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Raw Food as a Toothbrush

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!

  
Princess

Pterodactyl Cat		 
 
Purred: Fri Oct 12, '12 12:41am PST 
Hi All,

Please forgive me if this has already been answered elsewhere:

Right now I am feeling quite selfish about my cat's diet. I want the pros of Raw Meaty Bones (cat version) diet, but I still want to be able to fall back to the convenience of pellets-and-packet food should the need arise. For example, we currently feed all the cats 1/2 sachet of wet food and basically free feed through toys, cat pellets (Royal Caine).

I'd like to be able to replace the sachet of wet food with a thawed chick or some other raw life like prey. Or cut up beef or whatever.

I have been testing the waters somewhere ineffectively with the cats by offering them slices of salmon, raw chicken and cooked prawns if I'm cooking (the rats already get this so it isn't an issue offering more) and the cats seem interested.

I dunno, my question I guess is whether the raw diet is an all or nothing kind of affair
If what I'm suggesting seems fesible
And do you have any cat-raw-diet specific links that I can look at?
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BK

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.		 
 
Purred: Fri Oct 12, '12 12:37pm PST 
Welcome Princess! Raw feeding is definitely not an all or nothing affair. Many people here feed half canned and half raw. That said, there are some cautions. You should never feed raw and dry kibble within 12 hours of each other (I assume that's what you mean by pellets). The reason is that raw moves through their digestive systems quickly and efficiently, while kibble is full of ingredients that are not species appropriate and take cats much longer to digest. The raw can get "stuck" behind slow-moving kibble, giving bacteria a chance to grow. Most of us raw feeders aren't big fans of kibble. As I mentioned, it's full of ingredients that cats can't use or digest and that are not appropriate or healthy for them. It's also full of carbohydrates which can lead to obesity and diabetes. Last, the lack of moisture can cause chronic dehydration which can cause kidney and urinary track problems.

The other thing to be aware of is even if you're only feeding half raw, it still has to be fully balanced. If you're going to do the raw meaty bones version of raw make sure you follow the guidelines: 80% muscle meat, 10% bones, 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ. That way you're guaranteed a nutritionally complete diet and a healthy kitty!

My favorite raw website is catinfo.org but we can point you to others if you want to learn more and feel free to come back and ask as many questions as you like!
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Merlin - An Angel- Forever

*Poof*
 
 
Purred: Fri Oct 12, '12 5:03pm PST 
Here are some web sites:

http://catinfo.org/?link=m akingcatfood
http://www.catnutrition.org/
http://feline-nutrition.org/index.php
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Princess

Pterodactyl Cat		 
 
Purred: Sat Oct 13, '12 3:11pm PST 
Thank you for your fast responses.

I had considered switching my cat to raw because Princess is now 10 and has recently had to have a tooth cleaning, apparently raw diet is much better for their teeth because they're using them in a more natural way and on food which isn't loaded with crap.

It sounds like it would be better to take the approach of feeding raw/wet rather than rat/kibble.

My cat can sometimes get the runs if she's had too much wet food, though... do you think the same thing could happen with raw/wet?
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BK

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.		 
 
Purred: Fri Oct 19, '12 9:55am PST 
The raw diet, if done correctly with bones and organs, may actually help regulate her. There may be a period of adjustment but raw-fed cats' poop is actually small, dry and less smelly!
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