Why don't we just feed our cats red meat?

[Dilbertian]

I was reading somewhere that the top of a chicken wing, raw, is the equivalent of a mouse for a cat. The little raw bones are good for their teeth. It just lacks the taurine they need.

Which made me wonder, why do we feed our cats UPFs bulked out with vegetables and grains? Why don't we just give them red meat and chicken wing tips?

My cats are raw fed. It costs me about £40 a month to feed 2 cats. I don't think that's expensive?

Cats should not eat biscuits!!!

Hunting cats get vegetable matter from their prey's last meal. They also get worms from their prey. Part of the reason for cooking cat food is to kill worms and other parasites, just as we cook meat for human consumption to kill parasites. I never see the people who advocate raw diets for pets eating raw meat themselves.

Cats fish from rivers and ponds if given a chance. The cat I had as a child once brought a fish home from someone's pond...

I know someone who does this. Apparently her cats are very healthy (and they're not young) but I'd be afraid of getting the balance wrong. I considered it when I first had my young girl, who is allergic to...everything....but we've settled on a turkey diet which she seems well on. Its surprisingly hard to find a turkey-only wet food. Even the James Wellbeloved is often out of stock. She is definitely allergic to chicken, fish and beef. She was scratching herself raw when I first had her.

Oh, gosh, thanks for the heads up - our vet actually recommended it for our previous cat and we just carried it on assuming it was decent. I’ll give them a ring today and ask if they can recommend something else.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses general speaking, vets know very, very little about animal nutrition.

I would bet good money that your vet is paid to sell Royal Canin.

People do feed their cats non processed food. You can buy whole dried chicks, etc.

Sushi? Steak Tartare? Prosciutto? Bresaola?

There’s loads of asmr raw feeding videos on tiktok where people feed their cats all sorts of stuff like this. One of the content creators made a video saying how much money her cat feeding videos make her and she averages 12k a month! I’m seriously thinking of stocking up on the quail eggs and freeze dried mackerel 😁

Sushi? Steak Tartare? Prosciutto? Bresaola?

The fish used for sushi has to be a certain type though, to make sure it's safe, and steak tartare isn't necessarily safe. The other two are cured meats so not raw either.

I had a very old cat that started to eat raw meat dog food because her thyroid started playing up and she was always hungry, so I would feed her extra whenever I fed the dog. We had thyroid medication we rubbed in her ears but it wasn’t that effective. The raw meat did wonders for her coat, it went from being dry and flaky to silky and luxuriant. Im not sure she would have chosen to eat it under normal circumstances though.

@MxFlibble what is the 100% meat dry food please?

Prosciutto is cured. Sushi refers to food wrapped in seaweed. Are you thinking of sashimi, which is inherently risky to eat in the same way that tartare steak is?

I don't see people sitting down to a raw pork chop or a raw chicken breast. We understand that eating raw meat is risky for humans, so why wouldn't we apply that logic to cats?

@minipie I apologise, I've just read the packet and I've lead you astray - their favourite is the pure turkey one, but now I read the packet, it's only 70% turkey and 30% fruits and veg (grain free)

https://www.maxizoo.ie/c/cat/catfood/dry-food/?q=%3A%3Abrand%3ARENA

So not 100% meat, might not meet your requirements. I find it very good though - it's the food that my cats have continuously been willing to eat, unlike wet food where they've changed brands/preferences every little while (despite starting off on raw meat, then me trying to be very careful to not let them get used to anyone type).

They won't currently eat the wet food in the same range, but that's also so nice that I once accidentally licked the fork after spooning out some cat pate, and didn't realise until I was walking towards the dishwasher with it.

Sashimi is frozen to get rid of parasites. Steak tartare (prepared well) is fine too - both are of course dodgy from dodgy sources.

I eat my steak rare, lamb chops too, happily eat Sashimi, and I've had steak tartare (with a raw egg yolk!) when somewhere I trusted.

Salad and cheese can give you listeria or salmonella - it's all in the handling.

I give my cats bits of raw rather than cooked meat if they want it because they're cats - they drink out of ponds, have been known to catch mice and carry them with their mouths - both are much riskier behaviour than a chunk of raw chicken breast straight from the fridge, that I'm about to cook for myself.

Edit: oh yes, and they lick their own poo from their own bottoms.

Cats eating rodents/birds aren't just getting what we think of as meat and bone, it's all the offally bits and fur/feathers and whatever is in the digestive tract at the time as well, so even a "natural" cat's diet will include roughage, grains and vegetable matter, as well as partially digested insects and not yet hatched eggs. So whilst they are obligate carnivores, the sort of cleansed and prepped meat given as "raw" food isn't particularly representative of their "natural" diet at all (insofar as domesticated cats have a "natural" diet!).

My cats are raw fed. They have a commercial mix as their main food but will have a chicken wing or a day old chick as a treat.

I don't see people sitting down to a raw pork chop or a raw chicken breast. We understand that eating raw meat is risky for humans, so why wouldn't we apply that logic to cats?

Because their guts are different to ours. Yes, I will eat sashimi (thanks), but I will not eat a mouse, guts and fur and rectum and everything, raw or roasted. Similarly, I will eat chocolate, but I would not feed it to my cat.

Funnily enough I went to wing yip earlier to try and find some duck necks for my growing kittens. Apparently one a week keeps teeth clean..they got chickens feet instead…yuk!

cats are obligate carnivores I believe

You can just raw feed. Mine is a fussy bugger and would rather he just got biscuits to eat
There's a Facebook group that helps with the calculations and has basic recipes of what to feed

I force a pouch of Sheba down him on the grounds some wet food is better than none, and he's on hills urinary food dry
He will eat raw chicken, bits of beef or beef mince, turkey mince etc so I just give him a bit of what I'm cooking or buy what ever is reduced

Current advice is to avoid feeding raw poultry due to the avian flu. It's transmissible to cats and can be fatal.

I don't personally see a huge difference in minimally processed but cooked foods vs minimally processed raw foods.

No advice on the topic, but my old cat used to go bonkers for roast beef.
If we were roasting a beef joint, you could guarantee to find him sat by the oven! DH and I uses to joke that he'd never manage to catch a cow by himself.

Our old stable cat went for a deer once. She used to bring 2 rabbits back at a time and once appeared dragging a pheasant

She also had a strange love for leek and potato soup, and you risked losing a limb if you tried to take it off her

just saw this thread and posted on other thread

Mine gets ox or pig heart raw from Morrisons. It is human grade meat
he also gets the frozen fish from Aldi. He does not like it cooked so defrosted and raw
he also gets perfect fit biscuit
he also gets pouches but just licks the gravy off them 😖
he does also eat mice. and dreamies.

also he likes a raw chicken wing