Raw Feeding for Cats and Dogs: My Journey and what I've learned.

[karman]

I think generally raw is better vs. cooked, assuming you use identical ingredients with the same balanced supplements. I don't worry about salmonella poisoning, I feed my kittens small pieces of raw chicken and sometimes raw quail eggs as a treat and have run into no problems.

Their regular meal consists of commercially prepared raw from Nature's Variety (in medallion and raw kibble forms). If I had the time to prepare my own I would, but to prepare nutritionally balanced meals and have variety would consume too much time for me. I've had great results from Nature's Variety, and I can rotate chicken, duck, lamb and beef for my kittens daily.
I love the product! http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/dog/all

I've completely removed dry food from their diet and have been decreasing their wet food intake. I am in the process of phasing out wet food from their diet too, and once our current canned supply runs out I won't be purchasing anymore.

They were going #2 maybe 2-3 times a day when they still had dry food in their diet. Now on a diet of mixed wet/raw they go 1-2 times a day, but the amount each time has significantly decreased. Hopefully when they are on raw, the frequency and/or amount will go down again.

 

[Sina]

What is the consensus on freezing meat and taurine? Do you use taurine supplements just in case?

 

[buzzytoes]

^Freezing for dogs or cats?? The only thing I have kept frozen for a bit for my dogs was fish - I read something that said you should freeze it for two weeks to kill a particular parasite I believe.

IMO taurine supplements would be a good idea if you are only feeding your cats meat and no organs. My understanding is they get the most taurine from organs.

 

[Sina]

^Freezing for dogs or cats?? The only thing I have kept frozen for a bit for my dogs was fish - I read something that said you should freeze it for two weeks to kill a particular parasite I believe.

IMO taurine supplements would be a good idea if you are only feeding your cats meat and no organs. My understanding is they get the most taurine from organs.

No I mean I think some people believe that freezing harms taurine. There are some conflicting ideas on this and I was wondering if we should give taurine supplements just in case?

 

[Nolia]

^Freezing for dogs or cats?? The only thing I have kept frozen for a bit for my dogs was fish - I read something that said you should freeze it for two weeks to kill a particular parasite I believe.

IMO taurine supplements would be a good idea if you are only feeding your cats meat and no organs. My understanding is they get the most taurine from organs.

No I mean I think some people believe that freezing harms taurine. There are some conflicting ideas on this and I was wondering if we should give taurine supplements just in case?

I freeze meat if I buy lots in advance. I DO freeze hearts (for taurine) but many times, I buy hearts after I run out of meat so I ensure they get some fresh hearts in their diet.

 

[emcosmo1639]

How do you guys store the meals? Right now we've been putting a couple days worth in baggies and then freezing them--it's really convenient, especially when the cat sitter comes by, we just thaw them out and only have to do the big preparation every few months. But I'm finding it kind of wasteful going through so many baggies, especially when I'm trying to cut down on plastic. I was thinking of trying reusable containers but wanted to hear what everyone else does first.

 

[hatbox]

How do you guys store the meals? Right now we've been putting a couple days worth in baggies and then freezing them--it's really convenient, especially when the cat sitter comes by, we just thaw them out and only have to do the big preparation every few months. But I'm finding it kind of wasteful going through so many baggies, especially when I'm trying to cut down on plastic. I was thinking of trying reusable containers but wanted to hear what everyone else does first.

Hey emcosmo- we uses to use plastic tupperwares but they cracked and had to be replaced often due to this. Now we use glass jars with the metal lids like for canning. Works really well and can dishwasher them on super hot! I've never had one break plus they are great for portion control.

we just got a new vet and she advocates raw meat diet for cats!!! Our cats have been on a raw diet since they were 1yr (they are 5-6 now). We started on raw because as a kitten one was doing poorly on almost every food our old vet recommended. He does great on raw but will get sick if fed commercial food even for a day.

 

[madamefifi]

No I mean I think some people believe that freezing harms taurine. There are some conflicting ideas on this and I was wondering if we should give taurine supplements just in case?

Cats excrete the taurine they don't use so you can give a supplement without fear. Because we were raw-feeding 10 cats and hearts were hard to find in enough quantity, we gave out kitties chewable multivitamins twice a day.

 

[emcosmo1639]

Hey emcosmo- we uses to use plastic tupperwares but they cracked and had to be replaced often due to this. Now we use glass jars with the metal lids like for canning. Works really well and can dishwasher them on super hot! I've never had one break plus they are great for portion control.

we just got a new vet and she advocates raw meat diet for cats!!! Our cats have been on a raw diet since they were 1yr (they are 5-6 now). We started on raw because as a kitten one was doing poorly on almost every food our old vet recommended. He does great on raw but will get sick if fed commercial food even for a day.

