Omega 3's And Cats

Destiny

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Sep 26, 2012
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I think I already know the answer lol but here it goes: Has Dr Peat addressed omega 3's/fish oil and feline/canine nutrition? I am feeding my cats raw for the past month or so and want to make sure omega 3's are just as unneeded or bad for pets as they are for humans?
 

marcar72

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Jun 14, 2013
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I would say PUFA would be a bit worse for felines since they have a slightly higher body temperature than humans do. I think all those slick advertising campaigns for fish based cat foods are a gimmick to create a market for unwanted fish! They know your cat isn't gonna say a word as to how terrible it all is really! That's because cats can't talk, ingenious really... :p
 
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Oct 18, 2013
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Tons of PUFA aside, I always wonder if cats can properly detox the mercury from all of that tuna. Really, there's multiple reasons why fish-based diets are bad for people, so why would they be much better for cats? I might be ignorant to the nuances of cat biology, however.
 

Stilgar

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May 16, 2013
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I dropped cod liver oil from my cats raw food recipe, which was the only seriously offending item left in their food. They have been off it for about a year. I think they lost a bit of belly fat, but they have always looked healthy. Their food is now ground meat - mostly beef, offal, bone meal, taurine, a bit of msm, kelp, a bit of greens and water. I don't know if what is left is ideal, but they love it. Destiny, what goes into your raw kitty food?
 

Surfari

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Jan 11, 2013
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Destiny & Stilgar - it sounds like you are making your own cat food. I'm so impressed!

I've bought raw food, but it's expensive and one cat can't tolerate even a bite. I've been adding coconut oil to help offset the pufas but I know it's not the best.

Would either of you care to share your recipe?
 

Stilgar

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May 16, 2013
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1/2 cup bone meal powder
1 lbs (~500g) ground/minced beef, turkey or lamb.
1 lbs (~500g) meat chunks, e.g. beef cheek, pork cheek, stewing steak, turkey breast etc in pieces your cats can handle
1.5 tablespoons additional bone meal for Beef; 1 tablespoon for Lamb. No extra for turkey or chicken.
1/4 teaspoon taurine powder
1 tsp kelp
1/4 tsp MSM
1/2 tsp egg shell powder
1/2 tsp - 1 tbsp. green powder (e.g. wheatgrass), chopped parsley or something similar
10,000 IU vitamin A OR a small piece of liver
3-4 kidneys, heart if I can get it (rarely)
100-200 IU vitamin E
Optional 1 whole egg

Mix altogether with water to give a good consistency. Use less to begin with and add more slowly so as not to make it too wet.

I am not that precise these days. This recipe was adapted from an American recipe so forgive some of the English proportions. The recipe used to contain grains, brewers or nutritional yeast, vegetable oil and lecithin, all of which I have found to be unnecessary. It might mean the proportions are not the feline ideal, but they seem to be very healthy. I have made it so many times that I have an idea of the proportions and I just go by eye most of the time. I mostly use beef because that is the first thing the cats would eat raw (they were on commercial pet food previously), and would not eat turkey or chicken straight. Beef is also much cheaper than chicken in the UK. I would use rabbit or game if I had a bigger freezer. I buy cheaper cuts and dice them myself if I have time. I'd also give them bones (e.g. rabbit carcasses) if I could source them. I'd also add gelatine, but it is mostly in sheets in the UK, which are a bit annoying to use. I might try it sometime. It freezes great, I often have frozen it in portions. Otherwise, it lasts about a week in the fridge.

Hope that inspires!
 

Surfari

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Jan 11, 2013
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Stilgar - Thanks so much! That's great information. My kitties thank you too.
 
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Destiny

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Sep 26, 2012
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I use this recipe http://tcfeline.com/2012/04/27/original ... od-recipe/ I dont add salmon oil but give them krill oil (Mercola came out with an airless pump for pets ) just cause I dont know if cats are different than humans, so I give a pump 3-4 times a week on top of their food. I dont add the vitamins however. Since I cant find heart I double the taurine. Taurine is very important and can degrade a bit by storage so I add a bit several times a week on top of their food (too much is harmless and it is inexpensive). I also add gelatin 1 TBS/recipe which I read elsewhere. I may add a bit more next time to make it more Ppeaty maybe :). I just found veal kidney and will add that to the mix next time I make a batch. I use different ground meats, chicken, turkey, lamb, beef. I also add the whole egg. On the side I feed them a couple gizzards each day which are chewy which is good for their teeth. I cant feed chunky over all since my girl cat is too playful and would flip and shoot it all over our apartment, and she LOVES dragging it on my rug, big NO NO! Lol I freeze mine in small sandwich bags and take out a new one each time I feed, which is am and pm. I warm the meat in warm water.
 
