Is it OK for my cats to eat mostly goose meat?

[chalkydri]

Specifically whole carcass ground goose with bones, organs, skin and all. I'm asking because that's what I've been feeding my cats for the past two years now, but recently I was told they need a lot more variety than that which is.. mighty inconvenient news if that's true, not gonna lie.

I live on a homestead and geese are really low effort for me to raise - I don't need to feed them at all during the warm months because they graze, then after I've butchered most of them in the fall they happily live off of cracked corn and only that. I originally got them for hubby but he didn't like the meat, so I started raising them as cat food instead and stopped buying the other meats and supplements I was using previously to feed everyone raw. I thought I was doing a good thing, because I know how the geese lived (no antibiotics, treated well .etc.), how fresh the meat is and it seemed kinda eco friendly, idk.

But apparently this may not be a complete diet? Am I hurting my cats? If it's relevant, everyone is indoors (so not catching prey) and eats almost entirely goose, but with cooked table scraps on a regularish basis when they show interest (mainly meat, like lamb, goat, egg, various fish, but my husband is BAD and will give them cheese, bacon, bread, oatmeal, cream, stuff like that even though I say not to). Everyone seems to be pretty healthy, nice shiny coats, healthy weight but admittedly they're very overdue for checkups because of financial issues ATM.

 

[maggie101]

Goose meat is fatty so only as a treat. There is a thread for raw food. You might get more answers there

 

[furmonster mom]

My first thought concerns taurine. It’s the one nutrient that cats cannot create enough of on their own. This is part of why they are considered obligate carnivores; they absolutely must get extra taurine from their prey. It can take a long while for evidence of taurine deficiency to show.

Not all prey/meats are created equal, which is why most raw feeders highly recommend feeding a rotation of various meats and blends. Many folks who make their own blends make sure to add a bit of extra heart or taurine supplement, and some add extra omegas. I don’t know what the nutrient profile of goose is, honestly. You may want to do a bit of research from that angle.

Table scraps are tricky business.
Things like eggs, whole raw milk, cheese, and fish, are acceptable occasional treats as long as their digestive systems seem to handle it.
Breads, grains and cereal foods are not generally recommended, as they can stress the pancreas and gallbladder to produce enough enzymes to break those foods down.
As with any table scraps, make sure they are not seasoned: garlic and onions are especially toxic to cats (and dogs). Best to avoid all seasonings.

I am personally impressed with your commitment to raising your own prey/meat for your cats. Amazing! I have occasionally contemplated raising chicken, rabbits, or pigeons but realized that I don’t have the patience or energy for it.

 

[goingpostal]

Only feeding one type of meat is not a balanced diet, it's recommended to be feeding 3-4 proteins at least and the more the merrier.

 

[lisahe]

Unless you're feeding based on the prey method, yes, you'll need to buy supplements.

It sounds like you may have already done this but just in case... The easiest way to balance meat is with a premixed supplement like Alnutrin or Easy Complete. The goose liver and heart would come in handy, too! You'd need to weigh the raw meat (if the goose is particularly fatty, you could discard some of the fat) in order to use the proper amount of supplement.

I wouldn't have much of a concern about feeding only goose, though I'd avoid the table scraps for the reasons furmonster mom mentions.

 

[Box of Rain]

@ chalkydri

I have looked for a source that gives the taurine levels in goose meat (but have failed).

My assumption would be that goose (being an all dark meat poultry) would be an excellent taurine source. Dark meat turkey is an especially excellent source, and duck, quail, and dark meat chicken are quite good. I don't like operating off "assumptions" alone, but...

A bigger concern for me is the bone content. I'm seeing an unconfirmed report that whole goose is 19% bone (and I suspect that it is higher than that). Typical cat prey like mice are about 5% bone and the PMR (prey-model raw) ratios for cats are 6%. Sometimes one will see PRM listed as 10% bone (but that's a better level for dogs). In your shoes, I'd remove about half the bone from your grind and/or let the cats eat flesh off the bones directly (which is great for their teeth and gums and their minds). At 19% bone the cats would very likely be getting too much calcium, and that can lead to health issues.

As a special caution, some of the supplements suggested contain calcium to make meat-based (bone-free) diets "complete," don't use one of those. Rather choose a supplement that has taurine if you are concerned but not one with more calcium (in othert words a formula to complement a "meat and bone" diet.

If you have goose bones let over (that are not being gnawed on), I'd suggest making up a bone stock and feeding that to the cats as an additional source of hydration. Hydration is one key to good cat health and I bet your cats would lap up bone broth.

I think I'd trim some fat (and make goose schmatz to use in human meals, but I love goose).

Getting all the organs (brain included) is excellent.

Please tell your husband to stop with the inappropriate food items.

I'd love to know the taurine levels in goose. I would feed goose to my Dexter in a heartbeat, if I had easier access.

Best,

Bill