Can I use normal iodized salt in raw cat food?

I'll be adopting a kitten soon, and I've been searching to see which is the best diet to give him. I've reached the conclusion that it's a raw diet.

I've read the recipe on catinfo.org, and I've been looking in pharmacies to see if I can get all the supplements I need, and they said the can get them so that is great

but I cannot find the lite iodized salt, I only found normal iodized salt, so can I use this instead?

This is the only one I found till now


Also I was wondering if it's okay to put bonemeal instead of grinding real bones? I'm not sure if our grinder would do fine grinding the bones and we worry that it's going to ruin the machine, It's the one that is a mixer but also works as a grinder, If I crush the bones would it work fine?

And I'm worried about surface bacteria, so I'm planning to bake the chicken thighs just a little to kill the bacteria, is that fine?

Also I was wondering, how many tablespoons should I feed a 10-12 week old kitten in one meal (3 meals a day)?

And how should I make the transition? usually people here feed boiled chicken with bread and cheese or fish, along with the dry food

It's going to be my first time being owned by cat/kitten, so I'm still quite nervous

nourhany1 said:

but I cannot find the lite iodized salt, I only found normal iodized salt, so can I use this instead?

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No, you shouldn't use regular table salt. It is too high in sodium. The lite iodized salt in Dr Pierson's (catinfo.org) recipe is primarily for iodine although it also provides some potassium.  If you can't find lite iodized salt you can substitute a product that will provide the same amount of iodine. Kelp or seaweed products are sometimes used as a source of iodine. When I get a chance I'll figure out how much iodine Dr P's recipe requires and post it here it. you can ask your pharmacy if they know a product that will provide that amount of iodine. Of course you want to make sure what ever product you use doesn't provide a lot of something else (like sodium).

Edit: Here is what1/4 tsp of the Morton iodized salt called for in Dr P's recipe provides:  

sodium: 250 mg

potassium: 350 mg

iodine: 60 mcg (micrograms)

 
Also I was wondering if it's okay to put bonemeal instead of grinding real bones? I'm not sure if our grinder would do fine grinding the bones and we worry that it's going to ruin the machine, It's the one that is a mixer but also works as a grinder, If I crush the bones would it work fine?

And I'm worried about surface bacteria, so I'm planning to bake the chicken thighs just a little to kill the bacteria, is that fine?

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Dr P includes instructions for using bonemeal and for partially cooking the meat so , yes, that is fine. I wouldn't try to crush the bone unless you can get the pieces very small like what Dr P shows in her instructions. If the pieces are too big there is a very real risk of doing serious damage to your kitties digestive tract.

Also I was wondering, how many tablespoons should I feed a 10-12 week old kitten in one meal (3 meals a day)?

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A growing kitten can easily eat 8 oz (227 grams) or more of food a day. Probably not quite that much at 10-12 weeks. Hopefully someone else can give you a better idea on that. Basically you need to give them as much as they want while they are growing. When I raised a couple of foster kittens on raw I found it quite a challenge to keep them satisfied. If you can manage more than 3 meals a day that would help to keep them from getting too hungry between meals.

Thank you very much!!

A friend of mine has found the lite salt for me

But I now have another concern, I'm quite worried about how we process and care for the chicken and so before butchering them, maybe the animal was sick or maybe they didn't feed them healthy,

So I'm really worried about bacteria and parasites that might be present in the meat

My friend's mum has pointed that out for me (she's not against the raw diet or anything), "We have to eat any kind of meat really well done"

So now I don't know what to do, I really want to feed raw but I'm worried

So any ideas?

Should I cook the chicken completely?

If so, do I use the same supplements and recipe used to make the raw diet? Or is there a different recipe?

I really appreciate your help

You aren't in the United States I assume? Some here in the US express similar concerns about feeding raw diets. I feel those concerns are overblown but of course I don't know anything about the meat where you are.

If you are really concerned, a cooked home-made diet in my opinion is just as good as a raw one. Others will disagree with that. 

Here's a link to a thread containing cooked recipes: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263751/cooked-recipes-thread

Here's a link with all of my cooked recipes in one place: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByPP2-Qsfkh4Tjk0NkJ4ZnU3bDg

This link contains a discussion on concerns about feeding a raw diet : http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

yes I'm not, I'm from Egypt

Thank you very much, and sorry for the late reply

Can I use bone meal instead of the eggshell?

