Varying Proteins....

[MissMolly08]

I've been reading a lot here lately and have seen some posts where people mention offering a variety of protein sources but then I saw a post where someone recommended a poster stay away from the "exotic" proteins like venison and lamb because you want to save some proteins in case your cat develops and allergy or something like that...

What's up with that? Do you all vary proteins? If so, do you offer every protein available in rotation or do you rotate some and reserve some for medical issues later on?

We have a tight budget so we are rotating Sheba, FF classics and 4health brands right now (looking for maybe 1-2 more to add to rotation) and of course a lot of these cheaper brands don't offer anything like duck, rabbit or lamb.... My kitty isn't too fond of beef so is just turkey, chicken and the occasional salmon enough rotation?

 

[LTS3]

It's fine to vary proteins Chicken and turkey are just fine if your cat only likes those and is what's affordable for your budget. The novel proteins tend to be pricier so for some people those are not in the budget to feed all the time. Many peope rotate between the more common proteins (chicken, duck, turkey, beef, seafood once in awhile, etc) and occasionally feed a novel one like rabbit or pheasant for the variety and to see if the cat even likes the novel protein.

 

[MeganLLB]

I've never heard of saving one in case they get an allergy. I would want to make sure my cat likes it first. I think its good to have a variety to they don't get too picky

 

[orange&white]

There are many articles available recommending reserving at least one protein to never feed in case the cat ever needs testing to find the cause of an allergy. It's very common for vets to want to conduct a "novel protein" test with some meat the cat has never been exposed to. (I have no idea the scientific reasoning behind this.) Probably better safe than sorry and don't feed one or two protein types...my unscientific answer.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

I rotate a few proteins. Duck, chicken, salmon and Turkey. Her dry food also has quail which is more uncommon.

I figured that's a good variety to prevent boredom, but still leaves plenty other choices if we need a novel protein. Of course since we rescued her at 6 years old I really don't know what she was fed before.

 

[haleyds]

Mines about the same as yours, chicken, turkey and salmon/trout mixes along with duck. Neither of mine care for beef and I'm kinda weird about feeding them things that I know a cat wouldn't be eating naturally. I.e. a cat wouldn't take down a deer lol.

 

[MeganLLB]

Mines about the same as yours, chicken, turkey and salmon/trout mixes along with duck. Neither of mine care for beef and I'm kinda weird about feeding them things that I know a cat wouldn't be eating naturally. I.e. a cat wouldn't take down a deer lol.

being that cats are domesticated they don't take down any of those animals naturally. A domestic cat would probably only eat mice, small birds, and other rodents. If you are going with the whole "evolution" thing, there are plenty of big cats that hunt deer, antelope, impala, wildebeest, bison, buffalo, warthog, hares. What big cats don't eat naturally would actually be turkey, chicken, duck, quail. So I think you might have that a little backwards.

 

[MissMolly08]

Mines about the same as yours, chicken, turkey and salmon/trout mixes along with duck. Neither of mine care for beef and I'm kinda weird about feeding them things that I know a cat wouldn't be eating naturally. I.e. a cat wouldn't take down a deer lol.

Haha! That's something I kind of wondered about too. Why do they put things like beef and pork in cat foods? I've never heard of a cat taking down a whole cow!

 

[MissMolly08]

Haha! That's something I kind of wondered about too. Why do they put things like beef and pork in cat foods? I've never heard of a cat taking down a whole cow!

Just read the previous answer.... Thinking in terms of bigger cats I guess it does make some sense.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

I don't really care about the evolutionary view of it all, as long as the science shows it's fine for cats I'm cool.
I have personally seen house/farm cats take down chickens and rabbits though, a duck wouldn't surprise me at all. As a child I remember crying for hours when our cat left a dead rabbit on the porch.

 

[haleyds]

being that cats are domesticated they don't take down any of those animals naturally. A domestic cat would probably only eat mice, small birds, and other rodents. If you are going with the whole "evolution" thing, there are plenty of big cats that hunt deer, antelope, impala, wildebeest, bison, buffalo, warthog, hares. What big cats don't eat naturally would actually be turkey, chicken, duck, quail. So I think you might have that a little backwards.

Coming from a farm setting growing up I've had cats bring up rabbits, quail, ducks and chickens. It's not really evolutionary, it's just my personal choice to not feed them those foods.

 

[MeganLLB]

Coming from a farm setting growing up I've had cats bring up rabbits, quail, ducks and chickens. It's not really evolutionary, it's just my personal choice to not feed them those foods.

Yea and that's fine, feed whatever you want. I just didn't really follow your logic.

 

[Vega's Dad]

Speaking of new/exotic/holdback/backup protein...