For everyone with a pure domestic cat and feeds raw, I have a very basic question.

[cat person]

Hi All

,

I have a very basic question, for, all of you

. A friend of mine, wants, to feed her DSH raw. They, then asked me, do I need to buy chicken leg and thigh parts, since, they are "dark meat". Or, do we use, chicken breasts and such parts cause they are "white meat". I said, I wasn't really sure. Since, my exotics had to be given dark meat and or some red meat. Plus, the right compliment of organ meats and supplements,

I learned very quickly, that, whole prey (either live or pre-killed) was much easier and cheaper

. I have stuck with that since. My domestics eat just like my past exotics. My F3 Savannah, being an exotic cat hybrid, is, fed like my past exotics and higher percentage hybrids,

Anyway, is it safe, to feed a domestic "white meat" as part or a complete diet?

Thank you, all, in advance

.

 

[vball91]

It is safe to feed white meat as long as it is part of a nutritionally complete and balanced diet, but most people prefer the dark meat because it has a lot more taurine and is generally cheaper as an added bonus.

 

[harleydiva]

Gotta ask.....do you actually give the cats live prey???

 

[ritz]

You should actually feed both dark and light meat (chicken), both have different nutritional profiles.  Just as you should--if possible--feed liver and other organ [kidney] from different animals.  (Caution:  turkey liver is especially high in vitamin A.)

Ritz (female) is a domestic short hair, rescued off of the streets.

I've been feeding her raw for over a year.  She eats any kind of protein, from goat to llama to duck to rabbit.  And pork, beef, etc.  She likes beef heart (taurine), too.  Dark meat is higher in fat than light meat, if that's a concern for you.

 

[Willowy]

Everything. Variety is important. Every cut, every different piece, has a different nutrient profile. So as much variety as possible.

 

[peaches08]

I only feed chicken thighs as far as muscle meat and use Dr. Pierson's recipe. I give chicken gizzards raw as a snack occasionally. I'm not a raw feeding expert by any means though!

 

[ldg]

Everything. Variety is important. Every cut, every different piece, has a different nutrient profile. So as much variety as possible.

It's also important, IMO, if feeding prey model raw to include a raw egg yolk a couple of times a week for the choline, and salmon or krill oil (500mg daily) or at a minimum some canned sardines (in water, no salt) a couple of times a week, both for the omega 3s and to ensure there's enough vitamin D in the diet.

 

[scuns68]

I am worried about salmonella in the chicken so?

 

[ldg]

Here's a thread discussing this concern:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248317/raw-feeding-and-parasites-questions

There are further links in the resource thread, stickied at the top of the forum, and to which I posted a link in your thread.

 

[peaches08]

I am worried about salmonella in the chicken so?

I put the chicken thighs and liver in a 550 degree oven and lightly sear the thighs to kill any surface bacteria. Then I stop the cooking process by shocking the thighs in ice water.

 

[ritz]

Cooking destroys/lessens some of the nutrients found in raw food. 

I've been feeding Ritz raw for over a year.  I buy chicken on sale, and sometimes (when possible) when the price is reduced even further because it is close to its "sell by" date.  I have never had a problem with bacteria; actually, the one time the meat was 'off', Ritz refused to eat it.  So I threw it away.  If the meat smells, toss it; you the human wouldn't eat smelly meat.

Also, cats have a really short digestive system so it doesn't last long enough in their digestive tracts to cause problems.

 

[cat person]

Gotta ask.....do you actually give the cats live prey???

 

Yes, I do 

. Please, feel free to look at this thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/235056/does-anyone-feed-whole-prey-diet 

 

[auntie crazy]

Everything. Variety is important. Every cut, every different piece, has a different nutrient profile. So as much variety as possible.

I only feed chicken thighs as far as muscle meat and use Dr. Pierson's recipe. I give chicken gizzards raw as a snack occasionally. I'm not a raw feeding expert by any means though!

Variety is a key component to a balanced raw diet! Studies have shown that our domestic cats' wild cousins require at least five to seven different protein sources to meet their nutritional needs, and it's commonly recommended that domestics be fed at least three to five (I feed seven). No protein source has a greater or lessor value than another.... it's all about variety.  ;-}

AC

 

[korina]

I put the chicken thighs and liver in a 550 degree oven and lightly sear the thighs to kill any surface bacteria. Then I stop the cooking process by shocking the thighs in ice water.

I wish Dr. Pierson would give some justification to that practice other than her gut (no pun intended) instinct.

As a doctor she should have access to a microscope, or at least a friend at a university to look at the surface of frozen whole chicken cuts.

Salmonela is not dangerous, and with simple rinsing with water (on uncut meet) aparently should wash it off.

I have an idea of spraying the meat with vinegar before rinsing off to kill pathogens directly (still researching this).

Back to the topic at hand, I would say whatever they will eat, but push variety.

As a long time bengal owner I love how easy it is to feed them variety (at least my one girl).

She grew to demand a different variety every day, out of say 15 varieties of quality wet cans.

My other two bengals, 7 month kittens have been on all raw (one or two cans a week).

Every day is a new day, but here is what they are leaning towards.

HT rabbit, pork, chicken.  They rejected Goose (very fatty no smell), and for HT lamb, they rejected it till I jammed wet can in there, funny enough they ate all the raw and left the canned food.

As to whole pieces, they LOVE drumsticks and pork ribs (from HT)

 

[peaches08]

I will look into variety as I can afford it, for sure! In any case, Dr. Pierson mentioned a few factors that cause her to bake the chicken a little. How it was handled before packaging, freshness of the meat, and wanting to leave it out a little longer. In that I have to feed them as I run out the door in the mornings, it's what works for me too. That said, I use a higher temp and cook it for a shorter length of time and have about 95% of it or more still raw.