Raw Chicken Livers

[matt1991]

i heard cats really do well with organ meats chicken livers are very cheap and fresh i bought some to feed to my 3 6 week old kittens and the mother is this a good idea it isnt there whole diet obviously but the bulk of there protein for right now

 

[Columbine]

Liver is an essential part of the diet, but it should NOT make up the bulk of the diet - too much liver can result in vitamin A toxicity, something to be particularly mindful of with young kittens and their small bodies. This thread has more info - How much liver is too much?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Liver is an essential part of the diet, but it should NOT make up the bulk of the diet - too much liver can result in vitamin A toxicity, something to be particularly mindful of with young kittens and their small bodies. This thread has more info - How much liver is too much?

Totally agree. If you could add in lots of hearts and gizzards, that would help as those are considered muscle meat vs organs. But then you would still need to add in some bones or other form of calcium if any of this is more than 15% of their overall diet.

 

[mschauer]

i heard cats really do well with organ meats chicken livers are very cheap and fresh i bought some to feed to my 3 6 week old kittens and the mother is this a good idea it isnt there whole diet obviously but the bulk of there protein for right now

The kittens are in very real danger of severe developmental problems if their diet doesn't contain sufficient calcium. The diet you describe appears to have very little calcium.

In general a diet that is composed primarily of liver is not nutritionally adequate and can do more harm than good.

Can you tell us more about the total diet both mom and kittens are getting?

A diet of very cheap commercial processed food supplemented with a small amount of fresh liver would be a better choice than a diet of mostly liver.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Agreed on all accounts!
Chicken livers are an excellent addition just like clean liver is a great addition to our (human) diet for our non-vegetarian friends, but a diet that is extremely high (bulk) in livers is not good.
Too much of a good thing isn't always good, and all that =)
If it's the "bulk of their protein for right now" you might be surprised if you can source chicken livers for cheap you might be able to source other things like hearts and gizzards, as mrsgreenjeens suggested, but the calcium issue still stands.
Do you have access to an all purpose kitten chow that you could supplement within reason with these livers?
Do you have freezer space available to freeze them so you can use them over the course of time?
Where are you getting these livers at. I only ask because if it's a butcher or whatever they may be able to hook you up with some other foods that would balance the diet better. At 6 weeks old their nutritional demands are high. Liver isn't bad, but as a bulk of the diet it can cause problems.
Please update!

 

[matt1991]

The kittens are in very real danger of severe developmental problems if their diet doesn't contain sufficient calcium. The diet you describe appears to have very little calcium.

In general a diet that is composed primarily of liver is not nutritionally adequate and can do more harm than good.

Can you tell us more about the total diet both mom and kittens are getting?

A diet of very cheap commercial processed food supplemented with a small amount of fresh liver would be a better choice than a diet of mostly liver.

as is aid it isnt the whole diet i just got a tub of livers to feed all the cats as a treat they all eat 9 lives or friskys dry cat food as of late and i feed them meats that i dont eat usually sometimes ill get some veggies and cous cous or rice and add 2 big table spoons of beef fat i save for flavor and give that to them

i know cats dont need veggies and carbs like humans but it fills them up and mixes it up for them i did that mostly cause i had car troubles for a few weeks and they had to eat off scraps but the scarps they got were usually good protein and fat what about eggs?

 

[matt1991]

Agreed on all accounts!
Chicken livers are an excellent addition just like clean liver is a great addition to our (human) diet for our non-vegetarian friends, but a diet that is extremely high (bulk) in livers is not good.
Too much of a good thing isn't always good, and all that =)
If it's the "bulk of their protein for right now" you might be surprised if you can source chicken livers for cheap you might be able to source other things like hearts and gizzards, as mrsgreenjeens suggested, but the calcium issue still stands.
Do you have access to an all purpose kitten chow that you could supplement within reason with these livers?
Do you have freezer space available to freeze them so you can use them over the course of time?
Where are you getting these livers at. I only ask because if it's a butcher or whatever they may be able to hook you up with some other foods that would balance the diet better. At 6 weeks old their nutritional demands are high. Liver isn't bad, but as a bulk of the diet it can cause problems.
Please update!

