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Raw Cats

I tried feeding my cats raw chicken yesterday, and they love it! I cannot believe how easy it was. My older cat (who will be 13 in April) really dug in and even ate the raw meaty bones with no problems whatsoever. My “baby” (1 1/2 years old) took to it more tentatively, but then got the hang of it after watching my older cat. I feel so good feeding them what they are meant to eat. The first several ingredients on the expensive food I buy directly from my vet are wheat and corn! That’s crazy to feed corn and wheat to carnivores. No wonder my “baby” is 3 pounds overweight and cannot seem to lose any weight on his carefully measured “diet” food. His diet food is mainly corn and wheat!

Do any of you have any experience with this?

Comments

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    Yes, except my kitten was also ill with IBS. Of course the vet tried to push his vomitous “prescription” food at an enormous price, which was stuffed with corn! He also tried to shove surgery on her non-stop. Vets are vile nowadays. Anyhow, kitty immediately stopped almost all of her vomiting when I introduced her to a raw meat/bone/organ diet and her tummy righted itself. She also lost her pudge and became much more gentle, now loving to be stroked while eating. Her fur is glossy and silky. She’s completely different. I’m so glad I never fell for the vet’s nonsense or forced her to eat vegan foods. I know lots of people who cured their cats of obesity and diabetes by appropriate feeding!

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    Except that she is still balking me at eating whole pieces, grrrr. IF she doesn’t learn, her teeth will get a bit dirty. I’m not sure what to do anymore.

  • I’ve been looking into feeding my animals (especially my cats) a raw food diet so its fornate that someone started this topic. My cats are around 15 and 16 years old. They both have very sensitive stomachs and throw up anything. I was just wondering where you buy your raw meat/bone/organs at? and do you have to prepare it in any way? I read its best to give it to them whole since obviously their teeth are meant for this. I just mean do you have to do anything at all to it before giving it to them? Do you think they would take to it this late in the game? Im guessing so since its their natural diet and MicheleSS you cat is almost as old as mine are and seemed to take to it just fine. Appreciate any advice and thanks in advance!

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    I love vegans who feed their dogs and cats their proper raw diet! Here is the best site for a newbie, Lyn-doe:

    http://www.rawfedcats.org/

    I know of a couple of very mature cats that made the transaction. Cats tend to change over very slowly because they are pickier, being more hunter than scavanger. But you might be lucky and your cats might change fast, like MicheleSS’s cat obviously did.

    Your cats will most likely stop vomiting right away as you introduce raw meat into their diets. Cats only vomit a lot because of commerical diets. It’s THE leading cause of stomach and intestinal distress in cats. It’s also the cause of diabetes, tooth rot and obesity.

    Everyone who is new to this needs to read the site I listed and the links, because cats need a proper ration of meat/bone/organ for optimal health. Also, cats have some quirks in their needs that make them unique in teh world of carnivores: they need to be fed a good source of the amino acid, taurin, because they cannot make their own. (This is easy)

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    Oops, I forgot to answer your question on introducing. While you browse those links, you can start them on a piece of raw chicken or a piece of any raw meat, or even try something like a chicken heart. If they refuse, you can tuck some bite-sized bits of raw meat into their regular food. This is how I started my girl.

    The nice thing about the small amounts in their commerical food is that this will usually help them to digest their cooked slop. I saw results in my cat immediately.

    Ideally they need to chew on whole pieces, so their teeth will be cleaned. But sometimes if a kitty is sick, like mine was, it’s neccessary to grind all up and then introduce larger and larger.

  • Thanks! I was actually looking at that website last night but didn’t get to fully explore it. It really has some great info. I can’t wait to start my cats on the way to ultimate health since one of my cats has had respiratory problems since I can remember.

  • I use Nature’s Variety freeze dried raw kibble for my kitty. (http://www.naturesvariety.com)
    She has an exceptionally soft coat and great temperament – although I can’t attribute her temperament soley on raw food… ;)

    I also give her nutritional flakes (she goes crazy for them), greens mix, efa oil, and sometimes I even let her lick the green smoothie jar :)

    She does absolutely amazing on this diet. I just can’t deal with raw meat in my house…can’t do it!

  • I have been feeding my dog and cat with raw meat and dried vegetables and fruit made by Urban King. Do you have any suggestions for the dried part of their diet other than feeding from the table? They are both doing well.
    My vet said that the best oil that they can assimilate is fish oil.

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    I buy chicken, duck, beef – you name it. But my cat just refuses to eat a piece whole, so I chop it up small or even grind it, then make balls of it and freeze it. Everyday I take out a ball of raw meat, let it defrost, and she devours it.

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    Oh one more thing. My mother in law fed her cat beef lung for its whole life. She got it free from the local butcher. Just gave it to the cat whole!! Try asking butchers for discarded meat. My local health food store gives me their discarded organic meat.

  • Thanks everyone for the information. I went to the link Alix1962 and will start feeding whole pieces of meat.Dogs eat vegetables too. I have been giving my cat and dog Urban King (dried vegetales and fruit) with ground meat.Should I give them this or some form of vegetables and if so how do I give it to them especially my cat? No wonder my cat has been chewing on the corners of my furniture. She needs some bones to chew on.

