Originally Posted by Jadeite

i've been feeding both my dogs raw from when they are puppies. They are now 11 and 8 years respectively and both fit as a fiddle. A raw, or home-made balanced diet is one of the best decisions i've made for my beloved pets.

That's so great to hear!! =) I feel exactly the same way!!

Originally Posted by jeshika

so last night i was making dinner, chopping up chicken breasts/thighs, when my little bi came by to beg for scraps. i gave her a little and she kept coming back for more and barely touched her dinner (not kibble!). At first I thought she was snubbing her regular chicken dinner but today the moment i stepped into the kitchen, she was at my feet again and I gave her another little snack and she hasn't touched her fav weruva fish meal. I wonder if she is trying to tell me something? she hates cooked chicken but loves raw chicken?

Their body naturally craves it!!

It's been a while since this thread has been bumped but thought I'd share some good news. One of my rescue cats has had two great dental checkups in a row! She used to have terrible teeth and has had half of them removed. A little over a year ago we switched her to meat (with some canned mixed in). It's now been just over a year with NO teeth removed and NO cleanings needed!

Originally Posted by emcosmo1639

It's been a while since this thread has been bumped but thought I'd share some good news. One of my rescue cats has had two great dental checkups in a row! She used to have terrible teeth and has had half of them removed. A little over a year ago we switched her to meat (with some canned mixed in). It's now been just over a year with NO teeth removed and NO cleanings needed!

That is SOOO great to hear. In a few months, I plan on taking my older 10 year old cat to get her senior panel and I definitely want to hear what they have to say about her~

I also wanted to share this article about digestive systems of carnivores versus herbivores.
Why dogs/cats on a raw diet only really need to be fed once a day.
http://www.pet-grub.com/print_this_p...ly_big_stomach

On the topic of natural feeding, I've also been (and still am) on the quest to find a natural and healthier alternative for clay litter (you know, the ones that are $7 a bag... kick up dust everywhere).

I'm in the process of trying different types of litters and litter boxes but I will come back to this thread to report my findings when I do! =)

I haven't read through the entire thread (only the first few original posts) but thank you for writing everything up!

DH and I are new owners of 2 three-month old kittens, and I did tons of research on raw feeding prior to bringing them into our home. The second day we got them, we started raw feeding. I was relieved that they seemed to love it from the very beginning. I don't have the time or dedication to prepare special raw food for them, however, I do buy Nature's Variety raw food (which comes in convenient medallion or "kibble" form) and it works well. I portion out their daily meals the night before and leave it in the fridge to thaw overnight. I have a variety of raw diets (lamb, duck, chicken and beef) and they seem to love all of it.

As for the cost, it may be more expensive but since I never really bought very much cheap dry food I don't really notice the higher cost. Based on quick calculations, I think their raw food costs us about $80 for both kittens per month (keeping in mind kittens eat more than adult cats and stuff is more expensive in Canada).

In terms of dry food, I do feed them high quality dry food if we're heading out and can't be at home to feed them (I feed them Wellness Kitten Health), but it almost seems like they're generally "addicted" to dry food because while they were still at the rescue shelter that was all they ate. If I put down a small bowl of it out for them before I leave for a few hours, they will race to eat it even though I just fed them an hour ago. Right now I'm off for holidays (and have been since I got them) so I can feed them 3-4 times a day at home (combining raw with SOME wet food), but next week I go back to work and I"m a little worried about having to leave them dry food before I leave for work. I've considered leaving out 1-2 frozen medallions in the morning and then letting it thaw throughout the day but I'm not sure if that would make them sick. I really don't want to feed them dry if I don't have to, even if it's the "high quality" stuff.

I definitely understand what you mean about the poo though... one of my kittens gets horrible gas and really smelly poo whenever we feed her dry food...but once we get some raw food in their system, all is well and the only whiff of their poo we get is if we're standing at the door while they're doing their business!

Anyway, I hope that with raw feeding they're grow up into energetic and fit adult cats. I guess only time will tell!

In terms of litter, I am in the process of transitioning them from Special Kitty clay litter (which is what they were used to at the rescue shelter) to World's Best corn litter. Right now I use about 50/50. I think I will take the litter transitioning a little more slowly.

