Canola oil and clams in a cooked diet

[colleenchriss]

I have started making food at home using Strombeck's recipes. So far, so good. One of my cats (we have 3) has IBD, thus the need for a cleaner diet.

Here is the recipe--

Chicken Diet

1/2 pound (weight before cooking) chicken (boneless breast) (228 grams)
1/2 egg, large, chicken, whole, cooked
1/2 ounce clams, chopped in juice (15 grams)
4 teaspoons vegetable (canola) oil (20 grams)
1/8 teaspoon salt substitute-potassium chloride
1/3 teaspoon bone meal powder (2 grams)
1 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

provides 471 kcalories, 53.1 g protein, 27.4 g fat

What I have changed -- the oil and the clams

I have concerns about the canola oil being so processed, and have been using Flax oil instead. Is this okay? I decreased the amount slightly because I know it's more potent. They seem to like it better.

CLAMS -- I do not have access to clams and even if I did, our IBD cat has some seafood issues. I have omitted them and add one Taurine tab (500 mg) to the batch (again, there are 3 of them). Is there anything else that they are missing without the clams?

 

[mschauer]

I think it looks pretty good. I analyzed it but can't post the analysis because the print function of my program is broken at the moment.

I used a Centrum Adult vitamin tab as the "vitamin-mineral tablet".

The Ca (calcium phosphorus ration) is a bit lower than I would prefer. As is it is 1:1. If you increase the bonemeal to 3 g it would be 1.2:1 which is more what I would prefer.

Using flaxseed instead of canola changes the fatty acid makeup of the recipe. Flaxseed has more omega 3 fatty acids and less omega 6 fatty acids but still has enough omega 6 fatty acids to meet AAFCO recommendations.

Has this food helped your kitties IBD?

Edit: Forgot to add, the clams would be a good source of vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids. Using the canola oil and clams would give you what *might* be a better fatty acid profile but there is no research to indicate that is beneficial to health. The fatty acid profile is the major difference between the original recipe and the recipe with your changes.

 

[colleenchriss]

 
I used a Centrum Adult vitamin tab as the "vitamin-mineral tablet".

 Has this food helped your kitties IBD?

Lillie, my IBD kitty, doesn't have a very good appetite but adding the meat made her clean her plate. This is my second day on just cooked meals and she has been very active during the day and hasn't had any diarrhea. Most commercial foods seem to have that effect on her, and we still haven't figured out what all of her triggers are. So hopefully this is a good sign.

 Edit: Forgot to add, the clams would be a good source of vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids. Using the canola oil and clams would give you what *might* be a better fatty acid profile but there is no research to indicate that is beneficial to health. The fatty acid profile is the major difference between the original recipe and the recipe with your changes.

I'm glad that I asked. I have B12 tabs that I would add to her canned meals about 3 times a week. She is B12 deficient (thanks again, IBD!!) and gets B12 injections also. Should I add the B12 tabs daily, and maybe occasionally give them some beef liver?

 

[mschauer]

 
Lillie, my IBD kitty, doesn't have a very good appetite but adding the meat made her clean her plate. This is my second day on just cooked meals and she has been very active during the day and hasn't had any diarrhea. Most commercial foods seem to have that effect on her, and we still haven't figured out what all of her triggers are. So hopefully this is a good sign.

That's wonderful!  One of mine had loose stools when she ate commercial processed foods but does fine on a part raw part home-made cooked diet.

 I'm glad that I asked. I have B12 tabs that I would add to her canned meals about 3 times a week. She is B12 deficient (thanks again, IBD!!) and gets B12 injections also. Should I add the B12 tabs daily, and maybe occasionally give them some beef liver?

As is the recipe has 6.7 mcg of B12 which is 4x the AAFCO recommended amount of B12. You should probably ask your vet if more should be added. Beef liver is a great source of B12 though. 

 

[colleenchriss]

Even without the clams, I'm okay on B12 then?

 

[ldg]

Yes, unless she has a malabsorption problem (many IBD kitties do), which is probably why mschauer suggested chatting with your vet about it. :nod:

As to the flax vs the canola, cats need the LA and AA (omega 6s), and the flax seed has less, but mschauer says her analysis indicates they still get enough. The omega 3s in the flax seed aren't really available to cats, as they lack the digestive enzyme necessary to convert ALA into the usable EPA and DHA. Most of use use a fish oil or salmon oil for that. IMO, it's probably best to use the flax in the recipe, and if you WANT omega 3s (for with the AAFCO has no recommendation, doesn't consider them necessary), then just add it at the meal. They oxidize easily anyway.

I'm so glad she likes the food! That's the major first step! I REALLY hope this resolves her diarrhea and makes her feel better!

 

[mschauer]

Yes, unless she has a malabsorption problem (many IBD kitties do), which is probably why mschauer suggested chatting with your vet about it.