Wet canned foods & raw: beef & large animals vs. chicken & other small animals?

ghiblithecat · Dec 5, 2015

Ghibli gets about 70% wet food, 20% raw, and 10% dry (to free feed and graze).

Wet food: grain free, I rotate the brands

Raw food: usually RadCat

Dry food: Earthborn Holistic Primitive Feline

So my question is about the wet and raw food-- how often (in your opinion) should you feed beef, pork, and other red meats compared to chicken, quail, and other small animals when it comes to picking wet food and raw? Does it matter? Should I limit one and feed more of one or the other?

Thanks

Columbine · Dec 5, 2015

I think it depends on the cat. I avoid all red meats simply because Asha has issues with beef, and I don't want to take any chances. If Ghibli has no problem with red meat then there's no problem, imo anyway

Red meats are often used as the exclusive protein source for cats needing a novel protein diet - such as some ibd cases.

I guess what I'm saying is go with what Ghibli likes. So long as he's getting a balanced diet the actual protein source really shouldn't matter very much, especially when you're feeding a variety of proteins.

missmimz · Dec 5, 2015

I think you just feed whatever they like. I feed quite a bit of beef because mine LOVVEEEEE beef and no one has any issues with it. I also feed some lamb, turkey, chicken, venison, and duck. I do limit the duck because its from HT and contains skin, so its a little fatty.

ghiblithecat · Dec 5, 2015

Thanks Columbine and missmimz! Sounds like I should just feed him whatever because he has literally gobbled down every type of meat I have given him.

ghiblithecat · Dec 5, 2015

missmimz said:
I think you just feed whatever they like. I feed quite a bit of beef because mine LOVVEEEEE beef and no one has any issues with it. I also feed some lamb, turkey, chicken, venison, and duck. I do limit the duck because its from HT and contains skin, so its a little fatty.

So about the fat content... I am actually pretty new to owning my own cat and I'm trying to learn a lot about nutrition. Eventually I want to make his food, but until then..... please do tell me about fat content?

Ghibli is somewhere between 6.5-8months. He weights 6.3 pounds but seriously looks more like a small adult cat than a kitten now (i've only had him for a month and he looked like a kitten when I got him). Ghibli has gained 1.5 pounds in like 3 weeks but has also grown so much that I swear he is a different cat every day. What should I watch out for in terms of fat content? He has gained weight VERY quickly since i've had him, but he was totally underweight at the shelter and was being fed a steady diet of crappy cat chow kibble. Do you think this weight gain is normal and just due to his new (and much better) diet? Do you limit the duck simply because you don't want your cats getting fat or because there are other health implications of too much fat in the diet?

Sorry for all the questions

missmimz · Dec 5, 2015

GhibliTheCat said:
So about the fat content... I am actually pretty new to owning my own cat and I'm trying to learn a lot about nutrition. Eventually I want to make his food, but until then..... please do tell me about fat content?

Ghibli is somewhere between 6.5-8months. He weights 6.3 pounds but seriously looks more like a small adult cat than a kitten now (i've only had him for a month and he looked like a kitten when I got him). Ghibli has gained 1.5 pounds in like 3 weeks but has also grown so much that I swear he is a different cat every day. What should I watch out for in terms of fat content? He has gained weight VERY quickly since i've had him, but he was totally underweight at the shelter and was being fed a steady diet of crappy cat chow kibble. Do you think this weight gain is normal and just due to his new (and much better) diet? Do you limit the duck simply because you don't want your cats getting fat or because there are other health implications of too much fat in the diet?

Sorry for all the questions

I'm definitely not an expert on fat content or anything, I just know that duck is pretty high in fat overall so I try not to feed it as much, or mix it with something lower in fat, like chicken. Mostly my older cat eats it and I don't want him gaining weight. Plus too much fat can cause digestive problems and its overall not good for cats. Specifically, the raw duck from HT contains skin, which is the fattiest part. I have 4 kittens that are 8 months old, and the biggest is 10lbs! He's a huge cat tho, we knew he was going to be pretty big. But even the others are around 8lbs. I don't really think you should worry too much about him gaining weight right now because he's still growing, and i think you're totally right about him gaining weight quickly because of being underweight at the shelter and being fed lower quality food.

lisahe · Dec 5, 2015

Our cats were underweight when we adopted them and they also put on weight pretty fast. As long as Ghibli doesn't look out of proportion (like, for example, he's gaining a lot around the middle and getting really round) I wouldn't worry!

As for fat, I'm no expert, either, and feed a variety of foods with varying fat, calories, and protein sources. If you haven't read catinfo.org, you might want to give that a read for basics on nutrition: it's very helpful.

