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raw feeding / home diets - opinions?



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 11th 04, 06:54 PM
Lotte
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Default raw feeding / home diets - opinions?

I've read a lot, pro and con, about raw meat and other home made diets for
cats. What do people here think of them? Does anyone here make their own
cat food? I like the idea, but I'm afraid I would leave out some essential
nutrient, or else my cats would get sick from the raw meat. Is there any
such thing as a home made cooked meat diet? I guess at that point, it's
just as easy to feed canned food, eh. It's just that I don't know what's
*in* the canned food, completely... I guess I wonder if the benefit of
making home made food is worth it, in terms of improving cats' health.
Thoughts anyone? -- L.


  #2  
Old April 11th 04, 07:43 PM
Gail
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Why is raw meat superior to cooked meat for cats?
Gail


  #3  
Old April 11th 04, 07:43 PM
Gail
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Why is raw meat superior to cooked meat for cats?
Gail


  #4  
Old April 12th 04, 12:49 AM
Lotte
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This is one of my questions also. From what I've read, cooking destroys
some of the enzymes and vitamins present in raw meat, some of which are
essential for cats (taurine is the one I've seen mentioned), so those
essential enzymes & vitamins have to be added back into canned food, which
is usually cooked meat. I imagine it's the same difference as a human
eating a diet with no vegetables relying on a vitamin supplement to make up
for the lack of veggies... but I'm not sure. It seems to me there is a
market for a cat food mix that owners can mix with *cooked* meat, to avoid
the raw meat disease/bacteria issues. I suppose, at that point, it's just
as easy to use canned food, but personally, I'd buy something I could add to
my own cooked meat. That way I would know exactly what kind of meat my cats
were getting... Hopefully the group can offer some insight/comments. -- L.


"Gail" wrote in message
...
Why is raw meat superior to cooked meat for cats?
Gail




  #5  
Old April 12th 04, 12:49 AM
Lotte
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Default

This is one of my questions also. From what I've read, cooking destroys
some of the enzymes and vitamins present in raw meat, some of which are
essential for cats (taurine is the one I've seen mentioned), so those
essential enzymes & vitamins have to be added back into canned food, which
is usually cooked meat. I imagine it's the same difference as a human
eating a diet with no vegetables relying on a vitamin supplement to make up
for the lack of veggies... but I'm not sure. It seems to me there is a
market for a cat food mix that owners can mix with *cooked* meat, to avoid
the raw meat disease/bacteria issues. I suppose, at that point, it's just
as easy to use canned food, but personally, I'd buy something I could add to
my own cooked meat. That way I would know exactly what kind of meat my cats
were getting... Hopefully the group can offer some insight/comments. -- L.


"Gail" wrote in message
...
Why is raw meat superior to cooked meat for cats?
Gail




  #6  
Old April 12th 04, 12:56 AM
Cheryl
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"Lotte" dumped this in
on 11 Apr 2004:

It seems to me there is a
market for a cat food mix that owners can mix with *cooked* meat, to
avoid the raw meat disease/bacteria issues.


Wysong makes such a product.

--
Cheryl
  #7  
Old April 12th 04, 12:56 AM
Cheryl
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Default

"Lotte" dumped this in
on 11 Apr 2004:

It seems to me there is a
market for a cat food mix that owners can mix with *cooked* meat, to
avoid the raw meat disease/bacteria issues.


Wysong makes such a product.

--
Cheryl
  #10  
Old April 12th 04, 01:21 AM
PawsForThought
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Default

From: "Lotte"

What do people here think of them? Does anyone here make their own
cat food? I like the idea, but I'm afraid I would leave out some essential
nutrient, or else my cats would get sick from the raw meat. Is there any
such thing as a home made cooked meat diet? I guess at that point, it's
just as easy to feed canned food, eh. It's just that I don't know what's
*in* the canned food, completely... I guess I wonder if the benefit of
making home made food is worth it, in terms of improving cats' health.
Thoughts anyone? -- L.


Hi Lotte,
I've been feeding my cats a homemade raw diet for almost 4 years. They are
really do great on it. It is more work than feeding a commercial food, but I
feel it's worth it in my case. The main thing is to be consistent and not get
lazy when preparing the food. Also, in a raw diet, making a diet with a lot of
variety is important. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I also had fears
about it. But now it's second nature to put the food together and after seeing
how well my kitties are doing on it, I feel a lot more confident. If you're
interested in feeding a homemade diet, whether raw or cooked, I would recommend
doing a lot of research on it first. There are some good books out there as
well as lots of websites. I have a link in my signature for the raw diet.
Lastly, if you do decide you want to feed raw, you can email me and I can hook
you up with a couple of great raw feeding lists. There are people on the lists
that have been feeding raw for a long time. One in particular has been feeding
raw for over 30 years and she has provided wonderful guidance for me. As to
raw versus cooked, from all that I've learned, it really is better for the cat
to feed a raw diet. Cats have a much shorter digestive tract than we do and
were meant to digest raw meat. Just like you would practice safe handling for
your own food, you would do the same when preparing your pet's food.

Lauren
________
See my cats:
http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm
 




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