New to raw and BARF

[sandrak]

I just found a place local to me that sells pre-made BARF patties. I didn't realise till I got home that it says on the label 'For dogs'. I only have cats. They are DR. Billinghurst's BARF patties. I can't see any reason why the cats shouldn't have them, but I just wanted to make sure

[sugarcatmom]

It's probably not a big deal to feed the patties you have, but I wouldn't do it too regularly: pre-made raw for dogs tends to have more vegetable matter than cats should typically be eating. Do they have an ingredient list?

[sandrak]

Okay, thanks so much for your help



Ingredients: Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, finely ground chicken bone, beef liver, whole egg, fresh yoghurt, seasonal vegetables selected from: cabbage, cauliflower, celery, coloured lettuce, spinach, carrot, bok choy, capsicum, dried alfa leaf powder, ground flax seed meal, beef kidney, beef heart, beef tripe, seasonal fruit selected from: apple, pear, grapefruit, tomato, orange, banana, dried kelp powder and garlic.

Guaranteed analysis:

Moisture max: 70%
Crude protein min: 10.5 %
Crude fat min: 13%
crude fibre max: 2%
Calcium min:2.6%
Phosphorus min: 1.6%
Calcium:Phosphrus ratio: 1:0.6

[want4rain]

why do you want to feed this instead of putting together a meat only diet? they are obligate carnivores. they dont NEED veggies and i would worry abotu how they will digest the veggie matter along with the meat.

-ash

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by want4rain

why do you want to feed this instead of putting together a meat only diet? they are obligate carnivores. they dont NEED veggies and i would worry abotu how they will digest the veggie matter along with the meat.

-ash

I think she accidentally bought the ones for dogs and just wants to know if it would be harmful to feed them to her cats anyway.

These do appear to have lots of plant matter, but for the sake of just using them up, they aren't likely to cause a problem. Would the store be willing to exchange them? I'd actually be surprised if your cats even liked this food, to tell you the truth (especially with stuff like grapefruit and oranges in it - not typically cat-friendly foods).

My other concern with them is the number of protein sources they have: beef AND pork AND lamb AND chicken. It's generally better to have just one or two meats rather than the "meat-lover supreme". Sandrak, have your cats tried other raw diets before?

[want4rain]

yeah im not (personally... and i might be wrong here) too concerned abotu the different meat sources. they are different proteins but they will digest at BASICALLY the same rate as each other but veggies and grains, especially if they are uncooked, take a very long time to digest.

flax seed takes longer to digest and will likely hold up the digestion process of the meats, which DO have bacteria all over them. thats not normally an issue because it moves through their systems so fast.

at least thats what ive picked up so far. if im wrong, tell me and i will save myself the hassle of feeding it all separate with Mister.

*shrugs* if it were me, yeah, id go ahead and feed it and even just SEE if they will eat it. if they do, dont sweat it, feed just plain raw meet in between meals to make sure things keep moving like they should and that they get the protein they should.

(i could be totally wrong about all of this though!! got all of my info off the net.)

-ash

[sugarcatmom]

No, you're not wrong about vegetable matter digesting slower than meat. I think it also depends on just how much there is. For instance, the Nature's Variety raw medallions contain stuff like carrots and squash and ground flax as well, but it's less than 5% of the total, so I'm not too concerned. Many cats do very well on it, even the ones with IBD. But when you're looking at upwards of 20-30% fruits and vegetables, like is found in most of the dog formulas, it's getting a bit excessive for the feline digestive system.

[sandrak]

Thank you so much for the information everyone, I still have SO much to learn!

I decided to give the 'for dogs' patties to a friend for his dogs, and I went back to the store and got the cat ones.

I got two different kinds, kangaroo and turkey. Here is an ingredient list for both:

Turkey or Kangaroo meat, ground turkey or kangaroo bone, offal (a mixture of equal parts of heart and liver derived from beef and lamb), whole raw egg (no shell), fresh yoghurt, carrots, apples, dried alfalfa leaf powder and dried kelp powder.

Does this sound better?

Previously my cats have been fed mostly on kibble. I changed them about a year ago to Innova Evo grainless. Now I want to try BARF... Do you think the switch will be difficult? They get chicken wings and kangaroo bones occasionaly and they love them

[sugarcatmom]

Ya, I like those ingredients better for cats. Simpler and fewer veggies.

The fact that your cats even recognize chicken wings and kangaroo bones as food is the biggest part of the battle, so I really don't think you'll have a problem with the BARF diet. If there are things you find they won't eat at first, offer them again at other times (or mixed in with other foods) and they may eventually change their minds. My own cat now loves a number of foods (raw buffalo, for instance) that he initially thought was evil-in-a-bowl.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[want4rain]

yep, it took some serious persistence with mine. i had to offer liver with every single meal before one of my cats would eat it. even now if i dont offer it for a few days he will take another week to get back to it again.

that does sound MUCH better. too bad we cant get kangaroo.

-ash