Love Karen Becker’s Videos. Thanks.

Interesting video. I am not anti-raw food; I would feed it to my dog more regularly if it weren’t so expensive. Just wanted to say that even though dry kibble has around 10% moisture content, a dog should be fine on a kibble only diet, assuming that he or she has free access to water.

“Water needs can be met by a combination of water consumed voluntarily (free water), water as a component of food (combined water), or water produced endogenously during the metabolism of energy-containing nutrients (metabolic water)…The amount of water derived directly from food depends on the type of food. Dry dog food is generally 8 to 10 percent moisture, while canned food often exceeds 75 percent moisture. Therefore, an animal consuming 212g DM [(dry matter)] per day would receive only about 212 mL of water from dry food, but 636 mL from canned food. The latter amount, combined with the contribution of water from normal metabolism, could meet the dog’s minimal daily need for water. Thus, provided no other extenuating circumstances exist, a dog eating only canned food may not voluntarily consume free water.” (Subcommittee on Dog and Cat Nutrition…)

Works Cited
Subcommittee on Dog and Cat Nutrition, Committee on Animal Nutrition, and
National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. 2006. Print.

Granted, I only deal with cats, but raw isn’t all that expensive – especially when compared to feeding the amount of prescription food that has been prescribed my cats. While I don’t feed whole prey, I do balance it out to have plenty of organs and bone and not just muscle. I totally agree that cats don’t drink enough water – I saw that with the oldest cat I have (had no idea before that). After going feeding raw, my middle cat lost a lot of her allergic symptoms, too – she’s apparently allergic to many of the preservatives used in both kibble and canned food, even the high-quality stuff. So, to feed the Rx canned I was given costs me roughly $6/lb. Feeding raw that I make from human-grade meats, organs, and bones generally costs me $2-4, depending on whether I get conventional or inexpensive organic meats. Beef is not in that range (and the middle cat can’t have it anyways!), but chicken, turkey, and pork often are. On canned, all three of mine drink regularly; on raw, they drink, but less often. That says to me that either they aren’t getting enough liquid from even canned, or that there’s salts (of some time) in the canned that cause them to be thirstier.

Can someone tell me a couple of simple raw food recipes to make for my 5 cats and 1 dog? Does anyone know of good supplements for dogs and cats to mix with raw food?
Thanks.

I have always added water to dry kibble, approx. 1 cup to 1 and 1half cups of kibble .I have had Rottweilers for over twenty years, which is a breed subject to bloat and eating a large amount of dry kibble , followed by a large amount of water is a good way to induce it, I also fed twice a day, which doesn’t overload the digestion, plus using water or a liquid with kibble will release acids such as ascorbic and citric as a gas before they bloat the stomach.ever notice the bubbles that form around kibble when water is added, bet the ingredients list either ascorbic or citric acid.