Not sure, but I’ve been on some wonderful raw feeding forums when I was learning to feed my dogs. I bet you could find some great information on cats as well. I thing a whole prey model approach is what most people are after. I just know that drying muscle meat wouldn’t account for any of the bone part of the equation and that is vital when feeding raw (or whole prey model diet).
Do you need to leave food out often? Do your cats have to have access to foods at all times? Sorry I wish I was more familiar with cats. I’ve only had one and it was before I became a pet food snob lol.
Grain-free Diets linked to Heart Disease in dogs
Mangusdog
#22
Mangusdog
#23
Forgot to add, to offal part would be pretty easy to add in dry. Liver is pretty widely available and cheap if you wanted to dry it.
Shortstuff
(Allie)
#24
Have to be very careful with cats and liver… tiny amounts are fine, but it’s something I general keep them clear of.
Saphire
#26
I was going to post about this because saw it on a pet forum (have been looking for a puppy). Here is what I cannot understand, if human vegans are Taurine deficient, why is it that a dog or cat which primarly eats meat would be?
@Callisto any thoughts on this?
Not sure who this person is but she posted a response
https://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/176405475391/fda-dog-heart-disease#.W4Ik4uhKg2x
Do we muscle meat eaters need to supplement with Taurine?
SlowBurnMary
#27
I’ve wondered about the sweet potatoes!
Raw food with regular diverse organ meats is best - but can be impractical depending on lifestyle. In my present circumstances, have been feeding the best dry food I know of (Acana, presoaked) along with Sardines on Sunday, and ghee for treats.
I was reading about a class action lawsuit started again Champion Pet Foods (who produce the highest grade grain-free dry pet foods) about heavy metal and bpa contaminants - yet, I can’t believe any brand can be free of such at this point, due to industrial culture’s contaminated oceans and farmlands. 
And, Purina and Science Diet certainly don’t advertise as “free of all contaminants!” In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are behind the lawsuit - and won’t be long till they’re aiming at the raw frozen pet foods too.
Callisto
#28
I was initially following the developments on this story and then had to take a break because the way many veterinarians (certainly not all, thankfully) were reacting to this was really getting me down. The glee at being able to denounce grain-free diets and all the pet owners who were silly enough to think grain-free diets were better than Purina or Science Diet was making me strongly dislike my own professional community. I have serious issues with any veterinarian who looks forward to responding with snarkiness to what pet owners do out of love for their pets, even if it’s completely misguided. I figure the facts will eventually come out, and in the meantime there are plenty of decent grain-free diets that don’t have high contents of legumes and potatoes that people can turn to.
It was always thought that taurine content of food wasn’t as much of an issue in dogs (or humans for that matter) because dogs and humans can make taurine, cats however must get in their diet, it’s an essential amino acid for them. It’s not entirely clear yet how taurine deficiency fits into this puzzle for dogs, whether there is a genetic component or certain ingredients cause deficiencies to occur, etc. but I sure hope it’s figured out soon.
Assuming taurine deficiency is the issue, human vegans may not have this same issue for multiple reasons: humans may be better at making taurine, or taurine may not play the same role in disease development, or our taurine-making ability may not be affected by other ingredients in our diet, or it may just be the variety of foods that we eat. Dogs, after all, generally still eat the same thing every day. The problem so far appears to be diets that have legumes, peas or potatoes as one of the first few ingredients listed. I’m not a doctor but I have never heard of humans needing to supplement with taurine.
I am familiar with Dr. Dodds, I don’t agree with everything I’ve read from her but she has done very important work and I have a great deal of respect for her. Here’s another synopsis from another vet, I think she lays out the situation well, and she has added some important updates.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/grain-free-dog-food-taurine-and-heart-disease/
The most important takeaway, IMHO:
Callisto
#29
Allie, I know you posted this a long time ago, but wondering where you got this info. I am a huge fan of TC Feline cat food premix, been feeding this to my cats since they were very young, and there is always some fresh liver in it (see photo below). Not a huge amount but probably a tbsp of diced liver each day per cat. I’ve been into cat nutrition for a good 20 years but never feel like I know everything (can we ever?) and am willing to rethink the liver thing, so I’m interested to know more about this, is there a place you read about this that you can point me to? Thanks so much!
