Newbie interested in starting raw..questions!

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!

Rossi Girl

spazzy kitten <3

Purred: Tue Oct 30, '12 6:13am PST


	Hi there!I apologize in advance for the long post & so many questions, but you catsters are my go-to when it comes to kitty advice Although I myself have been a vegetarian my whole life, I am a firm believer that dogs & cats are meant to eat a meat based, grain-free diet. I have done alot of research on raw feeding,but with all the different opinions out there, my head is spinning & I'm almost more confused then I was before! My main concern is balancing out the meat/bone/organ ratio, I am terrified that I will mess it up & make Rossi sick..then there is the whole grind/don't grind debate... Right now Rossi is on a 90%canned diet (usually Wellness cubed chicken or turkey is the only kind she will eat) with an 1/8 cup of grain free GO!kibble- I am working on weaning her off of the kibble entirely.For treats she gets freeze dried chicken breast, dehydrated beef strips, freeze dried egg bits (on occasion) as well as a few of the Pet Naturals of Vermont treats-usually the hip & joint ones. I don't know that I could jump entirely into raw, at least not at first, but I'm wondering (providing miss picky pants will eat it) is maybe doing one or two meals a week of raw. I like the idea of chunks that make her work her jaw and clean her teeth, instead of ground..although ground would make it easier on squeamish me! How would you suggest starting this? Wht type of meat should I try first? In what amount should I give? What size chunks? I have read that cornish game hen or quail is a good newbie meal...Thank you in advance!

[notify]

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.

Purred: Thu Nov 1, '12 11:45am PST


	Rossi Girl, welcome to raw feeding! I'm on the east coast with no electricity so I can't answer at length right now, but take a look at this article I did for Alex's IBD website and see if this helps: http://www.ibdkitties.net/rawinstructions.html It's perfectly alright to feed a couple of raw meals a week but I suggest working up to that. Feed regular canned meals for now so you're fully balanced and use raw as treats to see what she'll eat. Chicken hearts and gizzards make good snacks, are full of taurine and help clean teeth nicely. Test her with whatever you can, see what she likes and you can build your plan from there. I'll be around sporadically over the weekend if you need any help and feel free to pawmail any specific questions. Just be patient for my reply - lots going on over here!

[notify]

Rossi Girl

spazzy kitten <3

Purred: Fri Nov 2, '12 9:03am PST


	Hi there BK..My thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by Sandy! Hope all is well where you are. Thank you for the link..I will check it out for sure. I have been feeding Rossi her canned in the morning & trying bits of raw at dinner time when I know she is hungry & more willing to try new foods. She gets another bit of canned before bed as well. I was given some fresh ground turkey that she loved & gobbled up right away (roughly an oz of it)She wanted nothing to do with chicken gizzards, liver or small chunks of chicken breast or beef thus far. My biggest fear is her not getting enough taurine (esp while she is getting used to eating things like hearts) so I did pick up some powdered taurine in case I have to suppliment with it..do you think it is necessary? If so how much would you advise giving? I don't want to do ground forever, I am aiming for 'franken-prey' LOL maybe trying something like cornish hen cut into bits she might like? Hopefully not too rich...Thanks a bunch & stay safe!

[notify]

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.

Purred: Fri Nov 2, '12 1:25pm PST


	If she's picky or refuses to eat a wide variety of proteins, it might be best to go with ground raw because you can supplement it so easily. At least until you can get her on full Frankenprey with a lot of variety. For now if she's getting mostly canned I wouldn't worry about taurine. But it's plentiful in dark meat poultry, so maybe you could try some ground legs and thighs and see how she does. Good luck!

[notify]

Rossi Girl

spazzy kitten <3

Purred: Sat Nov 10, '12 3:42pm PST


	A little update..I've been playing around for the last week trying different protein sources with Ross...she likes ground turkey, & I bought & hacked up a cornish hen for her..she absolutely loved it! By the second meal of hen she was even tearing the meat off the bone! Tried her with a chicken wing tonight-she ate it but wasn't overly thrilled..she refuses to touch chicken breast & WILL NOT go near liver or gizzards..I bought a giant duck leg for her to try later on this weekend. Any suggestions on how I can try to balance out her meals a little better? Evn when I try to sneak a bit of organ into her turkey she won't eat it..I would order some pre-made raw for her but it is pricey to buy/ship & she doesn't like the Instinct raw..so I'm hesitant to go ahead & order it.. Rundown of a typical days meals..around 6am she gets just under an oz of ground turkey. When I leave for work a few hours later I leave out a 3 oz can of Wellness. WhenI get home around six I give her more raw, usually either a leg/wing/another attempt at organs. Then before bed she gets another can of wet food. I feel like I am under feeding her as she always acts starving, though I suspect she is also so enthralled with the whole idea of having to 'work' for her food that she wants it all the time lol. I have a feeling I may end up going more raw then canned..I just need to figure out how to sneak those organs in!!

[notify]

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.

Purred: Mon Nov 12, '12 8:20am PST


	Instead of buying pre-made raw, why not try some ground raw from a place like Hare-Today since it's ground with both bones and organs? Hare-Today is on the east coast but there's also a place on the west coast that supplies the same kind of thing. You can buy small quantities to see if she'll eat it - I think they sell packages as small as one pound. Shipping is kind of expensive, but it's a good way to sample different proteins and textures to see what she'll eat. Unfortunately, you won't be able to do an all raw diet if she's not eating liver. Did you try cooking the liver a little? Also, keep trying the wings and hens until she builds up the jaw strength to eat those bones. Keep us posted!

[notify]

Amber

Georgian Blue

Purred: Sat Dec 1, '12 10:39am PST


	It's nice to meat a fellow veggie lover! I'm a vegan! But, cat's are obligate carnivores. They need a diet low in carbohydrates. I recommend doing as much research as you can on the subject. Some people use supplements, others don't. There are commercially prepared raw diets, if you want to save time. Honestly, you can feed your cat a complete diet with what you purchase at the Walmart meat market! Make sure your cat always has access to clean, fresh water. Remember, while raw sounds great, most vets do not want to change their diet for anything! Cats can live just fine without any grains. Raw bones are excellent for a cat's teeth. But, do your own research and read as much as you possibly can on the subject! Personally, I can't afford raw. I feed my cats Whiskas in the pouch and they do very well on it. Almost two years ago I lost my two oldest cats. They were brothers and lived to be 22 years old. One passed away in his sleep and I believe the other died of a broken heart, as he went within days of his brother.

[notify]

Catster

Newbie interested in starting raw..questions!

Love Cats?

Want a Cat?

Have A Cat?

Be in the Know!

Catster

Forums Home » Raw Food Diet

Newbie interested in starting raw..questions!

Love Cats?

Want a Cat?

Have A Cat?

Be in the Know!

Prefer Dogs?