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Feeding raw that is not all ground up

MrFluffyBoy

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I think I'll look for herring that's been deboned and frozen whole. I'll cut it in pieces and weight it for the appropriate portions. I'd love to give him sardines but don't think a fish so small would easily be deboned! And I agree with the sardines in water, they have to put something to preserve it!

Darn stubborn cat, if only he would just eat ground up food! Lol

I'll keep you posted!
 

Condo commando

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The Atlantic herring that they sell where I shop are not even 6 inches long so not much bigger than a sardine. But supposedly their bones are so tiny that you and I can eat them - not advocating that of course, just saying. It might be worth a shot if you can only get it whole to take one home and see the bone for yourself.
 

Condo commando

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No they're small which is exactly what you want. Big fish accumulate mercury and parasites. Stick to little fish, wild caught not farmed, and frozen. Good luck!!!
 
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MrFluffyBoy

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Yes that makes sense! The bigger the fish, the older it is so more time to get bad stuff in it. I'm sure I can find a sardine somewhere, like a chinese market? They always have a lot of fish!
 

Condo commando

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Exactly - that's the problem with the big fish!

For what it's worth I just buy the fish from pet food retailers. They sell it without it being smoked, pickled or anything else and it's reasonably priced. If you were in the USA I'd hook you up but my gosh Canada should have everything we have. We need to get @Xandria back because she's at least in Canada and might be able to help.
 

MrFluffyBoy

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Alright, just went looking for some fish that has been deboned. It's actually pretty hard to find! We also have a raw pet food store, I went there and they did have herring but it wasn't deboned. The lady suggested I add this supplement on Fluffy's meat. I took a picture of it. Let me know what you think!

IMG_4254.JPG
IMG_4256.JPG
 

Condo commando

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@MrFluffyBoy that is interesting. They say "balanced omega 3 and 6" which means they know there is a right balance. The reason I stopped using fish oil supplements is they all have so little omega 3 compared to omega 6. I was afraid that I was doing more harm than good. This is why I decided to go for the actual fish.

So now let's take a look at the label on your supplement....

1. All the pet food companies seem to do this but anyway their label says "min" or "minimum" by omega 3 and omega 6. So you don't know exactly how much you are getting. I understand they can't know EXACTLY because the batches vary but still - why don't they give the maximum? Most likely they are barely scraping over the 250 mg of omega 3 but high hurdling over the omega 6. But this is not the most concerning thing.....

2. What's very concerning is the omega 3 in this supplement is mostly from flax seed, which is Linoleic or Alpha Linoleic Acid (ALA). Cats don't get as much benefit from this; what they need are EPA and DHA and I won't even try to spell them out but these are the main 2, not ALA. It's just like all proteins aren't created equal....neither are all omega 3's. Then the second ingredient is rice bran, which is controversial because it may lead to taurine deficiency, not to mention cats have zero nutritional requirement fo grains.

I don't want to sound like a radical nutrition freak so here is an article on omega 3 from an actual vet:
Choosing an Omega-3 Oil for Your Pet | Little Big Cat
It has a good rundown of what choices are out there for omega 3 and what to look for so please take a look. And of course if you ever want my 2 cents I'm here!
 
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Condo commando

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By the way, if you just don't want to deal with filleting but you can source whole herring, you can make your own ground herring with a little food chopper.
 
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MrFluffyBoy

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Yeah, after reading the ingredients I'm a bit put off, I should have read it while at the store! lol I mean "groud flaxseed, rice, molasses"?? Those are the first ingredients! That's just not right. I will try to return it today. I'll keep searching for a whole fish, I haven't looked at the chinese market yet!

If I could ground it up it would make my life way easier! But that is the whole issue with my cat that started it all.... He won't eat if his food is all ground up. It's the texture he doesn't like. I'll still try it, maybe just the smell of the fish will be enticing enough!! haha

Always appreciate your input! :happy:
 

Condo commando

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Ah sorry I forgot (ground = reject)!

This is kind of gross but here is a video on cleaning herring. It's not only more species appropriate but it's cheap too.