i shouldn't have used the word bulk i mean i bought a tub about a pound worth that will prob last them 4 days i usually give the mom and dad 1 whole liver a piece and the 3 kittens ill cutup into 3 pieces for each of them s hey get 1 meat meal a day and they always have dry food they eat it will only last them prob 3 to 4 days i didnt mean for it to mean thats what they mostly will eat for a month

when i can afford it i like to mi up the cats diets with different types of cheap meats like mackerel sardines ironically i fed them the filling of an egg roll today as well they really loved it im not exactly sure how old they are they can run now im sure they cant be over 6 weeks prob 4 to 5 tbh i noticed them last week for the first time on my porch the mother had them under my house and i notice her weight loss about a moth ago had no idea she had kittens though cause she was pretty big for like 4 months straight

ill try to take some pics of them to show so you can tell me about how old they look one of them is almost double the size of the other 2

 

[furmonster mom]

I understand you are doing what you can in a difficult situation, but the others are right to warn you about overdoing the liver. Those of us who feed a raw diet have done the research and are very careful about balancing the diet. I feed an average of only 1/4 oz of liver per day. I could probably do a bit more for an occasional treat, but not much.

As for eggs, they are a good simple protein source, if you can get your cats to eat them. Some cats turn their noses up at it.

You do need to cook the whites, though you can feed the yolks raw.
My method is to separate the yolks out, cook up the whites, chop into bits. Then add the cooked, chopped whites back with the yolks and stir up (keep in fridge). I give about 1/4 oz per meal with their other food. Again, some cats are picky about eggs, so it may take a while for them to get used to them.

The whites have an enzyme that will cause a build up of histamine around the heart if fed too much and not countered by vit. B, so that is why it's recommended to cook them to break down that enzyme.

Egg yolks have the added benefit of being helpful in the fight against hairballs.

Something else you might consider for the kittens is adding a bit of KMR kitten milk replacement supplement to the food. You can find it at most pet stores. I understand it might be tight on the budget, but you shouldn't need to use it for more than a couple weeks (depending on how old they are).

 

[maureen brad]

Do some research if you want to feed cats raw food. It is not hard but you do have to have an understanding of how to do it so that your cats thrive and do not end up sick. Livers are important in their diets. (we all add it to our recipes) but, they can't be what the meals consist of, cats need meat and ideally bone also, several nutrients too,like taurine without which eventually they can die. Fish every once in awhile is ok but, fed to much it does not add whata they need, is addictive and results in deficiencies, as far as the inside of your egg roll, it won't kill them but also won't nourish them. If you can just use a bit of liver with maybe raw chicken or turkey and thenn alternate some fish in once a week that would be so much better,If you wantto feed them boneless meats with no liver there is a supplement my cats love aand it has all the stuff your cats need in it, just mix with meat and a little water. Shoot forgot to writ ethe name, EZ Complete . It is expensive but if you can swing it, it is very good stuff. You can find it at www.foodfurrlife.com

 

[1 bruce 1]

i shouldn't have used the word bulk i mean i bought a tub about a pound worth that will prob last them 4 days i usually give the mom and dad 1 whole liver a piece and the 3 kittens ill cutup into 3 pieces for each of them s hey get 1 meat meal a day and they always have dry food they eat it will only last them prob 3 to 4 days i didnt mean for it to mean thats what they mostly will eat for a month

when i can afford it i like to mi up the cats diets with different types of cheap meats like mackerel sardines ironically i fed them the filling of an egg roll today as well they really loved it im not exactly sure how old they are they can run now im sure they cant be over 6 weeks prob 4 to 5 tbh i noticed them last week for the first time on my porch the mother had them under my house and i notice her weight loss about a moth ago had no idea she had kittens though cause she was pretty big for like 4 months straight

ill try to take some pics of them to show so you can tell me about how old they look one of them is almost double the size of the other 2

OK, that doesn't sound bad especially since they get other dry/canned cat foods. =)
We mix things up too, and cheap meats are not always bad. We get hearts for cheap, a muscle meat but lots of good stuff in there. Tripe here (for the dogs) is a big hit, super cheap, super nutritious, super bad smelling. Helps their teeth stay nice!
One of our cats goes nuts for polenta (corn grits), why I don't know but he likes it. So we give him some occasionally (once or twice a month). Other cats of ours love cucumber, melons, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. A few even like leftover vegetables, without any seasonings.
If you give the egg roll filling, be sure there's no onion in there as that is usually not a good thing for dogs or cats!
matt1991 , did you manage to get any pictures of the babies?

 

[matt1991]

 

[matt1991]

the white/grey one is a lot bigger than the other 2 almost double ever since first found them hes the boy other 2 are girls man i hope i can find a good home for them soon i put an add on craigslist someone replied asking if i still had them but never replied back sadly.

they are very good kittens very living they wrestle each other all day and always jump into my bed to sleep with me they really love humans not stuck up at all