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#1
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Experienced opinions requested on this raw food product...
http://www.abcpetfoods.com/
I'm looking for opinions from those with first hand experience feeding their cat a raw diet. This is a local vendor that I am considering trying. I would like to avoid making a raw diet myself, if possible, thus the attraction to this vendor. Does anyone have an opinion on their ingredients? I'm concerned about the grains, and what about taurine? Anything else missing or that raises any red flags? Thanks, Hank |
#3
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"Hank" a écrit dans le message de news: ... http://www.abcpetfoods.com/ I'm looking for opinions from those with first hand experience feeding their cat a raw diet. This is a local vendor that I am considering trying. I would like to avoid making a raw diet myself, if possible, thus the attraction to this vendor. Does anyone have an opinion on their ingredients? I'm concerned about the grains, and what about taurine? Anything else missing or that raises any red flags? Thanks, Hank When I began feeding raw about 18 months ago, I used a grain free diet. It meant putting in alot more veggies, and so I had to put in more bribe food to convince them to eat. Also, both my cats and my dog had constipation problems with this diet and so I eventually decided to try out the Pitcairn-Frazier style wich does add some grains. My pets do very well on it, and they prefer the taste so I have been able to cut down considerably on the bribe foods. It doesnt mean my diet is better than the grain free, its just what *my* pets do well on. You have to research and try out things to see what is best for your cat. The diet I prepare resembles the recipes on the link except I do not add garlic or alfalfa, and use Quinoa most often (wich is not a true grain, protein is of higher quality and amino acids well equilibrated). I use salmon oil but am now questioning the use of any fish oil, for its seems that it is close to impossible to get any wich is not contaminated or rancid. I will need to find althernatives. Taurine is not a problem with raw meat, but personally, I make sure they get heart where it is most concentrated.(from free range chickens in my case) I would find it difficult to use a commercial all prepared diet because research, and most importantly, the health of my pets make me change and adjust all the time. All the luck. Elaine -- My cats: http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid906206 Article français sur le dégriffage http://chakashiva.tripod.com/degriffage.index.htm |
#4
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In article ,
"Hank" wrote: http://www.abcpetfoods.com/ I'm looking for opinions from those with first hand experience feeding their cat a raw diet. This is a local vendor that I am considering trying. I would like to avoid making a raw diet myself, if possible, thus the attraction to this vendor. Does anyone have an opinion on their ingredients? I'm concerned about the grains, and what about taurine? Anything else missing or that raises any red flags? So they stole Pitcairn's recipes and are now selling them. That's kinda lame. For me, there are two main reasons to feed a more natural/raw diet to my pets. First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis. And second, to have control over what they eat and to know they are getting healthful, wholesome, minimally processed food. There's also the less-important reasons that it's quite a bit cheaper to home-prepare their food and that my dog at least doesn't do as well with grains as without them. You lose all of these benefits by feeding an expensive commercially prepared minced diet. What about taurine? It's found in meat (though denatured by heat and processing hence the need to add it back to extruded kibbles), and is particularly high in the heart which is included in some of the mixtures you listed. I wouldn't worry about taurine. Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? -Alison in OH |
#5
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In article ,
"Hank" wrote: http://www.abcpetfoods.com/ I'm looking for opinions from those with first hand experience feeding their cat a raw diet. This is a local vendor that I am considering trying. I would like to avoid making a raw diet myself, if possible, thus the attraction to this vendor. Does anyone have an opinion on their ingredients? I'm concerned about the grains, and what about taurine? Anything else missing or that raises any red flags? So they stole Pitcairn's recipes and are now selling them. That's kinda lame. For me, there are two main reasons to feed a more natural/raw diet to my pets. First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis. And second, to have control over what they eat and to know they are getting healthful, wholesome, minimally processed food. There's also the less-important reasons that it's quite a bit cheaper to home-prepare their food and that my dog at least doesn't do as well with grains as without them. You lose all of these benefits by feeding an expensive commercially prepared minced diet. What about taurine? It's found in meat (though denatured by heat and processing hence the need to add it back to extruded kibbles), and is particularly high in the heart which is included in some of the mixtures you listed. I wouldn't worry about taurine. Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? -Alison in OH |
