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RAW DIET: VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES
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Susannah Wordsworth 2002-04-02 00:32:07 (Forum Archives)

I had fears about bacteria and parasites, and they inhibited me from trying to feed fresh raw meat for a long time. Then I began to actually believe that unheat-processed, properly balanced raw food for cats is really the food their bodies are made for and meant to eat.

I think giving real fresh human-grade meat is great. But longer term, giving only this unsupplemented as a main part of a diet is going to result in deficiencies which can be serious, for example without sufficient calcium and taurine a cat will get very sick. Raw meat has much more calcium than cooked, but raw heart contains the most taurine and if you aren't giving heart then you need to give a taurine supplement. Also, if you aren't giving ground bone, you need to give calcium in some other form, like calcium carbonate (from a drugstore, just give a little pinch per meal) or the crushed eggshells some give. I'm not sure how much eggshell is good, but to prepare it, you can just wash the egg, pour out the contents (yolk and white), remove the membrane from the shell and then crush the shell to fine powder. You don't need to cook it. Egg yolk (NOT the white as Mary said) uncooked is very good for cats though, maybe given two or three times a week maximum with other food. And can you find salmon oil. This oil is close to the oil a cat's natural prey would have, and you could just squeeze out a little with a raw chicken meal to provide some EFA's. I am just such an advocate of raw now. I know it can help the immune system and digestive system so much, I would hate to see a cat deprived of its benefits!