Welcome to Sphynxlair! Connect with Sphynx owners & enthusiasts around the world!

oilyanimalhuman

Lairian
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
100
Points
36
Hi, do you think the Natural Instinct Turkey raw meat Country Banquet (Cat) Turkey has all the needed, nutritional ingredients in it? And the other Natural Instinct raw meat ones? Does the Natural Instinct Turkey raw meat contain taurine? And if so, is it enough taurine? What percentage or how much taurine should be given daily and how often? If I supplemented taurine in the raw meat, will it unbalance the taurine in the raw meat if there were any? Can you give too much taurine and would that be bad? Is there any other supplements or nutrients I can supplement the raw meat with? Would you recommend and is it safe? has anybody had any experience with Natural Instinct raw meat? What is your opinion on it? Do you think it contains everything it needs or should I supplement it? What do you feed your animals and what supplements do you give them and would recommend? Do you think homemade prepared raw meat would be good to eventually make or not? Your advice and opinions would be great! Thank you!
 

oilyanimalhuman

Lairian
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
100
Points
36
What do you think of the Natural Instinct fish raw meat as well? Country Banquet (Cat) Fish it says it contains taurine in the description but I’m not sure how much taurine it contains. Would that one be better? Should I supplement the Natural Instinct Turkey raw meat one with taurine? What taurine powder supplement would you recommend? Thank you!
 

oilyanimalhuman

Lairian
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
100
Points
36
Thank you Yoda Mom! :) also another question, is it safe to feed cats clams? if so, how often? Has anybody had any experiences on it? Any advice would be great! Thank you!
 

SallyJaneAnn

Lairian
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
36
Points
19
What do you think of the Natural Instinct fish raw meat as well? Country Banquet (Cat) Fish it says it contains taurine in the description but I’m not sure how much taurine it contains. Would that one be better? Should I supplement the Natural Instinct Turkey raw meat one with taurine? What taurine powder supplement would you recommend? Thank you!
I buy Taurine in 50mg tablets from my health food shop. In the past I have ground each tablet into powder and added it daily to my Sphynx's breakfast bowl - the recommended daily intake is ... 50mg. If I could do anything better could you let me know please?
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
There is no such thing as too much taurine; if they take too much it just comes out in their pee. So add as much as you want.

I prefer the turkey or chicken recipe because too much fish is not good. Fish isn't even natural cat food (except in cartoons where there's a goldfish swimming in a bowl, but that's another story).

Even though there is taurine in turkey/chicken hearts, they use less than 5% hearts and that doesn't seem like enough. What I would do is feed an extra 2 ounces of chicken or turkey hearts per week per cat. I always do a meal of hearts on the weekend so it's a routine and I don't forget. Feeding hearts should save you a little bit of money because hearts are cheaper than regular food.

I don't see omega 3's in the turkey recipe but you have a couple of options.....one is you could provide a meal of raw sardines or herring once or twice per week. Or, you could just feed the Country Banquet Fish recipe a couple of times per week. Remember it's not good to feed a lot of fish so ideally keep the total fish to 10% of their diet and make the other 90% turkey, chicken or something else.
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
Thank you Yoda Mom! :) also another question, is it safe to feed cats clams? if so, how often? Has anybody had any experiences on it? Any advice would be great! Thank you!
I honestly have never heard this one before. The idea of feeding fish is for omega 3's. I looked them up and clams do contain omega 3's, but I don't know if there's something else in them that is harmful to pets. Maybe someone else can chime in.

BTW normally for omega 3's it's sardines, herring or some small fish like that OR green lipped mussels. Those are the sources of omega 3 that are recommended.
 

SallyJaneAnn

Lairian
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
36
Points
19
There is no such thing as too much taurine; if they take too much it just comes out in their pee. So add as much as you want.

I prefer the turkey or chicken recipe because too much fish is not good. Fish isn't even natural cat food (except in cartoons where there's a goldfish swimming in a bowl, but that's another story).

Even though there is taurine in turkey/chicken hearts, they use less than 5% hearts and that doesn't seem like enough. What I would do is feed an extra 2 ounces of chicken or turkey hearts per week per cat. I always do a meal of hearts on the weekend so it's a routine and I don't forget. Feeding hearts should save you a little bit of money because hearts are cheaper than regular food.

I don't see omega 3's in the turkey recipe but you have a couple of options.....one is you could provide a meal of raw sardines or herring once or twice per week. Or, you could just feed the Country Banquet Fish recipe a couple of times per week. Remember it's not good to feed a lot of fish so ideally keep the total fish to 10% of their diet and make the other 90% turkey, chicken or something else.

Thank you so much, I found that really helpful. I knew that taurine wasn't harmful - but did not know that kitties pee'd away the excess. So ... truly .... no harm done. Thank you for such a long and knowledgeable reply, I appreciate it ... and your time ... especially since you could be cuddling on of your little ones x
 

Yoda mom

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
26,181
Points
653
@oilyanimalhuman I was curious about the clams

Raw Seafood
Raw tuna, anchovies (Caesar salad anyone?), sardines, herring, carp, mussels, clams, and other water-dwelling critters contain the thiaminase enzymes, which break down and can cause a deficiency of thiamine, an important B vitamin.