#6
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First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping
and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis What if I give him a chicken neck once a week to gnaw on? Would this not be a good enough substitute for daily larger chunks of raw meat? Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? I guess I'm concerned about the time and effort involved in preparing it. |
#7
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First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping
and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis What if I give him a chicken neck once a week to gnaw on? Would this not be a good enough substitute for daily larger chunks of raw meat? Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? I guess I'm concerned about the time and effort involved in preparing it. |
#8
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In article ,
"Hank" wrote: First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis What if I give him a chicken neck once a week to gnaw on? Would this not be a good enough substitute for daily larger chunks of raw meat? Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? I guess I'm concerned about the time and effort involved in preparing it. Taking away processed commercial foods apparently has some beneficial effect on oral health--people claim it's "enzymes in raw food" or something. I find it easier to put stock in the idea that tearing through meat and bone provides a mechanical scrubbing action and gum massage. One of my main concerns is the effect of chronic gum infection on all the body systems--especially the kidneys. It only takes a day or two for plaque bacteria to build up to the point where they are cultivating anaerobes, colonizing the gums, forming calculus etc. So I prefer to feed raw meat on the bone every day. Since chicken necks are too bony to be a staple, I don't feed them very often. On the other hand, it's certainly better than no preventive measures, and most cats will take little convincing to figure out that it's fun to crunch into a neck or even a single vertebra. Personally, I find it easier to plop a meaty bone on my cat's plate than to open a can and dish out glop. Luckily however, my cat took easily to bones and I didn't have to do any grinding or other preparation as an interim measure while getting him on bones. I do feel that investing in a hand grinder, or even a $100 electric grinder, plus maybe an hour every two weeks to prepare cat food, would have been worth it to achieve the health benefits. But that's me. -Alison in OH |
#9
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In article ,
"Hank" wrote: First, for their oral health which benefits greatly from ripping and chewing large pieces of meat on the bone on a daily basis What if I give him a chicken neck once a week to gnaw on? Would this not be a good enough substitute for daily larger chunks of raw meat? Why do you want to avoid preparing your cat's diet yourself? I guess I'm concerned about the time and effort involved in preparing it. Taking away processed commercial foods apparently has some beneficial effect on oral health--people claim it's "enzymes in raw food" or something. I find it easier to put stock in the idea that tearing through meat and bone provides a mechanical scrubbing action and gum massage. One of my main concerns is the effect of chronic gum infection on all the body systems--especially the kidneys. It only takes a day or two for plaque bacteria to build up to the point where they are cultivating anaerobes, colonizing the gums, forming calculus etc. So I prefer to feed raw meat on the bone every day. Since chicken necks are too bony to be a staple, I don't feed them very often. On the other hand, it's certainly better than no preventive measures, and most cats will take little convincing to figure out that it's fun to crunch into a neck or even a single vertebra. Personally, I find it easier to plop a meaty bone on my cat's plate than to open a can and dish out glop. Luckily however, my cat took easily to bones and I didn't have to do any grinding or other preparation as an interim measure while getting him on bones. I do feel that investing in a hand grinder, or even a $100 electric grinder, plus maybe an hour every two weeks to prepare cat food, would have been worth it to achieve the health benefits. But that's me. -Alison in OH |
#10
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I use salmon oil but am now questioning the use
of any fish oil, for its seems that it is close to impossible to get any wich is not contaminated or rancid. Elaine Elaine, where do you buy your fish oil? Have you tried drugstores? Here we can buy it in drugstores. It´s listed as a vitamin A and D supplement and sold as cod liver oil. The quality should be better than ones bought elsewhere. |
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