Sodium adjustment

[Jenee]

I am following Dr. Pierson raw cat food recipe and had a question about sodium.
We live in a very small community and don't have a lot of options. I get cases of frozen chicken thighs with bone and skin in order to have plenty on hand. However, sodium varies tremendously. At the restaurant supply we travel to, the thighs are very high - 360 MG per 4 Oz seving. When we order from our small local grocery store, the label says 85 MG per 4 Oz serving- much better.
But how do I adjust the recipe for all the differences? I am assuming Dr. Pierson's original recipe is for fresh chicken with no salt added, so I'm afraid of having too much sodium if I follow the recipe. But I'm also afraid to cut back and have a shortage of sodium and potassium.
Anyone else run across this and have suggestions?

 

[Furballsmom]

But I'm also afraid to cut back and have a shortage of sodium and potassium.

I may be missing something, but why can't you add up the sodium per the ounces of whichever product, and deduct that from the ingredient amount listed in the recipe?

 

[Jenee]

Not knowing the source of the chicken, I don't know the starting point of salt content of the original recipe, nor a total required, so I have no basis to add or subtract from. I only have what is added. My point was the huge variance from company to company making it hard to guess.
So basically I'm looking for the TOTAL salt recommendation per pound (or 5 pound etc.) of chicken so I can compute.

X (salt in bought chicken thighs) + Y (salt added to recipe) = Z (total salt in recipe).
I don't know X in order to compute Z.
I know, it's a little confusing...

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Dr. Pierson says she purchases her chicken thighs from Whole Foods, and a quick check there shows the sodium level for their non organic bone-in thighs is 65 mg of sodium. Does that help?

 

[Caspers Human]

I agree that it's good to monitor sodium intake but, also, remember that the whole belief about sodium being bad for blood pressure and health, in general, is mostly a BS belief that's been around for more than 100 years.

There has never been a conclusive study that shows whether elevated sodium levels are harmful to an otherwise healthy person.

If there is some other health condition that requires the reduction of dietary salt, yes, you should be concerned. Absent some health problem, there is no need to worry about salt except to remember to keep the levels down to a reasonable amount.

Just use reason and, of course, when it comes to making choices between otherwise similar foods, it's probably wiser to go with the one that has less salt. It just makes sense on the theory of "too much of a good thing."

I feel confident in applying that same logic when it comes to feeding our cats.

 

[Jenee]

Dr. Pierson says she purchases her chicken thighs from Whole Foods, and a quick check there shows the sodium level for their non organic bone-in thighs is 65 mg of sodium. Does that help?

Yes! Absolutely! Why didn't I think of that? That is pretty low compared to the chicken I use, so now I know that I most definitely need to cut back on salt. Thank you!

 

[sophie1]

DON'T CUT BACK ON THE LITE SALT IN THE RECIPE!!!! It's mostly potassium, which the kitties need.

Sorry for the emphasis, but...the real problem here is that the high sodium content in the meat is a sign that it's been injected with a brine solution. This is done for 2 reasons: 1) to make substandard/rotting meat taste better to humans, and 2) to add weight so they can charge you more for less actual food. There may also be sugar in the brine, but they're not obliged to reveal anything but the sodium content. Several people here have reported that brine-injected meats make their cats sick, although that's hardly the only problem.

You can avoid this by only buying meats with sodium content of less than 100mg, but I personally don't trust even that. Check out online pet food suppliers like Hare Today. Or find yourself a reliable local butcher or farm coop, although that will probably cost more than buying online.

 

[Jenee]

DON'T CUT BACK ON THE LITE SALT IN THE RECIPE!!!! It's mostly potassium, which the kitties need.

Sorry for the emphasis, but...the real problem here is that the high sodium content in the meat is a sign that it's been injected with a brine solution. This is done for 2 reasons: 1) to make substandard/rotting meat taste better to humans, and 2) to add weight so they can charge you more for less actual food. There may also be sugar in the brine, but they're not obliged to reveal anything but the sodium content. Several people here have reported that brine-injected meats make their cats sick, although that's hardly the only problem.

You can avoid this by only buying meats with sodium content of less than 100mg, but I personally don't trust even that. Check out online pet food suppliers like Hare Today. Or find yourself a reliable local butcher or farm coop, although that will probably cost more than buying online.

This is great information I wondered about the potassium if I cut back, because I personally have a prescription for potassium myself and know how important it is. But I didn't realize the Light Salt was mostly potassium. Now I know!
We quit using the restaurant supply chicken thighs after reading the sodium content. Blech! The source we are using now is much lower, 1/6 the salt, but I will check out your recommendation for Hare Today and keep looking locally and ask around until we find a source.
Thank you so much! I feel much more confident going forward. I don’t ever want to unintentionally do something that could be harmful to our girls. We lost 2 of our past Sphynx babies- one to severe HCM and one to what I now think was FIP, and it was heartbreaking. I want to do all I can to give these girls a happy life. Their parents had the gene test for HCM done, and don't have the copies, so fingers crossed that these girls live long healthy lives.

 

[sophie1]

Ugh, sounds like you've had a lot of medical problems and deserve a trouble free experience with your current cats. Good luck!!!!

I was worried about HCM with one of my cats, but his heart murmur turned out to be due to mitral valve insufficiency. Rare for cats. Go figure. Anyway, I like to think that what I feed my cats keeps them happy and healthy, so it's worth every bit of trouble they cause me!