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Raw beef, and nothing elses.

post #1 of 18
11/25/10 at 8:37pm
Thread Starter 
Is there a potential for nutrition-deficiency if the cat feeds on raw beef and nothing elses?

Kimi has been on minced raw beef for a month already. Her choice more than mine. Since her first 'beef tartare', she has been asking for it, and completely partial to her beef and not wanting to eat the cans and kribbles anymore.
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post #2 of 18
11/25/10 at 8:49pm
Will she eat organs>?? A supplement?

Beef like steak or hamburger alone is VERY deficient and she can only go a few more weeks on that alone..

Does she eat dry food?

Have you tried beef cat food?
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post #3 of 18
11/25/10 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Sharky, for your checklist

She eats minced raw beef from the butcher. Completely no preparation.

Once I tried adding liver to her minced beef, and her reaction was dramatic. She ate 2 little chunks. 2hours later, threw them all up.

And she used to eat cans with beef or venison. But since the raw beef 'came', you can see her literally kicking away all the cans
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post #4 of 18
11/25/10 at 9:07pm
Have you tried mixing the canned and raw ?? Not something I suggest long term but
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post #5 of 18
11/25/10 at 9:11pm
Thread Starter 
So u think raw-beef-only diet is insufficient for a cat ?
What will she be lacking in?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge
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post #6 of 18
11/25/10 at 9:15pm
Thread Starter 
Think I'll go get powdered-supplements soon, to mix into her bedtime-milk.
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post #7 of 18
11/26/10 at 5:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rummi View Post
So u think raw-beef-only diet is insufficient for a cat ?
What will she be lacking in?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge
She'll be lacking in just about everything she needs except protein.

Please visit the raw feeding forum to find out how to feed your kitty properly on a raw diet.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=65
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post #8 of 18
11/26/10 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
That's not true to say that beef is anything but protein. We, human and animals, eat beef for protein, zinc, taurine and a whole list of other nutrients.

Sharky is right in asking about organs and bones. Will be getting calcium supplements.
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post #9 of 18
11/26/10 at 8:36am
yes she will be seriously lacking in nutrition. Cats need a varied diet and just ground beef alone is not varied.

humans do eat beef but we also eat chicken,fish, turkey, veggies and numerous other things. A cat also needs a varied diet to acquire different nutrients. I would not suggest feeding this long term. When feeding my dogs raw I was instructed to add something new every week.
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post #10 of 18
11/26/10 at 9:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rummi View Post
That's not true to say that beef is anything but protein. We, human and animals, eat beef for protein, zinc, taurine and a whole list of other nutrients.

Sharky is right in asking about organs and bones. Will be getting calcium supplements.
in addition to calcium you may want a multi vitamin( just to cover all bases)... Pm me if you want...
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post #11 of 18
11/26/10 at 9:00am
Thread Starter 
Lonelykitten, really, you have a cat who's feeling lonesome among the other dogs?

Kimi snacks on a lot of things :
- Carrots/cucumber/apples/papaya plus leafy-greens everyday; depending on what im eating.
- Half a cheese slice every alternate days.
- Milk every night with my husband.

That must have been quite a lot and varied snacks for her already. Cats are carnivores afterall. These things should not be their main diet isint it? My chief concern is the role of role of raw minced-beef as her main diet.
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post #12 of 18
11/26/10 at 9:13am
Yes, animal meat containes taurine. And while taurine is an amino acid, unlike other amino acids, it is not a constituent of any protein. It exists free in intracellular fluids. Feeding a cat a raw diet means that cats should receive the best, most bioavailable form of taurine via its food. HOWEVER... the food should NOT BE GROUND! Grinding increases the surface are of the meat and thus exposes the "good stuff" to the air - which oxides the taurine and renders it unavailable to the cat!!!!! In addition, grinding creates the perfect environment for bacterial growth, and bacteria utilizes the taurine in the meat, further decreasing taurine available for your cat.

Here is a report by the Winn Feline Foundation on how you can kill your cat by feeding ground raw meat (though using ground meat to TRANSITION to a raw food diet is ok SHORT TERM) : http://rawdiettruth.blogspot.com/200...und-diets.html
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post #13 of 18
11/28/10 at 5:11pm
In the wild, a cat would not eat just meat. The bones and organs they eat are very important parts of the diet and without those your cat may develop a number of problems. For one thing the lack of the proper balance of calcium and phosphorus is a big issue.

Dairy foods are generally not recommended for a cat, many cats are lactose intolerant.
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post #14 of 18
11/28/10 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advise, Nekochan

This is strange. Despite what we were 'taught' (vets and online info) about cats being lactose-intolerant, all the cats I know personally, namely Kimi and her friends, run after cheese and will enjoy a bedtime-milk.
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post #15 of 18
11/28/10 at 5:23pm
Liking milk and milk products doesn't mean they're not lactose intolerant. It means it inflames their insides and often causes diarrhea. Many people love things they're allergic to or that cause them stomach upset or diarrhea and will eat them anyway. No different for cats. Our Sheldon loves cheese. But if he eats any, he gets bloody stools.

I do hope you saw my post that feeding raw meat means your cat is not getting enough taurine (among other things, though others had pointed that out). Raw (if done right) IS best - but ground meat should only be used to transition to a (proper) raw diet.
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post #16 of 18
11/28/10 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Liking milk and milk products doesn't mean they're not lactose intolerant. It means it inflames their insides and often causes diarrhea. Many people love things they're allergic to or that cause them stomach upset or diarrhea and will eat them anyway. No different for cats. Our Sheldon loves cheese. But if he eats any, he gets bloody stools.

I do hope you saw my post that feeding raw meat means your cat is not getting enough taurine (among other things, though others had pointed that out). Raw (if done right) IS best - but ground meat should only be used to transition to a (proper) raw diet.
If she has been eating and drinking cheese and milk for a year, and not caused any diarrhea todate, I'm not going to be overly-concerned abt this part of her diet at all.

Sidetrack a little, I am the lactose-intolerant one. A glass of coffee-latte is enough to ground me in the toilet.

You posted a very important article on consequences on taurine-deficiency. Instead of mincing, now beef is served sliced thick.

Plus, since Sharky's reply on post#2, she already have a multi-vitamins and mineral supplement added to her diet.
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post #17 of 18
11/28/10 at 6:42pm
You may appreciate this information: http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutritio...cats-and-dogs/
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post #18 of 18
11/28/10 at 8:30pm
One big concern is the calcium-phosphorus ratio. Cats need a specific balanced ratio of calcium to phosphorus in their diet.
Calcium is essential and not found in boneless meat, but it is also very important that calcium be given in the correct ratio with phosphorus so just supplementing with one or the other will not necessarily be good enough if they're not given at the right ratio.

Here is a good article about how this is important as well as other things:
http://www.caberfeidh.com/NaturalDiet.htm

This has more detailed into on required cat nutrients:
http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
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