About Meat
People often have lots of questions about the raw meat diet, especially when they are either just starting a pet off, or switching a pet to raw from dry food. Moe has compiled a number of questions and answers here, and written out his own answers. Contact us at any time with your own questions.
What does a raw meat diet consist of?
1. Raw meaty bones Chicken, turkey, duck, and pork necks, chicken feet, chicken backs and wings and rabbit. 2. Ground raw meat Chicken, turkey, duck, bison, venison, beef, lamb, pheasant, quail, rabbit, and much more…you have the option to include organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, gizzard). Ensure that your raw meat contains ground bone and organs. 3. Pureed vegetables All fruits and veggies except onions, grapes, raisins, corn cobs…. Try to get organic whenever possible. 4. Recreational chew bones Knuckle bones, marrow bones, knee bones, and mysterious joints of animals. These are like TV for your dog. 5. Wholesome table scraps in small quantity Garlic, oatmeal, eggs with shell, rice, toast crusts, grains (great source of carbohydrates), bread, couscous. And remember, organic is best – no nasty chemicals. 6. Bone Broth for Dogs This is a great supplement to provide dogs of all ages, but is especially important for dogs as they age and their bodies and digestion slows down. 7. Treats We recommend wholesome treats made with meat as the main ingredient, fermented fish stock, and raw goat’s milk. These additions will not only make your pet happy, but they will provide a well-rounded and balanced addition to their raw meat and bones diet. Visit the Shop Meat page to view the various types of raw meat, whole bones, veggies, organs, treats, and supplements that we offer. Here’s a list of food energetics from a Chinese medicine perspective.
What pets can eat raw meat?
Most dogs and cats can eat a raw meat diet, though transition times may vary. It’s good to start integrating raw meat slowly with their regular diet. If they show signs of tummy distress, add some digestive enzymes to their meals. In about a 10 days, your dog or cat will be on the raw meat diet.
How do I integrate raw meat into my pet’s diet?
Choosing to feed your dog or cat raw meat is a serious consideration for any pet owner. We provide resources here and on our Blog to help inform your decision as you weigh the pros or cons.
Transitioning your dog or cat from kibble (or a dry diet) to raw can be challenging…Start slow. We encourage you to start slowly by incorporating a small portion of raw meat into your pet’s normal meal, approximately 1/4 raw, 3/4 dry. All ground meat and whole bones must be thawed before feeding. Continue to add more raw, and decrease the amount of dry, for a period of time (at least 5-7 days) before your animal is safely acclimated to the diet.
To start, choose a meat such as chicken that is easier on your dog or cat’s system. Avoid richer meats such as beef, or anything with organs, for the first few meals. If you do notice they have a belly ache, pick up some digestive enzymes at your grocery store and give them a pill with each meal until the bottle is finished. By that time they should be fine with eating raw.
Consult with your holistic veterinarian before switching to a raw meat diet. If your veterinarian does not agree with this decision and you for a second opinion, we recommend Hawthorne Vet Clinic in SE Portland.
How much raw meat should I feed per meal?
Ahhh, the age old question. The short answer is that it totally depends on your pet’s age, metabolism, health, breed, and activity level. The general guideline is to feed your pet 2-3% of your his or her weight body weight. But this doesn’t always work out for every pet. For example Moe, who weighs just under 90 pounds eats as much as his roommate who weighs just under 50 pounds. They have the same activity levels, but roommate’s metabolism is way faster.
Is it too early to start?
Nope. It’s never too early to start. I myself was weened on raw beef and a mixture of Solid Gold kibble.
What if my pet starts vomiting?
- Yellow bile means your dog’s belly is totally empty and needs to be fed more. This was happening about once a week in the morning to my roommate. I tried to convince my people to send her back to the pound but they persisted. We finally realized that she needed a little extra food for dinner and everything would be okay. Reluctantly, I shared more meat, then began charging her.
- Clear foam means your pup may have had too much water too fast. Your pup also probably has an empty belly and needs a little more food.
- How to help? Unsweetened apple sauce or Slippery Elm Powder can help an upset belly. Probiotics and digestive enzymes are good as well. If you’re concerned, take your pup to your vet.
My pet is acting funny after eating their first raw meat meal!
Sometimes a dog or cat that is new to the raw diet will present some uncharacteristic behavior after a meal, such as a stomach ache, chills, vomiting, diarrhea or excess panting. This can be a result of your animal acclimating to a different kind of food. Please consult your holistic vet if you have any concerns.
Tell me about bone broth for dogs.
We believe that bone broth for dogs is an integral part of the raw meat diet. This is especially true as your pet ages and his muscles began to weaken. We make our bone broth by simmering beef marrow bones and chicken feet. You can read, and see, the cooking process from this blog entry.
