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New to feeding raw for cats, need resources

This is a dedicated place for all of your questions and answers about Raw Diets. There are also some really cool groups like "Raw Fed" on the topic you can join. This forum is for people who already know they like the raw diet or sincerely want to learn more. Please remember that you are receiving advice from peers and not professionals. If you have specific health-related questions about your cat's diet, please contact your vet!

  
Booger

I beg, therefore- I am.		 
 
Purred: Sun Mar 25, '12 7:41am PST 
Hey

I want to start my parents cats on raw, but I need to find some good resource links as far as what meat to use, proper bone/meat ratios, which supplements to give, etc.

My parents already have a grinder and I have a bunch of chicken and turkey as well as kidney and liver which I can start off with.

thanks!
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Allen

Just one of- Auntie Crazy's- crew.		 
 
Purred: Sun Mar 25, '12 9:35am PST 
If you want to feed a raw ground mix, you can take a look at CatInfo.org and Feline-Nutrition.org. If you want to do whole prey or frankenprey, then CatCentric.org and RawFedCats.org will be your best options.

And I happen to know the author of CatCentric.org is very helpful and can answer any questions you run into; either email her from the site or ping her from the Facebook page. ;-}

Best regards!

Tracy
(Author of CatCentric.org)
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Booger

I beg, therefore- I am.		 
 
Purred: Mon Mar 26, '12 3:26pm PST 
Thank you! yes, I'll be using the ground mix since theres no way my parents would be feeding frankenprey. Since I live 2 hours away, I can make a large batch and portion it out for them in ice cube tray for 2 months, then make a new batch every time I visit.

I'm using feline nutrition as a guide which seems pretty good. I've already ordered a supplements, all except the dulse.
Is it necessary to add this supplement? I have some solid gold seameal that I've been using for my dog but switched to a different supplement. Has anyone used that instead?

here are the ingredients:

Dried Seaweed Meal, Flaxseed Meal, Dried Lemon, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Product, Pineapple, Lactose

the website lists it as being suitable to dogs and cats.

What other protein sources can I use besides chicken, turkey, and rabbit? I think people feed mice as well, but I'm little too grossed out to do that.

Thanks in advance
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BK

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.		 
 
Purred: Tue Mar 27, '12 7:32am PST 
First, I just want to say welcome to the raw club!

Although BK eats Frankenprey, little Callie prefers ground and I use the recipe on catinfo.org. I don't know what the dulse is for but I don't see anything in that ingredient list that is critical.

As far as protein, you can use whatever you can source! Keep in mind however, that despite our best intentions, it's often the cats that will tell you what other proteins you can use. BK is a red meat kitty - beef, lamb and venison are on his preferred list, and he dislikes chicken. But I know other cats that won't touch red meat. So I suggest starting out making small batches of food until you see what your guys prefer.

Also, the ice cube tray is a good idea, but I can't imagine how many trays it would take to make 2 months of food for more than one cat. Let me give you an idea - I order 5 pounds of ground meat/bones/organs for Callie. I mix in the supplements and bag in quart freezer bags. I don't fill the bags but I've done this a long time and I know how much is a few days worth, which is all I want unthawed at a time. One 5 lb. batch of food will feed her for 3-4 weeks. She eats about 3 oz. per meal which is bigger than an ice cube. All this is a roundabout way to say that until you know how much they'll eat, it may be easier to just portion out from a larger container. Just a thought - unless you have unlimited trays and freezer space!

Best of luck - please let us know how it goes!
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