  • Wow, I’m glad I started this lively topic! Thank you, Alix1962, for posting the rawfedcats link. That is exactly the website I have been using to obtain information on transitioning to a raw meat diet for my cats and the correct ratio. I may be “seeing” things, but I swear my two cats seem to be thanking me for their new food! They really seem to be enjoying their meals. And my overweight “baby” finally seems to be nourished and not constantly ravenous. I think his weight issue will soon be a thing of the past! I wish I had known of this sooner!

    I do keep a separate cutting board and knives for the flesh foods and will be purchasing some place mats to feed them from. The rawfedcats site recommends feeding them from a flat surface. Next I will visit a local butcher and also Whole Foods to search out more raw options. I do also want to pick up some fish oil.

    Does anyone feed raw fish, and if so, what kind and do you give them the bones?

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    rosiee—hiya:-) cats shouldn’t be given veggies and fruits for any reason as part of a normal diet; they are “obligate carnivores”,not able to properly assimilate nutrients from vegetable/fruits. Their tummies can’t break down this matter well and results in painful bulky stools, not to mention illness and malnouishment. Dogs are okay with an occassional vegetable tidbit but really, it’s not a good thing to give them at all. If your kitty is chewing on furniture, she is not well. It could be some sort of malnourishment or she is sick. I’m not sure this behavior is from lack of bone. When did she last see her vet? (Be sure to include an appropriate amount of raw, soft bones and raw organs with the meat, to insure health. )

    MichelleSS—You’re welcome; I’m really happy to know you liked the site. It was my first raw cat site, too:-) I don’t know how overweight your big cat is, but make sure he doesn’t loose weight extremely fast. The reason is that cats don’t metabolize their own body fat well at all, and are very prone to a fatty liver disease if they suddenly loose weight for any reason. So keep an eye on his weight and look out for a sudden loss of appetites. CAts and dogs needs raw fat in their meals, so make sure to include the fat/skin. I used to add lamb suet to my kitty’s foods because her meats come without skin.

  • Alix1962, thanks for the heads-up on the too-fast weight loss. He’s only 2-3 pounds overweight, and so far I am letting him eat an unlimited amount of raw meat/skin/bone within a 30 minute time frame. Then I remove all food and clean everything thoroughly. They seem to eat at a comfortable pace, savoring each bite. Before my little chubby baby would almost inhale his dry kibbles and be ravenous – complete with constantly trying to steal food and growling at you if you tried to take away something he did manage to steal. My poor baby was starving. I feel like such a better mommy now!

    Where do you buy fish oil? I understand you are not supposed to give them cod liver oil.

    I’m so excited to finally be feeding them correctly that I’m going to stop by a butcher shop after work!

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    MichelleSS, I’m just so impressed with both you and your kitty that he’s taken to eating raw, whole food. It’s awesome. Yes, they stop binging like piggies because their body recognizes the nutrition and so they’re satisfied. When I was growing up, all my cats, when on kibble, were constantly starving and they were obese. Their hunger did not seem natural, and i wish I had been smarter back then. I remember our vet then telling us we were over-feeding, which we were not! Then he told us to feed them only 1/8 cup a day. We did, i’m so ashamed and they cried all day and night. Horrible.

    On fish oils, the only unflavored and clean source I know of that I would give my cat would be Nordic Naturals:

    http://nordicnaturals.com/en/Pet_Products/10/Fo…

    Normall, I would scoff at the “pet” line and say to just get the “human” bottle BUT they add lemon/citris essence and that is toxic to cats. Carlson’s makes great fish oils but they also add citris. So I would invest in the NOrdic for pets IF you wish to give kitty some fish oil:-)

    I feel like a good mother, too. I can’t imagine forcing my cats now on a kibble/canned/commerical/veggie diet just because of my own ego anymore. The only difficult part of changing her diet is that her old vet was vicious, but I take care of creeps like that easily.

  • rawmaidenrawmaiden Raw Newbie

    Yes, I have three cats, ages 17, 13 and 2 yrs. old. They all eat raw chicken with bones, steak, fish, etc.. and prefer it. I do still feed them commercial when I can’t provide raw, but it is top of the line food, not the 9 lives that’s for sure, I think if I fed my cats 9 lives or similar foods, my 17 year old would be gone by now. I try and buy the good stuff though, organic or free range, but can’t always find it, so I do what I can.

  • Alix1962 – I swear I almost want to cry hearing about your poor babies trying to survive on 1/8 a cup of food, and poor you for knowing you were only following your vet’s stupid instructions! We all know better now, don’t we? And our wonderful pets benefit from our greater wisdom. I wish I could shout from the hilltops to feed cats RAW MEAT/BONES/ORGANS!

    The almost immediate change in my two boys is nothing short of amazing. My overweight “baby” is no longer growling and mean. He lets me cuddle him for as long as I want without snipping at me. My older cat is once again excited about meal time, as if his silly mom finally figured out what to feed.

