Advice/Opinions re. Natural Cat Foods, and a Question About 'Holistic'

Originally Posted by jcat

I don't have access to as many "human-grade" cat foods as those of you living in North America do, but I'd add Innova (which no longer contains garlic) and Solid Gold to the list of "natural foods". Jamie will eat Nutro dry food, but won't touch the canned. Right now I'm looking into Serengeti. Jamie has allergies, so I basically look for foods that contain mainly meat/fish, meat or fish meal, as little corn as possible (whole-grain rice is preferable in his case), no soybeans, no beet pulp, and no additives or preservatives. I add water to whatever canned food he'll eat, which basically means anything in a 2 or 3 ounce-can other than Nutro. A raw meat diet might be preferable, but he refuses such a thing. So much for beef filet from Argentina!

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Tricia,
Do I recall that you'll soon be able to get PetGuard? Their new USDA Organic chicken and veggies looks good:"Chicken Broth, Organic Chicken, Organic Turkey, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Oats, Organic Carrots, Organic Apples, Organic Cranberries, Guar Gum, Tricalcium Phosphate, Organic Olive Oil, Taurine, Potassium Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, " are the ingredients (plus added vitamins and minerals). So..no beets, no soy, no corn, no yeast, no wheat.

is there anyway to prevent salmonella when feeding raw meat?

Originally Posted by gorilla325

is there anyway to prevent salmonella when feeding raw meat?

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Use organic meat, practise good hygiene. One can put the meat in a "marinade" of grape seed extract and parsley since it's antibacterial but that's about it. I'm not the least worried about salmonella or parasites since the Swedish meat is thoroughly checked for it all.

Originally Posted by Sol

Use organic meat, practise good hygiene. One can put the meat in a "marinade" of grape seed extract and parsley since it's antibacterial but that's about it. I'm not the least worried about salmonella or parasites since the Swedish meat is thoroughly checked for it all.

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Um, cats have a different physiology.
They are not as susceptible to the same bacteria as us.
Don't worry about it AT ALL!!

They don't roll their mice in parsley or grapeseed oil, granted they may have it in their stomaches...

I have been feeding my boys ground turkey and chicken thighs from Costco from day one, and they have been fine! One note, do NOT skimp on the organ meat. Get that from an organic producer, liver is the oil filter of the body, that way you reduce the amount of chemicals.

If you have the time, give the raw diet a try. It is very worth it.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by MrsCristo9fp

Um, cats have a different physiology.
They are not as susceptible to the same bacteria as us.
Don't worry about it AT ALL!!

They don't roll their mice in parsley or grapeseed oil, granted they may have it in their stomaches...

I have been feeding my boys ground turkey and chicken thighs from Costco from day one, and they have been fine! One note, do NOT skimp on the organ meat. Get that from an organic producer, liver is the oil filter of the body, that way you reduce the amount of chemicals.

If you have the time, give the raw diet a try. It is very worth it.

Cheers!

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I know it's not much of a problem for the cats, but we also have to consider ourselves and people can become really ill if infected with salmonella. I raw feed my cats and I don't use any antibacterial stuff on the food, but that's because I consider our Swedish organic meat very safe and I don't have children. So even if it isn't a big problem for cats in can be for us, especially for children. I know people who don't raw feed when they have small children, but they do once the kids have become teenagers and have better immune systems.

Sol,
I envy you the reassurance about your country's meat supply. I know that salmonella is a real problem in our eggs for one

Re the comment by the other member to just not worry about it, I'm sorry but I have to comment on that opinion. You are lucky, darn lucky.

I know if she sees this Hissy will post, as I believe she lost one cat to salmonella. It can and does happen here in the US, and that is why it's important to learn all you can re feeding raw, from proper nutritional supplementation, and technique and hygenic practices to follow.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Sol,
I envy you the reassurance about your country's meat supply. I know that salmonella is a real problem in our eggs for one

Re the comment by the other member to just not worry about it, I'm sorry but I have to comment on that opinion. You are lucky, darn lucky.

I know if she sees this Hissy will post, as I believe she lost one cat to salmonella. It can and does happen here in the US, and that is why it's important to learn all you can re feeding raw, from proper nutritional supplementation, and technique and hygenic practices to follow.

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Yeah, I know there's a big difference in the quality of meat and eggs depending on in which country it's produced. Luckily we have strict rules about meat and egg production here in Sweden. All meat is tested for bacteria and parasites before ever entering the market (infected meat is destroyed and never reaches humans or other animals) and when it comes to eggs, all chicken populations are tested for salmonella, often and id it's found the whole population is destroyed (bad for the birds but good for us).

We all have to be aware of the meat situation" in our own countries, just because the meat is safe in one nation it doesn't have to be equally as safe in another. This is one important part to consider when deciding if you wanna raw feed your cats. You can have all the knowledge needed about hygiene and feline nutrition; if the meat isn't safe that knowledge won't help you much.

