Put 17 year old dying cat on raw, and saved him from kidney failure!

[roseyonnex]

Just wanted to pass along my success story with putting cat on raw.

He is 17 years old, dying from kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, was hungry all the time, classic symptoms of kidney failure, and was skin and bones.

I went to www.catnutition.org, bought the meat grinder, the whole setup, and began making my own raw food. Mostly chicken.

He has gained weight, no longer bony, very substantial cat now, and doing fine! So glad!

I also had another friend whose cat was going through the same thing. She almost took him to the vet to put him down, he was so thin. I gave her some raw food, and the cat is slowly making progress back to normal. That cat was 12 years old and is gaining. I actually thought it may have been too late for him, but seems to be doing fine!

Anybody else had success stories?

Oh, yeah, and I'm raw vegan, and have lost 34 pounds, ha!

Rosie

[rawviveyourself]

I haven't gotten to raw for my cats yet, but one did have a lot of health issues (and she is young) that all completely cleared up once I took her off the corn & wheat & chicken meal based food. She loves coconut oil, too. :)

[streetsurfer]

Our 14 or so year old kitty needs this. She has to have her glands expressed now and then. We can't seem to find a food that keeps her functioning optimally. She was overweight (20lbs) and appeared healthy, but her coat was not well cared for when we found her abandoned, taped in a hamper in the lobby of our condo. All black cat-it was two weeks before halloween, and we couldn't find a shelter that would accept her for that reason. Lisa had lost her calico to kidney failure with seizures. Tiffany was around nineteen when we put her down. We weren't planning on another cat to replace her-someone had other plans for us, I guess. She's in my photo album if you want to see her, sleeping in her pet taxi.

Roseyonnex, I will likely have some questions for you after I do some reading and try to find the ingredients. Thanks for the thread. I needed the inspiration to get me going on this.

[Soka]

I put all four of my cats on 100% raw for a month and they made great progress. Ramman, was overweight at the time and he shed some weight. His allergies got better (goopy eye got better). Ramman also had the beginnings of gingivitis and that went away. All of the cats were more active, more excited about meal time. Liam actually would climb into my lap and catch my hand with his paw and pulled my hand to him to hand feed him the meat.

They are no longer on a raw diet because I simply can't afford it but my ferrets are on a 100% raw diet and have been since they were babies (about 2 years). They occasionally get whole prey as well.

[Mary Kay]

Thanks for sharing. It's great to hear success stories like these.

Mary Kay

[roseyonnex]

Just an update since I initially posted in July. My 18 year old is still doing great! His weight is staying steady. I think he is just getting old, though, and maybe going downhill a little bit. But is REALLY old!

I have two other cats on it, and they are doing great.

And the fourth cat rejected raw completely. I just can't get her to transfer over.

If anybody has any questions about raw cat food, you can email me at roseyonnex@hotmail.com, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

[revdrcyn]

What about Green Smoothies? My cats LOVE them!

Here's a recipe from Victoria Boutenko - she does not use fruit for cats and cautions that avocado is toxic for them

Fluffy's Delight

1 cup Wheatgrass clippings
1 cup Water
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 capsules Fish Oil (pour on smoothie in bowl)
Pinch of Catnip (optional)

You can freeze in Ice Cube Tray and serve by the cube

[roseyonnex]

Cats are carnivores and they thrive on meat, so I personally would never give them green smoothies.

[raw4liz]

my cat would probably puke a green smoothie all over my bed! LOL

my cat will be 11 in a couple weeks and has been rawfed for about 8 years. i don't grind for him & his teeth & gums look great.

if your cat won't eat raw, try finding a canned food they love & slowly add bits of raw meat, then VERY gradually decrease the canned food & eventually onto raw. cats are very stubborn!

[Rawcstacy]

What about Green Smoothies? My cats LOVE them!

Aww, dat[sic] picture is sooo cute!!!!

Cats are carnivores and they thrive on meat, so I personally would never give them green smoothies.

Yes, you should feed cats raw meat daily, however they also benefit from some green in their diet (ever watch them nibble grass). Green smoothie about twice a week seems right, especially for indoor cats.

[chilove]

What an inspirational story! Thanks so much for sharing.

I've raised two dogs, a cat and two rats and not a single one of them has EVER had a health problem. Never once been to the vet, for anything. It's amazing! :-)

Raw is awesome!!!

Blessings,

Audrey

[Shine]

I really wanted raw to work for my kitty who has renal failure....but it didn't! He went deeper into renal failure, his blood pressure rose and he is now going blind (happens with high blood pressure in cats). Perhaps I started too late with him? I really want to try again but I am afraid to with what happened last time. I still give him raw treats, and my other kitty is raw......

Thanks for sharing this story, maybe I will try again :)

[roseyonnex]

Here is another update about my old cat. He is 18 and still alive and kicking!! Although, I think he is pretty blind now because of cataracts.

It took him about six months on raw to put on substantial weight. He put on a little and the beginning, but it actually took him awhile to gain more weight.

And.... I did start him on raw right after I noticed he was losing weight, begging for water and food and had all the signs of kidney failure, and I didn't wait.

I had a friend whose cat was severely skinny and going through the same kidney failure, and she tried raw, but I think she waited too long and the cat did not recover.

Other benefits of raw have been he no longer pukes all the time! I swear, I spent his entire life cleaning up thrown-up hair balls almost daily, and no more at all!! I can hardly believe it.

Also, number 2 does not smell anymore...seriously!

Would love to hear other stories...Rosie

[VetToBe]

Hi everyone!
I was just reading through the post about older cats and hyperthyroidism and everything that goes with it. Unfortunately at the time my oldest cat had all of this, I was really new at raw feeding and couldn't get him to switch. I ended up putting him down last February and that was the last straw that broke the camel's back! I have switched my dog and cat successfully to whole raw prey and I will never go back. My dog has been on it for about one year, and my cat has eaten raw with wet food up until this last month. We finally had a breakthrough moment! She just started eating whole quail one day, and I couldn't be happier! She had symptoms similar to IBD and she is only 2 years old, but now with eating the feathers (which is fiber) she is like a normal healthy cat. It took me nearly a year to get her to fully switch, so if you are struggling, keep trying! It is worth it and your pets will thank you with their health!!

[Lavendula]

was the most amazing cat, even in renal failure, til his last hours, it's been almost 6 yrs, and I still get emotional just thinking about it. I wish I had known, maybe he would have lived a few more yrs. Even on a totally raw diet, my friends two cats still lived to their early twenties. Not sure what the maximum life expectancy would be for a cat. So happy you all have helped your kitties stay healthy.