Raw Feeding Cats?
Pease don’t bother answering this if all you are going to say is ‘don’t’ or ‘uck’ or ‘its bad for them’ – I actually want constructive answers, and those aren’t constructive!!
I have been reading a fair bit about the subject recently, & from people who have done research, not people who have ‘jumped on the bandwagon’ or who are following a ‘fad’.
I feel that feeding raw food is the most appropriate thing for cats – they do it naturally, & most cats, given the chance will catch eat their own food (mice, voles, birds, even rabbits!).
Now, I am not suggesting that I go out & catch wild animals to feed my cats, but would like to fed raw – from animals farmed for the purpose, humainly killed, and mostly food of a quality fit for human consumption, so the argument about parasites etc also becomes invalid!
Just wondered what other cat owners feel about this, if many people feed raw, and if you do – what do you feed? (knowing that fish & red meat is bad for them)
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it is good for them, some of the cat foods are far from natural fo a cat, you could probably get rabbit from your local butcher, and fish and chicken are good so are some of the red meats, i do not have a cat now but i used to give mine chicken wings and they loved them, they are close to how they would eat in the wild, mine crunched on the bones as well and never had a problem with teeth and lived to a very respectable age so i can not see the harm, for those that say about the parasites just remember to worm your cat regularly and it should be fit and healthy, best of luck honey i think it is a good idea and much better than that processed muck they pass off as cat food well done for wanting better for your cat.
Domestic pets get adjusted to the food they are given and whatever the animal, a sudden change in food is not good, they have an established gut flora to deal with the diet they are fed and all changes should be established very slowly.
Personally, I think that a certain amount of raw food is a good thing and have always given my cats raw meat as part of their diet. Apart from anything else, it is good for them to chew it slowly and take time digesting it.
Meat and fish are not bad for cats (they didn’t evolve millions of years ago with tinned food), it is just that a single source off food doesn’t provide enough nutrients and also domestics are fed frequently rather than like wild animals, gorging themselves and then sleeping it off for days.
My cat gets cooked fish once a week, some cat food, some red meat raw and a bit of dried food and does fine on it. I have fed the same to previous generations and they all had long healthy lives. This one doesn’t like chicken for some reason, but make sure you feed it cooked and take the bones out.
A little bit of everything leads to a healthy diet and healthy cat.
The type of food your interested in is going to be hard to find and will be more expensive then regular kitty food.. A mouse or a bird is little more than a rarish treat for most cats these days. Cats have been domesticated for several thousand years, which means that they’re pretty well adapted to eating what we eat-including cooked (as per the cat’s orders!) vegetables. Most commercial cat food (except for the poison that came out last year) is geared for what a cat needs in the way of vitamins, minerals, etc.
If money is not a problem, you can meat-feed your kitties, but otherwise, canned and dry food is probably best-as long as the ingredients don’t come from China, and the manufacturer doesn’t knowingly put them in their food.
i read about this the other week and was tending toward chicken necks for my cats i was going to have a chat with my local butcher to see what he said about it and what he could sell me, as like you i think this would be beneficial to my cats.This is also supposed to be beneficial for their dental health as they mimic the actions of ripping the meat from the bones
I highly recommend it! Sure, it’s a little more work than pouring dry food in a bowl or even feeding canned. But big whoop is what I say. My girls are worth a little effort. The tricky part for me is remembering to pull it out of the freezer in time. That’s why I keep some canned on hand in case I have a massive brain fart. I feed whole prey so there’s really no prep required – I just measure it out and repackage it and then pop it in the freezer.
From my blog:
HOW TO GET STARTED FEEDING RAW
This blog is not intended to serve as your one-stop-shop for raw feeding. But hopefully it’ll help you focus on what you need to decide and give you ideas of where to look for more info. I personally chose to feed ground whole prey so I do not supplement (except for a bit of extra taurine, fish oil and probiotics). I still serve some canned food for variety and likely will always have some on hand. I am feeding just chicken at the moment, but will be adding turkey and rabbit, and perhaps other meats when they become available.
(This ground meat does nothing for their teeth, so I also give the girls 1″ or so pieces of raw chicken neck to chew on.)
So you’ve decided to feed raw. What’s next?
It’s actually pretty simple. You need to find a supplier. You need to decide on a method (ground, whole, etc.) You need to decide which meats to use. You need to know whether you need to supplement, and if you do, what supplements to use. And most importantly, you need to get your cat to eat it.
1. Finding a supplier.
A. Find a local supplier. If you’re in the midwest, I recommend Taylor Pond Farms. I buy my meat from them and it couldn’t be easier. They deliver every month and you can either pick it up at a dropoff point or have it delivered to your door. http://www.taylorpondfarms.com. They also have Yahoo groups for specific areas (http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=tay… You can also join http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawme… http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Carni… http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Whole… and look through their list of links.
B. Buy online. One site used by many is http://www.hare-today.com. There are many other sites; the WholeCatHealth links above will help you find them.
C. Buy meat at the grocery store. Your choices will be limited but if all you’re going to feed is chicken, that’s fine. Just be sure that the meat is hormone and antibiotic free – or organic.
2. Choosing a method.
A. Whole prey. This may be either meat, bones and organs all ground together, or it may be chunks of meat and whole bones and organs. With this method you do not need to supplement. Your cat will be eating a properly balanced meal.
B. Just meat. Again, this can be either chunks of meat or it can be ground. If you do not include bones and organs, you will need to add supplements to ensure that the meals are complete and balanced.
To learn more about these methods, check out these Yahoo groups: (http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=raw…
3. Supplements. If you’ve chosen to serve meat without organs/bones, you will need to add supplements. There are a few different ways to do this. You can purchase a ready-made supplement such as Instincts TC (http://www.felinefuture.com/) or Wysong’s Call of the Wild (http://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/PROD/… Or you can put together your own mixture. There are tons of recipes out there. One example is here (http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.p… One of the raw feeding groups is dedicated to one particular supplement: (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/felin…
4. Meats. Most meats are appropriate but you may want to avoid pork. The most commonly used meat is chicken. My vet suggested feeding a variety, so my choices are chicken, turkey and rabbit. If it becomes available I’ll also try venison. Lamb and duck were rejected. It’ll be up to you and your cat what to feed.
5. Converting your cats. If you’ve got a kibble junky on your hands, it might be easier to first convert him or her to canned food, and then try the raw. This has been a tried and true method for many including myself. Once the cats are happily eating canned food, start slipping a bit of meat into it. Just a speck to start with. Gradually increase that amount. If the cat balks, back down a bit but keep at it.
When you’re ready to try it alone, you may need bribes. Raw meat has little scent so it can be helpful to add something stinky your cat likes. Crush some kibble and sprinkle it over the top. Try fish or liver flakes, parmesan cheese, a drop of soy sauce, meaty baby food (with no added onion or garlic), whatever it takes.
Note that you do not have to start with canned. You may be able to toss down a hunk of chicken and your cat will devour it. You never know until you try.
If you join any or all of the above groups, you’ll find many more tips as well.
Patience and perseverence is the key. I was surprised at how readily Poppy took to the chicken after being on canned food for a year, but Sophie who is not normally picky has been resisting. What she doesn’t know is that she’s getting a bit of chicken along with her Wellness. (NOTE: Mushier canned foods may do better to hide the meat than the denser varieties such as Instincts).
Last but not least – relax! If you’re researching this you may become overwhelmed at the tons of info out there, and all the conflicting opinions about what is best. What you need to do is choose the method that will work for YOU and your cats. And while it is important that your cat eat a balanced diet, it is not the end of the world if you don’t get it exactly right, or if you forget to add a supplement one day. As my vet said, do you eat a balanced diet every day?
Fed my cats raw fish and meat for many years, they all lived to a ripe old age, (how can red meat and fish be bad?)
you can do it as it is actually more healthy .Just one sugestion make sure meat as been frozen from fresh for at least 24h .This is importante as freezing it kills bacteria and most deceases that raw meet cary. avoid pork meat and when feeding chicken make sure everything is well clean after.
Simple Home-Cooking recipe for Cats..FYI cats love this!!!!!
3 cups raw or lightly cooked ground meat (beef,chicken, turkey or lamb)
1 cup raw or slightly cooked organ meat(kidney,liver,heart,lung)
1 raw turkey neck, ground or finely chopped (be sure not to cook)
1 cup well-cooked grains(oats,rice,barley or cornmeal)
1/2 cup well-cooked vegetables (broccoli,zucchini,carrots,squash,or green beans)
1 raw egg
1 teaspoon olive oil or flax seed oil Mix all ingredients together, then divide into individual portions. Yield: about 6 cups of food with approximately 250 to 300 calories per cup. The less you cook the ingredients, the more nutritional it will be for your cat. If you freeze the individual portions, they will keep for several weeks and you can defrost one a day. When thawing, try not to use the microwave or another cooking method, since this will reduce nutrient levels. Instead, let the food thaw overnight in the refrigerator. To warm it, place the food in zip bag and immerse into hot not boiling water for 10 minutes.
I often give my cat bits of raw meat that i have bought in for dinner, he loves liver although he wasnt quite sure about it at first, he loves fish aswell, he has tinned food and biscuits as his normal dinner but has slithers of raw meat in too, that and whatever animal he has caught = happy cat.
I think if you can manage it correctly, a raw diet is very good for cats — it’s probably ideal. My main concern is that a lot of people say they’re feeding a raw diet, but all they do is grind up some chicken breast and put it down. Cats also need the nutrients in organ meats like hearts and livers; simple muscle meat doesn’t have enough vitamins in it. And strictly speaking, all fish isn’t bad for cats. They can certainly have it occasionally as a treat but it’s very low in vitamin E and taurine, which are both vital to feline health.
I don’t know what you have been reading, but ,since when has fish and red meat been bad for cats? what do you think they eat in the wild.? I feed my cats canned meat with a side order of crunchy stuff, and water. They have all lived to a ripe old age 16-18. They were all indoor cats. Edit….. whoever gave the thumbs down do some research into the latest information regarding cat nutrition. I see there’s not much anyone can tell you, since when does a cat have to kill a cow to get red meat? as I said before do some research into cat nutrition.
I’ve heard about this too but in relation to dogs. It was suggested to me to give to my dogs because tinned dog food is approx 85% water and my dogs were scavaging to put something in their diet that was missing. I feed my dogs meat now (mainly chicken) and their scavaging has stopped and they are both ultra healthy. However, I must admit I cook it first, I cant bring myself to give it to them raw.
Here’s a great site for info on feeding raw, by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM:http://catinfo.org/#Home-Prepared_Diets