Raw cat owners???

[LoveLife]

Hey Pet Lovers:D ..

I have 2 cats/children;) ...who I would love to feed raw...I've been to the BARF website and honestly I find it somewhat confusing as a site goes..they talk way more about dogs..and I've done searches on google and still I find so much dog info not so much cat info...I would love to make my own raw cat food if possible but I don't know what besides meat that cats eat..I know some cats eat grass and plants a little bit..but then some plants are bad..and I've read stuff about grains being bad for cats...so I'm just really confused..I also don't know how much I should feed them..bagged food does tell u how much they should eat but I haven't found that info for raw cats...

SO if anyone does this with their cats and could answer any of my questions that would be great and so very helpful ...I want my babies to be as healthy as possible:D ...

Also..are there any books about feeding cats Raw?...

thanx everyone:D

[askcassyfirst]

we buy an organic brand at a natural pet store here local. Sometimes we buy from this brand http://www.brothersblend.com/ We bought from them before they went mass, now they ship nationwide. The owner of the company was really nice, called me back personally to talk about our cat and his needs.

Here is a picture from their website showing what they put in their raw cat food, perhaps we can create a recipe:
http://www.lisdan.com/BrosBlend/images/RawGoodnessAd_13JL04.jpg

It appears to be carrots, broccoli, green beans, brown rice, and meat/bones.

The organic one we buy, from Praire has tons of stuff in it, from all different types of veggies, fruits, seeds and meats. I know there is a book out there about how to feed cats a raw diet, as I saw it once online. Perhaps someone can suggest a recipe?

Cassy

[dreamrawalwz]

Well, I'm raw and own 3 cats ;)

I'm trying to move them to a more natural diet. Right now they eat organic and natural dry food and PetGuard wet food. I've cooked food for them and they all like it except the one that was ferral ?? Makes no sense to me lol. I'd like them to be raw and that would be easy, but when I go in August my parents will not keep up with the rawness.

[raw4liz]

it can be tough to switch cats to a rawdiet...they are addicted to the artificial foods!

cats are true carnivores, they don't need veggies and certainly not grains. the veggies won't kill them, so if you feel like including them in the diet, go for it...i can't imagine my cat eating any veggies! lol

my cats diet is mainly chicken (dark meat, legs or thighs fed whole), pork, chicken hearts, turkey hearts (hearts are high in taurine, cats NEED this), & turkey. my cat can't eat beef and is very picky about other meat items. he likes rabbit (but a ground mix i get from a company called bravo).

i let my cat eat as much as he wants, he self regulates & is very fit and trim. generally this is about a chicken leg size meal/day & he is about 10 or 11lbs.

will your cat eat rawmeat? alot of cats won't, so it will take some work...some cats know what to do, others are too poisoned from the artificial food to know what real food is. first step you can take is offering some small pieces of rawmeat on a small dish. see what happens. :)

glad i found this part of the forum...i know plenty about rawfeeding pets, but hardly anything about rawfeeding myself. hopefully i can help a bit here ;)

[LoveLife]

Thanx Raw4liz...well I know that one of my cats likes meat...I used to bring salmon home for them sometimes..my youngest one (about 1yr. 3mo)..he doesn't really know how to eat it..He just had crystals in his urine..so I had to switch him to this special soft food...he hates it but finally has figured out how to eat it..he has never been outside so I think that's why he only likes and knows how to eat dry food...my other cat was a stray b4 I got her from a shelter..so she understands how to eat soft things like fish cuz she used to hunt her food...well at least that's my opinion as to why he doesn't understand how to eat soft stuff....

I figure if I switch them to raw without a transition then they will have to eventually like and eat it..cuz cats will not starve themselves just cuz they may not like the food at first....

I've looked at a few sites that sells raw food...and I know that cats are def. carnivorious..I believe the arguement for putting a little bit of veggies in the food is becuz they think that cats need a little bit of vegitation..and in the wild they would get that from the stomachs of their prey..but then some people don't think cats eat the stomachs...so it's all kind of confusing..

I'm not sure about the whole stomach thing..but I do know that often times cats eat grass and some plants..of course I've never seen them eat regular veggies;) ...but I've had cats who like mint a lot..and my cat loves wheatgrass...so I figure they eat a little bit of plants...so I am ok with that being in the raw food ...but still think the huge majority of it should be meat...I'm trying to find where to buy it...cuz don't think that I could grind my own..one I don't have a grinder..and I don't think I could stomach grinding all of that meat...I've been veg for about 1 1/2 yrs...and tho I think that my cats should eat real meat...I don't think I'd want to have to handle it all of the time...and it would take up quite a bit of time...and having to clean everything so much to be safe for me again...

anyways..thanx for the help..I will def remember about the taurine/hearts..and hopefully my babies will be on the road to healthy happiness:D

[raw4liz]

no problem, good luck w/ the switch.

your cat w/ the urinary problems would definately benefit from a rawdiet! just remember, adding veggies will change the ph of the urine, so for your cat w/ the problems, he may do best on meat/bones only, since the ph of the urine directly influences the crystals. the canned food is a good start, cats NEED water & don't get nearly enough eating dry food only.

slowly add little bits of meat to the canned food he's eating. you can lightly sear the meats to get him interested at first also.

http://www.bravorawdiet.com is a fairly good company for buying rawpet foods. the meats are generally naturally raised & free range...& my cat absolutely loves the ground rabbit. it may be a good starting point & you won't really have to prepare anything. :) just remember, feeding whole foods (bones) is a great health benefit & will keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy!

good luck!

[LoveLife]

cool site..I do want to give them bones..one of the reasons that I thought dry food was better than wet is becuz of possible teeth problems...if I can't get bones from the online stores...where would I get just bones?..since I'd already be using the meat from an online supplier..all I would need is bones...also what bones are good for them?..I'm assuming some would be bad (like too small or brittle) causing possible choking hazards..

thanx for your help Raw4liz

[Maddy]

I am thinking of putting my cats on Raw food - I am doing the best for me so I want to do the best for then too

I was going to find an organic meat supplier and just add raw meat to their meals gradually - most of them eat their kill so they are not adverse to fresh meat occasionally

Will have a look at that site once I get home

[Pommy]

the trouble is with cats that if you change their diet (espec overnight), their intestines get messed up and often also the kidneys.
As soon as I change my cat's food, he vomits and bleeds :mad:

My cat is being fed on Senior canned food and is 20 years old, and as fit as a little kitty, playful and sporty. Oh, and I only did the very minumum in vacination, which also helps I am sure.

[EPgal]

Hi LoveLife,
My cats have been raw nearly their entire 15+ year life. I used to make it weekly using formulas from books such as The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier, and Natural Cat Care by Celeste Yarnall. She sells food and supplements at celestialpets.com. The books also give tips on transitioning your cat to a new diet. For the last few years I have been buying frozen pet patties by the case from my local HFS that are made by Animal Food Services animalfood.com. It has ground up meat, organs, and bones. I am going to try some other sources one of these days just to get them more variety. Good luck!

[laura3gsd]

I was actually just browsing the internet for a 'net aquantance who desperately wants to feed her cats raw diets without making them herself. Looking for retailers who sell raw diets in her area. Came across this web board and couldn't resist joining just to post some helpful info.

Less work - try feline instincts tc powdered mix. You just add water, meat; they provide the calcium/nutritional powder mix and the salmon oil capsules for essential fatty acids. Follow their recipe and voila, easy raw frozen cat meals - nutritionally balanced.

http://www.felinefuture.com/ Note that besides ground meat it's good to put about 1/2 inch chunks or strips of meat cut up into it for the health of the teeth and gums; they chew, enzymes keep teeth clean.