That's actually a really great idea, I never would have thought of jars!

Cats excrete the taurine they don't use so you can give a supplement without fear. Because we were raw-feeding 10 cats and hearts were hard to find in enough quantity, we gave out kitties chewable multivitamins twice a day.

Would you mind sharing the brand of vitamins or where you find them? My cats are not fans of hearts and I've been trying to find something to get them more taurine.

 

[madamefifi]

Would you mind sharing the brand of vitamins or where you find them? My cats are not fans of hearts and I've been trying to find something to get them more taurine.

Sure! They are the Nu-Cat chewable supplements, by Vetriscience. I ordered them on Amazon for fast shipping but I am sure they are available at other places. Two of the cats didn't care for them but the other 8 gobbled them up like candy. Interestingly the 2 that didn't like them were the best raw eaters--they ate everything including bone--so I didn't worry about them getting enough vites and minerals, etc.

 

[Nolia]

How do you guys store the meals? Right now we've been putting a couple days worth in baggies and then freezing them--it's really convenient, especially when the cat sitter comes by, we just thaw them out and only have to do the big preparation every few months. But I'm finding it kind of wasteful going through so many baggies, especially when I'm trying to cut down on plastic. I was thinking of trying reusable containers but wanted to hear what everyone else does first.

I store anything that I won't be using for a week in the freezer. I have encountered the plastic container splitting so I will likely be switching to glass. I don't generally freeze my hearts, I buy them and feed them for the next day or so.

Would you mind sharing the brand of vitamins or where you find them? My cats are not fans of hearts and I've been trying to find something to get them more taurine.

Stick to your guns!! My cats do not like liver or heart, but really, you need to be more stubborn than they are. Try reintroducing these items when they are more hungry. My cats do NOT like liver, so I give it to them first (smaller portion) before the regular meaty flesh. Same with hearts.

Also try liver/hearts from other animals. My cats don't like duck, they prefer chicken hearts. They also prefer pork and beef liver to chicken liver. So just vary your items and you won't need to supplement.

I feel supplements should really only be used if you don't have access, which is true in madamefifi's case.

 

[miszgenevieve]

I just started feeding my cats raw meat about a month ago. My little one (3yrs) took to it right away & my older one (11 almost 12yrs) took about a week which was awesome & loves it now. They love the chicken hearts but were going to try beef & chicken livers this week so im hoping thatll go good. Im curious how long to wait before we introduce meat with bones to them ? I know if i threw one to my little one hed destroy it, but im worried about my older one not liking it or getting fustrated with it & having to start over with her. Should I try or wait a bit longer to give them one ?

 

[Nolia]

I just started feeding my cats raw meat about a month ago. My little one (3yrs) took to it right away & my older one (11 almost 12yrs) took about a week which was awesome & loves it now. They love the chicken hearts but were going to try beef & chicken livers this week so im hoping thatll go good. Im curious how long to wait before we introduce meat with bones to them ? I know if i threw one to my little one hed destroy it, but im worried about my older one not liking it or getting fustrated with it & having to start over with her. Should I try or wait a bit longer to give them one ?

I had the EXACT same problem with my older cat. She's 10 now.
What I did was give her an animal with smaller bones (quail) and I'd "tenderize" it a bit, so the bones are already broken. Then when you give her meaty bones next time, just break it less... eventually over time, when your cat's jaw is strong enough, they will just break through the entire thing on their own.

The first few times, if they just eat the meat and leave the bone out is okay too. You can also try "thinner" bones like the breast of a quail.

 

[miszgenevieve]

I had the EXACT same problem with my older cat. She's 10 now.
What I did was give her an animal with smaller bones (quail) and I'd "tenderize" it a bit, so the bones are already broken. Then when you give her meaty bones next time, just break it less... eventually over time, when your cat's jaw is strong enough, they will just break through the entire thing on their own.

The first few times, if they just eat the meat and leave the bone out is okay too. You can also try "thinner" bones like the breast of a quail.

Are quails usually hard to find ? I've found the cornish game hens quite a bit but never quails the times I've looked before . But what about the little chicken wings (buffalo wings) ? Would those probably be easier if I can't find quail ?

 

[Nolia]

Are quails usually hard to find ? I've found the cornish game hens quite a bit but never quails the times I've looked before . But what about the little chicken wings (buffalo wings) ? Would those probably be easier if I can't find quail ?

I find them at my local supermarket. You can also find them in asian supermarkets. Frozen foods. Basically where you could find frozen whole chickens. Cornish hens work well too, but they are bigger than quails so bones are thicker. But if you don't have access to quail, use cornish hen (again just tenderize the bone for them to begin with). I find chicken wings themselves to be lacking in meat in proportion to the bone so I avoid those if I can.