-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Cats and raw eggs?
- Thread starter hunter
- Start Date
Hmm....i thought if you feed eggs to cats it should be fully cooked? Because there might be a chance the egg may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria, and you certainly don't want your cat to catch that. i usually cook the egg yolk till it turns solid before feeding it to Hobbes, and i mix it with some chicken chunks.
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
hunter
just make sure it is the yolk only the white can cause some vitamin deficency issues
just make sure it is the yolk only the white can cause some vitamin deficency issues
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
hunter
just make sure it is the yolk only the white can cause some vitamin deficency issues... Also I wouldnt use that recipe daily due to the vit a content in the yolk
just make sure it is the yolk only the white can cause some vitamin deficency issues... Also I wouldnt use that recipe daily due to the vit a content in the yolk
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
that seems reasonable then
I'd worry about salmonella, etc., if the mixture lasts ten days. I don't like the sound of raw meat being kept for 10 days, either, even if it's refrigerated. Could you either cut the recipe, or freeze some of the mixture, and thaw it in the microwave?
That gives me an idea.. can you freeze the egg yolk to kill the bacteria? Then defrost the whole thing & mix it in? It would probably be safer than not freezing it, no?
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2005
- Messages
- 1,303
- Purraise
- 2
I think this whole contamination business is a concern with raw food feeding as a whole. I also know one lady that decided to feed her dog raw home made diet. And the bones in food made the dog sick. She had bone fragments in dog's food.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
After i made the mixture i portion it out and freeze it, then i just take out one serving and leave it in a fridge for few hours to thaw, or you can put in plastic wrap and soak it in warm water but never thaw it in a microwave, that defeats the purpose of feeding raw, thawing it in a microwave will slightly cook it and takes out some of the nutrients and will make the bones tougher to chew, if you're using meat with bones.
My dogs have been fed raw for nearly a year now, and my cats are in the midst of making the switch. I researched it a great deal (years) before I actually made the switch.
Yes, contamination is a concern. That is why you use only human grade meat. It is far less likely to be contaminated than remnants and leftovers. However, you have to consider, that the feline and canine stomachs are different than ours. They are far more highly acidic, and their systems on the whole are shorter, so food doesn't sit around in their intestines developing bacteria. Consider that dogs and cats both lick themselves in indelicate areas, eat birds, rodents, bugs, and worms, and will bury food in the dirt only to come back days later and eat it. Contamination is not the concern for them as it is for us. They are built to handle it.
The only cases of salmonella I have heard of in dogs came from a bag of rancid processed dog food.
As for bone fragments making the dog sick...I find it highly unlikely. It could be they caused some irritation but not sickness. My dogs pooped bone fragments all the time when I first switched them, until their bodies 'relearned' how to digest them properly (and they learned how to properly chew them). The key is to make sure the bones are NOT cooked. A soaking in Apple Cider Vinegar also helps break them down. It is more likely the dog actually hit detox, and that was the cause of the sickness. Dogs that have been fed all their lives on processed food usually go through a period of detox when switched to a raw diet, as all the toxins and preservatives are leeched out of their system. Symptoms of detox can include all or none of these: diarrhea, vomiting, bad breath, bad smell, greasy coat, dry skin, eye discharge, nasal discharge, 'pimples' on the skin. My dogs went through some level of each of these before 'cleaning out'.
Since being on raw food, these things have also happened: my border collie's 'arthritis' disappeared. Her lameness vanished, as did severe allergic chewing on her feet. She gained more energy, stopped going gray, and began to act about five years younger. Both dogs have soft, shiny coats that have NO doggie smell whatsoever. Their teeth are gleaming white without a trace of brown. Their breath is clean (no doggie breath). Their poops are tiny, crumbly, and have little smell. They also break down and disappear within a day or so.
Since starting the switch with my cats I've noticed their coats are getting glossier. My 'somewhat chunky' male svelted out, and i've noticed an extreme decrease in both the attacks and nasal discharge of my CRS/asthmatic kitty. She breathes much easier despite the damage to her nasal cavity, and has more energy.
Yes, contamination is a concern. That is why you use only human grade meat. It is far less likely to be contaminated than remnants and leftovers. However, you have to consider, that the feline and canine stomachs are different than ours. They are far more highly acidic, and their systems on the whole are shorter, so food doesn't sit around in their intestines developing bacteria. Consider that dogs and cats both lick themselves in indelicate areas, eat birds, rodents, bugs, and worms, and will bury food in the dirt only to come back days later and eat it. Contamination is not the concern for them as it is for us. They are built to handle it.
The only cases of salmonella I have heard of in dogs came from a bag of rancid processed dog food.
As for bone fragments making the dog sick...I find it highly unlikely. It could be they caused some irritation but not sickness. My dogs pooped bone fragments all the time when I first switched them, until their bodies 'relearned' how to digest them properly (and they learned how to properly chew them). The key is to make sure the bones are NOT cooked. A soaking in Apple Cider Vinegar also helps break them down. It is more likely the dog actually hit detox, and that was the cause of the sickness. Dogs that have been fed all their lives on processed food usually go through a period of detox when switched to a raw diet, as all the toxins and preservatives are leeched out of their system. Symptoms of detox can include all or none of these: diarrhea, vomiting, bad breath, bad smell, greasy coat, dry skin, eye discharge, nasal discharge, 'pimples' on the skin. My dogs went through some level of each of these before 'cleaning out'.
