raw chicken gizzards

[lovetimesfour]

Originally Posted by LCSP

How do you "teach" the cats to chew the gizzards? I feed supplemented ground raw with a little canned as the snack. Since this does nothing for their teeth, I thought I'd try gizzards as the snack. The pieces were 1 to 2 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide, depending on the piece. Two of my cats sucked down the meat with no chewing at all. So no benefit to keep the teeth clean, and a big piece of meat sitting in their stomach.

Are you sure they didn't 'chew' the gizzards at all? Do you have video on your camera? Take some video of them eating the gizzards then watch it. It really helps. I took some video of my girls noshing on cornish hen wings a couple weeks ago. Every time I watch it I notice something new.

Originally Posted by Ritzpg

How do you teach them to chew gizzards: good question... maybe a little at a time. Or, mix it with another food? Do you also feed bone?
I didn't know gizzards had a lot of taurine; I know hearts (all kinds) do.
Digestive Engyme isn't necessarily the same as probiotics, especially if it is pre-digestive. Just check the description carefully.

Gizzards don't have a lot of taurine. They are not very high in nutritional value, but are great for the jaws and teeth.

Good point about digestive enzymes and probiotics. Some products use a combination, some don't. My cats get a probiotic daily, I used a digestive enzyme for a while, but after three months I saw no differences, so stopped using it.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

I do this all the time. Yeah, I cut the grizzle off. You need a good, sharp knife, serrated preferably. Takes about 15 minutes for me to go through a whole package.

When I first started giving these to my cat she wouldn't eat them with the grizzle on, but if I cut if off she gobbles them up.

[lovetimesfour]

But the gristle is so good for her teeth and helps to develop her jaw muscles! Keep offering her small pieces with the gristle so she can get used to it. Use a topper if you have to.

By the way, I recommend investing in a good pair of kitchen shears. WAY easier (and quicker) than using a knife to cut up raw meat.

[3gatos]

you guys are making me want to run out and get some gizzards! it was a huge hit when I was feeding my dog raw (he eats anything though) I haven't tried it with my cats. I'll probably wait though, about to move and cutting down on the amount of stuff I have.

[LCSP]

Lovestimesfour - I'll take a video the next time. Good idea. The whole point is for the teeth. I'll also make the pieces a little smaller. That way if they don't chew, at least it won't be so big for digestion. Thanks!

[lovetimesfour]

Originally Posted by lovetimesfour

Gizzards don't have a lot of taurine. They are not very high in nutritional value, but are great for the jaws and teeth.

.

I've been told I am wrong about this. I apologize. I read elsewhere that gizzards are comparatively low on the the nutrient profile scale and I assumed this meant taurine also. My mistake.

Can someone tell us, aside from taurine, just how nutritional are gizzards? What are they lacking, if not taurine? Because of what I had read before I always feed hearts (rich in taurine but also very nutritious in other ways) when I feed gizzard.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

Originally Posted by lovetimesfour

But the gristle is so good for her teeth and helps to develop her jaw muscles! Keep offering her small pieces with the gristle so she can get used to it. Use a topper if you have to.

By the way, I recommend investing in a good pair of kitchen shears. WAY easier (and quicker) than using a knife to cut up raw meat.

There is some grizzle left on the center chunks after I cut it up. Plus, the chunks themselves are still quite chewy. And last, since she won't eat them without me cutting out the "good" parts, what's the point?

[lovetimesfour]

Cut the parts she won't eat very tiny and use a topper. Gradually make the pieces larger, use a topper.

I just....wouldn't give up that easily is all. One of my cats took months to accept certain raw meats. Including gizzards. But in the end, she's eating them all.

[Kitty-The-Cat]

I only feed her gizzards maybe once every 2-3 months, so it's really not a big deal. I feed her other meats which also do a good job of cleaning her teeth.

[cinderflower]

Originally Posted by lovetimesfour

I've been told I am wrong about this. I apologize. I read elsewhere that gizzards are comparatively low on the the nutrient profile scale and I assumed this meant taurine also. My mistake.

Can someone tell us, aside from taurine, just how nutritional are gizzards? What are they lacking, if not taurine? Because of what I had read before I always feed hearts (rich in taurine but also very nutritious in other ways) when I feed gizzard.

gizzards have a lot of protein and very little fat, but they are pretty high in cholesterol. taurine probably wouldn't be mentioned for human beings. i'm not sure what kind of vitamins or minerals are in it.

taurine is found most in muscle and organ meat. i don't even know how to classify a gizzard--it's an organ that grinds up chicken feed but it also appears to be a very dense muscley-kind of thing.

i just cut the gristle off because i had never given it to my cats before. i have an old one who is missing a lot of teeth and she would never be able to chew it. if she ate it at all, she'd just swallow it whole and probably throw it up later. my youngest cat (3) absolutely refuses to eat raw meat no matter what i do to it. the only one who would be able to eat the gristle is the six year-old so i'll gradually make the pieces bigger.

i cut up the gristley parts of drumsticks (like on the ends) with the cartilage into very small pieces, put it in their food and they pick it out so i don't know if i'll ever succeed in getting them to eat that. (maybe they would eat it if they were dying of starvation but i'm not going to starve them to force them to eat gristle lol.)