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L'il Bite of the Day - Making Sense of the Raw Feeding World and Continuous Learning

11/10/2013

12 Comments

 
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There are lots of smart, wonderful, and yes--sane--people out there feeding raw food to their cats. Some are vets. I learned from, and continue to learn from, many of them.  Vets and lay people alike!  I continue to benefit from feedback on raw feeding from website visitors and from those I've come to trust on the issue. 

You can run an Internet search for "BARF" (an acronym for "biologically appropriate raw food" or "bones and raw food") and you may bebe overwhelmed with the sites, chat rooms, and egroups out there. Some are terrific. Some are not. 

Each person or group or company has, understandably, their own unique reference point and strong opinion of what's good and what's bad. I'm certainly no exception!  The opinions and emphasis each person, company, or group has is based on their own past experience (their 'baggage,' if you will). 

Me?  I strongly encourage folks to think twice about any recipe that contains grains or vegetables or relies on plant-based sources to supply vitamins, minerals, amino acids, Essential Fatty Acids, or other nutrients. 

The range of passionate opinions on whether to feed raw -- and how to feed it if you do -- is vast.  

I'm still learning as I go.  Over the years, I've made some adjustments to the recipe I use as new information has come to light or something I simply had not thought about before suddenly rises to center stage.  A perfect example is the iodine source for homemade food.  For many years, I relied on kelp as the source - until it became clearer to me that different brands and types of kelp have widely varying amounts and ranges of iodine content listed on their labels.  Since iodine is such a critical nutrient to get right for a cat - and even that is an imperfect science since the data on how much is too much or too little is a bit fuzzy - I was persuaded to start using iodized salt as the source, since there was consistency and specificity in the amount of iodine in it.  The salt is there for iodine - and for sodium and potassium.  The blood of prey food contains sodium and potassium and most of us are feeding relatively "bloodless meats." 

All of this, for me, goes to show that try as we might - we have still not fully deciphered Mother Nature.  Those of us who feed raw to cats using ingredients and sources from something other than what a small cat would kill and eat on her own are wise to never assume we have Mother Nature all figured out.  Keeping an open mind to continuous learning is a really good idea!  


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12 Comments
Cynthia Burke link
11/10/2013 05:03:16 am

Hmmm...how much iodized salt do you add per pound of meat? (if there's a simple answer :-))

Reply
Mary
3/26/2015 01:04:18 pm

or, use the calculator
http://feline-nutrition.org/attachments/Recipe_Calculator.html

Reply
Anne link
11/10/2013 06:01:58 am

Hi Cynthia - the amount I use is in the recipe here - http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.html :)

Reply
Lola
11/10/2013 10:17:29 am

Hello!
First… thank YOU for this website!!!! I can't tell you how many times I have read and re-read…and recommended.
Deeeep breath…. I think I'm ready to take the raw plunge.
Is there a supplement, you would recommend, that contains EVERYTHING an average healthy cat requires? I'm looking to buy from Hare Today…the ground bones and organs.
Is the Alnutrin for Meat/ Bone/Organs all I would have to add? I'm getting conflicting info, so I thought I'd ask the expert. :)
I need to start off simple.
Thank you.

Reply
Laurie
6/15/2014 01:01:09 am

Lola, the Alnutrin supplement added to Hare Today meat/bone/organ mixes make the food technically complete and balanced if using AAFCO as a measuring stick. But a source of omega 3s is always a healthy addition.

Reply
Laurie
6/15/2014 01:06:31 am

Anne, I also wanted to thank you for ... everything. I have referred many people to your website for many reasons, not just the recipe and great instructions. I love that you adapt the recipe for new considerations, and appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts and further information via the blog. So yes, I also agree. *deal.* :)

Reply
Anne link
6/15/2014 02:09:43 am

Thanks for sending folks to the site - and so glad for the "deal" we all have to never get too cocky that we know everything there is to know. :)

Anne link
11/10/2013 05:23:03 pm

Hi Lola - Thanks for the enthusiasm! You could either work with the recipe on the CatNutrition site and assemble and add the other ingredients yourself, or you could by ground meat and organs WITHOUT bone and add TCFeline pre-mx (http://tcfeline.com/general-premix-info/) Happy feeding!

Reply
Dianna
5/17/2014 05:19:10 am

How much iodine should you add if you don't have iodized salt? I only use sea salt which doesn't contain iodine but I do have iodine capsules that I personally take. Can I just add iodine without the salt?

Thanks!
Dianna

Reply
Anne link
5/17/2014 06:04:54 am

Hi Dianna - if the salt you're using isn't iodized, I wouldn't add it at all. We're only using the salt as a "delivery mechanism" for the iodine. The studies on the precise iodine needed for a cat offer a range, but - according to Dr. Lisa Pierson's website (http://www.catinfo.org) there are studies showing that the minimum iodine requirement in cat food should be 1.4 ppm.

Reply
Sarah
3/26/2015 09:53:54 am

50-100mkg of iodine per 100g of meat (not fish) is a safe limit, both for growth/reproduction and adult cats. This is confirmed by the feed standards of FEDIAF, which are 130mkg iodine per 100g DM basis for adult cats, and 180mkg iodine per 100g DM basis för growth/reproduction.

Upper limit is 1100mkg iodine per 100g DM basis, so about 275-385mkg iodine is absolute maximum in AF per 100g, depending on the water content in the meat.

Reply
Robin
4/1/2015 11:28:41 am


Anne, I too appreciate and thank you for your raw food making education. Your help and knowledge over the years has been crucial for me. I have decided to start mixing my own raw food again. A couple of questions...why do you add the Glandular support and should I also? I know in the beginning Shelby did and then took it out. I think I should be adding psyllium husk as that also used to be in the food and it so no longer and sometimes Augie will get diarrhea. How do I know what is right?
Robin

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