, Organic Collard Greens, Organic Squash, Organic Celery, Organic Cranberries, Organic Blueberries, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Sardine Oil, Taurine, Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Cilantro, Organic Coconut Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Organic Ginger, Vitamin E Supplement.

Darwin's Chicken (iodine):
Free-Range Meat and Organs (98.5%): Chicken Meat, Chicken Necks (Including Bone), Chicken Gizzard, Chicken Livers, and Chicken Hearts, Tomato Pomace, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Magnesium Proteinate, Choline Chloride, Inulin, Sea Salt, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Iodine (EDDI), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3, Fish Oil 18/12 EPA/DHA (Derived from sea-harvested wild Sardines), Cod liver Oil (Derived from sea-harvested wild Alaska Cod)

Instinct Chicken (calcium iodate): Chicken (including Ground Chicken Bone), Chicken Liver, Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Montmorillonite Clay, Tricalcium Phosphate, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate), DL-Methionine, Blueberries, Spinach

Here are some pre-mixes and the iodine supplements they contain:

EZComplete (potassium iodide): Dried Chicken Liver, Eggshell (Source of Calcium), Dried Egg Yolk , Pork Pancreas Glandular, Green Lipped Mussel (NZ), Taurine, Digestive Enzymes (Bromelain, Lipase, Amylase, Cellulase), Vitamin E, Chelated Iron, Vitamin B Complex, Chelated Manganese, Zinc, Chelated Copper, Vitamin D3, Potassium Iodide

Alnutrin (iodized salt ):Egg yolk powder, calcium carbonate, taurine, iodized salt, vitamin E, iron amino acid chelate, copper citrate, manganese amino acid chelate, zinc oxide, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, vitamin B1.

 

[klb715]

This is great info. S & C said they added to meet the AAFCO reccommendations required of commercial foods.

We dont know if this large hard tumor is a goiter. His thyroid levels are within normal range. Only his WBC is elevated.

 

[mschauer]

So they admit that the meat, liver and gizzards in their food isn't enough to provide sufficient iodine to meet minimum recommended levels but they insist supplementation isn't needed.

 

[Callaloo]

So how much iodine should be added into a raw meat diet if it does not contain any?

 

[mschauer]

10 lbs of meat would need about 1 3/4 tsp of Morton's Lite salt to just meet the AAFCO minimum recommendation for iodine. That would provide about 0.42 mg of iodine.

 

[Sallysoo]

Just my views. I started my kitty on raw diet 2 yrs ago after much reading from the web. Long story short, as I’m not good in fully DIY and worried how much to add and any must have supplements, etc. Thus, I buy human grade meat from local butcher and add EzComplete premix. This will be his daily two main meals. Apart from that, I give S&C/Primal freeze dried dinner meals as treats/snacks daily and throw in 2-3premium canned food weekly. These serve as backup plans in case anything wrong with the raw diet I feed. You know you never know. I rotate the food for the backup plan and hope I have covered most needed things for the kitty, in case I could have missed out in the main meals.
As he is mostly on raw diet, he is on the slim side and thus I’m not worried to give more freeze dried food as snacks, before I go to work and before I sleep. He will gobbled them up.
You may want to consider some of the points as mentioned going forward. It is important to give all the required supplements, esp for the kitty’s health for Long term if on the same diet. Guess you know what I meant.

 

[Sallysoo]

To addin, No Kibbles for my kitty, even it is from vet’s prescription.
Unless my kitty rejected all wet food!

 

[sophie1]

What is the raw food you're feeding, exactly? Are whole ground carcasses involved? Is it just one type of protein or is there a variety?

This is an excellent report to see posted here, because it highlights the potential adverse effects of nutritional deficiencies (btw it might not be limited to iodine...there are other critical nutrients in the catinfo.org recipe, such as taurine).

The only way to really know what the lump is, is to ultrasound & biopsy it. That's expensive, so starting supplements (catinfo.org recipe or buy Alnutrin) and then watching to see if the lump shrinks is a reasonable first step. However if it is a goiter due to iodine deficiency, it won't explain the increased water intake and elevated WBC. I hope you have a scheduled followup with the vet?