Originally Posted by karman

I haven't read through the entire thread (only the first few original posts) but thank you for writing everything up! DH and I are new owners of 2 three-month old kittens, and I did tons of research on raw feeding prior to bringing them into our home. The second day we got them, we started raw feeding. I was relieved that they seemed to love it from the very beginning. I don't have the time or dedication to prepare special raw food for them, however, I do buy Nature's Variety raw food (which comes in convenient medallion or "kibble" form) and it works well. I portion out their daily meals the night before and leave it in the fridge to thaw overnight. I have a variety of raw diets (lamb, duck, chicken and beef) and they seem to love all of it. As for the cost, it may be more expensive but since I never really bought very much cheap dry food I don't really notice the higher cost. Based on quick calculations, I think their raw food costs us about $80 for both kittens per month (keeping in mind kittens eat more than adult cats and stuff is more expensive in Canada). In terms of dry food, I do feed them high quality dry food if we're heading out and can't be at home to feed them (I feed them Wellness Kitten Health), but it almost seems like they're generally "addicted" to dry food because while they were still at the rescue shelter that was all they ate. If I put down a small bowl of it out for them before I leave for a few hours, they will race to eat it even though I just fed them an hour ago. Right now I'm off for holidays (and have been since I got them) so I can feed them 3-4 times a day at home (combining raw with SOME wet food), but next week I go back to work and I"m a little worried about having to leave them dry food before I leave for work. I've considered leaving out 1-2 frozen medallions in the morning and then letting it thaw throughout the day but I'm not sure if that would make them sick. I really don't want to feed them dry if I don't have to, even if it's the "high quality" stuff. I definitely understand what you mean about the poo though... one of my kittens gets horrible gas and really smelly poo whenever we feed her dry food...but once we get some raw food in their system, all is well and the only whiff of their poo we get is if we're standing at the door while they're doing their business! Anyway, I hope that with raw feeding they're grow up into energetic and fit adult cats. I guess only time will tell! In terms of litter, I am in the process of transitioning them from Special Kitty clay litter (which is what they were used to at the rescue shelter) to World's Best corn litter. Right now I use about 50/50. I think I will take the litter transitioning a little more slowly.

I really liked World's Bes which will be in my review. However my 10 year old hates it so I've had to start at square one. I'm going to try again with Worlds Best next month.

i have tried commerical dog food, raw feeding and homecooked meals for my chis. commerical dog food is the worst!

raw feeding seems good for a while. their teeth are clean and have no bad breath and they poop everyday.

homecooked meals, they have bad breath but only poop every other day. i started cooking meals for them cos 1 of them suddenly lost his appetite for raw food and i was worried. i started cooking the food and he ate it up immediately so now i am sticking to homemade meals.

Originally Posted by cherrycookies

i have tried commerical dog food, raw feeding and homecooked meals for my chis. commerical dog food is the worst! raw feeding seems good for a while. their teeth are clean and have no bad breath and they poop everyday. homecooked meals, they have bad breath but only poop every other day. i started cooking meals for them cos 1 of them suddenly lost his appetite for raw food and i was worried. i started cooking the food and he ate it up immediately so now i am sticking to homemade meals.

My 10 year old cat did this to me too! Scared the living daylights out of me! But you have to be more persistent and stubborn than them!! I basically went back to square one with my cat TWICE before she took to raw feeding. I actually had to go back to dry food with her and transition again. But IMO, totally worth it. Homecooked meals are definitely better than dry food, however, with homecooked, the meat is ... well cooked, which destroys many of the nutrients in the food (and longer to digest). We humans have to eat cooked meat otherwise we could get sick, carnivores don't eat cooked meat, they have much shorter digestive tracts. So don't give up! You can do it!

