MattM
Savannah Super Cat
Does anyone have any experience with fiber supplements in raw food diets? Are they necessary when switching over to raw food diets from canned wet food? Are they necessary after switching over? Which one do you use?
I was doing a lot of reading on raw food diets from Feline-nutrition.org and Cat-info.org and I came across a difference in the ingredients listed. I know in humans a lot of research is going into fiber supplements related to an increase in better overall health as well as a decrease of various GIT cancers. My university had a lot of ongoing studies I knew about because they were paying students for fecal samples (haha). You literally brought your poop in a bucket in exchange for money.
The fiber issue may be different for cats since they are primarily carnivores and eat a high protein/water content diet. I'm not exactly sure how felines occasional eating grass fits into all of this if you were to directly compare domestic diets to whole prey natural diet ones.
The ingredient list from feline-nutrition.org by Margaret Gates recommends psyllium husk powder, while the recipe from cat-info.org by Dr. Lisa Pierson uses guar gum. Dr. Pierson's article also mentions that the guar gum was used primarily to treat one of her cats with a rectal abnormality. She also states that she uses guar gum because it is a soluble fiber, (as opposed to the Psyllium Husk Powder an insoluble fiber), and will still soften, but not swell stool size. Insoluble fibers will swell stool size and possibly cause other complications.
After continuing to do research, I found that there are a lot of negative implications with guar gum. Apparently it is extremely high in fermentability, that causes very repugnant smelling cat feces and potentially diarrhea along with loss of nutrients.
In summary:
A lot of raw food recipes recommend fiber supplements. Guar gum will not swell stool size, but is known to cause odor and GIT complications. Psyllium Husk Powder swells stool size, but has less known complications than guar gum.
My gut instinct tells me that there might not even be a need for fiber supplements in raw food. If my Savannah develops constipation problems, then maybe add Psyllium Husk Powder separate of the original mix to off-set the problem. I will be using the Mazuri mix for slab meat which contains calcium, while additionally adding a few bones which may increase the likelihood of a constipation issue.
Can anyone offer me their input or experience? I really appreciate it!
I was doing a lot of reading on raw food diets from Feline-nutrition.org and Cat-info.org and I came across a difference in the ingredients listed. I know in humans a lot of research is going into fiber supplements related to an increase in better overall health as well as a decrease of various GIT cancers. My university had a lot of ongoing studies I knew about because they were paying students for fecal samples (haha). You literally brought your poop in a bucket in exchange for money.
The fiber issue may be different for cats since they are primarily carnivores and eat a high protein/water content diet. I'm not exactly sure how felines occasional eating grass fits into all of this if you were to directly compare domestic diets to whole prey natural diet ones.
The ingredient list from feline-nutrition.org by Margaret Gates recommends psyllium husk powder, while the recipe from cat-info.org by Dr. Lisa Pierson uses guar gum. Dr. Pierson's article also mentions that the guar gum was used primarily to treat one of her cats with a rectal abnormality. She also states that she uses guar gum because it is a soluble fiber, (as opposed to the Psyllium Husk Powder an insoluble fiber), and will still soften, but not swell stool size. Insoluble fibers will swell stool size and possibly cause other complications.
After continuing to do research, I found that there are a lot of negative implications with guar gum. Apparently it is extremely high in fermentability, that causes very repugnant smelling cat feces and potentially diarrhea along with loss of nutrients.
In summary:
A lot of raw food recipes recommend fiber supplements. Guar gum will not swell stool size, but is known to cause odor and GIT complications. Psyllium Husk Powder swells stool size, but has less known complications than guar gum.
My gut instinct tells me that there might not even be a need for fiber supplements in raw food. If my Savannah develops constipation problems, then maybe add Psyllium Husk Powder separate of the original mix to off-set the problem. I will be using the Mazuri mix for slab meat which contains calcium, while additionally adding a few bones which may increase the likelihood of a constipation issue.
Can anyone offer me their input or experience? I really appreciate it!