I would not feed clams

if ever in doubt, check with your vet
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
@Yoda mom that's interesting. Here's a good explanation of the thiamine/thiaminase interaction.

Here's the skinny version. You have to provide omega 3 in the diet. All of the omega 3 supplements I've seen in health stores contain a high amount of omega 6. Omega 6 are NOT what you want, so that is the main reason to stay away from supplements. But be aware fish has risks; it isn't just thiaminase but also the bigger the fish the more mercury and other contaminants they've ingested. So choose the fish you feed wisely and even then, limit the amount you feed. Remember you are giving it for omega 3 supplementation only.
 

SallyJaneAnn

Lairian
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
36
Points
19
@oilyanimalhuman I was curious about the clams

Raw Seafood
Raw tuna, anchovies (Caesar salad anyone?), sardines, herring, carp, mussels, clams, and other water-dwelling critters contain the thiaminase enzymes, which break down and can cause a deficiency of thiamine, an important B vitamin.

I would not feed clams

if ever in doubt, check with your vet
Thanking you I am! (I speak Jedi Master too!) All this is incredibly helpful x
 

oilyanimalhuman

Lairian
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
100
Points
36
I have read all that has been said. Thank you for all the informative advice! I'm appreciative! I emailed somebody who works for Natural Instinct and they said that the turkey has naturally occurring taurine at 1.25 grams per 100 grams which I am unsure if is enough. I feed around 1/4 of the 500g tubs per day. If somebody could tell me if that is enough taurine, please? I would appreciate it! They said adding taurine in would unbalance the taurine in it so how would I give more taurine? Do I buy the organic turkey/chicken necks or hearts? In a supermarket and do I get organic ones? Would that definitely be enough taurine? I will email about the omega 3's. Do you think the benefits outway the risks of feeding the fish one a few times per week? Do you think the raw sardines or herring would be better? is there not omega 3 supplements without the omega 6? Does contain omega 3's? What would be better to feed for omega 3's that cause less of a thiamine deficiency? Thank you everyone for your informative replies!
 
Last edited:

Sheldon13

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
9,901
Points
613
I think sardines are the best way to go. Or anchovies (without all the added salt and oil- just raw anchovies). Basically the rule is to consume fishes as low on the food chain as possible. This makes it less likely that they are stuffed with contaminants. Think about it, let’s say a minnow is eaten by a sardine, who is eaten by a bass, who is eaten by a salmon, who is eaten by a shark (I know these fish don’t live together it is just an example)...each larger fish consumes the contaminants of the smaller fish before it. So by the time you reach the top of the food chain that shark has the contaminants from every single fish down the line.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need
 

oilyanimalhuman

Lairian
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
100
Points
36
I think sardines are the best way to go. Or anchovies (without all the added salt and oil- just raw anchovies). Basically the rule is to consume fishes as low on the food chain as possible. This makes it less likely that they are stuffed with contaminants. Think about it, let’s say a minnow is eaten by a sardine, who is eaten by a bass, who is eaten by a salmon, who is eaten by a shark (I know these fish don’t live together it is just an example)...each larger fish consumes the contaminants of the smaller fish before it. So by the time you reach the top of the food chain that shark has the contaminants from every single fish down the line.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need
Raw sardines from the supermarket? Fresh or frozen? That makes sense. Do you feed your animals sardines and how many and how often? Thank you for your reply!
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
I think sardines are the best way to go. Or anchovies (without all the added salt and oil- just raw anchovies). Basically the rule is to consume fishes as low on the food chain as possible. This makes it less likely that they are stuffed with contaminants. Think about it, let’s say a minnow is eaten by a sardine, who is eaten by a bass, who is eaten by a salmon, who is eaten by a shark (I know these fish don’t live together it is just an example)...each larger fish consumes the contaminants of the smaller fish before it. So by the time you reach the top of the food chain that shark has the contaminants from every single fish down the line.
Yes, smaller fish haven't eaten all the junk. Sardines and herring are usually what is recommended; they are very close in size and both of them are quite economical as well.

In the beginning, I used to buy tinned sardines packed in water. These contain sodium (which you don't really want) but for the small amount I was feeding it wasn't that much sodium and I preferred to do that than buy some bigger fish and worry about mercury and whatever else they could have ingested.
 

Sheldon13

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
9,901
Points
613
Same here I just bought the ones in a tin with water. (They think this is a treat!). I only fed this like once a month though. Otherwise, I added sardine/anchovy oil to the raw food I made.


You can get raw frozen sardines and herring without the sodium at hare-today.com

Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
As far as how much sardines/herring to feed, I give each cat 3-4 ounces per week.

I buy them raw so they come with the head and everything. I grind them and stir in with their other food....nothing goes to waste. If I were going to feed them whole, I think I would cut off the tail and the head (because the head has a lot of bones) and then slit the sardine lengthwise and remove the bone down the middle. Little bones are a choke risk so I'd rather be safe.

