Supplements

[gravekandi]

Do you use supplements? I'm interested in possibly starting to use them in my kittens food. What would you guys recommend? My kitten is a healthy 5 month old that weighs 6lbs. She is fed mostly canned food with an occasional grain free dry meal a week(1-2) along with 2-3 unbalanced raw meals a week. She also gets one sardine a week as a treat along with one egg. What else would you recommend to make her meals even more beneficial to her health? I'm interested in possibly buying salmon oil and or cod liver oil. Which should I get? what are the benefits one provides that the other doesn't? Could I buy one meant for humans rather then cats? If so how much should I feed her? I'm also interested in buying a supplement I could add to her dry or wet every now and then as a boost of sorts, is their any that I should try in specific? I'm currently thinking possibly this brand http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produ...timate-Daily-Vitamins-Plus-Feline/999053.aspx

I want her to be as healthy as possible, my reason for wanting to add a supplement is because I want her to get any and all nutrients she might need/be missing out on. Thanks for your time guys!

 

[pinkman]

I wouldn't use a multi-purpose supplement for your kitty, especially if she is eating a balanced canned food and dry already - mainly because you will never know what ingredient is the culprit if it upset's your kitty (internally). Also the one you have linked contains flaxseed oil - which I find unnecessary for a cat. 

Knowing that you already feed egg yolks (good!), and sardines (also good!) I'd think about adding a human probiotic, along with a human krill or wild alaskan salmon oil supplement. The probiotic we raw feeders like to use is "Natural Factors Acidophilus & Bifidus Double Strength with Goat Milk". We also tend to use fish-body based omega-3s (mainly krill and wild salmon) that are in capsules. Why capsules? Because individual capsules mean that there is less chance of oxidation. I use both. The salmon oil I use is "Pure Alaska Omega-3 Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil 1000mg Softgels 180-Count". For krill, many of us use "Now Foods Neptune Krill Oil". For the Natural Factors probiotic I give one capsule, split between two doses everyday. For the fish body oils I give 500mg split between two meals also. 

Regarding your question about cod liver oil - if your kitty is already eating a balanced diet it is not necessary. I know @LDG  uses cod liver oil for her cat that does not eat liver - the cod liver oil is that cat's source of Vitamin A. Because your kitty already eats a balanced diet, I do not think it's necessary for her to have cod liver oil.

Although I do not give this many other feeders have had some success with digestive enzymes.

The one supplement I will say that will not hurt is taurine. Perhaps if you haven't, you can include hearts in her raw-fed meals.

I have used L-Lysine for my two cats before, but now I prefer Lactoferrin. It seems that Lactoferrin is a lot more palatable to cats, compared to the L-Lysine. You can read about it here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/267703/stubborn-herpes-infection-add-lactoferrin-in-addition-to-lysine

I too had the same questions when I started raw regarding additional supplements and made a thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/259208/what-additional-supplements-besides-pre-mix-do-you-use. Perhaps you can get more ideas from there.

The thing I would like to stress from my personal experience is that too many supplements at once can give the cat upset, or not enjoy their food due to the fact that the supplements cover up the taste of their food. Start out slow, and take one step at a time when introducing supplements.

 

[cprcheetah]

I have a coupe of kitties who have chronic respiratory issues so they get Lysine twice a day.  I use Krill Oil for my Omega Fatty Acids (just started using it).  I use Glucosamine/Chondroitin for my arthritis kitties in the form of Cosequin.  And I use Pancreatic enzymes for my girl who has chronic pancreatitis and Mega Colon.  That's all the supplements I use.

 

[ldg]

Everything pinkman said!

Cod liver oil shouldn't be used because of the Vitamin A content. And feeding balanced meals, the multi-vitamin really isn't necessary.

I give my cats 500mg of salmon oil - they don't like it too much, so I puncture the capsule, and split it between them at two meals a day, rather than the full amount at once. The krill oil has a slightly different composition - it has no vitamin D, and is more "something" than the salmon oil, because it helps my kitty with arthritis, where the salmon oil doesn't. :dk: But it's more expensive, and I can't afford to feed it to all eight cats - and I like they get some vitamin D from the salmon oil.

I also use the probiotic daily (1/2 a capsule twice a day, actually).

And my herpes cats get lysine and lactoferrin - but they like the lysine treats. They don't like the lysine powder (it's very salty). All the cats get lactoferrin - I buy 250mg capsules, and they get 1/2 a capsule AM and PM.

Oh - if the diet and egg yolk alone don't stop hairballs when your girl is older, you could add egg yolk lecithin at some point. Just something to keep in mind. All my cats need 1/2 a capsule daily off-season, and some need up to 1 capsule 2x a day in shedding season. But they were all free-fed kibble for the first 7 years of their life, so they probably have impaired GI systems.

My kitties are all older, so I also use digestive enzymes. I don't think that's something your girl needs for ... another decade or so.

 

[stephanietx]

I have a herpes positive kitty, so all my kitties get Lysine.  Even though they are fed a high quality grain free diet, I also give them the veterinary blend of The Missing Link.

 

[gravekandi]

@pinkman  Thanks for the info! what about this salmon oil capsules?

@LDG  Thanks for the info

@stephanietx  Why do you choose to give the missing link on top of a healthy grain free diet?

 

[ldg]

Looks like a good salmon oil supplement to me! Good price! :bigthumb:

 

[stephanietx]

We started giving Missing Link prior to converting to grain free and while my Hannah was battling a Pseudomonas infection and I had an elderly kitty who had CRF.  To keep her (Hannah) as healthy as possible, we continue to give it.  When we adopted our subsequent kitties, they were all malnourished and needed the extra boost.  Now we just give it to keep them in tip top shape.  It really helps their skin and fur.  Their skin is so supple with no dandruff or itchiness and their fur is so soft and supple.  My vet always comments on that when we take our kitties in. 

 

[gravekandi]

 
We started giving Missing Link prior to converting to grain free and while my Hannah was battling a Pseudomonas infection and I had an elderly kitty who had CRF.  To keep her (Hannah) as healthy as possible, we continue to give it.  When we adopted our subsequent kitties, they were all malnourished and needed the extra boost.  Now we just give it to keep them in tip top shape.  It really helps their skin and fur.  Their skin is so supple with no dandruff or itchiness and their fur is so soft and supple.  My vet always comments on that when we take our kitties in. 

I always wonder if I should get Ziggy some of that supplement. I wonder if it will make her coat more lush.

Looks like a good salmon oil supplement to me! Good price!

Is fish oil a good thing to give them?