Because our bone broth is made with bones and cartilage, this results in a dense broth that contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, gelatin, and collagen. The gelatin and collagen helps support a dog’s connective tissue and keeps the joints healthy and strong. More of the benefits of bone broth for dogs and cats can be read about here. In short, bone broth helps heal connective tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract, the joints, the skin, the lungs, the muscles and the blood. If your pet has the following conditions, bone broth can be incredibly helpful:
- Gastrointestinal ailments, esp. Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Decreased appetite with chronic kidney disease
- Arthritis and degenerative Joint Disease
- Chronic Skin allergies and ear infections
- As a medium to hide herbs and drugs in
Your bone broth from Moe’s Kitchen will come frozen in a glass canning jar. Though the bone broth is skimmed prior to deep freezing, there will still be a layer of fat on top. You can scoop this off and discard, or use as a way to give your pet pills and medication. Be sure to warm the broth prior to serving. You want your pet to drink the broth warm, not cold.
What foods should my pet not eat?
- Chocolate contains theobromine, a cardiac stimulant that can cause dogs to become hyperactive, thirsty, and suffer an irregular or increased heart rate.
- Raisins and grapes can cause liver failure in dogs.
- Onions contain thiosulphate, which causes red blood cells to explode. Cooked or raw, it doesn’t matter. No onions.
- Cobs of corn are choking hazards.
- Macadamia nuts can cause tremor, weakness, and paralysis.
- Caffeine can cause hyperactivity, tremors, or seizures. That means no soda, coffee or non-herbal tea.
- Alcohol, tobacco and street drugs are great for people, but not for dogs.
- Yeast dough/bread dough continues to rise in your pet’s stomach and can make them uncomfortable.
What about parasites and bacteria?
It’s natural for people to be worried about meat germs when feeding the raw meat diet. Will my dog or cat get sick? Will I get sick? Will my kitchen be totally filled with bacteria from all the raw meat. If you have the space, I suggest preparing the meat in a separate place from where you prepare your own food. I have my own sink, for instance. Perhaps a laundry room, garage or kosher kitchen. My people like to wear dishing gloves when I make them make my meal. All meat, regardless of organic status, contains bacteria. Moe’s Meats sells human grade meat, which means it’s as good as what you can buy in the grocery store. Luckily, dogs and cats have a digestive system that is teeming with wonderful enzymes and probiotics that break down the harmful bacteria in the raw meat and allow it to digest without trouble. It is rare that a pet fed on the raw meat diet will have parasites or bacteria problems. On the raw meat their system is primed to handle all the nasties usually found in raw meat.
Why does my vet not know about the raw meat diet?
There are too many to mention, but here are my top five:
- Healthier teeth and gums
- Healthier coat
- More conducive to the digestive systems of dogs and cats than dry food
- Helps reduce/eliminate allergy issues
- Fewer grains = greater health for primal animals
What about veggies?
The easiest and cheapest way to collect veggies is to keep a bag in your freezer of fruit and veggie scraps from your kitchen. Celery heads, carrot leaves, cabbage core, apple skins, rotten bananas, left over oranges, parsley stalks – you get the picture. Use organic when you can. It’s also a good idea to ask your local co-op if you can dig through their compost bin and take their veggie and fruit scraps for free. REMEMBER DON’T FEED YOUR DOGS these things. Dogs and cats digest vegetables best if they are grounded in a food processor. The most efficient way that once your supply runs out or you have too many bags of collected veggies and fruit, then it’s time to get the food processor out and start processing. Add as much water as you need to. You can then freeze the pre-made veggies so they are handy when you need them.
Do you ship?
We do not ship meat. Under our business model it’s a super expensive process and no one ever took us up on the offer when we did ship meat.
But we DO ship CBD. It’s legal to ship our CBD products to any state. Shipping + handling is between $7.00 – $14.00, depending on the size of your order. If you live in the Portland, Oregon metro area, pickup is in NE Portland off of 15th St.
Tell me about CBD Hemp for my pet.
CBD will not get your pet high because it does not contain THC. CBD is legal in all states. Not a single study has ever reported that CBD is harmful to pets. Even the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) has reported and published testimonials in support of CBD use. CBD can help with a range of issues in both dogs and cats. To read more about CBD, click here. The CBD extracts and treats we sell are non-GMO, 100% vegetarian and gluten free. No heavy metals, pesticides or residual solvents are found in any of the products.
Myths that just ain’t true
All meat should be cooked No matter the breed, size, age or personality, all dogs and cats have the same digestion system as their wild ancestors – it hasn’t changed in thousands of years of breeding and domestication. This means dogs and cats have a short digestive tract designed to break down and process raw meat quickly. The raw meat moves rapidly through their system, which doesn’t allow bacteria or parasites to develop. Dogs and cats won’t get sick because they eat raw meat. I should do what AAFCO tells me to do The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is an organization established to provide a mechanism for implementing uniform regulations for the distribution and sale of animal feeds. That’s it. That’s what they do. Like any national organization that advises government agencies, specifically for the agriculture industry, their advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Their standards were developed under the guise that domestic dogs and cats are omnivores and therefore are not physically capable of eating raw meat. Their guidance is also based on cooked and processed meals – not raw meat. You’ll need to use your best judgment, your pets’ needs, and what you feel is right.