Mixing Raw Food and Pasta

rexinminn

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Years ago a friend started feeding her 15-yr old feline a diet of chicken liver and ramen noodles. She would pre-mix the ingredients as "cookies" on a cookie sheet on wax paper, freeze it that way, then pull one "cookie" at meal time, let it thaw a bit and give it to Josie. I'd like to try this with our 15-yr old Punkin who is losing weight faster than we might like. We are trying to cut the protein she's ingesting in hopes of allowing her digestion to be more efficient so she will ultimately eat more, as she is being quite fussy. We are on a raw diet so it comes as no surprise she's being fussy if her body is telling her not to eat as much protein. So that's where we are. I cooked up a small batch of vermicelli and one cat likes her raw food mixed with it, but Punkin not so much, so I'm wonder what the best proportions might be for the raw food and the pasta. Any ideas, please share.
 

Azazel

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Raw liver and pasta wouldn't be a nutritionally complete meal. Feeding this in isolation will lead to malnutrition and ultimately death. Too much raw liver can also lead to Vitamin A toxicity. Pasta should also not be fed to cats as they are obligate carnivores and cannot properly process grains or carbohydrates.

Those of us who make our own cat food follow established recipes. You will need to include muscle meat, organ meat, and bones (or a calcium supplement). You also need to make sure that your phosphorus to calcium ratio is correct, that there is enough iodine, Vitamins A, B, and E, taurine, and fatty acids, among other things.

I suggest following an established recipe such as the one on feline-nutrition.org: Feline Nutrition Recipe

You also should not cut the protein from an obligate carnivore's diet. I'm not sure where you got the idea that cutting protein would make her more efficient at digesting. A cat's diet should be a minimum of 50% animal protein. If you add pasta and increase the carbs, it will cause digestion issues. More animal protein and fewer carbs will help digestion issues.
 
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LTS3

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Um, ramen noodes?? :eek3: Cats are obligate carnivores. They need meat, not noodles or starchy things like that. A diet of just liver and noodles is not a healthy diet at all for any cat. It lacks the necessary vitamins and minerals a cat needs such as taurine. Too much liver can cause vitamin A deficiency in cats, too. Sure, the friend's cat might have lived on the liver and ramen diet but most likely suffered nutritional deficiencies from it that may not have been visibly apparent.

Please read up on how to do a proper raw diet. Here is one place to start:


Catinfo.org and Catnutrition.org are also good web sites with good raw recipes.

A 15 year old cat who is losing weight should be examined by a vet, if that hasn't been done. Senior cats are prone to health issues that cause weight loss such as diabetes, hyperthyroid, and vitamin B12 deficiency.
 
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rexinminn

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Raw liver and pasta wouldn't be a nutritionally complete meal. Feeding this in isolation will lead to malnutrition and ultimately death. Too much raw liver can also lead to Vitamin A toxicity. Pasta should also not be fed to cats as they are obligate carnivores and cannot properly process grains or carbohydrates.

Those of us who make our own cat food follow established recipes. You will need to include muscle meat, organ meat, and bones (or a calcium supplement). You also need to make sure that your phosphorus to calcium ratio is correct, that there is enough iodine, Vitamins A, B, and E, taurine, and fatty acids, among other things.

I suggest following an established recipe such as the one on feline-nutrition.org: Feline Nutrition Recipe

You also should not cut the protein from an obligate carnivore's diet. I'm not sure where you got the idea that cutting protein would make her more efficient at digesting. A cat's diet should be a minimum of 50% animal protein. If you add pasta and increase the carbs, it will cause digestion issues. More animal protein and fewer carbs will help digestion issues.
All of what you are saying makes perfect sense to me. Thank you for reinforcing these ideas. I will look at the link you sent. Here in the Minneapolis (MN) area we have a raw food supplier who adds the micro-ingredients so that's not a problem, so perhaps there is another issue that is causing Punkin to be eating less than she normally would. Thank you very much for your reply. It will help a lot. Happy new year and have a great remainder of your week.
 
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rexinminn

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Um, ramen noodes?? :eek3: Cats are obligate carnivores. They need meat, not noodles or starchy things like that. A diet of just liver and noodles is not a healthy diet at all for any cat. It lacks the necessary vitamins and minerals a cat needs such as taurine. Too much liver can cause vitamin A deficiency in cats, too. Sure, the friend's cat might have lived on the liver and ramen diet but most likely suffered nutritional deficiencies from it that may not have been visibly apparent.

Please read up on how to do a proper raw diet. Here is one place to start:

[/URL]

Catinfo.org and Catnutrition.org are also good web sites with good raw recipes.

A 15 year old cat who is losing weight should be examined by a vet, if that hasn't been done. Senior cats are prone to health issues that cause weight loss such as diabetes, hyperthyroid, and vitamin B12 deficiency.
Excellent. Thank you so much for his very informative reply to my post. We have a vet appt for Friday, but I'm concerned that the verdict will be something we can do nothing about, which means finding something she will be eager to eat. She has been a bit of a fussy eater over the years, but maybe there will be something in the link you send that will help. Our raw food supplier, Woody's up here in the Minneapolis area adds the micro-ingredients to the food, so that's not an issue, fortunately. I also suspect thyroid as her sister, Peanut (they are littermates) had a thyroid issue two years ago, so that's another possibility. Thanks again. Happy New Year to you!
 

Azazel

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All of what you are saying makes perfect sense to me. Thank you for reinforcing these ideas. I will look at the link you sent. Here in the Minneapolis (MN) area we have a raw food supplier who adds the micro-ingredients so that's not a problem, so perhaps there is another issue that is causing Punkin to be eating less than she normally would. Thank you very much for your reply. It will help a lot. Happy new year and have a great remainder of your week.
No problem, I’m glad it was helpful. I would definitely have her checked by the vet. If she’s not eating much but you haven’t made any changes to her food then there must be some other underlying issue. How is her poop/pee and energy?
 

lisahe

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I'd like to try this with our 15-yr old Punkin who is losing weight faster than we might like. We are trying to cut the protein she's ingesting in hopes of allowing her digestion to be more efficient so she will ultimately eat more, as she is being quite fussy. We are on a raw diet so it comes as no surprise she's being fussy if her body is telling her not to eat as much protein.
This sounds to me like it could be muscle wasting, which is very common among senior cats. These cats generally tend to need more protein, rather than less. Meat protein is what cats DO process well.

As LTS3 noted, there could be medical reasons behind Punkin's appetite issues -- it's good that you are already planning a vet visit on Friday. We saw similar symptoms (lack of hunger, loss of weight) in our previous cat, who had numerous health issues, including kidney disease, thyroid disease, and IBD. She was even older than Punkin and had been misdiagnosed her whole life... but even her symptoms lessened in her last months with a better diet that included raw food and canned foods that were low in phosphorous.

Here's an article on muscle wasting. StackPath
 
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rexinminn

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No problem, I’m glad it was helpful. I would definitely have her checked by the vet. If she’s not eating much but you haven’t made any changes to her food then there must be some other underlying issue. How is her poop/pee and energy?
Her poop is generally good, consistent on a day to day basis and pellet-like for the most part. I watch the litter pan religiously and watch her behavior at the litter pan regularly too, aside from being vigilant about keeping up with its cleaning. Energy is good, not great, but seems to be improving as I have moved her increasingly away from the raw. I think that's ultimately what's going on, she's simply sick of the raw we've been feeding her (quail and cornish game hen), but she's devouring the envelope wet food lately. Thank you so much for asking! I will keep you posted on how she's doing.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
In case there is something here that helps;

 
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