Gadget is having problems with beef

[peaches08]

Background info: My cats eat Dr. P's raw chicken thighs recipe as most of their diet. I throw in pork or beef as an occasional meal to try to give something a little different. Recently I had to drop the fat in the chicken thighs recipe to only 25% skins as well as decrease the amount of food per serving (1 oz per day). Because of school I feed 2 times per day. I split a tin of sardines between the 3 cats 1-2 times a week. Gadget is 2.5 to 3 years old.

The past two times I fed straight beef, Gadget threw it up within 5 minutes of eating it. This time (tonight) I made a point to split a tin of sardines between them as a snack about 5 hours before, thinking that I may be dealing with a stomach acid issue. No good, he still threw up the beef.

Basically, do I consider beef an intolerance for him or should I try mixing beef and chicken? Or try freeze dried treats closer to time to feed them?

ETA: the beef is chuck roast (choice) that I grind at home.

 

[ldg]

Has he eaten other meals of something without throwing up?

You can try something like freeze dried meat treats about 10 minutes before dinner just to see.

I don't know how long she's been eating beef, but we've seen this happen a number of times, and don't have an explanation for it: kitty eats something just fine, then starts not being able to keep it down. :dk: Often after a break of a few weeks, it can be reintroduced.

Though I just thought of something.... corn prices shot up over summer of 2012 and into the end of last year. They've come back down. But as it takes about 20 months to head to market, there could be beef on the market that was fed funky things - even just wheat instead of corn. There were a number of articles on it, about farmers using alternative stuff in feed. Maybe it's just this particular batch of beef? :dk: No clue if this could be it or not, but have a read: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE88M05N20120923

 

[katluver4life]

Many cats have a rough time with red meats, so this is not unusual. You could try mixing it with the chicken most certainly. Many do that for the same reason. I'd go with a lower beef to chicken ratio at first, then work up to a 50/50 if he tolerates it with the chicken. I'm guessing your protein choices are limited? I throw in lamb when I can get it on sale. My market frequently has near to the "sell by" date meats discounted. That's when I can usually get some other proteins.

 

[peaches08]

Yeah, he's only thrown up beef. Chicken and pork he has no problem with. The other 2 cats are fine. Gadget has eaten beef before and was fine, but now isn't.

I'll try introducing it slowly and seeing what happens. I was just trying to make sure that trying to reintroduce it wasn't a cruel thing to do, if that makes sense.

I'm not surprised about the corn. I live near one of the major ports which the USA ships A LOT of corn to China.

As far as protein choices, my problems are related to cost. I can get crab legs and salmon much cheaper than lamb. However, one of my friends that I am converting to raw for his dogs and cat lives near a Buffalo farm. Yeah...I'm working on it. .

Going to look at Hare Today again for ideas as well. My ethnic stores are terrible here.

Thanks guys, I'll keep y'all updated. Going to sneak poor Gadget some food...I know he's hungry. But the others will go bananas.

 

[lindamh]

I have 3 cats which are beef intolerant -- eat beef, 5-10 minutes later, throw up beef.  One can handle slightly cooked beef, which defeats the purpose of raw.  The other 2 cannot.

I had tried mixing beef in with chicken, but stopped for 2 reasons.  One -- 2 of the cats then had diarrhea.  So even 25 beef/75 chicken was enough to cause some internal problems.  Two -- there is a theory about allergies and intolerances that implies if an animal is allergic to one food, mixing it in with another food may over time cause the body to react to the other food too.

Those of mine that can't tolerate beef, can't tolerate venison, lamb, or bison.  Pork is okay with 2 but not the 3rd cat.  And really weird, ostrich is not tolerated by any of the 3.  (Ostrich -- tall bird, but closer to beef???)

 

[peaches08]

Thanks and welcome LindaMH!

They had pork this morning and were fine. Chicken thighs they're fine. So this beef thing, yeah, I was shocked. All of mine are good eaters but Gadget will sometimes wolf his food down, so I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case. They were screaming as I opened up the last of the pork this morning, and promptly inhaled it. So either Gadget just needs a rest from beef, or no beef. Oh well, there are worse things than only feeding chicken and pork. At least until funds are better. Well, they get sardines and egg yolks too so it's not like their diet is terrible. It's better than mine!

 

[pinkman]

Bagel is the one who can't handle beef (for now). Lox eats everything and has a very strong gut. Beef for Bagel (no matter how little amount mixed with something else) means vomit. Argh.