Also  found someone on facebook that sells a whole chicken mince with minced bones, from locally raised chicken

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicky/1473599379554008?sk=timeline

so I'll call them and ask for information

What do you think? Do you think I can feed them that raw??

Thanks a lot!

yeah, I'm not, I live in Egypt

Thank you very much!

Sorry for the very late reply

Can I use bone meal instead of eggshell?

Also I have found someone on Facebook selling a whole chicken mince with bones, arrives frozen, from locally raised chicken

I'll give them a call to get more information

Do you think I can feed them that raw?

Thanks a lot!!

nourhany1 said:

Can I use bone meal instead of the eggshell?

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Yes. When I get home this evening I'll post how to convert an amount of eggshell into the bone meal equivalent. Unless someone else does first...

 
Also  found someone on facebook that sells a whole chicken mince with minced bones, from locally raised chicken

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicky/1473599379554008?sk=timeline

so I'll call them and ask for information

What do you think? Do you think I can feed them that raw??

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You need to be careful about how much bone you feed. Some cats seem to tolerate up 15% of their diet as bone but others can become constipated with more than 10% bone. I've seen claims that a whole chicken is about 10% bone. I find that difficult to believe. A whole chicken carcass, including bones but minus organs, is about 32% bone according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. I don't see how including the organs could get that down to 10%.

Other than the bone issue there is no reason to not use a whole chicken as long as you trust the source.

Maybe the catnutrition.org recipe will help?  Look at the one "without real bone" for bonemeal and gelatin.

http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.html

peaches08 said:

 
Maybe the catnutrition.org recipe will help?  Look at the one "without real bone" for bonemeal and gelatin.

http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.html

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That shows how much bone meal to use with her recipe. I think what he needs is a conversion from eggshell to bone meal because he is looking at my recipes that call for eggshell.

mschauer said:

 
That shows how much bone meal to use with her recipe. I think what he needs is a conversion from eggshell to bone meal because he is looking at my recipes that call for eggshell.

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Ah, I gotcha!  I figured it would be similar to the recipe as far as meat, liver, etc.

peaches08 said:

 

mschauer said:

 
That shows how much bone meal to use with her recipe. I think what he needs is a conversion from eggshell to bone meal because he is looking at my recipes that call for eggshell.

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Ah, I gotcha!  I figured it would be similar to the recipe as far as meat, liver, etc.

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That recipe only uses chicken. My recipes use beef, turkey and pork which all have different levels of phosphorus. The amount of phosphorus in part determines the amount of calcium, and so the amount of eggshell or bone meal, needed.

mschauer said:

 
That recipe only uses chicken. My recipes use beef, turkey and pork which all have different levels of phosphorus. The amount of phosphorus in part determines the amount of calcium, and so the amount of eggshell or bone meal, needed.

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Oh wow.  Would the eggshell and MCHA thread may need to be updated as well, since it leads me and others to believe that we supplement per lb of meat and not worry about the type of meat?

Nice to see you mschauer!

I'd love mschauer's take on that. Well, on the use of 1/2 teaspoon per ounce as a general rule of thumb.****ETA: This is what happens when I post at 2:00am. That should be 1/2 teaspoon finely ground eggshell powder per POUND of food, or 1/32nd teaspoon per ounce. mschauer does that make more sense?

But no, the tables don't need to be updated: using the amount of elemental calcium in eggshell, the tables indicate the varying Ca ratios at a set amount of eggshell powder. I suspect mschauer targets a consistent Ca ratio, and varies the amount of eggshell. The impact when making batches may be noticeable.

But pre-mix supplements, like Alnutrin or TCfeline, Better in the Raw, U-stew, BalanceIt, etc don't vary the amount of supplement used for different proteins. You'll get a slight variation in Ca ratios, but nothing too low or too high. The tables are there if anyone desires to target a specific Ca ratio, it is possible to micromanage.

LDG said:

Nice to see you mschauer!

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Thanks! You too. You've been MIA for a couple of weeks.

 I'd love mschauer's take on that. Well, on the use of 1/2 teaspoon per ounce as a general rule of thumb.

But no, the tables don't need to be updated: using the amount of elemental calcium in eggshell, the tables indicate the varying Ca ratios at a set amount of eggshell powder. I suspect mschauer targets a consistent Ca ratio, and varies the amount of eggshell. The impact when making batches may be noticeable.

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I'm getting a feeling of deja vu.   We've discussed this before.  Do you know how many grams that 1/2 tsp is? (Edit: KAL Bone Meal is 6 g/tsp. Is that what you assume?) Where is that table? Something doesn't look right...

I think the best thing for me to do is to just update my recipes to include the amount of bone meal that can be substituted for the eggshell or MCHA.

Thanks ya'll!  I had a minor freak out moment thinking I've been hurting my cats.  I'm OK now.

LDG said:

Nice to see you mschauer!

I'd love mschauer's take on that. Well, on the use of 1/2 teaspoon per ounce as a general rule of thumb.****ETA: This is what happens when I post at 2:00am. That should be 1/2 teaspoon finely ground eggshell powder per POUND of food, or 1/32nd teaspoon per ounce. @mschauer does that make more sense?

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Not really since the poster is asking about bone meal.   

mschauer said:

Not really since the poster is asking about bone meal. :lol3:  

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mschauer said:

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. :lol3:  We've discussed this before.  Do you know how many grams that 1/2 tsp is? (Edit: KAL Bone Meal is 6 g/tsp. Is that what you assume?) Where is that table? Something doesn't look right...

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I think there's been a little cross-purposes communication.

I was addressing peaches08 concern that was raised by your comment about using differing amounts of calcium (in whatever format) based on the specific meat because of each protein containing differernt amounts of phosphorus.

Peaches08 was concerned because very few of us making homemade (unless following your recipes) vary the amount of calcium when changing proteins. Most recipes suggest a set amount of calcium (from whatever source), and all supplement premixes have a set amount per volume of food, not protein-dependent. The amount *I* use is based on 90% meat, liver at 5%, and another secreting organ at 5%. Yes, organs on average contain about 1.5x the amount of phosphorus as meat - and each contains a different amount of phosphorus. But as a small portion of the diet, the organs don't reduce the overall Ca ratio when using a set amount of calcium source enough to *need* to micromanage (unless a kitty is very sensitive and prone to constipation).

In my reply, I accidentally wrote the wrong amount of eggshell, identifying it as per ounce, not per pound. You caught it. I corrected it. That is what my question was in regards to: when using eggshell as the source of calcium, I asked in a light-hearted manner if it makes more sense that 1/2 teaspoon - which contains approximately 1,183.4mg of elemental calcium and weighs on average if finely ground, 3.05 grams - properly balances one pound of meat, not one ounce of meat.

I did not mean to derail the thread. I only wanted to address peaches08 concern, and corrected the amount of eggshell powder. I have no knowledge of bone meal.

I also wanted to make sure that your comment about the amount of calcium in your recipes being protein dependent is because you target a specific Ca ratio - and wanted your confirmation that when using a constant amount of (whatever source of calcium), while the Ca may vary a bit, it is not enough to be of concern when changing proteins. ...though I have to assume using a steady amount of calcium despite different proteins is OK (though will result in a slightly varying Ca ratio), because you ran the diet analyses for me, and I always based the amount of calcium to use on the set amount of MCHA or eggshell, an amount that was not protein dependent, only volume dependent. And the Ca ratios varied slightly, but were generally around 1.2:1. So I guess I answered the question I was asking.

mschauer said:

I think the best thing for me to do is to just update my recipes to include the amount of bone meal that can be substituted for the eggshell or MCHA.

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I think that would be a really helpful resource.

LDG said:

 

mschauer said:

Not really since the poster is asking about bone meal. 

 

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mschauer said:

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. 

 We've discussed this before.  Do you know how many grams that 1/2 tsp is? (Edit: KAL Bone Meal is 6 g/tsp. Is that what you assume?) Where is that table? Something doesn't look right...

Click to expand...

I think there's been a little cross-purposes communication.

I was addressing peaches08 concern that was raised by your comment about using differing amounts of calcium (in whatever format) based on the specific meat because of each protein containing differernt amounts of phosphorus.

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Oh! Of course! 

Yes, it was me that derailed things a bit!  But I'm glad I asked because others that may not speak up may stop certain rotations because of fear of not getting the formula right. Thanks for the clarification.

I still think, if at all possible, updating your recipes for those that just want to use bone meal might be a good idea @mschauer.  I could burn up my bullet and need a bone meal recipe one day.

I suggest you do more research ...

Holisticat site...doesn't use salt at all....but other things....check out their recipes for raw ground...

There is a way of feedng that is called whole prey...it's whole chunks ...but though it's good for them..it doesn't have the supplements they need..so they suggest 1/2 whole prey ..1/2 ground..raw.
 

You;ll have to see if your grinder will take it...I have a reg. electric grinder.  and have no problems at all..

Bev.