Goat, Lamb, Mutton???

[harleydiva]

I'm getting ready to put in my monthly order to My Pet Carnivore.  So far, the guys have tried chicken, turkey, duck, beef, pork, quail, and rabbit.  I have venison in the freezer which I'll prepare this weekend.  Duck was not a big hit, nor was turkey.  Rabbit and pork are big favorites.  Beef went over pretty well too.  

I'm lucking at trying some other new proteins.  They have lamb, mutton, and goat this month.  Have you tried any of these?  Have you seen a preference for lamb vs mutton?  (Mutton is supposed to be a stronger flavor, well marbled, and redder than lamb).  How about goat???  

 

[harleydiva]

One more.....have you ever fed muskrat???

 

[andrya]

l don't even know what muskrat is 

My guys all looooove duck, and despise turkey. They're so-so with beef and pork, but will eat it.

All 3 of them turned their noses up at lamb. They didn't just ignore it, they showed me their utter revulsion over the smell of it. l made a post on it somewhere. They haven't tried mutton or goat, but if it's the least bit like lamb, my guys would vote no.

 

[Willowy]

My cats like goat a lot, and mutton pretty well. From Hare Today, not MPC. I haven't tried lamb from HT or MPC, I only got some lamb breast at the grocery store, and they didn't really like it. But that may have been because the lamb breast was almost all fat :/. No wonder it was cheap! I wonder if muskrat is musky or tastes like regular rats. . .:lol3:. Worth trying a pound anyway; if they like it you can order more next time.

 

[cat person]

<snipped> l don't even know what muskrat is 

<snipped>

A site about Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat): http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/348260

One more.....have you ever fed muskrat???

I have only fed whole Ondatra zibethicus , not ground Ondatra zibethicus . My Leptailurus serval (African Serval), F3 Savannah and F1 Bengal LOVED Muskrat. One of my DSH's loved it too. The other DSH, not so much. I was fortunate enough to have a local pond and in my area, Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat) is considered an "invasive" species. So, I was allowed to trap them and feed them to my cats. Only the Leptailurus serval and the F3 Savannah could kill a live Ondatra zibethicus safely. The F1 Bengal was about the size of a mature Ondatra zibethicus

. Even my best hunting domestic, could not safely dispatch one. So, I would feed them whole, but, already deceased to the F1 Bengal and domestics.

 

[jclark]

I'm getting ready to put in my monthly order to My Pet Carnivore.  So far, the guys have tried chicken, turkey, duck, beef, pork, quail, and rabbit.  I have venison in the freezer which I'll prepare this weekend.  Duck was not a big hit, nor was turkey.  Rabbit and pork are big favorites.  Beef went over pretty well too.  

I'm lucking at trying some other new proteins.  They have lamb, mutton, and goat this month.  Have you tried any of these?  Have you seen a preference for lamb vs mutton?  (Mutton is supposed to be a stronger flavor, well marbled, and redder than lamb).  How about goat???  

Lamb and Mutton are to Sheep as Veal and Beef are to Cows.

Goats and Sheep :While sheep and goats have many similarities, their taxonomy (scientific clasification) eventually diverges. Each is a distinct species and genus. Sheep (Ovis Aries) have 54 chromosomes, while goats (Capra Hircus) have 60. While sheep and goats will occasionally mate, fertile sheep-goat hybrids are rare. Hybrids made in the laboratory are called chimeras.
 

My understanding is that both lamb and beef are one of those protiens inwhich cats can develop allergies to.

 

[vball91]

My understanding is that both lamb and beef are one of those protiens inwhich cats can develop allergies to.

Cats *can* develop allergies to any protein. Some cats do seem to have more trouble with raw red meats though.

 

[harleydiva]

I have been very lucky with my guys so far.....knock on wood.  They have shown no issues with bone, and have no issues with red meats.  I mix 3 proteins every 2 weeks.  This week, they are eating a beef & tripe mix, venison, and rabbit.  Rabbit and pork seem to be the favorites, with poultry coming in a definite second best.  They actually seem to prefer the redder meats.

I stayed with the normal stuff this time......but will probably try lamb or mutton next time.  I understand that lamb and mutton come from the same animal at a different age, but didn't know if the stronger flavor of mutton would be a good or bad thing, or had a different nutritional profile.  I have quite a few dog people say they feed goat....but haven't seen it mentioned on the cat sites.

 

[ritz]

I too have been lucky:  although Ritz would eat only (and I do mean ONLY) Fancy Feast Classic Seafood, she'll eat any kind of protein.  She doesn't really have a favorite (she is somewhat food obsessed), though she seems to like rabbit a lot (maybe because it is relatively low in fat--and expensive!  She's not called Ritz[y] for nothing). 

She likes goat, but I don't buy a lot of it because it is expensive and I can only get it with bone.  (The bone is too hard for her to chew.)  Loves veal (of course).

She likes tripe, too.  I buy that at a local independent pet store.

She even ate/chewed turkey giblets.

I buy lamb when it is on the reduced rack--it is too fatty for my taste.  I buy almost all of my meat from the local grocery store, and they don't sell mutton.  I buy rabbit, quail and goat from the international supermarkets.  That is where I can also get a littler more variety in the offal like pork heart and pork liver. 

I can occasionally get for free venison, goose and duck from my nephew who is a hunter.

I mix a low fat meat (chicken breast) with a medium-high fat meat for one meal; if I did only low fat, she'd never stop bugging me for food. 

She's had ostrich once from Hare Today and liked it.  I've thought about getting some 'novelty' meats and organs from Hare Today, just to see if Ritz would like them.