Is chicken breast fine?

[haley]

Is it ok to feed boneless chicken breast or chicken legs or do I have to give my cat thighs? 

I want to feed my kitten who is 6 months old raw chicken breast or legs.... What should I add to his diet?

10% bones 5% liver and 5% hearts?

What else? 

 

[vball91]

If you only want to feed raw occasionally (less than 15% of total diet with the rest being complete commercial cat food) you can feed whatever muscle meats you want.

If you want raw to be his sole diet, you must balance it where the proportions are 80% muscle meat (heart and gizzards are considered muscle meat)/10% bone/5% liver/5% other secreting organ like kidney, pancreas, spleen, etc. As a general rule, you want as much variety as possible but 3-5 different proteins is considered the minimum. So, feeding just chicken would not be a good idea. Each animal and each part of the animal has a different nutrient profile. You are trying to mimic what the cat would eat in the wild, whole small prey animals.

If you are interested in raw feeding your cat, I would encourage you to read the resources thread at the top of the Raw Feeding Forum. It has a ton of great information.

 

[haley]

If you only want to feed raw occasionally (less than 15% of total diet with the rest being complete commercial cat food) you can feed whatever muscle meats you want.

If you want raw to be his sole diet, you must balance it where the proportions are 80% muscle meat (heart and gizzards are considered muscle meat)/10% bone/5% liver/5% other secreting organ like kidney, pancreas, spleen, etc. As a general rule, you want as much variety as possible but 3-5 different proteins is considered the minimum. So, feeding just chicken would not be a good idea. Each animal and each part of the animal has a different nutrient profile. You are trying to mimic what the cat would eat in the wild, whole small prey animals.

If you are interested in raw feeding your cat, I would encourage you to read the resources thread at the top of the Raw Feeding Forum. It has a ton of great information.

Thank you! I feed my kitten wet food and eggs now and I'm thinking to change his diet to raw only but only when I understand it well

What about 80% quail or chicken legs 10% bones 5% liver and 5% kidney 

Is this right? And is it ok to feed different animals at the same meal? Like If I mix quail legs with chicken liver?

And does it have to be chunks or  grinding is ok?  Because I don't plan on adding vitamins or taurine to his diet 

 

[ritz]

80% quail or chicken legs:  like vball11 said, you need at least three to five different type of protein.

10% bone may be a bit high, you'll have to experiment:  if your cat is constipated at 10%, you'll need to reduce it.  (Ritz gets around 7% bone.)

It is definitely okay to feed protein/bone/liver/kidney from different animals at the same meal--I do it all the time.  Quail legs [which is really bone given how little meat is on quail] + chicken liver is fine.  When I fed Ritz only chicken breast, she was really hungry--chicken breast is really low in fat.  So I now feed half chicken breast with a relatively high-fat meat like venison, goat or goose.

Chunks are better for dental health; someone who grinds their meat will answer the question about vitamin supplement.

BTW:  chicken breast is really low in fat for a kitten, so I'd recommend chicken thigh or a tiny bit of fat with the chicken breast.

 

[haley]

80% quail or chicken legs:  like vball11 said, you need at least three to five different type of protein.

10% bone may be a bit high, you'll have to experiment:  if your cat is constipated at 10%, you'll need to reduce it.  (Ritz gets around 7% bone.)

It is definitely okay to feed protein/bone/liver/kidney from different animals at the same meal--I do it all the time.  Quail legs [which is really bone given how little meat is on quail] + chicken liver is fine.  When I fed Ritz only chicken breast, she was really hungry--chicken breast is really low in fat.  So I now feed half chicken breast with a relatively high-fat meat like venison, goat or goose.

Chunks are better for dental health; someone who grinds their meat will answer the question about vitamin supplement.

BTW:  chicken breast is really low in fat for a kitten, so I'd recommend chicken thigh or a tiny bit of fat with the chicken breast.

I think that chicken thighs has so little meat for the price that's why I want to buy chicken breast or a leg

Would a chicken leg be better than quail? 

 

[ritz]

Not necessarily, it depends in part why you're buying the leg.

What you're aiming for in poultry is light AND dark meat, so chicken thigh/leg and breast.  The nutritional profiles are sufficiently different; indeed, you should aim to feed your cat different cuts of beef, i.e., meat from one part of the cow is different from another part of the cow.  Frankly, I buy what's on sale and don't pay a lot of attention to the cut of the meat.  I do rotate among five to six different proteins.

I buy quail (frozen) more for the bone than the meat; it takes around two quail for me to get 3 to 4 oz of meat (which is what I fed Ritz per day).  I freeze the bone for later use.  I sometimes splurge and buy rabbit, again for the bone as much for the meat.  Rabbit is about $4 a pound where I live, and half of that is bone.  Ritz can't handle large, dense pieces of bone, and that includes chicken wing (a common go-to for bone).  But she loves loves loves rabbit.  Ritz has to watch her girlish figure, so I never feed her extra fat.