I also feel the need to comment on the Salmonella issue. There is a lot of false information floating around out there about dogs and cats being able to deal with salmonella and e-coli in a way that humans can't. That is false! I have seen both dogs and cats with salmonella poisoning and it makes them just as sick as it does us. One of the Vancouver Police Department dogs almost died a few years back after getting into another dogs BARF diet dinner. Just ask any emergency clinic vet about raw diets and you will get an ear full!

Originally Posted by allissa

I tried giving my cats good wet foods and they hate them all except for Nutro Natural Choice. I run out and bought them some Whiskas and well, they love it, of course.

Friskies and Whiskas-are their absolute favorite, LOL. Not that they get it often, but once in while I let them have it.
They wouldn't eat Wellness, and all the other humane grade foods ( and I tried many) but loved that Whiskas. I suppose like little children and their junk food, they don't know what is good for them. Also, I suppose they like chunks, not pate, but I haven't been able to find any food other than Nutro Natural Choice that has chunks. If anybody knows good quality food that has chunks, please let me know.

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another person who has cats that will only eat CHUNKS! GAh mine wont go within five feet of Patte

my cats really like felidae, esp the picky one. i have one that will only eat chunks, i am currently sneaking a little more pate into his food each day so i can have the flexibility to buy pate for him. it's working. I think the raw is better but have not yet switched to it for my cats. mainly cause switching them from dry to canned was such an accomplishment i am at present resting on my laurels. that friskies crap is addictive, i think. my pets are all rescues, they had poor backyard breeding, periods of starvation, etc., and i feel that it is a good way to help them get the leg up they lost in early life. maybe for those that had good care for pregnant mom, etc., maybe they can do without, but i would rather try this than alot of drugs at the vet for any number of complaints. they eat canned food, high quality, and they don't free feed which i think may be just as important as quality of food for my cats. this way, i have read, their bodies have time to rest and not be constantly smelling food and all organs focused on that, thereby lowering immune system. and, i feel better when i don't have food around all day, when i just eat planned meals, not that this means they do, but i think it might. it seems to be helping them, fur is thicker, less runoff from eyes. etc., i've read not to feed cats pork, i think the fat globules are too big for their systems.


When i gave my dog dry kibble, he would burp and vomit and just lay down. on raw food he runs like a puppy and never vomits it. two of my vets have told me longterm it will help his structural knee problems, which he had surgery for, to get very good nutrition with the raw meals i make at home. I am not worried about me getting infected because actually, pets lick their bottoms, then kiss us, which geez, has got to be just as bad, and i never get sick from that. I am just careful in handling the raw meat. the same way i would be if i was cooking it for me, which i don't, but i am willing to use it for others. In the year and a half my dog has eaten raw meat, and i do not give much chicken by the way, he's not been sick from it. i do not use raw fish. i use cooked fish. not sure about that though. i do worry about beef from my area, i am 20 minutes away from mad cow central usa. i have bought their organic beef before, but i am still suspicious.

I am always trying to find the best food for mine as well. Availability, palatibility and price are all important as well as good nutrition. One of mine developed digestive problems a few years ago and the vet believed it was because the digestibility of the catfood he was getting was too hard on his system. We switched to a hgher grade prescription diet and he has definitely thrived on that.

Mine get a mixture of dry and wet: a 6 oz can or two 3.5 oz cans divided into 5 bowls in the morning and again in the evening, plus a soup bowl of dry food always available, filled in the am, and occasionally refilled in the pm. They love the pro-plan canned but it is expensive and only comes in small tins. I am trying other foods as I can find them - they turn their noses up at Felidae, Natural Balance and Nutro Max - and anythng that is 'cubed' has to be squashed with a fork to make pate because they lick the sauce and leave the cubes! No matter how good the food, if they won't eat it then it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes a can of expensive stuff that they completely consume works out cheaper than less expensive food that is thrown away mostly uneaten.

They really liked the Dick Van Patten food - I don't have a tin here to compare ingredients, but I remember reading it in the store and being impressed. They also like
the Authority brand which is made in Canada for a US company and available at Pet Smart. Here is the ingredients on their lamb and rice adult formula: lamb broth, lamb, poultry liver, ocean whitefish, egg broduct, brown rice, rice flour, guar gum, potassium chloride, iodized salt, brewers dried yeast, carageenan, taurine, vitamin and mineral supplements (then listed). crude protein 10%; crude fat 6% (their lite variety has crude fat at 2.5%); fiber .8%;moisture 78%; ash 1.9%;magnesium .025%; taurine .05.

As well, they like Optimum's Nature's Recipe. Here is the label from the julienne cut lamb in gravy formula (chunks!): lamb stock, lamb, liver, wheat gluten,wheat flour, starch, salt, steamed bone meal, vitamins (then listed). Crude protein 9%; crude fat 2.5%; crude fiber 1%; moisture 80%; ash 2.7% (higher than I like); taurine .05%

Kathryn