If you would like to discuss raw diets, it would be best if you post this in the nutrition forum, rather than take Mel's thread off-topic: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/64/cat-nutrition
Yes one of the only scientific studies on raw showed a lot of improvement with ibd symptoms but some cats died because they just used ground rabbit meat and they did not get enough taurine. Taurine is water soluble so you can't have too much. I use the Now brand and I bought it on well.ca They have free shipping to ontario not sure about Quebec.He absolutely loves to play with hair ties. But, believe me, he does not eat them. All the ones I've found around the house (that have sneaked their way under desks, are completely intact - none look like they've been bitten or broken. He just carries them around in his mouth, drops them, throws them, then runs after them. I've never found any in his litterbox either.
Also, he hasn't had a hair-tie to play with in months. I gave him one today cause I thought it'd make him happy
They do not add taurine. I didn't know the grinding process makes meat have less taurine! Wow. Thanks for the mention.
What brand do you use? Is too much taurine a bad thing?
Again, this will all be done once his tummy settles.
I know that they have the NOW brand at the local health food store. I'm gonna go check that out tomorrow - definitely. I know that not ALL the Taurine in the raw that I get is gone, but it's really great to know this information.
Hun, I'm not sure how Sarah Ann did her analysis and comes to the conclusion that "None of those diets work out as properly balanced. Sorry but they simply are not balanced. At all!" and I hope she posts in the nutrition forum so we ("we" being members of TCS interested in feline nutrition) can discuss it more in depth. But Dr. Pierson is a vet, so would recognize deficiencies in her cats. She's also been feeding the diet for a decade now; and some PMR feeders have been feeding raw since the 80s and 90s; many are breeders that have literally fed the diet for generations. So yes, it needs to be done properly: but AAFCO "complete and balanced" claims are a starting point, not necessarily something to be dismissed - but given all we don't know about nutrition, they're not necessarily the end-all be-all either. Let's everyone not forget, before they even knew cats needed taurine, cat foods were labeled "complete and balanced."No worries!
I'm glad you posted a response to this because, given my state, I was a little worried I was doing something wrong.
Thank-you for addressing this
I understand. I recognize that there isn't *enough* Taurine in Hooligan and Ruby's diet - upon realizing that some of it is lost in the grinding process, I will promptly add some - no doubt. I just don't want to add anything *new* to his diet right now, as he is getting over some tummy issues. Although, I'm going to check my local health food store tomorrow. If they have, it will be purchased
Thank-you, this is exactly what I NEEDED to breeze throughHun, I'm not sure how Sarah Ann did her analysis and comes to the conclusion that "None of those diets work out as properly balanced. Sorry but they simply are not balanced. At all!" and I hope she posts in the nutrition forum so we ("we" being members of TCS interested in feline nutrition) can discuss it more in depth. But Dr. Pierson is a vet, so would recognize deficiencies in her cats. She's also been feeding the diet for a decade now; and some PMR feeders have been feeding raw since the 80s and 90s; many are breeders that have literally fed the diet for generations. So yes, it needs to be done properly: but AAFCO "complete and balanced" claims are a starting point, not necessarily something to be dismissed - but given all we don't know about nutrition, they're not necessarily the end-all be-all either. Let's everyone not forget, before they even knew cats needed taurine, cat foods were labeled "complete and balanced."
Someone joined TCS to make their point about raw food. But the post did lead to an interesting compilation of information. You might want to breeze through it to put things back into perspective: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/260311/is-there-empirical-evidence-that-raw-feeding-is-good-for-cats
It actually isn't a given that the diet you are currently feeding is deficient in taurine. Rabbit is naturally low in taurine and that in addition to losses from grinding could account for the deficiency in the mentioned study. Adding taurine is a matter of "better safe than sorry".I understand. I recognize that there isn't *enough* Taurine in Hooligan and Ruby's diet - upon realizing that some of it is lost in the grinding process, I will promptly add some - no doubt. I just don't want to add anything *new* to his diet right now, as he is getting over some tummy issues. Although, I'm going to check my local health food store tomorrow. If they have, it will be purchased
But, I very much take your point to heart and I am really happy you decided to comment on this thread.
I agree, and it is for that "better safe than sorry" idea that I will begin to add Taurine to my fur babies raw meals.
Thank-youI'd stop feeding him the wheat grass. It can be irritating, and the only reason my ferals eat grass is to make themselves vomit. That vomit with the grass looks completely normal for grass vomit, and it's normal to vomit after eating grass.
As to the funky poop, given he's had tummy trouble, I'm not at all surprised he had a funky looking and smelling poop. The hair in the poop is good - it means he's starting to pass it. My cats' poop is basically hair covered in a poop shell. The main thing is that he doesn't have diarrhea or something and isn't running to the box frequently. Just keep going, and keep an eye on it. Things should improve!
Hi LDG,
