Questions About Zapping Raw Food

[moosedawg]

Maybe the following would be helpful to the owners.

I just found this. 5 dangerous homemade cat food mistakes + how to avoid them

So, I read this from that link you provided:
Niacin (B3) and thiamin (B1): These B’s are degraded by cooking, so any homemade food needs to have these added after any cooking or heating (attention anyone who warms raw food in the microwave!)

I do use the microwave, but only to take the chill off the food from the fridge. I only zap it for 10 seconds a time to bring it up to near room temperature, stirring thoroughly in between zaps (I feed 5 cats, so there's like 20 oz of food in the bowl). I don't think I've ever zapped it for more than 30 seconds total. Does this mean I'm denaturing the vitamin B I'm using (I use Dr. Pearson's recipe)? Or does this apply to more of cooking the food with the microwave type of thing? I've read that you don't ever want to leave the food at room temperature for very long, but that you should feed it at room temperature. Well how the heck do you achieve that without leaving it out at room temperature or using the microwave? I've tried soaking the jars in lukewarm water before, but that seems to take forever and I have screaming, hungry felines the entire time, and one time, it made one of the jars crack and the bottom dropped out of it, so that was a whole jar of food in the garbage. Any suggestions, or am I reading that too literally? I just want to make sure the furkids are getting all the right nutrients and I'm not harming them in any way in my effort to keep them healthy.

 

[orange&white]

If you get a dinner plate that will sit on top of the rim of a saucepan, you can heat 1/2" of water in the saucepan then take it off the heat. Set the plate of food on top, then put the saucepan cover over the food. The steam will heat the plate and the plate will warm the food in 5-10 minutes.

My cats will both eat cold food out of the fridge, but sometimes a new box of food is still partially frozen when their meal is due. That's how I finish the defrosting. Works great without worrying about the food "cooking" in the microwave.

 

[moosedawg]

But is 20 seconds in the micro really going to cook it and denature the vitamin B?

 

[orange&white]

I don't know, sorry. I don't like microwave ovens in general, so I'm not sure. Just offering an alternate option.

 

[moosedawg]

Oh, sorry - didn't mean to sound critical of your suggestion - I appreciate your alternate method, which does sound easy. Just wondering if I have to worry about denaturing the vitamin B by bringing it to room temperature by any heating methods.

 

[Ardina]

I can't say for sure how much heat would denature the B vitamins, but I would probably avoid the microwave because the waves tend to heat the food in spots as opposed to a gentle warming throughout. The spots that got nuked probably don't have useful B vitamin left. And it's hard to say how much is lost.

Another way to do it would be to keep the food in plastic bags and carrying them in your pocket for 5-10 minutes. Your body heat will get them up to good temp soon enough. Definitely not for the squeamish though.

I avoid the issue entirely by not warming up the food at all from fridge temperature. Luckily, both of my cats seem to prefer their food cold, especially in the summer.

 

[moosedawg]

Yeah, I would rather NOT have to warm it, but I have always read to warm it because cold food out of the fridge could make their stomach upset . No idea if this is true, it never seemed to bother my older cats a bit, but with the new kittens, I know one of them would turn his nose up if it was cold. Although, I've been warming it less and less so I don't kill the vitamin B and to hopefully train him to deal with it , but I don't want to cause tummy issues. No idea if this is true or another Internet myth.

 

[orange&white]

Another method people use is to set the bowl of food down into a larger bowl of warm (not hot) water. I feed off flat saucers, so that wouldn't work here, but might work for you. You mentioned having a jar crack before. The water was too hot, or the food was straight out of the freezer.

 

[mschauer]

I do use the microwave, but only to take the chill off the food from the fridge. I only zap it for 10 seconds a time to bring it up to near room temperature, stirring thoroughly in between zaps (I feed 5 cats, so there's like 20 oz of food in the bowl). I don't think I've ever zapped it for more than 30 seconds total. Does this mean I'm denaturing the vitamin B I'm using (I use Dr. Pearson's recipe)?

IMO there is no problem with what you are doing. I do pretty much the same thing, not letting it get zapped long enough to really heat up, just enough to take the chill off. Stirring between zaps helps ensure it doesn't heat up. I make sure that in the end the food isn't heated at all. It just isn't cold any more.

 

[moosedawg]

Thanks mschauer! Yeah, I always stir it really well between the zaps to prevent any hot spots, which also makes for fewer zaps. I dump the whole jar (1 pint - I have 5 cats to feed afterall) into a glass bowl and commence zapping/stirring until it's just not cold, often it's not even room temp, just not fridge temp. It's never "mouse temp".