If I had to choose something else I think I would go for canned sardines, not that they're perfect (high sodium), but they're easy to find and reasonably priced.
BRUNSWICK® Sardines in Spring Water » BRUNSWICK
Learn About Sardines » BRUNSWICK

If you look at the nutrition label on the can it says 1.5 grams of omega 3 which is 1500 mg. You only need between 150 mg and 200 mg per day, per 10 pounds of body weight. A tiny serving is all it takes.

The can is only good for 4 days after opening so unfortunately you end up tossing some of it. Or here's a trick to make tiny frozen portions - use an ice cube tray to make little cubes that you can take out one at a time.

Remember just by feeding a raw diet with the right balance of bones, organ and muscle meat you are already giving Fluff really good nutrition. If you can do the fish oil, even better, but that alone is not going to be a deal-breaker. Hope that makes sense!
 
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MrFluffyBoy

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Well that doesn't look too complicated! I agree, the bones just slide out! I'm from the coast and grew up eating fish, so I should be able to debone and gut one... But I've gotten spoiled with buying it all prepared! lol If my mother was here, she would fillet this fish in seconds!

I've actually just returned the supplements and bought full herrings from the raw pet food store. Now, I remove the fins and bones. Should I leave the rest in? In the video they gut the whole fish for humans to eat, but should cats eat the guts or just the fillet with skin on?

You also mentioned fish oil? Would this work just as well as the actual fish? Because they did sell it at the store.

Oh man, Fluffy is such a picky eater! My husband says I cater to my cat more then my own kid and husband! :LOL:
 

Condo commando

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Ha ha to your husband it probably looks that way!

So about this whole fish - I am pretty sure my ground herring has everything included. I might be feeding caviar - who knows. But if it were me cutting that fish I would leave the skin but not the guts. If Fluff doesn't seem to like the skin you can remove it. He is a picky little guy after all.

Ummm no, don't buy fish oil; this usually is loaded with omega 6. When I saîd fish oil I just meant the fish oil in the fish.
 
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MrFluffyBoy

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Bhaaa I'm beyond the yuck factor now! lol The fish is thawing now, I might attack it tonight or wait until tomorrow. I will keep you posted! By the way, I did look for some ground up fish just to try, but they only had salmon and another kind of fish I've never heard of - hake fish?? The salmon had veggies in it so that's a no go. But has anyone heard of hake fish? I haven't researched it yet.
 

Condo commando

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Sorry, never heard of hake. Look to see if it's wild caught and not farmed, that's the main thing. I look at the price too. For example last year there was a ban on sardines because it was determined that the sardine population was too low, so the price of sardines shot up. Herring stayed cheap so no problem, but if herring had gone up too I was ready to switch to mackerel or salmon. Sometimes it's worth it to adjust a little bit.
 

MrFluffyBoy

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Alright. Good news! Fluffy loves herring!! Bad news, I really suck at removing the bones. I mean REALLY bad. This fish was super small though. I'll try again with a bigger one next time! Fluffy ate the guts with a lot of enthousiasme! He even started eating the head! But seriously, these bones are impossible to remove. The girl in the video makes it look super easy, not the case! I wish I could attach the video of Fluffy with the head! But it says the file is too big, so I'm just attaching a picture of the end result of the removed bones. Warning to those who can't stomach a dead fish and gut.

IMG_4306.JPG
 

Condo commando

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Mmmmmm the smell of fish guts! I am sure Fluff appreciates the effort :D
Glad you found something he likes and who knows....may he likes it enough to eat it ground.

Our cats are lucky..I mean first they are bald but it just so happens this is a plus. Then their humans will provide them surf and turf, a la guts. Good life if you can get it (y)
 
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SickSideJojo

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I have a random question.. if my cat is allergic to fish what would i be able to supplement for omega 3? Im thinking of switching to raw since my kitty has bad allergies, she breaks out in hives and gets really itchy... all I've figured out for sure is she is allergic to fish but now there is something else and i would rather know exactly what's shes getting than guessing what might have triggered it in whatever she got to eat that day... thanks for anyone's help in advance
 
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