Other organ options?

pisces7386

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I am working on finding a long term supply for the other secreting organs for our homemade raw. We have a bit of trouble with sourcing in general because our cats have poultry allergies. Our recipe- 1 lb muscle, 1 oz liver, 1 oz other secreting organ, 1000 mg fish oil, 1/2 tsp eggshell powder, 1/2 tsp psyllium husk, 1/3 cup water, 1 egg (raw yolk, cooked white)

We generally use venison meat, beef heart and pork meat as the muscle. We use beef liver for the liver. So far we have been using beef pancreas or beef kidney for the other secreting organ.  I feel like we should use other things for variety though. Is beef spleen an option? What about lamb testicles? Any other low cost suggestions? Thank you!
 

ritz

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This is part of my cheat sheet that I developed when I first started Ritz on raw. I gathered this information from various sources including no doubt members of TCS who had months/years of experience feeding raw.
"5% secreting organ meats : kidney, pancreas, spleen, brain, thymus, thyroid, and testes.
Non-secreting organs include heart, lung, tongue, gizzard, trachea and tripe; these also are calculated as meat
Note that for raw-feeding purposes, meat, fat, skin, sinew, connective tissue, hearts, lung and gizzards are all considered muscle meat. They count toward the muscle meat percentage, not the organ requirement. Liver has its own requirement and the remaining non-liver organ percentage can consist of kidney, spleen, testicles, brain, eyes, pancreas – any secreting organ in the body. . . . the more variety you offer, the etter the nutritional profile you are offering your cat."

Yes, spleen and testes/testicles count towards the secreting organ requirement. I have read that cats who hate kidney like pancreas. I understand you need to be careful about feeding thyroid--it can alter the thyroid level in your cat, i.e., make him hyperthyroid. International supermarkets near me carry testicles, I think they run around $4 a pound but considering how little you need, a pound should last you a long time. I haven't had the courage to see if Ritz would like it. She does like chicken heads, which contain a small amount of brain and of course eyes.
You might be able to source some of the more "unusual" organs at your local farmer's market. Talk to the vendor(s), explain that for health and safety reasons you feed your cat raw, and ask him/her if they can sell or would be willing to give you these organs. Depending on the law in the state/county, they may not be able to sell you, for example, testicles/ovaries, but may be able to give it to you. I developed a relationship with one such vendor, and once she gave me everything inside a chicken (they raise and butcher their own chickens--and feed their cats raw). Ritz ate some but threw up--too rich for her maybel. (I bought some chicken hearts and I gave her a little extra money.)
 
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pisces7386

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It's odd, because I live in a rural area, but my local farmers markets all order in frozen meats! I also cannot find a local store interested in ordering organs for me! It's crazy. I've ordered from hare today and I'm looking at my pet carnivore for my next order. Hopefully hunting season will be kind to us. Thank you for the lists, I know variety is key and they will be helpful. I think I'll order some lamb testees and see how they like it :D
 

abby2932

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I was checking out the lamb testicles on mypetcarnivore too and I want (my cats) to try them so bad! But that's the only thing I would order from MPC so I feel like with shipping it would be a huge waste of money. I wish Hare Today had them!
 

ldg

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Some find the lower prices at MyPetCarnivore offset their shipping charges. I think it depends on what other items you're ordering, whether it makes sense to switch from Hare-Today or not.

There's also another frozen raw shipper. Well - two of them. I haven't really explored the options there yet, but they exist TO be explored:

http://www.rawfeedingmiami.com/

http://reelrawdog.com/ - these people have thymus, which I really want to try.

Human sources - I recall this being a very expensive option.

http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok - lamb organs including sweetbreads (thymus) and testicles ("oysters").

http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/meat-store/products - carries testicles ("Rocky Mountain Oysters")
 

allison319

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Any suggestions for other secreting organs if you can't source them locally and you can't find a shipper to Alaska? Like any kind of supplements or vitamins I can use while still searching for organs?
 

ritz

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MyPetCarnivore sells some dehydrated organs, including liver. You might want to call them and ask if they will ship dehydrated organs to Alaska.
(5% secreting organ meats : kidney, pancreas, spleen, brain, thymus, thyroid, and testes.)

https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/inde...product_id=3&virtuemart_category_id=6&lang=en

HareToday also sells dehydrated organs. You might want to call them and ask if they will ship dehydrated organs to Alaska. (I think some vendors fears are getting the items to you before they defrost--Alaska's weather should prevent this somewhat.)
 

silverpersian

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Our Trader Joe's has beef liver treats. If I remember correctly, they are 100% dehydrated beef liver. Just a suggestion in case you have Trader Joe's in Alaska.
 
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