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

 

[valentine319]

Thanks mschauer! Yeah, I always stir it really well between the zaps to prevent any hot spots, which also makes for fewer zaps. I dump the whole jar (1 pint - I have 5 cats to feed afterall) into a glass bowl and commence zapping/stirring until it's just not cold, often it's not even room temp, just not fridge temp. It's never "mouse temp".

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

I'll be honest, I don't know what mouse temp is.

I put my raw in a baggy zip it and put in warm water until the chill is gone.

I do have a question for you. When my cat was on natures instinct (it has bone in it) it sparked and smoked in the microwave. I only nuked at 7 seconds. Does your raw which I'm assuming has bone spark or smoke.

I highly doubt with the short time you microwave it makes a huge difference.

 

[moosedawg]

I'll be honest, I don't know what mouse temp is.

I put my raw in a baggy zip it and put in warm water until the chill is gone.

I do have a question for you. When my cat was on natures instinct (it has bone in it) it sparked and smoked in the microwave. I only nuked at 7 seconds. Does your raw which I'm assuming has bone spark or smoke.

I highly doubt with the short time you microwave it makes a huge difference.

Yes, my raw has bone in it. I grind it myself with chicken or turkey thighs. I've NEVER had it smoke or spark in the micro. I make sure I put it in a glass bowl. I can't imagine what would be in bone that would make it spark or smoke in such a short time, it almost sounds as if there's metal in it somehow. Does Natures Instinct have some minerals or something added to it that might cause that?

I'm presuming you're not using a metal bowl or anything like that, right? Or a glass bowl that might have some metal on it due to paint that contains metal? I once put a teacup in the microwave and it started sparking; it had a thin line of gold painted on the rim - never would have thought it contained any metal, just thought it was paint/glaze.

 

[valentine319]

Yes, my raw has bone in it. I grind it myself with chicken or turkey thighs. I've NEVER had it smoke or spark in the micro. I make sure I put it in a glass bowl. I can't imagine what would be in bone that would make it spark or smoke in such a short time, it almost sounds as if there's metal in it somehow. Does Natures Instinct have some minerals or something added to it that might cause that?

I'm presuming you're not using a metal bowl or anything like that, right? Or a glass bowl that might have some metal on it due to paint that contains metal? I once put a teacup in the microwave and it started sparking; it had a thin line of gold painted on the rim - never would have thought it contained any metal, just thought it was paint/glaze.

It was any brand canned natures instinct lid. I was using corelle glass bowls. I've used the bowls with many foods and never a problem. We're not talking about 20 seconds even we're talking about 7 seconds. It's the food that does it. I know I see bone chips in it. I was interested in that being the cause.

I've switched her to raw but was always wondering if bone in the canned caused it. Vitamins, minerals are added and some clay are added.

• Rabbit, Water, Rabbit Liver, Peas, Montmorillonite Clay, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Minerals (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Taurine.

I do raw in the baggy in water because it gives me time to get a couple things done while it's heating. I was just interested if it's something in natures instinct or bone. Thanks for responding.

 

[moosedawg]

It was any brand canned natures instinct lid. I was using corelle glass bowls. I've used the bowls with many foods and never a problem. We're not talking about 20 seconds even we're talking about 7 seconds. It's the food that does it. I know I see bone chips in it. I was interested in that being the cause.

I've switched her to raw but was always wondering if bone in the canned caused it. Vitamins, minerals are added and some clay are added.

• Rabbit, Water, Rabbit Liver, Peas, Montmorillonite Clay, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Minerals (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Taurine.

I do raw in the baggy in water because it gives me time to get a couple things done while it's heating. I was just interested if it's something in natures instinct or bone. Thanks for responding.

No problem! Yeah, I've only tried to reheat canned cat food in the microwave once, but it didn't have bones in it. It was a prescription diet my older kitty was on, but a few seconds in the microwave made it stink so bad, I couldn't bring myself to do it again. It stunk up the whole kitchen, YUCK! Maybe it's something in the vitamin mix they use. I really doubt it's the bone. I've never had bone smoke in the microwave, even when I've heated up like a leftover chicken drumstick or whatever for myself. When I have to take the chill off canned foot, I do the hot water bath like you do, or (more often than not) I just add hot water into the food and mix it in, extra water is never a bad thing for them to have.

 

[orange&white]

I would guess one of these sparked: "Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate"

 

[valentine319]

I would guess one of these sparked: "Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate"

Thank you! She's off it but I've always wanted to know.