anyone feeding their cats raw?

[Mordy]

i'm at the point where i have little choice but putting my cats on a raw diet, regardless how much they want to tell me they need their kibble and are going to wither and die without it.

does anyone have strategies to share about switching picky cats? mine will eat raw meat but they think it's a snack, not "real food". they pick at it a little and then come bugging me for kibble endlessly.

oh how i wish i hadn't switched them all from "canned only" to "dry only" five years ago.

 

[Saje]

Well you know my cats. They like to steal chicken necks and backs. lol but other than that I haven't tried them on all raw. I think what you need is to adopt a cat that LOVES raw food because cats always get jealous and don't want to miss out

 

[RD]

I am in the process of doing so myself! Right now they're eating Innova EVO (Yes, for dogs.) and I think they're addicted to it, they will not even touch the raw meat. Chicken, beef, fish... Cold, room temperature, hot.. It doesn't matter, they don't like it.

I did have some minor success with searing the meat slightly so it smelled a bit stronger, and I made a "paste" from some meat, egg and a tablespoon or two of their kibble just so they have that familiar smell, it seems to work okay but they still CRY to me for that kibble. It's so funny, because my dogs are the complete opposite.. They are convinced that they should be raw fed, every meal.

What's most frustrating is that these cats hunt, they bring home dead rodent/rabbit/bird occasionally and what do they do? EAT IT! But if I put a nice piece of meat in front of them that didn't just die minutes ago, they sniff it, lick it a couple of times and then leave it alone.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's tried to switch finicky eaters, too.

 

[Mordy]

yup, mine are eating the evo too, but one of my boys (trouble) was diagnosed with struvite crystals and a urine ph of 8.0 today, so he needs a serious change and the vet-suggested science diet prescription food is not an option. since they all eat together and i can't feed them separately, and it's better for them anyway, i might as well go ahead and take the plunge.

tonight i tricked them. soaked the evo and mixed it with some ground beef. two of them tucked in like crazy (trouble being one of them, yay!) and the other 3 whined and complained for about 3 hours.

we'll see how things go tomorrow.

 

[Gempress]

My cats don't like raw. One cat will snack, but likes the dry kibble or canned better. The other cat won't eat anything but kibble or canned food. He won't even touch kitty treats!

A cat forum I visited recommended Natural Balance for cats. I tried it, and my boys love it. I've noticed a big change in their coats, too. Much fuller and shinier.

But I dunno if they make a prescription diet. I know a lot of cat foods make special urinary tract forumlas now, not just Science Diet. Maybe you should look into an alternative kibble?

 

[Sirius]

Well... Darwin won't touch raw. He is much too handsome and important for that. Or so he thinks... He also needs perscription food because he has a thyroid condition.

 

[Mordy]

nah, i'm not all that much in favor of commercial food to deal with a different brand. the relative convenience of feeding kibble was really what kept me from putting the cats on raw when i started with the dog, and after feeding the evo any other brand would be a major downgrade quality wise in my opinion.

natural balance foods contain menadione, for that reason alone it's not a brand i would consider. we'd also be going back from a 12% carb content to over 40% which for cats as obligate carnivores is even worse than for dogs.

i'll sit tight for the few days it will take to convince them it's good for them. having to switch the cats convinced my husband that buying a separate freezer is justified, since being able to buy meat in bulk (40 lb cases) means i'll only pay half of what i pay right now and it won't cost more than feeding kibble.

 

[doberkim]

hey - i got your email and i will try to respond tmw - im exhausted, just spent an hour helping my neighbor catch their cat that got loose, and i have to present at rounds tmw am.

both my cats are almost exclusively on raw (Again! since i got lazy the last time) and if watson can switch, ANY cat can switch

ill respond to your email tmw and post up here too i got it though, im not ignoring you

 

[Mordy]

thanks, kim. i wasn't sure if i got the right email address.

 

[Julie]

Mordy,
Can you buy your meat by the cow? LOL

I buy one side of beef per year, but it doesn't nearly get us by anymore.

This year we are going the distance and buying the whole thing.

And I am also going to keep the bones, which I never did before.

Can you please tell me the bones I should ask for the butcher to keep for me?
(for my dogs of course) And I mean from the "whole cow" And anything else I should keep for my dogs, from the cow.

I love getting the meat fresh from the farm. I can see exactly where he was raised and fed and I know the good ole boys didn't give them any steriods or anything. A noticable difference from the "grocery store meats". No dies added etc.

I hope your cats adjust well. I wondered if people fed raw to cats too.

Sorry for kinda hijacking the cat thread with a cow.

Julie.

 

[Mordy]

Can you buy your meat by the cow? LOL

I buy one side of beef per year, but it doesn't nearly get us by anymore.

This year we are going the distance and buying the whole thing.

And I am also going to keep the bones, which I never did before.

