California Mad Cow Disease - Little Big Cat Article FYI

Here's the link:  http://www.littlebigcat.com/blog/mad-cow-discovered-in-california/

If you want to protect yourself and your pets from BSE, you must avoid all beef and mutton products (mutton may contain similar prions that, in sheep, cause a disease called “scrapie.”). In pet food terms, you would want to avoid all forms of beef, including “meat by-products,” “meat and bone meal,” “beef and bone meal,” “animal digest,” “animal fat,” and any mammal product not specifically designated as something else (“lamb,” for instance). Even that may not be enough, since even “lamb” may contain beef parts; since the name “lamb” can be applied as long as lamb is the predominant  ingredient (i.e., at least 51% of the product). The term “meat” is restricted to cattle, sheep, goats, and swine, so any product simply designated as “meat” will usually contain beef.

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Thank you, Gloria!!!! This is very much appreciated

yeh, I'd take Dr. Hofve's information and consider it as more credible than the industry's PR stuff.

So how come "lamb" is OK but "mutton" isn't?

Lamb is a sheep less than a year old, typically slaughtered between the ages of 4 and 12 months.

Older sheep is called mutton and has a much stronger flavor and tougher meat that many find distasteful.

Mutton was a cheap food source for the military, and it was often overcooked and dry. Many American servicemen had their fill of mutton, coming home to declare it off-limits in the family home. This may be another reason why lamb has not become more popular in the States.

Taken from this link:  http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqmutton.htm

My veteran Dad - now 91, will not eat lamb or mutton to this day because mutton was what they were fed during WWII.

I just want to clarify that lamb is okay.  I feed BooBoo, Rad Cat raw, lamb.  Please let me know if that is not safe.

GloriaJH said:

Lamb is a sheep less than a year old, typically slaughtered between the ages of 4 and 12 months.

Older sheep is called mutton and has a much stronger flavor and tougher meat that many find distasteful.

Mutton was a cheap food source for the military, and it was often overcooked and dry. Many American servicemen had their fill of mutton, coming home to declare it off-limits in the family home. This may be another reason why lamb has not become more popular in the States.


Taken from this link:  http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqmutton.htm



My veteran Dad - now 91, will not eat lamb or mutton to this day because mutton was what they were fed during WWII.

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Yeah, I know the difference between lamb and mutton. But if one is trying to avoid scrapie, I don't see what the age of the sheep matters :dk:.

My grandpa said that they had the choice of 4 different meats during WWII. . .lamb, ram, mutton or sheep .

DianeV66 said:

I just want to clarify that lamb is okay.  I feed BooBoo, Rad Cat raw, lamb.  Please let me know if that is not safe.

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Hi Diane -

I only posted the article to help alert others - I'm not a vet, or anything else other than a concerned cat caregiver     passing along information that might benefit others here.  

Please confirm the safety of the product you buy, ---  perhaps by contacting RAD Cat they will be able to answer your question better??    AND/Or you could look through the article index of the littlebigcat.com website ? 

http://www.littlebigcat.com/article-index/  to see if there's more information that would be helpful to you.

Thanks for this info, i think packed cat food will be fine fot his?

Packed cat food is what is most at risk. Animals not fit for human consumption (that died other than in a slaughterhouse) can be used in pet food. The issue is that the "stuff" that causes Mad Cow disease (or the sheep equivalent) is not killed by the high heat processing of commercial pet food.

Because of the raw meat handling regulations, these types of animals cannot be used in the production of frozen raw food, which must be done at USDA facilities, and 4D animals can't be processed in USDA facilities. It doesn't mean it can't happen with frozen raw meats - it just means it's less likely to happen.

After talking to the folks at Rad Cat for an 1 hour or more last week I am feel pretty confident that their meat is very safe.  It doesn't mean it can't happen of course their is always a risk but I strongly feel it is less likely to happen with a small company that tests every batch of food prior to putting it on the market.  I believe they have been in business for about 10 years and have never had a recall.

For 40+ years I took it for granted that if the product was sold in high-end, holistic pet stores or recommended by your vet it was safe.  Now I know better and I research, research and do more research and come up with a list of questions and call the manufacturer directly before I give my pets anything.  So if anything goes wrong I can at least have the piece of mind knowing I did my due-diligence and it wasn't because I made the mistake of relying on others for my pets health.  That goes with everything including vet care.  Also, we talk a lot about food but not much about water so after much research about 5 years ago I started purchasing Penta for my pets.  I can't afford to drink it but at least their water source is safe

Naturally, I've got RadCat lamb, and Primal BEEF/Salmon in my freezer right now!  And the kits really like the Primal BEEF .  II've just sent them an email asking what they think their safety factor is on it and if they would feed it to their cats.  (can't call since it's the weekend). 

mrsgreenjeens said:

Naturally, I've got RadCat lamb, and Primal BEEF/Salmon in my freezer right now!  And the kits really like the Primal BEEF .  II've just sent them an email asking what they think their safety factor is on it and if they would feed it to their cats.  (can't call since it's the weekend). 

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Yes, me too. Rad Cat Lamb. Primal Beef. and Nature's Menu Beef. John at Nature's Menu assured me that their beef is completely safe and from cows in Wisconsin with extremely high quality testing. So I feel safe finishing up that beef - but won't be ordering anymore because my cat's don't like it anyway. I do want to get a hold of someone at Rad Cat too.

DianeV66 said:

After talking to the folks at Rad Cat for an 1 hour or more last week I am feel pretty confident that their meat is very safe.  It doesn't mean it can't happen of course their is always a risk but I strongly feel it is less likely to happen with a small company that tests every batch of food prior to putting it on the market.  I believe they have been in business for about 10 years and have never had a recall.

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Thanks, Diane, that is at least a little reassuring.

Willowy said:

Yeah, I know the difference between lamb and mutton. But if one is trying to avoid scrapie, I don't see what the age of the sheep matters

.
My grandpa said that they had the choice of 4 different meats during WWII. . .lamb, ram, mutton or sheep

.

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BSE and scrapie prions develop in older animals.  Younger animals are considered safe.  That is why you will see European standards indicate testing for older animals only.

Willowy said:

Yeah, I know the difference between lamb and mutton. But if one is trying to avoid scrapie, I don't see what the age of the sheep matters

.
My grandpa said that they had the choice of 4 different meats during WWII. . .lamb, ram, mutton or sheep

.

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Yeah, even if the lamb is young - how would that make a difference - the disease is there no matter what age - (?right?) - At first I thought that if it was younger that it might be less prone to have the disease - well, that goes to show how much a help I am!  

katachtig said:

BSE and scrapie prions develop in older animals.  Younger animals are considered safe.  That is why you will see European standards indicate testing for older animals only.

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whoa!  I should have just waited for your post!     I was only guessing - but now I don't have to.  Thanks!