    Thanks, everyone, for your input. Raw really is the way to go!

  • Raw kitties…that phrase just makes me smile. I saw a picture of Sarma’s (Raw Food Real World, who hasn’t heard of dear Sarma?) cat and he’s gorgeous. All raw kitty.

     

  • Sorry to restart this topic, but I have a question now that my kitties are raw.

    They’re not pooping! I know flesh, skin and bones have no fiber, but how much should they be pooping? Does anyone know? When they were on kibbles, they had one good-sized poop a day. Also, when I first switched them to raw, they urinated quite a bit, but that has tapered off. It’s like I put them on the Atkins diet and they lost their water weight!

    Thanks for any feedback,
    Michele

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    There can be several reasons for constipation in a raw-fed pet, or the appearance of it. It could be not enough food, or lack of bone or lack of liver and fat.

    Kibble-kitties poop a lot on kibble because kibble contains undigestible grains and other types of filler. Now, my kitty poops every day because she eats a lot of food, HOWEVER, if I don’t give her enough bone she will get constipated. What are the ratios of meat to bone to organ to heart for your kitties? I give mine a good 20 percent bone, and make sure she also has enough raw organ meats about 5 percent volume for liver(no more) and heart for her taurine.

    I find also that cats and dogs need that raw liver or they might get constipated again. (just don’t over-do the liver) How much in total are they eating? How long have have they been constipated?

    Before I forgetif they are not peeing a lot, then they’re not eating a lot. They will get most of their water from their raw diet, instead of drinking abnormal amounts of water like kibble-kitties. But if you don’t see them pee at least once a day, then I would guess they’re not eating enough food. Sorry this is a mess; I’m having troubles seeing today!
  • Raw is awesome for cats! We feed our cat, two dogs, and two rats a totally raw diet. We feed our cat and dogs mostly game hens and guinea hens. I worry that the conventionally raised chicken contains way more meat and fat than natural birds that wolves and cats would prey upon in the wild. Don’t forget to include organ meats and tripe as well!

    Blessings!

    Audrey

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    You’re so right on the chickens, chilove! I think they are also anemic(sp) and low on taurine, horrible ratio of meat to heart.

    I give my girl mostly rabbit and give her extra heart because I suspect rabbit is a bit low on taurine, but I do wish I could get her to accept game fowl. She is such a brat!

  • Thanks Alix1962 and chilove,

    I bought a game hen, but I have not given it to the boys just yet. I do give them plenty of organ meat, and today Laban produced a very nice poop. I was very proud of him! I will try to find more meat with bones, like the rabbit and guinea hens. I now realize how little I know about flesh foods! I have much to learn. I still need to visit a butcher and maybe establish a relationship with one. I do see that chicken contains way too much muscle meat! I’ve heard that carnivores in the wild go first for the blood and organs – especially the liver. They eat the muscle meat as a last resort. That’s what I am trying to recreate. If only I could buy mice somewhere…

    This is so interesting to be learning about. My kitties very much look forward to meal time now, and I think my Laban may have lost some of his fat tummy!

    Thanks again!
    Michele

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    I’m so proud of you! On the bone—; they do need meat. Keep the AFrican Desert cat in mind; they are the ancestors of the modern cat and there is no difference in them or their digestive needs. I mean, you’re right that they do eat a lot of bone because prey like mice and other rodents have less meat than chickens, but make sure they do get enough protein and not too much liver. They can over-load on vitamin D. Just an approximate to consider is this: of the food they eat, about 80 percent meat, fat and skin . . . 10 to 15 percent bone . . . and 5 to 10 percent organ meats remembering to not go over 5 of liver. Pesonally, I am with you and cats do well on more bone, fat and organ and less meat than what is found in domestic animals. But I think cats do eat all of their prey, including meat.

    Oh, you can buy mice! Most raw-fooders buy their cats mice from the places that supply them to stores and people who own snakes. Some folks I know prefer the lab suppliers, though. You get them in a big, frozen block. It’s possible a local pet store has them in stock. Lab supplies will have clean mice and rats but of course there is a charge because it comes to you frozen with dry ice.

  • Thanks for the tip on the mice and rats. I’ll check into it! My older cat is eating the bone I give them, but my younger cat is still apprehensive. Maybe if the bone is in mice, he will dig in.

    My husband is coming home from Iraq tomorrow. He is going to freak out at all this – especially if I start giving them raw mice! I can’t imagine anything more natural though. I will have to learn more about the African Desert Cat.

    Thanks again, Alix1962 – you are a continual wealth of knowledge,
    Michele

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    Aww, thanks. I can say the same to you: after you started this thread, I re-evaluated what I was giving my little brat. Even though she been eating raw for just over a year, she still balks at raw bones, even Cornish Hen or quail, soft as they are. Her jaws are strong, she’s just timid. I’ve been loosing my temper with her and you made me calm down and be more appreciative of what she’s going through. I think I’ll invest in some poultry back ribs, nice and chewy and rub some treat on them, then let her go to town.

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