Raw Feeding for Cats and Dogs: My Journey and what I've learned.
- Thread starter Nolia
- Start date
Couple of questions...
I have 2 cats, how do I ensure each one gets the correct ratio if I am mixing it all up and freezing it in portions? Should I make 2 batches and have a batch per cat so then they will have the correct ratios over the month?
Also, is heart 10% of the whole amount or is it 10% of the 80% muscle? E.G assuming each cat eats 100g per day I need 3100g per month per cat. 80% of 3100 is 2480. 10% of that is 248g. So do I need 2232g muscle i.e chicken and then 248g heart to make up the 80%. Or is it 10% of 3100 which is 310 and then 70% muscle e.g chicken which would be 2170..
I hope this makes sense...
I have 2 cats, how do I ensure each one gets the correct ratio if I am mixing it all up and freezing it in portions? Should I make 2 batches and have a batch per cat so then they will have the correct ratios over the month?
Also, is heart 10% of the whole amount or is it 10% of the 80% muscle? E.G assuming each cat eats 100g per day I need 3100g per month per cat. 80% of 3100 is 2480. 10% of that is 248g. So do I need 2232g muscle i.e chicken and then 248g heart to make up the 80%. Or is it 10% of 3100 which is 310 and then 70% muscle e.g chicken which would be 2170..
I hope this makes sense...
Makes sense but honestly, I just eye it. I don't measure. Don't worry about the exact grams, you'll drive yourself batty or stress yourself out. Sometimes my babies get a big chunk and other times not as much. I find that it replicates what wild cats would do (they wouldn't be catching the exact same sized/proportioned meal every day).
So for example, every time I go to the grocery store, I buy a few pieces of pork shoulder shank (or if they are pre-cut about 2lbs), a tray of chicken hearts and a tray of beef liver. I get home, cut everything up and proportion it to (one hefty chunk of meat/pork shank, one small piece of liver about the size of my thumb, and one/two hearts).
I usually put everything in one container (freezing the rest) and everytime I feed the cats, I drop it in their bowls (even amount for both). HTH!
Ok thanks! I bought a load of stuff today and am planning on making up a batch tomorrow. It wont have the exact grams it should be, I am a few grams out either side but its roughly the amount needed..
Elsa is happily tucking in to the previous batch, Elise has decided she doesnt like it
Will sprinkle a treat over it if she hasnt touched it even though she ate some fine yesterday. There was a load put out and all of it was gone shortly after, I am sure Elsa cant have eaten it all as there was probably around 400-500g of it!Not sure what temp you are serving their food but I found my cats were more apt to eat it when it was either warm or room temp - they didn't like it straight out of the fridge. Like Nolia said, don't stress too much about the amount. I stopped using the scale for my dogs long ago and just eyeball it. They don't have to be exact numbers. If I notice they are getting a little plump then I start feeding smaller portions or vice versa.
Okay I've kinda hit a road block with my cats. Right now were feeding them beef & chicken livers mixed together, i always warm their food up in warm water since they won't touch it if its cold. Lately my oldest hasnt been touching her food, but will if i give her a treat on top of it. Yesterday i noticed my younger one not eating his either. Whenever we run out of food we switch to chicken breast & livers, (or hearts when we can find them) & so on. I dont want to just throw out the pre made frozen food bags for them, but i also dont want them to go hungry either. Should I go ahead & buy chicken breast & more livers for their food or is there any tips on how to get them to eat their food ?
Ok thanks! I bought a load of stuff today and am planning on making up a batch tomorrow. It wont have the exact grams it should be, I am a few grams out either side but its roughly the amount needed..
Elsa is happily tucking in to the previous batch, Elise has decided she doesnt like it
Good luck!! Sounds like they are naturals! I usually switch it up if they get bored of the same stuff. Maybe I'll throw in a quail one day. If I'm out of meat, I whisk an egg and supplement their meal for the day with one raw egg each.
