How to make "95% meat" formulas complete?

mizzely

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Hello all,

I have an older cat who cannot have any chicken, turkey, or grains, and we are trying to limit/avoid fish. Limits my options a bit! We finally had success with limited ingredient venison foods:  Feline Caviar Leaping Spirit for the dry, and Natural Balance LID Venison for the canned. Their diet is currently half and half.

I hate how many carbs are in them, even if my girl is finally not licking her fur off and throwing up all the time now. So I would like to move forward with testing other proteins so that I can expand my options and get onto lower carb foods that fit my budget.

I see that several companies offer 95% meats that are not complete formulas, just meat and water usually. I would like to test the proteins with these foods because I have more control over what I am introducing so I can easier pinpoint what the cause is if we have an issue, and they are offered in larger cans so its more affordable. But obviously I need to be able to do so without sacrificing key nutrients.

What kind of supplement could I add to their wet food each day to make these complete? They would obviously have to be chicken, turkey, and grain free too. I also am hesitant about eggs but maybe I am just being paranoid.

Thanks for any tips!
 

LTS3

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I wonder if this would be better asked in the Raw and Homecooked forum?
At least, check out the articles at the top of the forum to get an idea of what supplements are typically used. Instead of eggs for calcium, you could use a calcium carbonate spplement or bone meal.

Canned 95% meat is already cooked so I would think you could just mix EZComplete or UStew to it? I'm not sure how much pre-mix one would use for a single can of food since one measure of pre-mix is for like 2 pounds of meat.

Have you tried novel protein canned foods? Many are grain-free. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306947/your-favorite-brands-of-novel-protein-canned-cat-food Hounds and Gatos has proteins like rabbit and alligator. Of course, trying to get a picky cat to eat the novel food may be difficult.
 
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mizzely

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Yeah that's what I am wondering, If it can be scaled down at all for individual feedings, or at least a few days maybe. I have NO access to anything chicken, grain and turkey free within at least an hour, so I have to buy everything online by the case. Novel, limited proteins from Wild Calling, Ziwipeak, and Nature's Variety ends up being over $50 a month for just the wet portion and I am unable to afford that currently :( Hound and Gatos I see their Rabbit has "Rabbit, Quail, Duck, Turkey, Pork, Duck Broth, Lamb, Lamb Broth, Duck Liver​" which aside from having turkey also has a lot of other proteins and I am trying to add just one thing at a time :( The only one I see that I could feed is Beef (don't see Alligator from them, but do see it from Wild Calling). 

I also need a pate, both cats refuse to eat anything else lol
 

LTS3

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I think it is Wild Calling with the alligator, not Hounds and Gatos.

TCS member @LDG created the EZComplete supplement so I would think she would be the best one to ask about how to use the pre-mix for a can of food. I haven't seen her post on TCS in awhile so you may need to contact her through the EZComplete web site http://www.foodfurlife.com/
 
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mizzely

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Is chicken liver safe for cats with a chicken and turkey allergy? Or dried egg yolk?
 
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mizzely

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So I added a scoop of Wellness 95% Lamb to their food yesterday and Lydia threw up twice, once about 8 hours after eating it and another time about 6 hours after that. Both were pretty "empty" of food. However, she is not wanting to touch it this morning. Is this an indication that she can't handle lamb?

For clarification, Jasmine is the one who can't have chicken, turkey or grains. Lydia before now has not shown any issues with any foods, though she tends to be pickier.
 
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mizzely

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Is chicken liver safe for cats with a chicken and turkey allergy? Or dried egg yolk?
​I checked with my vet and he told me to avoid all chicken organs and fat for now, as well as eggs, just to be safe. So I wouldn't be able to use EZComplete.
 

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Honestly you'd be better off making your own, than trying to mix supplements in with incomplete canned food. You can throw turkey, beef, rabbit, etc. in a crockpot (or cut up and feed raw) for cheaper than buying shredded meat in water cat food. 

It's slightly impossible to supplement tiny servings of food without using a premix because it's usually like 3 pills of X supplement, 1 Y supplement, per 3 lbs of meat. 
 
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mizzely

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Well, I don't have local access to much beyond chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and occasionally lamb. I can't feed chicken or turkey due to allergies. The rabbit that is semi local is sourced in China, so I'm not willing to use that. I know about the online stores like Hare Today but that's not financially feasible right now, especially because I'm trying to see what proteins they can handle before doing any big orders of anything. I did find some of the cans of 95% meats for $1 per 13 oz can, so that's a lot cheaper for trial purposes. I just didn't know if something like Alnutrin could be used for a 13 oz can or not.
 
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paiger8

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Adult cats are fine for short periods of time with unbalanced food. If you want to try pork or beef, you don't need to worry about supplementing right away. Figure out what your cat likes meat wise, and then worry about supplementing. If you want to add something, you can add taurine. It's easily available and water soluble, so you can't over supplement. 
 
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mizzely

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Okay that I can do! I just want to test the proteins in their "as pure as I can get right now" form (aka sole protein) so I don't inadvertently introduce another allergen. Then I can figure out where I can go from there. Thanks!
 
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