Want to add some different proteins

[peaches08]

It will be time to make cat food again this weekend, and as most of you know I feed dr. Pierson's ground chicken thighs recipe and chunk about half of the meat. I give gizzards as a snack occasionally. Everyone is in great health, only one cat is ever so slightly on the heavy side. I had cut the fat way back to get him to drop some and he has. I've noticed that all the coats aren't quite as soft/silky and Gadget (one was on a diet) has some dandruff on the last 2/3rds of his back. Urination and bowel movements are all fine, snd I feed more than the recommended amount of fish oil and taurine.

I'm thinking of incorporating some new meats in the mix, maybe stew beef? To keep it balanced I'll not omit as many chicken thigh bones? Maybe try wings a few times a week for dinner?

Oh, they are fed twice a day. School/clinicals get in the way of more frequent feedings. Everyone is in good weight and health otherwise.

Thanks!

ETA: I also add more than recommended amount of egg yolks, closer to www.catnutrition.org recipe.

 

[vball91]

I find that stew beef isn't any cheaper than better cuts on sale, so I just look to see what's on sale. I'm sure stew beef is fine as well but since I like to trim the excess fat, it's easier with bigger chunks of beef.

Have your cats ever had raw beef before? It seems that many cats have a problem with red meat, so you may want to introduce it slowly before making a big batch. Maybe add a little bit of diced beef into their current ground chicken and see how they do with it? I know LDG really recommends introducing new proteins slowly, 25%, 50%, 75%. My cat fortunately hasn't had a problem with any yet, except maybe venison.

Are you still planning on using chicken thigh bones in the beef mix? I'm not from your post whether you're planning on mixing the beef into your chicken mix, or whether you're making just a beef mix?

 

[peaches08]

Yes, I definitely want to incorporate the new protein in their ground/chunked mix and want to make sure that I have the meat/bone ratio correct. With Pierson's recipe I omit 20% of the bone, so adding those bones back in with additional meat should balance out.

They love eating any leftover cooked meat I've allowed them to have but it has been a while. It's sketchy with the gizzards with the other two, but Gadget will eat just about anything. Except heart and kidney. None would touch it.

 

[ritz]

As vaball said, some cats don't like red meat, like beef; others, will eat anything (like Ritz).

You mentioned your cats don't like heart or kidney:  from which animal(s)?  For example, some cats don't like beef heart but love chicken heart.  Same with kidney.  A way to introduce different proteins is through organs (liver, kidney, brain, thymus, etc) and hearts from different animals.

 

[peaches08]

I would love to incorporate different organs in the mix! My grocer is limited though. Maybe an Asian store?

They loved calves liver and beef cuts. Hated beef hearts and kidney. Don't know the vitamin A content if calves liver though.

I figured I'd add just a little new meat to a small batch to try.

 

[vball91]

If you have any type of ethnic store, Asian, Hispanic, whatever, they are a good source of different meats and organs. Definitely look for duck and rabbit there.

 

[peaches08]

I may have a Hispanic grocery store too...I'll check it out!

 

[ritz]

And goat!  Ritz loves it.  May also find (frozen) quail, which would be a good protein to add seeing it's also a bird.

 

[peaches08]

I know quail is available, just fairly pricey. I think I'd need to omit bone to incorporate quail?

 

[ritz]

You should probably omit the bone especially---if I remember correctly--you spent a few days figuring out how much turkey bone to add to your homemade recipe.

Quail bones are smaller and softer than turkey bones, and if you can figure out the amounts, would be a fine substitution.

Ritz has a low tolerance to bone/calcium (loves bone though), especially now because she is on Prozac (for FHS) which can cause constipation.  So when I cut up the quail or rabbit, I freeze the bone for later use.  Or, give it to the community cat colony I fed.

Hare Today sells boneless meat, as well as ground meat, everything from quail to guinea pig to llama.  You might want to check them out--they frequently have sales.  Other posters use My Pet Carnivore, partly depends on where you live (shipping costs).

PS:  dandruff could be from the dry heat, if where you are located is cold.  Ritz has it too.

 

[peaches08]

I buy chicken thighs and just omit 20% of the bones per Dr. Pierson's recipe. Guess I should start saving them to incorporate in other recipes? That's just it, I haven't trusted myself to properly measure meat/bones/organs like in PMR. The chicken thighs recipe is so foolproof! LoL!

I'm off the coast of GA near FL and have a heat pump. I wonder if the over 50%the reduction in fat made him drier, or if they are missing something in their diet? He's always had a little scurf, but it seems like more is there lately.

 

[peaches08]

Stopped by the one Asian grocery store, no organ meats. No hispanic grocery. Oh well, I'll just keep the extra bone in and add other meats to give some variety.

 

[peaches08]

It's official: they want some new proteins. Haven't made the food yet, but having a heck of a time keeping them away from the turkey (white and dark meat, boneless) thawing in a sink full of cold water. :lol3: Got some stew meat and chicken wings as well. Gonna add drummettes to the thighs to increase some of the bone (save some for me), add beef to some of the chicken mixture and turkey to the other. Going to feed wingettes and wing tips with a tiny side of liver occasionally too. Will let you know how it goes!

 

[vball91]

Ooh, how exciting that they seem to like the smell at least.

 

[peaches08]

They inhaled the chicken with beef!

I've made one other change as well, mostly out of laziness: I've quit searing the meat first. I just rinsed it really well.

 

[peaches08]

They liked the turkey too.

The only thing that two of the three don't care for are the bone-in wings.

 

[vball91]

That's great that they like the new proteins. Did you try cutting up the wings into thirds? I think some cats are intimidated by the size of whole wings at first. But some cats just don't seem to like wings period. Maybe not enough meat to make it worth the work?

 

[peaches08]

I cut the wingettes in half lengthways, and cut off the wing tips. So yeah, three pieces. I'm afraid to cut them again, would I risk choke?

I kept the drummettes for myself.

 

[vball91]

I think you did it right although I have heard of some people chopping/smashing them further as first. I think you're safe as long as the bones are raw but frankly the thought of bone shards scares me.

 

[ldg]

Ooooo, exploring new proteins! How fun!

And yeah, my cats that were eating raw and loving it just didn't know what to do with whole chicken wings (minus the drummette). I cut them up into thirds or quarters, and then they went at it. But if you're adjusting the bone for the amount of meat you're adding (20% more bone, 20% more meat.... ), are you sure they need the chicken wings? :dk: