Raw/Primal Help

[faeleen]

Hello,
The last 2 days I have been giving my cats Primal Turkey (frozen) mixed with a little bit of canned Nulo for breakfast and lunch, and just regular canned for dinner. Is it ok to mix the 2 together? Why does it recommend it be fed in stainless steel bowls? Can I heat up the raw? They all seem to like it! My goal is to have their 1-2 meals be full raw and the rest canned. I would really appreciate any opinions!

 

[lisahe]

Yes, it's fine to mix raw food and canned food, though raw food shouldn't be warmed up much. Our cats will eat their defrosted food (even when it's still got a few ice crystals) so I don't have much experience with heating, but here's a previous post with detailed discussion about warming raw food.

As for stainless steel bowls, they're often recommended as a nonporous dish that helps prevent the growth of bacteria. I'm not sure that's much of a concern with Primal--which we also feed--because their poultry foods are treated for bacteria, but we do use stainless steel dishes. (Stainless steel dishes can get pretty expensive but our grocery store sells them for $2.49 each.)

Our cats are doing well on a diet of canned and raw foods--though we don't mix them--and I hope yours like it, too! 

 

[lisamarie12]

 Why does it recommend it be fed in stainless steel bowls? Can I heat up the raw?

Stainless steel or glass bowls don't harbor bacteria the way that plastic feeding dishes do, as LisaHE mentioned. Plastic can scratch over time after repeated washing.  I use glass plates, not bowls, large enough so as not to cause "whisker stress".

There are some people who nuke their raw for a few seconds, I personally don't feel comfortable applying any heat to raw. My one cat eats Primal rabbit; after thawing it in the bottom portion of the refrigerator for about an hour, when I serve it there isn't any frost left, I mash it up a bit and occasionally add a few drops of warm water. 

We were doing about 75% raw and 25% canned, the cats didn't have a problem with this, however, in the last few days we've made the switch to 100% raw.

Good luck.

 

[lisamarie12]

Hello,
The last 2 days I have been giving my cats Primal Turkey (frozen) mixed with a little bit of canned Nulo for breakfast and lunch, and just regular canned for dinner. Is it ok to mix the 2 together?

P.S. Faeleen,

Here is an article that may be useful regarding feeding both canned and raw (even though the link says "dry" it discusses canned as well):

http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-feed-raw-and-dry-at-the-same-time

 

[mschauer]

 

Hello,
The last 2 days I have been giving my cats Primal Turkey (frozen) mixed with a little bit of canned Nulo for breakfast and lunch, and just regular canned for dinner. Is it ok to mix the 2 together?

P.S. Faeleen,

Here is an article that may be useful regarding feeding both canned and raw (even though the link says "dry" it discusses canned as well):

http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-feed-raw-and-dry-at-the-same-time

I find the article linked to to be a bit confusing in that the references cited don't seem to support the authors statements about the affect of carbohydrates on the feline diet. Or at least not with regards to cooked carbohydrate sources which is all that is found in commercial canned and dry foods. Even with regards to raw carbohydrates the affects depended on the type of carbohydrate yet the author implies the affects are found with all carbohydrates.

The author writes:

 If a cat is fed high-carbohydrate food at the same time as raw food, the carbohydrates can interfere with the efficient absorption of the nutrients in the raw food, potentially cancelling out the benefits of the raw diet. Increased levels of crude fibre in feline rations increase faecal output, alter colonic microflora  and fermentation patterns, alter glucose absorption and insulin secretion, and at high levels can depress diet digestibility.¹

But from the reference cited:

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/124/12_Suppl/2568S.full.pdf

 Apparent absorption of magnesium and phosphorus were enhanced in group SUC. Apparent absorption of sodium was lowest in group STARCH 1 and highest in group STARCH3. Compared with diet FAT, potassium absorption was impaired in group STARCH2.

 In the present study raw starch led to a decrease of protein digestibility.

Note they say RAW starch.

 Whereas diet had little systematic effect on the apparent absorption of sodium and potassium,

STARCH1 - 37% raw potato starch

STARCH2 - 35% raw maize starch

STARCH3 - 29% cooked maize starch 

SUC -36% sucrose  

LACI - 11% lactose

LAC2 28% lactose 

GLUC - 40% glucose

GAL - 39% galactose

FAT - carbohydrate-free control diet

The author supposedly has training in nutritional medicine and I certainly am not saying her conclusions are groundless just based on my laymans interpretation of the study she cites.  I think it is worth noting that she owns 7 stores that specialize in raw pet food products.

Personally I have no concerns about mixing raw food and canned foods even if the canned contains some carbohydrates. At least no concerns about any adverse affect the carbs might have on nutrient absorption.

 

[lisamarie12]

 
I find the article linked to to be a bit confusing in that it doesn't seem to support the authors statements about the affect of carbohydrates on the feline diet. Or at least not with regards to cooked carbohydrate sources which is all that is found in commercial canned and dry foods. Even with regards to raw carbohydrates the affects depended on the type of carbohydrate yet the author implies the affects are found with all carbohydrates.

That's a really good point, thanks for posting the link.

The lesson here (for me), is just avoid or minimize the carbs - canned or cooked, that the cats don't need anyway.

 

[ldg]

My vet trained in nutrition had us treat Chumley with slippery elm bark powder - a fiber. It was added to his canned food twice a day for over a year. No nutritional deficiencies noted in that time.

I know many people feeding canned and raw, plenty feeding kibble and raw (especially to dogs). I don't know what science has to say about it, but the experience of many is that it isn't a problem. IMO, the addition of ANY raw into a diet is a healthy thing. It's like living on pizza. If we start eating some fruit, it's only a good thing.