 

[haley]

My kitten is a licker so I'm sure he will only eat the meat and will leave the bones!! I think I will grind only the bones if it was easy 

 

[haley]

Is it ok if I made the 80% of meat mostly hearts? 

 

[vball91]

Is it ok if I made the 80% of meat mostly hearts? 

For individual meals, sure, but over time, you want to mix up different meats and cuts.

If you are going to grind everything, then you should really supplement. If you are only going to grind bone, how are you planning to feed it to him? Meaning, mixed with what?

 

[haley]

For individual meals, sure, but over time, you want to mix up different meats and cuts.

If you are going to grind everything, then you should really supplement. If you are only going to grind bone, how are you planning to feed it to him? Meaning, mixed with what?

I don't know any ideas? What about mixing it with eggs? he really likes them 

 

[vball91]

You can try that. You should also not give up on bone-in meals before trying. Your cat may surprise you. Most cats are lickers because they don't have to chew. If you build up their chomping muscles with meat first, he might be willing to tackle bone.

Other suggestion rather than grinding just bone - a calcium supplement like bonemeal or eggshell powder. That way you don't have to worry about bone-in meals until he's ready. You just add the appropriate amount to the meat/organs

 

[haley]

Ok this is what I will buy tomorrow please tell me if something is wrong 

And I'm really sorry for the long post 

5 kilos of raw 

4 kilos of:

Chicken breast

Quail legs

Hearts or gizzards

0.5 kilos or a bit less:

Chicken wings for the bones

And last .. 0.5 kilos of:

Half liver and half kidney 

Is it good? And if I want to add eggs how much? 

 

[miagi's_mommy]

I wouldn't do eggs every day as they are rich. You can probably do them 2-3 x a week.

 

[vball91]

Before you buy all of this, I would suggest buying a little of some muscle meat (chicken is fine) and try offering it to him. Remember, you can feed up to 15% raw without worrying about balancing it. Some cats take a while to recognize raw as food. Even if he does take to raw right away, you can safely feed all raw for up to two weeks without balancing it.

As for your list, you're heavy on bone (quail legs and chicken wings) and heavy on liver and kidney (1 kilo out of 5 total is 20%, not the 10% you're aiming for). I would cut both of those down and add more muscle meat.

 

[haley]

Before you buy all of this, I would suggest buying a little of some muscle meat (chicken is fine) and try offering it to him. Remember, you can feed up to 15% raw without worrying about balancing it. Some cats take a while to recognize raw as food. Even if he does take to raw right away, you can safely feed all raw for up to two weeks without balancing it.

As for your list, you're heavy on bone (quail legs and chicken wings) and heavy on liver and kidney (1 kilo out of 5 total is 20%, not the 10% you're aiming for). I would cut both of those down and add more muscle meat.

I edited my list  is it right now? And is freezing for 3 days is necessary? 

And I will only feed the bone in the wings and will through the rest 

 

[ritz]

Where do you live--I notice you put weights in kilo not pounds?

Freezing for three days is not necessary in most countries; if you (human) would eat the meat, then it's fine for cats.

The only possible exception would be if the meat came from wild deer or pigs and you were unsure how the meat was handled before you got it.  The venison/goose I get from my nephew is already frozen. And I would in an abundance of caution freeze the meat first if not.  But I certainly don't do it with meat I buy in the grocery store.

 

[vball91]

That list looks pretty good now. You want to feed the entire wing, not just the bone. Try chopping the wing into thirds and cut into the skin/meat so he can taste it. Or you could try crushing the wing with a hammer. If you're going to grind the wings, grind them whole so there will be meat to make it attractive.

Freezing for 3 days is recommended. I think it really depends on where you are and how good you feel about the meat sources. Honestly, I've relaxed on this. When I buy meat, I usually feed a day or two's worth of it fresh without freezing first.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Isn't it less expensive to buy chicken thighs than quail legs?  It certainly is where I live!  Plus there is so much more meat on chicken thighs.  And fat, and kittens need fat

.

Oh, and I would definitely go with hearts vs gizzards if you are not planning on supplementing Taurine.  Hearts are a good source of taurine.  'Course, at our grocery stores around here, they usually sell them together, and there are usually only about 2 hearts and the rest are gizzards

 

[haley]

Thank you guys you helped me a lot  

My last question Is fish oil not necessary to this diet? I see a lot of raw diets have it.

 

[vball91]

Thank you guys you helped me a lot  

My last question Is fish oil not necessary to this diet? I see a lot of raw diets have it.

There is some debate about that, but I think fish oil is a good thing to add, especially for Omega 3s. Get a high quality named oil (either salmon or krill), human-grade quality in capsules preferably or if in a pump, one that is specifically made to prevent oxidation. One capsule a day sprinkled on food IF your cat will eat it like that. Some cats do not seem to like salmon oil. Krill oil is better tolerated and has more anti-inflammatory benefits but is more expensive.