Feeding raw eggs

misscherry

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Once a week or so(As a treat) I mix a raw egg in with some grain free wet food(from whole foods). I know it's like MacDonalds to my kitty hahaha she loves it so much. My question is; How do i get her to also eat the egg shell? I read this is good for her but she always picks it out of the food. Should i try crushing it up super fine?
 

Draco

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I hear grinding it to powder and sprinkling it on their food is a good way.

I am sure others has different opinions!
 

ldg

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Do they need the calcium? Because that's basically what eggshells are. They're 95% calcium carbonate, and 49% of that is elemental calcium. If they don't get enough calcium from the diet, by all means, dry the eggshells, and powder them up. :)
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Once a week or so(As a treat) I mix a raw egg in with some grain free wet food(from whole foods). I know it's like MacDonalds to my kitty hahaha she loves it so much. My question is; How do i get her to also eat the egg shell? I read this is good for her but she always picks it out of the food. Should i try crushing it up super fine?
But you're not feeding her the raw egg WHITE, are you?  Darn it, I never can remember why, but the white should be slightly cooked.  Oh Laurie, where are you?  You're the one who reminded ME about this!!!
 

ldg

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It's fine to feed it raw. There's some issue about egg white affecting biotin absorption. The substance in them that does this is... avidin, something like that, and cooking "inactivates" it. My cats don't like the egg white cooked or otherwise, so I just feed the yolks raw. :lol3: Cooking the whites worked for exactly one feeding LOL. But no one's feeding it as any kind of staple, so I doubt it's an issue. :)
 
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mschauer

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If you feed raw bones, does your cat still need the eggshells?
The only reason for adding eggshells is as a source of calcium. If you feed enough bone to provide sufficient calcium there is no reason to add eggshell. Most raw feeders would only use one or the other, not both.
 
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ldg

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If you feed raw bones, does your cat still need the eggshells?

The only reason for adding eggshells is as a source of calcium. If you feed enough bone to provide sufficient calcium there is no reason to add eggshell. Most raw feeders would only use one or the other, not both.
Emily, notice post #3?


Do they need the calcium? Because that's basically what eggshells are. They're 95% calcium carbonate, and 49% of that is elemental calcium. If they don't get enough calcium from the diet, by all means, dry the eggshells, and powder them up. :)
 

emilymaywilcha

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Emily, notice post #3?
Yes, and it does not specifically mention bones as the source of calcium. I guess you expected me to know that.

Since feeding raw egg white is questionable and cats did not naturally eat eggs thousands of years ago I assume there is no reason to feed a cat raw eggs when the meat, bones, and organs have everything a cat needs.
 

Willowy

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But cats did eat eggs thousands of years ago! Or so I assume (since I wasn't there ;)), because they do eat eggs in the wild now. If a free-roaming cat finds an egg, they'll usually eat it.
 

ldg

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The issue is feeding egg white without the yolk. The egg white has avidin in it, which binds with biotin. It would only be an issue if a lot of raw egg whites were eaten without the yolk.

And it doesn't matter what the source of calcium is. If cats get enough calcium from the diet, they don't need the eggshells if feeding a raw egg or egg yolk. Some of us USE eggshells as a source of calcium instead of bones. But there are all kinds of sources of calcium.

If you're feeding a ground mix of meat/bones/organs, egg yolks are an excellent supplement - no need to add calcium to them, because 2 egg yolks a week (or whole eggs without shells added to a ground mix recipe) isn't enough to worry about. You can feed up to 15% of a diet unbalanced.

But if you feed meat/bones/organs, egg yolks are an excellent treat several times a week, as they are packed with nutrients and are high in Omega 3, especially if you buy the "DHA eggs." (This means the chickens were fed a lot of flax seed in their diet). The meat we feed our cats does not have a naturally proper balance of omega 6 to Omega 3, so boosting the omega 3s is beneficial. Egg yolks help accomplish this.

If the diet otherwise has the proper amount of calcium to balance the phosphorus in the meat, eggshells need not be added to the eggs. Some people feed entire eggs (no shells), many feed just the yolk. Some people feed yolk at one treat time and the white at another, because most cats won't eat an entire chicken egg in one sitting - it's a lot of volume of goopy stuff.
 

emilymaywilcha

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But cats did eat eggs thousands of years ago! Or so I assume (since I wasn't there), because they do eat eggs in the wild now. If a free-roaming cat finds an egg, they'll usually eat it.
I guess watching feral colonies would answer the question. I just always assumed cats did not eat eggs because they kill and eat animals and you can't kill an egg without a chick.
 

whollycat

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Do they need the calcium? Because that's basically what eggshells are. They're 95% calcium carbonate, and 49% of that is elemental calcium. If they don't get enough calcium from the diet, by all means, dry the eggshells, and powder them up.
Hey Laurie, think you meant 39% elemental calcium, not 49%.
 
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