Can you please tell me the bones I should ask for the butcher to keep for me?
(for my dogs of course) And I mean from the "whole cow" And anything else I should keep for my dogs, from the cow.

I love getting the meat fresh from the farm. I can see exactly where he was raised and fed and I know the good ole boys didn't give them any steriods or anything. A noticable difference from the "grocery store meats". No dies added etc.

I hope your cats adjust well. I wondered if people fed raw to cats too.

Sorry for kinda hijacking the cat thread with a cow.



don't apologize julie, you aren't hijacking at all.

i don't have the storage capability (yet) to buy entire sides of beef, but i definitely want to work towards that goal, since i could order it from my supplier. all grass-fed, free range too. i envy my parents who have a steer and two pigs raised for them every year by friends of the family and then have them custom slaughtered. talk about getting your meat from the source!

you can keep all the bones, there's nothing i wouldn't consider feeding. just one word about "knuckle bones" what the large, weight bearing bones in the legs are commonly referred to:

i would only let the dog have the knuckle end of these and use the middle "tube part" strictly for making soup, since it is petty much the hardest bone of a cow carcass and can break the teeth. more info here if you want.

a special treat and very healthy for the dogs is green tripe (the unwashed, unbleached abomasum, or 4th stomach of a cow).

you can also have the butcher set aside the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, trachea, tongue, spleen, lips, all 4 stomachs, brain and cheek meat (unless you eat it) and all other trimmings and coarse-grind them into dog food for you. my supplier sells this kind of blend for 95 cents a pound and it's one of the major staples in my dog's diet. saves me from buying all kinds of different organs.

 

[Julie]

all grass-fed, free range too. i envy my parents who have a steer and two pigs raised for them every year by friends of the family and then have them custom slaughtered. talk about getting your meat from the source!

That is exactly what we do. Locally raised, then taken to a local butcher and cut how you want it. They will even cut the steaks to your desired thickness. We used to go in with our other friend and each take one side. But for some reason we run out of the good stuff and only have hamburger left.
So this year I believe we will go for the whole beef on our own.

We raised a pig ourselves one year, and then sent it off to the butcher. But I think it ended up being more of a learning experience. It had a very stong smell and taste and I didn't like it too much. My husband kept saying its good but I couldn't even stand the smell of it while being cooked.

Thanks for the info. Just can't wait to tell Hubby we have to keep the "whole cow".

 

[Mordy]

well, for anyone who is still following this thread - i think the cats' resistance is crumbling quickly.

i put together a recipe of ground beef, jack mackerel and a small amount of veggies for them and everyone ate at least a little of it without complaint. they still look for their kibble, but they haven't gotten any in over 40 hours, so i guess they get the idea.

from experience i know that they do prefer chicken and turkey, and as soon as i get my grinder, i'll be happy to oblige.

 

[frenchboxer]

Persevere, persevere, persevere! I WISH I had found this forum, or something similar years ago. I had to put my darling Jessie (Cornish Rex) cat to sleep in April. She was critically ill and basically her kidneys had packed up. She ate Science Diet and I know now that I must have been slowly killing her. I miss her SO much and feel SO guilty that I didn't give her a better diet. Every day I read about what is available out there, but I never knew any of that stuff at the time.

I hope your kitties live a long and healthy life.

 

[Sheba]

Hm... i'm also a catexpert!I'm like one ,too. I walk everywhere on my toes and lick myself, and I can land on my toes after a running leap!Without hurting myself!

Ok, for picky cats


First, I need some more inof. Do they eat at certain times?How mich food do they get? How much dot ehy usually eat?What color are they? <--not nessisary but I'm just curious lol.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

I just wanted to note that I feed my cats a raw diet, and I know exactly what you're going through, Mordy! I thought those little idiots were going to starve themselves to death! But now they turn their noses up at the likes of kibble. The overweight one lost his belly and acts years younger, and his occasional illnesses are long gone. So good luck, be persistent, and don't smell the tripe!

 

[Mordy]

well, things have been going a lot smoother than i expected.

last night i served cut up chicken meat and beef heart and they all came running and ate heartily.

i can't wait until next week, my grinder should arrive on tuesday and we'll pick up a small, used freezer from a friend's house by then too.

i'll be relieved when i can start feeding a decent recipe instead of just improvising like i do right now.

the really great news is that trouble hasn't had any peeing accidents ever since i stopped feeding kibble. ha, take that, stupid science diet prescription food.

 

[Saje]

lol

what grinder did you decide on again?

 

[Mordy]

this one.

it came highly recommended by several folks who've been feeding raw and using a grinder for years. lucky me, it's on sale right now.

note tho: if it weren't for the cats, i wouldn't have bought one. feeding whole pieces of meat and bones has far more benefit than grinding.

 

[Saje]

Does it do bones ok too?