Raw cat owners???

[LoveLife]

Hey Pet Lovers ..

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 ...

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

thanx everyone

[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/imag...sAd_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

[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!