They do if it's had the nutrients added. There are premixes that have all the vitamins and minerals in the right ratio. Some have calcium added so bone or eggshell don't have to be added. Some also have liver powder added so you don't have to deal with liver. Raw food or cooked meat on it's own would not have all the necessary nutrients in it.Feeding raw food how does he get all the nutrients he needs as is in the commercial foods?
I feed my cats mice. My question for you is: How do commercial diets give them all the nutrients they need?Feeding raw food how does he get all the nutrients he needs as is in the commercial foods?
I think its just like human food: commercial diets are supplemented with vitamins and minerals needed by cats per the not-perfect-but-what-we-have-now standards set by The Powers That Be (AAFCO or ?).
I feed my cats mice. My question for you is: How do commercial diets give them all the nutrients they need?
I had the same question when I first heard about raw feeding. I kept reading these rave reviews about improved health on raw, and when nothing I did seemed to make a difference in my cats' diarrhea I figured "what do I have to lose?" I gave each a small piece and they loved it. So I researched for balancing, cost, etc and decided that ultimately I wanted to feed Dr. Pierson's recipe from www.catinfo.org. The grinder was on back order so I had to wait, but in the meantime I used premixes with meat. My cats' diarrhea cleared up in 24 hours and they were full of life. I've not fed them commercial food since.Feeding raw food how does he get all the nutrients he needs as is in the commercial foods?
It's very satisfying watching them eat mice for some reason. They crunch and chew and shake them around. The faces they pull as the work it from side to side are hilarious.
That's great!
l feed mine homemade ground à la Dr. Pierson, but early on l decided l wanted them to eat mice. They, of course, had other ideas.
l bought them a bunch of pinkies to start, knowing as you said that they'd have to graduate to larger mice with a higher bone content. l thought for sure they would love them but they wouldn't even lick them.
l ended up grinding them into their homemade food
That's a great question! Of course water/moisture is supplied by blood, but so is potassium.One question that I have just out of curiosity. With a mouse that is freshly killed a cat would also be getting blood, does that make a difference in nutrients?
Hi Peaches,That's a great question! Of course water/moisture is supplied by blood, but so is potassium.
R0n1n, how much blood is there in these mice? I have to plead ignorance as far as how they are killed.
The reason Dr. P gives for using iodized salt in a chicken recipe is because of the lack of a thyroid gland:Proteins, fats, etc are in blood since that is the nutritional transport system. I only mention potassium because Dr. Pierson says to use Lite salt with iodine due to the lack of blood in chicken thighs from the grocery store.
Blood does contain a lot of nutrients though.The thyroid gland of a cat's natural prey is a good source of iodine but when using chicken or turkey thighs - and, therefore, no thyroid gland - we need to add Morton's iodized Lite salt as a source of iodine.
Yes, it must be iodized and I should have mentioned it. She uses the Lite salt specifically for the potassium, otherwise we would use regular iodized salt. But you bring up a very important point about the iodine and thyroid. I sometimes wonder with some of the PMR menus I've seen how the animal is getting iodine if they aren't getting thyroid glands?The reason Dr. P gives for using iodized salt in a chicken recipe is because of the lack of a thyroid gland:
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood
Blood does contain a lot of nutrients though. :nod: