Critique raw diet plan before I give it to my cat!!!

catattack1985

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Okay, so last week I was experimenting with different foods that my cat would eat -- I wanted to make sure he would eat organ, bone, skin, and meat of various sources. He eats beef heart, beef kidney, beef liver, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, chicken thigh & wing MEAT (no bone), and a little fresh sardines (with bone).

And this week I would like to give 100% raw meals to my cat.

My question is, can someone check this recipe and see if it's balanced for my cat??? I worry about him not eating enough bone (calcium) because he won't gnaw on bones, so I either have to grind them up really fine (like dust) in a grinder or, what does anyone think about supplementing with calcium supplements??? Or is that a no for cats??? How about crushed eggshells? Can that be used for long term though?

I find such conflicting information online about how much calcium/phosphorus is in what, and the P:Ca ratio is soooo important for cats!!! As is TAURINE. How can I be sure my cat is getting enough? A few sources say beef heart is great taurine -- but how can I make sure my cat is getting enough? Do ya'll supplement taurine???

My cat eats twice a day and weighs 12.5 lbs (healthy).

ANYWAY, here is the recipe to make 7 meals (enough for a week) -- PLEASE tell me if this requires any supplementation or tweaking and if so, what!:



2.5 lbs (40 oz.) chicken wing & thigh (with bone & skin) - put through a grinder once to smash up the bones and chunk up the meat. I do not finely grind the meat as my cat will eat small chunks of meat.

1 raw egg yolk

2 crushed eggshells

1.5 oz. of unsalted, fresh sardines (with bone)

4 oz. raw beef heart (chunked)

4 oz. raw beef liver (chunked)

1 cup water



I just worry my cat wouldn't get the right amount of everything he needs daily with this diet, as the chunks don't distribute evenly when separated into individual meal containers and since he doesn't eat bone. Would adding a 600 mg calcium & 1000 mg taurine supplement to each daily meal container be harmful or beneficial? Also, if my cat gets too much calcium or too much phosphorous one day, but it balances out over the course of a week, will it harm his insides?

I'm new at raw feeding and unfortunately there is no local vet I can talk to for advice, but hopefully can find advice here.
 

sharky

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the issue I see is ORGANS should be sourced from the muscle meat ... ie all chicken or all beef ....

the USDA website has lot s of info as does the Merck manual on what each item has ... It IMHO is worth a long distance call and consult with a trained vet or at the very least a look at multiple pre made raws online.. also double check the calcium as you have two high sources
 
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catattack1985

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Originally Posted by sharky

the issue I see is ORGANS should be sourced from the muscle meat ... ie all chicken or all beef ....

the USDA website has lot s of info as does the Merck manual on what each item has ... It IMHO is worth a long distance call and consult with a trained vet or at the very least a look at multiple pre made raws online.. also double check the calcium as you have two high sources
what does it matter if I use beef organs with chicken meat?? why does that matter?
 

sharky

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I cant formulate into words well ... but the nutrients in a chicken work all together... same for beef, lamb , etc
 

auntie crazy

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I'm an analytical person, so in order for me to give my opinion on the recipe you've concocted, you'd have to give it to me in a percentage-based format.

I use the 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% organ formula. If, over a week's time, your cat's diet balances out to these percentages, then I'd say it's a good diet.

I give bone to my cats in two ways - 5 oz of ground chicken wings four times a week and 8 oz of chicken ribs with meat twice a week. I used a bone to meat ratio of 48/52 and calculated how many pounds of chicken wings I'd need per month to meet my cats' bone requirements.

Taurine is an easy fix - feed lots of heart meats. It doesn't matter what kind: chicken, turkey, beef, whatever. The harder a muscle works, the higher its Taurine content, and no muscle works harder than a heart. I feed heart three times a week.

I use the Frankenprey feeding methodology, so there's no real mixing going on, however, I do feed chicken wings and liver as a meal and chicken wings and kidney as another meal - and most of the time, the organ meats are beef, not chicken. Although I've heard what Sharky said before, I've also heard it doesn't matter enough times that I'm comfortable not trying to make these meats match. *shrug* This is one of those "comfort level" things (like feeding pork - some folks do, some don't; for what it's worth, I do).

The biggest thing I'd suggest - whatever you do, make it simple for yourself. After you've done your initial research and you understand what you're doing, relax. It shouldn't be any more difficult than making dinner for yourself - in fact, it should be easier, since you never have to cook anything.


Good luck and congratulations!
 
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catattack1985

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yeah, sorry sharky. i agree with auntie crazy. it may be one of those things that some choose to do, and others don't. I've asked around and many raw feeders mix animal meats & organs. some seem confused when I asked if it was okay to do. it seems perfectly OK to do. it's preference rather than anything supported by science on why you shouldn't mix animal sources.

beef liver & kidney is readily available to me. so I use beef organs.

how do you all feel about vitamin supplementation?
 

sharky

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I used specific supplement s to particular issues ...
 
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