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Is Chicken Liver and gizzards bad for cats?

Michaela

Savannah Super Cat
Hi there

Raw meat is not as easy to prep if you need a set recipe formula.

Any advice ?

My cats don't like the commercial raw food.
They love the organs and it might contribute to stool problem in my SV.

Does Raw meat with skin , lots of Chicken Liver and gizzards cause diarrhea in cats if it not in proportion with a formula?

:)
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
I would imagine if not in proportion then yes it might cause issues. I would be careful about adding too much liver.

In terms of not liking "commercial raw food", what brands have you tried? I definitely find mine don't like the formulas that add fruit and vegetables to the mix.
 

MattM

Savannah Super Cat
I'm fairly certain yes. Liver is very nutrient rich and can also be high in toxins if from a bad source. Have you considered a raw diet without a grinder? I've seen a lot of information from cat owners that feed a raw diet without supplements or grinding the food. They basically just give a whole chicken leg or what have you. I imagine it would be more convenient. You MUST ensure your cat is getting enough taurine which is more critical than anything you do. Chicken hearts are a fantastic way to meet that goal. I believe the rule of thumb is that 30% of what raw food you feed to your cat should be organ meet and the remaining 70% should be muscle meat. The recipes I have found call for that 30% to be 1/3 liver and 2/3 heart.

Here is very good info and exact data on how much taurine your cat needs daily.
http://www.vetinfo.com/cat-taurine-requirements.html#b

Here is a website that recommends raw food without grinders.
http://www.rawfedcats.org/

This link that recommends chicken hearts for taurine. Interestingly enough I could not find exact data on how much taurine is in a chicken heart. This article says 7 a day of just chicken hearts (not recommended) would meet your cats needs. The article goes on to recommend three a day along with other taurine sources such as liver and bone.
http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-much-heart-is-too-much

This is a study that attempted to collect taurine content in various animal parts. Again they have no direct information about a CHICKEN heart. They do however, have information about taurine content for chicken heart and chicken liver together. I'm not exactly sure how that works.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmb/aal/pdfs/spitze.pdf

I would look into whole part raw diets and supplement with 30% of the total weight chicken heart (2/3) and liver (1/3). You could get some poultry shearers and cut chicken thighs up into whole chunks to make it a little easier on your cats. http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Spring-Loaded-Poultry-Shears/dp/B000PGG7ZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1377498950&sr=1-1&keywords=poultry shears
 

Melody Waara

Spotlight Savannahs
Hi Michaela, we feed raw and have found an amazing amount of information regarding how, why and what from this website: http://feline-nutrition.org/

Livers do have good vitamins, but they advise: "You definitely want to get liver from a good source since the liver stores toxins. Preferably from a free-range animal, with no hormones or antibiotics used." We also treat with gizzards, as our furkids go crazy for them - but we rarely grind them up in their food.

Best of luck and congrats on deciding to feed raw! :)
 

Michaela

Savannah Super Cat
I'm fairly certain yes. Liver is very nutrient rich and can also be high in toxins if from a bad source. Have you considered a raw diet without a grinder? I've seen a lot of information from cat owners that feed a raw diet without supplements or grinding the food. They basically just give a whole chicken leg or what have you. I imagine it would be more convenient. You MUST ensure your cat is getting enough taurine which is more critical than anything you do. Chicken hearts are a fantastic way to meet that goal. I believe the rule of thumb is that 30% of what raw food you feed to your cat should be organ meet and the remaining 70% should be muscle meat. The recipes I have found call for that 30% to be 1/3 liver and 2/3 heart.

Here is very good info and exact data on how much taurine your cat needs daily.
http://www.vetinfo.com/cat-taurine-requirements.html#b

Here is a website that recommends raw food without grinders.
http://www.rawfedcats.org/

This link that recommends chicken hearts for taurine. Interestingly enough I could not find exact data on how much taurine is in a chicken heart. This article says 7 a day of just chicken hearts (not recommended) would meet your cats needs. The article goes on to recommend three a day along with other taurine sources such as liver and bone.
http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-much-heart-is-too-much

This is a study that attempted to collect taurine content in various animal parts. Again they have no direct information about a CHICKEN heart. They do however, have information about taurine content for chicken heart and chicken liver together. I'm not exactly sure how that works.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmb/aal/pdfs/spitze.pdf

I would look into whole part raw diets and supplement with 30% of the total weight chicken heart (2/3) and liver (1/3). You could get some poultry shearers and cut chicken thighs up into whole chunks to make it a little easier on your cats. http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Spring-Loaded-Poultry-Shears/dp/B000PGG7ZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1377498950&sr=1-1&keywords=poultry shears
Thank you
 

Michaela

Savannah Super Cat
I would imagine if not in proportion then yes it might cause issues. I would be careful about adding too much liver.

In terms of not liking "commercial raw food", what brands have you tried? I definitely find mine don't like the formulas that add fruit and vegetables to the mix.
Thank you
 

Michaela

Savannah Super Cat
Hi Michaela, we feed raw and have found an amazing amount of information regarding how, why and what from this website: http://feline-nutrition.org/

Livers do have good vitamins, but they advise: "You definitely want to get liver from a good source since the liver stores toxins. Preferably from a free-range animal, with no hormones or antibiotics used." We also treat with gizzards, as our furkids go crazy for them - but we rarely grind them up in their food.

Best of luck and congrats on deciding to feed raw! :)
Thank you
 
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