Warning signs of an imbalanced raw diet

[lhystory]

Howdy everyone,

I'm still in the process of uploading some nice photos of my kittens - we've had computer issues, so as soon as that's resolved, I'll make sure to get some nice photos up.

I'm currently finishing up the second round of raw feeding for my kittens, both of which are now 5-6 months young. Mars was transitioned too quickly, and Juno seems to be enjoying it without any issues.

Does anyone here have any warning sings of an imbalanced raw diet? Perhaps you started feeding but had to stop due to certain issues developing, or the kitties rejecting the food? I have most of the positive signs on my kittens - extra energy, nice plush fur, natural weight maintenance etc., - but I cannot seem to shake the bad breath and the iffy stools. Traditionally, the stools are supposed to be tan-ish and rock hard, and that's not the complete case here for either kitten. One is getting mostly EVO at the moment, and the other is full-raw.

I am using the catnutrition.org recipe with a few minor modification - I bought extra turkey hearts to make up for some of the taurine loss, and to substitute for simple muscle meats/bits.

The ultimate goal is to provide a higher standard of living for the kitties, so I would hate to be hurting them unknowingly.

 

[vball91]

If you are using the catnutrition.org recipe, I would not be looking to an imbalance of the food as the source of the bad breath and iffy stools. When you say iffy, what do you mean? Too soft, smelly, diarrhea? Parasites are the most common cause in kittens, some of which can be difficult to diagnose, requiring a special PCR panel. In regards to the bad breath, it could be that they are losing their baby teeth?

ETA - do you give probiotics? If not, they may help.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you are using the catnutrition.org recipe, I would not be looking to an imbalance of the food as the source of the bad breath and iffy stools. When you say iffy, what do you mean? Too soft, smelly, diarrhea? Parasites are the most common cause in kittens, some of which can be difficult to diagnose, requiring a special PCR panel. In regards to the bad breath, it could be that they are losing their baby teeth?

ETA - do you give probiotics? If not, they may help.

  This is exactly what I was thinking.  They are probably teething right now, which would account for the bad breath.  And I'm wondering if you are adding those Turkey Hearts to the recipe, increasing the amount of muscle meat?  This could cause some diarrhea, if the calcium level is too low.  I don't think this is what you are doing, but if it is, please stop.  It is imperative that growing kittens get enough calcium, and one sign of not enough calcium is diarrhea.  'Course, another cause of diarrhea is just as Vball suggested, and that is parasites.  (what makes you think that recipe needs more taurine in it, BTW?) 

Who said raw tan-ish and rock hard.  My raw eater doesn't produce tan-ish stools.  He eats mainly beef and turkey thighs (frankenprey), with occasional chicken thrown in, and his stools are normally dark brown.  Their stools are based on the color of the food they ingest.  Dark meats equal dark stools.  Turkey hearts are dark meat, duck hearts are REALLY dark (don't know that you've tried those, just stating a fact).  Liver is really dark.  chicken breasts are really light.  So if you have a diet of mainly chicken breasts, then I would expect a tan-ish stool.  And, yes, their stools should be fairly hard, certainly harder than "traditional"

, but not so hard you can't break it open and see what's inside (which is usually just hair!  (yes, we diehards have checked

)

 

[cprcheetah]

EVO is a very rich food and can cause stool problems in some cats.  Bad Breath could be indicitive of teething.  Some kittens do have parasites so a PCR panel might be a good idea.

 

[lhystory]

Thanks to everyone for their amazing feedback. Admittedly, I haven't thought about the food color affecting stool color. Clearly, it works for other mammals as it works for us. I just read some pieces where that had been mentioned, and didn't realize that I was feeding them dark turkey hearts...

Anyways, when it comes to the mix: I've been hearing that the Hare-Today mix is too high in calcium, so I guess I wanted to balance it out a little better.

I have been slowly transitioning Mars and surprisingly his stool is improving to where it's mostly formed now! On the regular feeding schedule is a good bit of organic unsweetened yogurt as well, to help them with both calcium and probiotics.

Owning kitties is sure hard work! How do you guys all deal with the stress of keeping them healthy etc?

Little Juno has been having some issues with goopy eyes, too, so I'm going crazy pulling my hair out trying to figure out whether he's getting better or not.

I guess it's a never-ending battle with the kitties' health.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

SOME of the Hare-Today mixes too high in calcium, IMHO.  The poultry ones are, again IMHO.  But the beef mix is only 6% ground bone.  And I actually have no idea how much the ground mouse mix is

, or the lamb, goat, llama, rabbit.  Some of them state the percentage right on their website, some don't.  I just emailed Tracy on the ones I bought and asked.  If I felt they were too high, then I did like you did and added in some additional muscle meat (of which hearts fall into that category).

Yes, whoever said owning pets is good for your blood pressure obviously never worried about their health

So, you are making the recipe on catnutrition.org, but using ground mixes from Hare Today to do it?  Am I interpreting that correctly?  I thought those recipes called form whole carcasses which you cut up yourself and left partially in chunks.  Then ground the rest yourself.  Maybe you should tell us EXACTLY what you are doing, number of pounds of meats, exactly which grind, etc., and we can have someone analyze it, unless you've already done that.

Oh, forgot to ask, do you think Juna has a URI with his goopy eyes?  Possible Feline Herpes?