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Destiny

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I figure a little krill might be a good thing or atleast not hurt since I dont feed grass fed meat to them.
 

pranarupa

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Oct 14, 2012
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I tried feeding a cat a teaspoon of fish oil once, she (the cat) sniffed the oil, turned and gave me a look of puzzlement that seemed to say;
"what the hell is wrong with you? This stuff stinks, stupid human."

She was quite happy with a teaspoon of butter though.
 
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Destiny

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Sep 26, 2012
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I asked Dr Peat and he said "A little fish won't hurt." and about adding krill oil "I doubt that it would be beneficial."
 

Nikki

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Jul 28, 2016
Messages
118
1/2 cup bone meal powder
1 lbs (~500g) ground/minced beef, turkey or lamb.
1 lbs (~500g) meat chunks, e.g. beef cheek, pork cheek, stewing steak, turkey breast etc in pieces your cats can handle
1.5 tablespoons additional bone meal for Beef; 1 tablespoon for Lamb. No extra for turkey or chicken.
1/4 teaspoon taurine powder
1 tsp kelp
1/4 tsp MSM
1/2 tsp egg shell powder
1/2 tsp - 1 tbsp. green powder (e.g. wheatgrass), chopped parsley or something similar
10,000 IU vitamin A OR a small piece of liver
3-4 kidneys, heart if I can get it (rarely)
100-200 IU vitamin E
Optional 1 whole egg

Mix altogether with water to give a good consistency. Use less to begin with and add more slowly so as not to make it too wet.

I am not that precise these days. This recipe was adapted from an American recipe so forgive some of the English proportions. The recipe used to contain grains, brewers or nutritional yeast, vegetable oil and lecithin, all of which I have found to be unnecessary. It might mean the proportions are not the feline ideal, but they seem to be very healthy. I have made it so many times that I have an idea of the proportions and I just go by eye most of the time. I mostly use beef because that is the first thing the cats would eat raw (they were on commercial pet food previously), and would not eat turkey or chicken straight. Beef is also much cheaper than chicken in the UK. I would use rabbit or game if I had a bigger freezer. I buy cheaper cuts and dice them myself if I have time. I'd also give them bones (e.g. rabbit carcasses) if I could source them. I'd also add gelatine, but it is mostly in sheets in the UK, which are a bit annoying to use. I might try it sometime. It freezes great, I often have frozen it in portions. Otherwise, it lasts about a week in the fridge.

Hope that inspires!


This is far too much bone meal for cats. Please be careful. Bone meal shoukd be closer to 1tsp to 1 tbsp per pound of meat and organs. More will throw off the cakcium phosphorus balance and can case megacolon (happened to 2 ofcmy cats on commercial raw diet with too much bone). Dr lisa pierson has a good recipe online.

Nikki
 

Stilgar

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May 16, 2013
Messages
363
Oh no! Well it is interesting you say that because I think it is an interesting debate. I don't use bone meal anymore now, as I was concerned about quality. My cats love bones though, and will seek them out from the bins outside our house if we don't provide them. From Ray's perspective though, wouldn't the higher calcium not be more preferential? Cats clearly have an important need for a balanced ratio, but other vitamins and influences such as magnesium retention may be controlling the calcium. The addition of vitamin E, A and K in the appropriate ratios can make all the difference to being able to handle more calcium, especially vitamin E. I also live in a very dark climate, and low vitamin D is a concern for them.

I agree that care and a watchful eye for any problems is essential. Sticking to 'raw' or homemade is not worth it if the cat's health is at risk.
 

Nikki

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Jul 28, 2016
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Agreed that additional A, E, K can allow a mammal to utilize "more" calcium but 15-20x what would occur in prey, doesn't seem like it would be necessary or safe. Raw ged pets are already generally getting far more calcium (plus minerals in general & glycine) than people.

Im not familiar with magnesium retention in cats and its effect on calcium metabolism. I'm guessimg animals fed meat farmed in USA may be magnesium deficient which makes lower calcium levels the safer option for preventing constipation if one does not supplement magnesium.

Ie. My cats get ground bone but even the ratio of bone:meat in chicken legs is too high (stool is very hard, not easy to pass and enemas may be needed). If I grind legs, I have to remove 1 out of 3 bones or add in additional ground meat OR veggies/fiber to prevent plug ups. I look at bone:meat:fat:eek:rgan:roughage content of prey and try to stay close to mother nature's recipe. Small animals like mice and birds have less bone to muscle and rarely are these wild animals obese like our commercial xhicken tends to be.
I do not know how much of RP's principles arw applicable yo cats. I b wish i ubderstood more.
 

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