Originally Posted by Nolia

My 10 year old cat did this to me too! Scared the living daylights out of me! But you have to be more persistent and stubborn than them!! I basically went back to square one with my cat TWICE before she took to raw feeding. I actually had to go back to dry food with her and transition again. But IMO, totally worth it. Homecooked meals are definitely better than dry food, however, with homecooked, the meat is ... well cooked, which destroys many of the nutrients in the food (and longer to digest). We humans have to eat cooked meat otherwise we could get sick, carnivores don't eat cooked meat, they have much shorter digestive tracts. So don't give up! You can do it!

interesting you would say that cos when they are on homecooked meals, they hardly ever poop. i was worried that they were constipated cos they poop like every 3 days so i added more veggies to their meals. turn out they are not constipated but they just digest the food so well that they hardly poop.

i tried with commerical dog food when i 1st got them and they poop all the time!

but now they are back to raw feeding cos i notice their teeth is yellowing slightly and they poop everyday!

though it makes me wonder if homecooked meals are better since they digest it so well they hardly poop!

Originally Posted by cherrycookies

interesting you would say that cos when they are on homecooked meals, they hardly ever poop. i was worried that they were constipated cos they poop like every 3 days so i added more veggies to their meals. turn out they are not constipated but they just digest the food so well that they hardly poop. i tried with commerical dog food when i 1st got them and they poop all the time! but now they are back to raw feeding cos i notice their teeth is yellowing slightly and they poop everyday! though it makes me wonder if homecooked meals are better since they digest it so well they hardly poop!

Well with raw meat, you have natural moisture too. With cooked meat, you've essentially taken the moisture out. Meaning, if you cats don't increase their water intake, then you are right and they really were constipated. Also, with cooked meat (as I said before, you are destroying some of the nutrients) so when you added some veggies to the mix, it helped with digestion. Raw meat comes from prey that eat "veggies" so it's not that homecooked is better, but that you needed to replace/supplement something that was missing~

Originally Posted by Nolia

Well with raw meat, you have natural moisture too. With cooked meat, you've essentially taken the moisture out. Meaning, if you cats don't increase their water intake, then you are right and they really were constipated. Also, with cooked meat (as I said before, you are destroying some of the nutrients) so when you added some veggies to the mix, it helped with digestion. Raw meat comes from prey that eat "veggies" so it's not that homecooked is better, but that you needed to replace/supplement something that was missing~

but actually i found out later they are not constipated, they just don't poop every day. when they do poop, it's like 3 days accumulated which only happens on homemade meals.

they have access to water all the time.

now they are back to raw feeding, pooping everyday though i am also worried about salmonella bacteria posioning which is why some people don't believe in raw feeding..

my vet do suggest homecooked meals if they have an upset stomach....

that's why i am on the fence on raw feeding or homecooked meals..

Originally Posted by cherrycookies

but actually i found out later they are not constipated, they just don't poop every day. when they do poop, it's like 3 days accumulated which only happens on homemade meals. they have access to water all the time. now they are back to raw feeding, pooping everyday though i am also worried about salmonella bacteria posioning which is why some people don't believe in raw feeding.. my vet do suggest homecooked meals if they have an upset stomach.... that's why i am on the fence on raw feeding or homecooked meals..

The didn't poop everyday because it likely took them longer to digest cooked meat. They are supposed to poop close to daily otherwise they are constipated. I wouldn't worry about salmonella though if you are taking the proper measures when handling raw meat (and it seems like you are). Lions and wolves don't get salmonella poisoning when they eat scavenged left overs. Don't let your vet scare you away from raw feeding!

Originally Posted by Nolia

The didn't poop everyday because it likely took them longer to digest cooked meat. They are supposed to poop close to daily otherwise they are constipated. I wouldn't worry about salmonella though if you are taking the proper measures when handling raw meat (and it seems like you are). Lions and wolves don't get salmonella poisoning when they eat scavenged left overs. Don't let your vet scare you away from raw feeding!

ya but they eat fresh from the hunt whereas we get our meat from the supermarkets.

don't get me wrong, i am just really thinking if home cooked or raw feeding is better for my pets. just want to do the best for them and hope they live till 20! i have 2 chihuahuas and i read it is possible for them to live to that age!!

Originally Posted by cherrycookies

ya but they eat fresh from the hunt whereas we get our meat from the supermarkets. don't get me wrong, i am just really thinking if home cooked or raw feeding is better for my pets. just want to do the best for them and hope they live till 20! i have 2 chihuahuas and i read it is possible for them to live to that age!!

Ya, I feel the fresher the better. I hope you find a conclusion to your journey soon. I'm still working on the litter stuff