Getting back to your original question, about beef, we don't feed much of it. Our vet's not really a fan of it for cats; she's more in favor of poultry, though we do feed a fair bit of pork. I remember that @lisamarie12 had mentioned concerns about beef, though don't remember specifics other than than the possibility of it being connected to inflammation. (Though I could be very wrong!)

missmimz · Dec 5, 2015

LisaHE said:
Getting back to your original question, about beef, we don't feed much of it. Our vet's not really a fan of it for cats; she's more in favor of poultry, though we do feed a fair bit of pork. I remember that @lisamarie12 had mentioned concerns about beef, though don't remember specifics other than than the possibility of it being connected to inflammation. (Though I could be very wrong!)

I've heard that about beef before, but I can't seem to find any actual evidence that links beef to possible allergies or inflammation. Well i mean i see that it's a "common allergy" but so is poultry. It seems more common for cats to be allergic to poultry, yet that's a commonly fed protein source. My cats haven't had any issues with beef, but I'm feeding either RC beef, beef from HT, or beef from Ziwipeak so its all pretty high quality.

ghiblithecat · Dec 6, 2015

missmimz said:
I'm definitely not an expert on fat content or anything, I just know that duck is pretty high in fat overall so I try not to feed it as much, or mix it with something lower in fat, like chicken. Mostly my older cat eats it and I don't want him gaining weight. Plus too much fat can cause digestive problems and its overall not good for cats. Specifically, the raw duck from HT contains skin, which is the fattiest part. I have 4 kittens that are 8 months old, and the biggest is 10lbs! He's a huge cat tho, we knew he was going to be pretty big. But even the others are around 8lbs. I don't really think you should worry too much about him gaining weight right now because he's still growing, and i think you're totally right about him gaining weight quickly because of being underweight at the shelter and being fed lower quality food.

No that was perfect and all the information I needed about fat! Thanks

NO way that is a huge kitten

. Okay I think I will just continue to feed him how I am. I also need to remember when I feed him Tiki Cat chicken he gets hungry much more fast than usual because I think the calorie content is lower and/or not complete? The pates are the best because he gets lots of water and calories. I like to mix extra water into the pates, he eats that right up!

ghiblithecat · Dec 6, 2015

LisaHE said:
Our cats were underweight when we adopted them and they also put on weight pretty fast. As long as Ghibli doesn't look out of proportion (like, for example, he's gaining a lot around the middle and getting really round) I wouldn't worry!

As for fat, I'm no expert, either, and feed a variety of foods with varying fat, calories, and protein sources. If you haven't read catinfo.org, you might want to give that a read for basics on nutrition: it's very helpful.

Getting back to your original question, about beef, we don't feed much of it. Our vet's not really a fan of it for cats; she's more in favor of poultry, though we do feed a fair bit of pork. I remember that @lisamarie12 had mentioned concerns about beef, though don't remember specifics other than than the possibility of it being connected to inflammation. (Though I could be very wrong!)

Thank you for the information on beef. I myself, like Missmimiz haven't heard anything specific about beef but I was just curious if anyone knew exactly why people tend to stay away from it all the time with their cats. I do know that ground beef is much more likely to be (or at least has more of a history with contamination). But since we all seem to feed from decent quality brands, I feel it may not be a huge risk. As far as inflammation, do you think that is because of the meat itself of the way they process it and types of bacteria that live in ground beef?

Okay, I will keep feeding him the way I do. It's hard to know with him because of his age, there are so many people that say different things about how much you should feed a cat that is still growing. I will check out that link as well, thanks!

missmimz · Dec 6, 2015

GhibliTheCat said:
No that was perfect and all the information I needed about fat! Thanks NO way that is a huge kitten

. Okay I think I will just continue to feed him how I am. I also need to remember when I feed him Tiki Cat chicken he gets hungry much more fast than usual because I think the calorie content is lower and/or not complete? The pates are the best because he gets lots of water and calories. I like to mix extra water into the pates, he eats that right up!

Tikicat is great food but yes, some of them are a lot lower in calories than pate foods, esp. the chicken. I usually mix or feed a pate food with a shredded type food so they get enough calories throughout the day. I usually add water to pates too to make them less dry.

Anne · Dec 11, 2015

Butting in to ask that you please add your reviews on the products mentioned here! You'll be helping us raise funds to help cats in need this month!

The Grand TCS Reviews Fundraiser

Wet canned foods & raw: beef & large animals vs. chicken & other small animals?

ghiblithecat

TCS Member

Thread starter

Columbine

TCS Member

missmimz

TCS Member

ghiblithecat

TCS Member

Thread starter

ghiblithecat

TCS Member

Thread starter

missmimz

TCS Member

lisahe

TCS Member

missmimz

TCS Member

ghiblithecat

TCS Member

Thread starter

ghiblithecat

TCS Member

Thread starter

missmimz

TCS Member

Anne

Site Owner

Latest Posts

Connect with us