Feeding raw pork.

I've read tons of things that are on both sides of this. Most websites I have red based on the raw diet agree with feeding good quality pork. A few have cited studies that support freezing the meat to kill of the parasites that are said to be in it (pseudorabies is one I read about on one site).

I bought three very thin slabs for my cat to get him started on raw, along with beef heart and chicken. He loved all of it, luckily. Now I am leaving it to freeze as I've read to do. Even if it doesn't need to be frozen for a while at certain temperatures, it can't hurt if it's okay for them to eat.


But what's your take on it? Do you feed it or not? If not is it a health choice or just because you don't prefer it?
I don't give him much, but he does like it. He hasn't had any since yesterday. This morning he just got chicken and beef heart.

When we do get a dog, I would like to stick to mostly other meats, but I need some other viewpoints on pork itself. It is cheap and readily available all the time, so if it's not a huge issue, as I've read it isn't contrary to what a lot of people say, I'm not going to take it completely off the menu. If it is, I'll cut it right out (or rather, cut it right up and eat it myself).

Mine get pork hocks, button bones and pigs feet. So yes they get pork. I did have a dog that got the worst gas on pork, but other than that everyone here loves it and does well on it.

I don't feed pork... I figure since they're getting elk, bison, ostrich, llama, rabbit, beef, chicken, turkey, duck, venison, cornish hen, and salmon they don't need pork too.

I freeze all meat though before i feed it.

Roman gets raw pork. He's never had a problem.

Freeze any meat slowly. This does the most damage to any nasty's. Slow freezing causes ice crystals to form. The ice crystals damage cell membranes.

Air is a poor conductor of heat so have a much air as possible round whatever you are freezing, so it freezes more slowly.

I made a mistake and froze the meat completely forgetting to portion it and ended up not being able to break it up at all. I wasnt even thinking, ugh. Is it okay this one time to thaw it, portion it out, and refreeze it?
Should uneaten portions be tossed or can they be refridgerated and fed at the next meal?


Thanks for the replies, too. I will keep buying it since he loves it. This all seems to be filling him up so much better too. Sigh of relief. A full cat for us means a quiet cat haha.

lol at the full cat comment.

I will thaw and refreeze once for people and dogs.

When Wille was on raw he got pork all the time, he loved it and it is important to feed variety and I didn't have too many options (mainly chicken, beef, and pork with the occassional rabbit which he thought was the greatest thing on Earth). I have also heard of possible health concerns but do not know any raw feeders who have encountered this. I just make sure I freeze it before feeding.

I agree, there is nothing wrong with thawing and freezing again.

Thanks! I was worried I would ruin something with nutrients. I am paranoid with him since he was so unhealthy even in the shelter on vet food.


One last question;
is it okay to feed some meals with just organ meat?

Well I suppose. I know for Willie the organ meat was not a huge amount, unless I fed like the whole weeks worth of it in the one meal I don't think it would have made a very satifying meal, and I wouldn't want to feed all of the organ meat at once, better to spread it out a little. I would also be afraid it might cause diarrhea, feeding a lot of it at once, I know if your cat gets constipated with raw you should either decrease bone or increase organ, so I assume organ can cause loose stools when fed in high amounts.

But I mean feeding organ meat by itself is not dangerous or anything, as long as you are sticking to proper ratios of meat-bone-organ.

He is having a lot of trouble with the bones. He slung a split chicken wing up right into his face tonight and that was the last straw for him after working it for an hour. Heh, i couldnt help but giggle at him.


Thanks for that info.
I am trying to learn as much as humanly possible.

Haha! I remember Willie trying to figure out bones, it's so different for them. When I first started I actually smashed them up a bit and cut them at the joint. This was they couldn't do the face slapping. You could also start with smaller bones, like chicken ribs or cornish hen bones.

I'm glad you are researching, you're doing your pets a huge favor.

ravennr

Refreezing is fine. It is often not recommend for human food due to the fact that each round of freezing and thawing breaks up the food. It is not a health issue it is an aesthetics issue.

Argon loves pork and has no problems with it, but Neon always got an upset tummy from it.