My older one (who was harder to switch) stopped eating for three days one time. Freaked me out. So what I did was take a step backwards, I gave her wet food, and the next day, start the transition process over again. If she refused to eat beef, I gave her another meat, but about a week later, I will try beef again. She will forget she hates it and eat it because she's hungry.
It really does boil down to out-stubborning your cat. =)
Yes, temperature can play a big role. I'm lucky that both of mine like the meat fresh out of the fridge cold. =)
Sometimes I toss it up by supplementing a meal with one raw egg each, sometimes a whole quail. With my older one, I had to cut a hole in the meat and BURY a treat inside it. Did that for like, a week? You're on the right track!!
It is okay if you skip one meal to see if they will be hungry enough the next day to eat what you give them. If on the second day, they are still refusing, I would not panic. Give the same thing. If on the third day, they are still no eating, give in a little (third day, they should eat something - anything). Just don't panic, if you are in the middle transitioning, what happened to may cats was that their bodies were just adjusting to the "amount" of food they eat daily.
Basically, on dry/wet food, they ate about 1.5 - 2 cups of food. On raw, they will only eat 0.5 - 1 cup a day. My older cat had stopped eating one time because she just wasn't hungry. Her body was getting used to only eating 0.5 - 1 cup of food intake a day.
Elise is still playing up and refusing to eat the food. She was fine with it yesterday but today has decided she doesnt like it, I have tried cold and room temperature.
I am out of normal cat food so I cant try that but I have tried a crumbled treat over the top which worked yesterday and I have given her about 10 biscuits on top of the food which isn't advised but it is only a few.
Forgot the kidney and need to get some more muscle meat tomorrow and then I will mix up another batch with some different ingredients and try that. Knowing my luck they will both refuse to eat it...
I seem to only get them both eating consistently when I feed them supermarket pouches, when I try better quality stuff one or both of them turns their nose up hence why I am now transitioning to raw completely (or so I thought!)
ETA: Elise had biscuits this morning, probably more than she was supposed to have so it wont do her any harm not eating tonight but hopefully tomorrow she will be so hungry she might just eat. It doesnt help that she is confined inside, a couple of weeks ago she was burning off energy outside like Elsa is now which probably explains her sudden appetite increase in the last 2 days since she has been allowed back out.
Yes, I experienced the exact same thing with my older cat. You're not alone! If they only way she will eat is if you crumble some treats on top, do it. Then every day, sprinkle less and less until there is no more. So don't be discouraged!! As you are transitioning, stick with what they like. Then when they are more confidently eating a raw diet, then you can change it up. I only changed meats when they refused to eat.
Could I put an egg on a little bit of food to see if theyll eat it then ? Im cutting down on how much they eat, i theyre currently eating about 2.5 oz or so right now. I know my oldest if shes hungry enough, like if we feed them an early dinner shell be begging for food in the morning & eat it all up. But lately they've been getting breakfast & dinner around the same time, theyll both still beg for breakfast or dinner but wont really touch it for whatever reason & pick at it through the day.
Today is my older cats birthday & i dont want her to go too hungry obviously, is there a good birthday treat i can substitute for her dinner tonight ? She still isn't on board with the whole quail thing even when i tenderize them some.
You could try putting egg on the food, however in my experience, egg is another learning curve. It's "sticky" not like water, yet I've supplemented it as a meal. I only feed my cats once a day. Ideally, I would do it twice. The moment they are done, I remove the food/bowl so they can't "graze" on it during the day. That way they know, when it's feeding time, it's that or nothing. So that has gotten my cats to eat what I put in front of them. "Discipline" if you will. As for treats, I usually buy "PureBites" because it is dried ______ made with only one ingredient (dried chicken, beef liver, oceanfish etc). Sometimes, when I'm eating dinner (if I have turkey or roast chicken, or if I'm cutting up steak for myself), I will give a piece as a treat for my cats. However, I ensure the following:
- if I give raw, I ensure it is not marinated/seasoned
- if it is cooked chicken/turkey, I ensure no sauce is on it, and to make sure that it is not too hot.
HTH!