If you buy the tinned sardines, they come beheaded and ready to eat, so you don't have to do anything but put them in your cat's food dish.
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
I emailed somebody who works for Natural Instinct and they said that the turkey has naturally occurring taurine at 1.25 grams per 100 grams which I am unsure if is enough. I feed around 1/4 of the 500g tubs per day. If somebody could tell me if that is enough taurine, please? I would appreciate it!
Different parts of the animal have varying amounts but far and away the heart has the most taurine. The way to feed any nutrient is pro rata according to the amount of food. For example, let's say we decide to make food in a ratio of 1 ounce of hearts for every 10 ounces of other meat. Let's also assume we have 2 cats....if one cat eats 5 ounces, he would heat 1/2 ounce of hearts.....if another cat eats 10 ounces, he would eat 1 full ounce of hearts. But both of them have consumed the right amount of taurine because it is based on the amount of food they consume. In theory, if the food is made right, all you have to do is feed your cats and they get the right amount of taurine.....but read on :)


They said adding taurine in would unbalance the taurine in it so how would I give more taurine?
Taurine doesn't have one, single, perfect amount. There is a recommended range. But the reality is that cat food is on the low end of the range. Why? Because it costs money, so pet food manufacturers put the minimum required amount. So for a cat to have too much taurine, you would have to give A LOT, WHOLE LOT, TREMENDOUSLY LOT of taurine to cause a problem. On the other hand, a taurine deficiency is much more common. In the beginning, pet food manufacturers didn't add taurine to cat food at all. It was also like that for dog food, but while dogs were fine, cats were going blind. They studied it and found out that dogs produce taurine in their bodies, but cats don't. That is when it became a requirement to add taurine to cat food. You see, it's really important to add it, and you shouldn't just leave it to the pet food manufacturers.


Do I buy the organic turkey/chicken necks or hearts? In a supermarket and do I get organic ones? Would that definitely be enough taurine?
You don't have to buy organic, but anything you feed raw needs to be fresh. If you can buy frozen that is better, but it's hard to find hearts that have been frozen so in that case look for stores that have a lot of turnover. The more turnover the fresher the food.


I will email about the omega 3's. Do you think the benefits outway the risks of feeding the fish one a few times per week? Do you think the raw sardines or herring would be better? is there not omega 3 supplements without the omega 6?
Yes, the benefit of raw fish outweighs the risk. I have never found a supplement that was high in omega 3 without being higher in omega 6. Here is an article that explains it...this is talking about humans but it's the same concept.
 

Condo commando

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
4,070
Points
568
@oilyanimalhuman this is talking about adding taurine to cat food that already contains taurine.

"...and the fact that supplementation is relatively safe with no reports of any issues associated with overdose, it might be beneficial to always have a small amount of excess in your raw cat food. So what would be a reasonable amount to add? It is approximately 250 mg of taurine per 1 lb of meat."

Entire article is here:
 

SallyJaneAnn

Lairian
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
36
Points
19
I have read all that has been said. Thank you for all the informative advice! I'm appreciative! I emailed somebody who works for Natural Instinct and they said that the turkey has naturally occurring taurine at 1.25 grams per 100 grams which I am unsure if is enough. I feed around 1/4 of the 500g tubs per day. If somebody could tell me if that is enough taurine, please? I would appreciate it! They said adding taurine in would unbalance the taurine in it so how would I give more taurine? Do I buy the organic turkey/chicken necks or hearts? In a supermarket and do I get organic ones? Would that definitely be enough taurine? I will email about the omega 3's. Do you think the benefits outway the risks of feeding the fish one a few times per week? Do you think the raw sardines or herring would be better? is there not omega 3 supplements without the omega 6? Does contain omega 3's? What would be better to feed for omega 3's that cause less of a thiamine deficiency? Thank you everyone for your informative replies!


Lovely to meet you Sphynxie Mummy x And like YodaMom thank you for all your research. I am picking up my new baby tomorrow, so have been busy preparing for his arrival. Like you ... wanting toggle it 'all right' - especially Peanut's nutrition - it is SO important. In addition to his raw food - I will occasionally supplement his day (purely for variety) with Natural Instinct. All things considered ... since I am adding 500mg per day to an already rich taurine diet. I think this is enough. Having read the (really useful) thread on Sphynxlair regarding taurine ... and the fact that our kitties expel any excess that is not required ... I am comforted that I am doing the right thing. Always ask here first. The lovely ladies I've spoken with, have a true wealth of experience - and are as near professionals in their own right as possible. I wish you and your little Prince/Princess all the very best ... write soon! x
PS: Where about in UK are you?
 

Yoda mom

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
26,181
Points
653
@oilyanimalhuman I currently use the Iceland pure products (almost half the price only around $19 on chewy in USA for 33 oz. -perhaps avail or like in your area)

here is a sardine/anchovie oil , they have a salmon too



 

SallyJaneAnn

Lairian
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
36
Points
19
@oilyanimalhuman I currently use the Iceland pure products (almost half the price only around $19 on chewy in USA for 33 oz. -perhaps avail or like in your area)

here is a sardine/anchovie oil , they have a salmon too




oooooh! I'll check that out!
 
Back
Top