More work - buy a high quality heavy duty meat grinder (so it can handle grinding chicken bones which most 'home' grinders won't do without breaking down) and do all the prep and each individual supplement addition yourself. I use the recipe on this site:
http://www.catnutrition.org/home.html

All the information you need is there; just read her info thoroughly. I don't use the glandular supplement because despite purchasing it for a trial I found after making a small batch with it, the first meal made my cat feverishly sick. He is that sensitive to beef and I believe that was the only problem. I leave that out.

A veterinarian uses that same basic recipe and tweaks it or "cheats" as she sees fit and has comments on her web site - I always find it helpful to read other comments and experiences on given diets:
http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm

Just FYI in case you ever have to deal with this problem: My cat has problems with FLUTD / urinary tract infections / too alkaline urine, and formation of struvite crystals result from this. They 'block' him (life threatening) from urinating when crystals build up. To combat this problem I use d-mannose or cranberry powder (same effect / dmannose is from cran) to help flush out bacteria; and, use acidic form of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to help maintain balanced urine of approx. 6 to 6.5 pH. I had been using l-methionine which is in commerical cat products for urinary acidifiers but I read that long term use is not good for the liver. So, I use it infrequently and rely mainly on the C, mannose or cranberry powder; and some homeopathic remedies. The vet had me put him on canned hills prescription diet for this problem and within 2 weeks he blocked again. Clearly it was not helping. I kept him on it for 2 months - adding vitamin C and l-methionine; and he started to go off his food after that time. At first it was like "hey a treat! junk food!" and he liked it. Then I think he realized it was not making him well and he started to not eat; waiting for raw food; hanging around the dogs when they ate because he wanted his raw meals again.

Raw diet is more work but for cats is not too expensive and is well worth the benefits of knowing what they are eating; not risking feeding them toxic ingredients from commercial suppliers etc. I feel so bad for people who kill their pets accidentally, and have to be the one to report the need of a pet food recall. :( That last one was a doozy and involved so many brands. My heart sunk for a lot of people.

Best of luck to you!
Laura

[salsababy]

no problem, good luck w/ the switch.

your cat w/ the urinary problems would definately benefit from a rawdiet! just remember, adding veggies will change the ph of the urine, so for your cat w/ the problems, he may do best on meat/bones only, since the ph of the urine directly influences the crystals. the canned food is a good start, cats NEED water & don't get nearly enough eating dry food only.

slowly add little bits of meat to the canned food he's eating. you can lightly sear the meats to get him interested at first also.

http://www.bravorawdiet.com is a fairly good company for buying rawpet foods. the meats are generally naturally raised & free range...& my cat absolutely loves the ground rabbit. it may be a good starting point & you won't really have to prepare anything. :) just remember, feeding whole foods (bones) is a great health benefit & will keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy!

good luck!

The link doesn't have pricing on it. How much does the rabbit normally cost you and how much does shipping usually run about?

[RawPaw]

Made my first batch of BARF for 2 kittens under 6 months old. Never saw them eat so fast in my life! Disgusting and cute at the same time. Hopefully the stinky one will fart less on a low-carb kibble-less diet.

[askcassyfirst]

RawPaw, the cat will likely smell better. My cat, his name is MrKitters, and when he was a baby we used to call him MrStinky because he smelled so funky...after 3 years raw he is no longer stinky...I wrote about him on this site before. Another cat box saved by the raw diet! I don't even mind cleaning the litter.

Good luck. If any of you are in FL I totally recommend the Brothers Blend brand I buy.

Cassy

[raw4liz]

salsababy wrote:

The link doesn't have pricing on it. How much does the rabbit normally cost you and how much does shipping usually run about?

it depends where you are. i get mine locally & don't need to have it shipped in. click on the link on the website to find the closest seller to you.

~liz

[blix]

Our neighbours cat has just ate a raw blackbird as it was eating some food I had put out for it.