I see beef being one protein people talk a lot when it comes to upsetting their stomachs/not settling. I wonder why? What in beef specifically makes it more less tolerable? I know it's really a case-by-case situation but... Beef does come up a lot (in many ways, up their ends... ugh)

 

[peaches08]

I sure don't know pinkman, but it is sure making me eyeball the really huge squirrels outside of my house and the who-knows-how-many rabbits I see on the causeway when I go to the mainland. Free fixin's that I can't touch.

 

[peaches08]

Many cats have a rough time with red meats, so this is not unusual. You could try mixing it with the chicken most certainly. Many do that for the same reason. I'd go with a lower beef to chicken ratio at first, then work up to a 50/50 if he tolerates it with the chicken. I'm guessing your protein choices are limited? I throw in lamb when I can get it on sale. My market frequently has near to the "sell by" date meats discounted. That's when I can usually get some other proteins.

Just wanted to mention that the "sell by" date saved me money today! They had pork loin on sale BOGO (normally $5.99/lb), but the "sell by" date was marked $1.72/lb! I bought all they had (7.5 lbs) and will make pork for the fur kids this weekend. I put it in the freezer for now.

I'm going to try to mix a little beef in with chicken some day this week. If Gadget throws that up, I'm going to have to nix beef in their rotation. Honestly, it makes me fearful of ordering meats from HT. I'm afraid of ending up with a bunch of food that I can't feed them and this semester has been been my worst as far as finances.

 

[ritz]

Ritz throws up a lot, with increasing frequency and now at odd times. I'm trying to figure out why, etc.
I do know a prime throw up time is when she hasn't eaten for 10 to 12 hours (due to my long commute and work schedule). So thanks to the suggestions from You All, I give her a few freeze dried treats when I get home from work, wait as long as my ears (she meows LOUDLY) can stand, and then feed her white/light meat. She usually keeps the food down. I've learned not to feed her red meat or 'iffy' organs (like lungs) on a relatively empty stomach.
And wondering if Gizzards (the chewy organ) are too hard for her to digest--she'll sometimes throw them up HOURS after eating them.
And I too look for "sell by" date sales--you can save a LOT of money. I am more careful now with chicken, however; it can turn bad within a few hours. I don't have that problem with "sell by" dates with pork or beef.

 

[peaches08]

Update! I did a little experiment today with beef. On Fridays my cats get a midafternoon snack, so today I defrosted one serving of beef and split it between the three cats (1/3 serving for each cat). Gadget has not thrown up and it's been an hour.

 

[vball91]

Hooray! Do you think it was the smaller portion?

 

[ldg]

That's great!!

 

[peaches08]

Hooray! Do you think it was the smaller portion?

Yeah, I think the smaller portion is key. They all get really excited at any food I put down, even the everyday chicken. But pork and especially beef they go crazy for. I think he wolfed the food and made himself sick because of it. And Gadget has that "starving street cat" thing going on, always on the prowl for food, and practically inhales his food. Thankfully he's the lowest cat in the hierarchy or he'd weigh 30 lbs!

 

[ldg]

:lol3:

That's how it works with Sheldon. At first all he could keep down was one bite. So far, he seems stuck at 0.75 ounces. :dk:

 

[peaches08]

Update: I didn't feed any beef for about 2 weeks; I alternated between chicken thighs and pork instead. Out of the blue I took one serving of beef and divided it between the three cats for a snack. Bam! Gadget yacked. Next day, I split another portion between them. Same time of day, no other changes. No vomiting. Hmmm. I broke out the big guns and defrosted 3 servings and fed it as a meal after a few days of snacking on beef. No vomiting.

Intolerance or overexcited baffoon inhaling his food? I tend to think it's the latter. But I can't help but to wonder if this is anything like food hypersensitivities in humans where people get tested and are shocked to find out that they have allergies to lettuce and such. Or I'm totally overthinking all this mess. :lol3:

 

[ldg]

OK, that's odd. :scratch: With Sheldon, it's just so clear he can't tolerate it unless it's in small amounts.

 

[peaches08]

OK, that's odd. :scratch: With Sheldon, it's just so clear he can't tolerate it unless it's in small amounts.

Well, I feel less crazy now! :lol3:

 

[ldg]

:lol3: Well that's good!

 

[peaches08]

Updating this thread since it is specific to Gadget and regurgitating beef.  I found this tonight from http://tcfeline.com/2010/08/17/throwing-up/

- RED MEATS: foods which prompt regurgitation in some cats, regardless of amount ingested, include raw beef, raw liver (any kind), raw heart (any kind), and most other red meats (like venison, elk). Regurgitation is almost entirely prevented if these foods are given cooked. The thought has occurred, that enzymes in red meat might be suspect.

It also mentioned too much water but the beef is still pretty firm, slightly more wet than a hamburger patty.  I'm thinking about cooking it the next time I want to try serving it.