Feeding raw (wild) venison? & Syko update

[meowsyko]

Hi!

My landlord's son has been staying in the cabin on the property this past week, hunting and stuff. Today he gave me a hunk of raw venison as a parting gift. I don't eat meat...

But Syko does! Any issues feeding her raw, wild venison meat? I know pretty much nothing about this, maybe it might have parasites or something? Should I cook it for her?

I'm trying to get her to eat more raw, I picked up some raw ground turkey from the pet store here, and she seems to like it but they only had the dog one and there's pieces of bone in it I have to dig out before feeding to her. She also still loves to graze and I feel like I shouldn't leave raw meat out very long.. so I end up feeding her canned most of the time.

Btw Syko is doing well, loving life at the falls. She's been 'hunting' the many mice in our kitchen (she just stares at a spot where she saw one for hours, occasionally attempts a chase)... hopefully she scares some of them out of the house.. cause she's suuuch a scary cat . Her ears are STILL losing hair, symmetrically, and I might take her on the ferry to get a second opinion on that. Our vet isn't concerned but the internet, as usual, has some scary ideas about it.

 

[Gussie's mom (GA)]

Hi!! Great to see you!! Wow I have no clue as to the answer to your venison question but am so happy to see Syko is loving life at the Falls and is keeping the mouse population on alert!
Hope her ears reverse their balding pattern!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I don't think there's any issue with feeding organic venison. It's not a complete meal by itself so you would need to add a premix or other ingredients if you wanted to serve it by itself. But you could probably feed pieces as snacks. If you are worried about parasites, you could always cut it into smaller pieces and freeze it first.

A lot of the cat raw turkey varieties also have bone. That's fine for cats, as long as they aren't on a phosphorus restricted diet due to CKD. It is harder with raw food grazers. You don't want to leave the raw out for more than 1/2 hour. I used to give Neko small mini meals of raw - the amount eaten at once. Or I'd use the autofeeder with an ice pack to keep it cool.

 

[Gussie's mom (GA)]

The only thing I'd add to what Wendy wrote is that raw bone is fine, but if you decide to cook the meat I'd remove the bone bits. They get brittle when cooked.
I've been known to put some frozen raw in a dish to leave out when I knew I couldn't get back to give a snack when Gussies numbers were racing down the ladder.

 

[meowsyko]

Hi!! Great to see you!! Wow I have no clue as to the answer to your venison question but am so happy to see Syko is loving life at the Falls and is keeping the mouse population on alert!
Hope her ears reverse their balding pattern!

I think she's loving the Falls even more now that Gussie's joined her
I'm thinking it could have been an allergy to the Tiki Cat, since she has a lot of dandruff too... but she's been off that for a few weeks and still lodsing more hair

I don't think there's any issue with feeding organic venison. It's not a complete meal by itself so you would need to add a premix or other ingredients if you wanted to serve it by itself. But you could probably feed pieces as snacks. If you are worried about parasites, you could always cut it into smaller pieces and freeze it first.

A lot of the cat raw turkey varieties also have bone. That's fine for cats, as long as they aren't on a phosphorus restricted diet due to CKD. It is harder with raw food grazers. You don't want to leave the raw out for more than 1/2 hour. I used to give Neko small mini meals of raw - the amount eaten at once. Or I'd use the autofeeder with an ice pack to keep it cool.

I don't have a lot of it, so giving it as little treats sounds like a good idea . I've seen a couple very sickly deer around our beach before, so although this probably isn't from one of them I'll freeze it anyway. Thanks!

The guy at the pet store said the cat version of the turkey is finer ground, and that I should maybe pick the bones out because of that. This is also just raw turkey and bones, maybe organs, nothing added to it... I plan to get something else on my next trip into the city, it's taking a lot of work to find anything though, i'll have to call around. I might try the ZiwiPeak air-dried raw food for grazing and give 2 bigger meals. Will have to do some trial-and-error.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I don't know that I've ever seen pre-mixes at a pet food store. When I was feeding raw, which was some time ago, I ordered online. I used TCFeline. @Marje and Gracie are currently using another brand that Marje likes a lot.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

TC Feline is on Saltspring Island, so very close. Dr. Lisa Pierson also has a page on making cat food, that includes additives (not premix) you need to add to make a complete meal. The other premix I also use is FoodFurLife's EZ Complete. Since you just have a small amount, you could ask TC Feline to send a sample packge if you want to make a complete meal, otherwise the other solutions will be too much food. In the past, I have gotten pure meat, or pure meat and organs at the raw pet food store, and added the premix to make complete meals. Very easy.

 

[meowsyko]

TC Feline is on Saltspring Island, so very close. Dr. Lisa Pierson also has a page on making cat food, that includes additives (not premix) you need to add to make a complete meal. The other premix I also use is FoodFurLife's EZ Complete. Since you just have a small amount, you could ask TC Feline to send a sample packge if you want to make a complete meal, otherwise the other solutions will be too much food. In the past, I have gotten pure meat, or pure meat and organs at the raw pet food store, and added the premix to make complete meals. Very easy.

I remember looking at the information on catinfo before, but I didn't think I'd ever actually be making my own cat food then. I'll send myself to Raw School again
Saltspring Island is super close to me! I just checked and TC Feline has samples for $7 and free shipping, so I'll order that to try. That would make things much easier... I was looking for a food that had all the mixing done for me but if I get that I can feed her raw without having to leave my little island. I'm just not sure if the one with chicken liver or beef liver would be better for her belly.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

I don't know that I've ever seen pre-mixes at a pet food store. When I was feeding raw, which was some time ago, I ordered online. I used TCFeline. @Marje and Gracie are currently using another brand that Marje likes a lot.

@meowsyko
I also use Food Fur Life EZ Complete (EZC) added to raw meats and my cats love it. I like it over TC Feline because the latter started adding gum to their formula which cats can react to and which, over time, may contribute to "some" cats developing IBD. EZC contains digestive enzymes, glandulars, and omega 3s....all excellent for intestinal health.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

FYI, the Canadian version of TC Feline does not have gum in their non CKD version of the premix. For some strange reason, it's something the US maker has done. I think I would try the chicken version of the premix first, beef is a common allergen.