Since being on raw food, these things have also happened: my border collie's 'arthritis' disappeared. Her lameness vanished, as did severe allergic chewing on her feet. She gained more energy, stopped going gray, and began to act about five years younger. Both dogs have soft, shiny coats that have NO doggie smell whatsoever. Their teeth are gleaming white without a trace of brown. Their breath is clean (no doggie breath). Their poops are tiny, crumbly, and have little smell. They also break down and disappear within a day or so.
Since starting the switch with my cats I've noticed their coats are getting glossier. My 'somewhat chunky' male svelted out, and i've noticed an extreme decrease in both the attacks and nasal discharge of my CRS/asthmatic kitty. She breathes much easier despite the damage to her nasal cavity, and has more energy.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #13
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
This is the recipe i use and see what you think
http://www.catfood.catnutrition.org/CatFoodRecipe.pdf
http://www.catfood.catnutrition.org/CatFoodRecipe.pdf
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
Hunter
I dont feed alot of raw but I do alot of homemade and that seems to be a very reasonable and balanced diet..
I dont feed alot of raw but I do alot of homemade and that seems to be a very reasonable and balanced diet..
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2005
- Messages
- 1,303
- Purraise
- 2
Ah, no.
The dog can be harmed by the bone fragments. That what happened to the lady's dog. She was naturally very upset. She took her little doggy to obedience classes and trainer there told everyone how great raw feeding was. Well, she started feeding the dog raw food and the results were the dog was made sick by the bone fragments. The vet then told her that he sees many dogs hurt by bone fragments in raw food.
"Can't I feed my dogs bones?
This is a very dangerous practice. You can get by 100 times and the 101th time it either kills the pet or makes it very, very ill. We see it all the time, probably on a weekly basis. We have retrieved bones from an animal's stomach a week after having eaten them. They don't dissolve very well. Instead they lacerate the esophagus or stomach or intestinal tract or act like ground glass and cause pancreatitis and colitis. They can get stuck anywhere from between the teeth or roof of the mouth to the esophagus (especially common over the base of the heart), stomach and intestinal tract. I had a woman in on emergency last week whose little dog had vomited up bone fragments and then aspirated (inhaled) them. The dog understandibly wasn't breathing very well. She told me that her vet said that it was o.k. to feed the flat part of the chicken bone where the cartilidge attaches(?), just not the round part. I've had people say that they were told no bones but beef knuckle bones. I even got on the internet to see what there was out there about the parctice of feeding bones. I was truley appaled. It's hard to believe the amount of dangerous misinformation out on this topic. My advice, play it safe, don't feed your dog any type of bone ever.
http://www.foothillsanimalhospital.com/pettips.html"
It is also important to cook the egg - even a small amount - tho you are prob doing that (do not want to rush to conclusions here). YY loves raw eggs too but I cook them to her - not wanting her to get ill with some parasite or salmonella or worse! My vet advised me to ook them if I did not want a sick cat and I've since read the same advice online.
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2005
- Messages
- 27,231
- Purraise
- 38
I am old schooled here ... I have feed all my animals a raw egg yolk for 20 plus yrs... I also cook them thou the cats dont like them cooked... I have never had any problem but it is for one or two meals and then tossed any left overs..I also use veggie eggs... For those not schooled chn regularly are given meat bby product in feed and will often eat bugs
I must, very respectfully, disagree. I've broken chicken bones in my hands and you couldn't cut anything with the edges (I tried on my hands, paper, etc. About the only thing that got marked was cold butter). Most vets WILL tout the dangers of any sort of raw feeding...mainly due to miseducation and the fact that pet food companies pay money to get a vet to 'support' their food (not saying that is what's happening here, but it is a common thing). I've heard extremely dumb things out of the mouths of vets.
Cooked bones are horribly dangerous. They're harder and splinter. Raw bones are soft and pliable and, as I mentioned before, I can break them by hand with very little effort (I regularly tear in half whole chicken backs by hand). Fortunatley, I have a very good vet, and I spoke with her candidly about raw feeding. She says she sees more incidents of pancreatitis from all the crap in processed foods than from any raw or even home cooked diet.
Dogs have the exact same digestive systems as do wild animals like wolves and coyotes. Kibbled dog food has been around roughly a hundred years (I think actually about 80). Before then, dogs were fed table scraps, scrap meat cuts, bones, and whatever they caught. Yes, if not taught to chew properly they can gulp a bone and choke on it. They can also gulp kibble and choke on it. There are rubber dog toys that can get stuck in their mouths as well. Any dog that vomits up anything and aspirates it is going to have serious problems. My dogs still eat bones and there are no longer even traces of bone fragments in their stools. My cats have the bones ground up with the meat to be fed to them, simply because otherwise they will drag it all around.
