I thought I was a savvy raw-food feeder, after nearly 10 years of having my 11-year-old cat, Isabel, on a totally raw food diet. For most of that time, I was feeding Feline's Pride (chicken), mixed with raw chicken breast chunks at about a 1:1 ratio. But when I stopped being able get my orders filled at Feline's Pride, I switched over to Bravo (and chicken chunks) because I can get it from a local pet store.
Isabel always seemed to do pretty well on the Feline's Pride diet, which seemed to totally clear up her cystitis issues. She did, however, have ongoing, but relatively minor, problems with dental stuff and constipation. My vet prescribed lactulose (which I give every other day [about 3cc]), and dental wipes (which Isabel and I have a difference of opinion over). She also suggested adding water to her food to help with the constipation. I can't remember if the lactulose only became necessary after I switched to Bravo, but I do know I've only gone through less than two bottles total, and in retrospect I think it might coincide with the switch.
Isabel was getting tartar even while on the Feline's Pride (which is totally carb-free), and my vet said it was just a matter of genetics. I worried that because it was all just either ground food or boneless chicken chunks, there wasn't anything scraping on Isabel's teeth, but whenever I brought it up, she sort of acted like tooth problems were just a normal part of cat life. I asked her again and again if I should be trying to get Isabel to eat, say, chicken wings (for the bones), or some sort of tooth-cleaning treat, but she kept telling me it wouldn't make a difference.
Up until a couple weeks ago, my vet would come for Isabel's yearly physical and use her fingernail to chip off the tartar. Isabel's gums would bleed in response and the vet would give her a shot of antibiotics and steroids. But over the past couple years Isabel's teeth have definitely gotten worse, to the point where we moved to 6-month checkups. Her last visit, three weeks ago, my vet said it was time for an official teeth cleaning. So two weeks ago Isabel went in for that -- they removed two teeth from her upper jaw, both "premolar 3," one due to being fractured and the other because it had a "cervical neck lesion." In addition to the tooth stuff, her constipation issues seem to be getting worse, too. My vet also recommended that I start giving Isabel the lactulose on a daily basis.
I try to be an attentive cat owner, but I have to say it's only been since this teeth cleaning, seeing how utterly miserable Isabel was afterwards, that I decided to get online and see if maybe there was something I could do diet-wise to help prevent the problem. Now I feel completely overwhelmed with info about bone vs. no bone, ground vs. whole, carbohydrate percentages, pre-mixed supplements, stuff that's good for teeth vs. stuff that's good for digestion, varying the meat types ... the list goes on. I had no idea Bravo had carbs in it, and that carbs could be contributing to her tooth problems. I feel like for the past two years I've been giving her the wrong food, and two weeks ago she had to pay for my ignorance with two of her teeth and a lot of pain and suffering. Not only that, I've been studiously adding water to every meal, which, lo and behold, is apparently the exact wrong thing to do with a constipation-prone cat!
I want to do the best thing for her teeth while still paying attention to the constipation thing (because although it's not common that she has a real "bout," when she does, it makes her pretty miserable, too). I believe there's a raw diet out there for her that will fulfill all her needs without the use of added medications like lactulose. It doesn't make sense to me to be giving her meds just because I haven't learned how to feed her properly. My vet is useless in this area (although I do trust her in general), so here I am.
I'm willing to mix up batches from pre-ground stuff, but I don't have the equipment for doing the grinding myself, and I'd prefer to not do that anyhow. Nobody nearby sells Rad Cat (which seems to be the only other carb-free frozen stuff besides Feline's Pride), and when I went online to order some, the shipping, packaging, and extra charges for frozen food added up to 80 bucks for an 18-dollar order! Shipping alone was 47 dollars. Don't get me wrong -- I'm willing to pay this if it really is the best thing for her, but I did more research and it seems like maybe it makes more sense for me to go the less pre-packaged route, which will allow me to tailor her food to her specific needs.
I want to try ordering from Hare Today, but I'm confused about what to shoot for. I'm thinking that rabbit might be the way to go at first? But I don't know whether to order the stuff with bone in it, or the boneless stuff, or both, and give her a mix. From what I understand the bone stuff can make constipation worse, but is better for teeth. I also understand it might be important to get the most digestible stuff and mix it in so Isabel is simply eating more, which will automatically help with the constipation. I know I also need to get the pre-mixed supplement, but I'm unclear about the essential oils thing. Isabel once caught and ate a mouse that had gotten into the house, so I'm also wondering if maybe the whole ground rabbit, with the fur and bones, would make sense, since I know she's not averse to skin and fur and all that, but I don't know what that would mean in terms of the constipation.
I live in a rural area and there are tons of mice around and honestly, if I thought it would be safe for her, I'd be happy to go out and trap mice for her -- even to the point of doing the butchering myself, ha! However, the mice are so prevalent that I have a contract with a pest control company and I'd worry about them being contaminated by having eaten some of the poison. Never mind tapeworms, ticks, diseases, and such.
Anyhow, so yeah. I really just want to do the best thing for my cat. I take this cat-guardian thing very seriously and am totally committed to making sure she has what she needs. I'm not squeamish, although as I said, I'd prefer to not have to grind the meat. I'm not averse to putting in the time it takes to mix up batches of her meals. I think I just need some guidance.
Am I overthinking this? Does anyone else use Hare Today, and if so, do you have any suggestions on how to get started? Does anyone have experience with adjusting a raw diet for a rotten-toothed, constipated cat? I'm hoping for some direction on what, exactly, to order. I'm pretty sure I can transition Isabel from chicken to rabbit, but will that mess with her system since she's basically only ever eaten chicken her entire life? Should I order a bunch of different types of meat to start? (I did once try to introduce turkey Feline's Pride and Isabel rejected it out-of-hand and was convinced for like a week that I was trying to kill her.) I have only a regular freezer (as part of the fridge) right now, but plan on getting a separate one just for cat food once I figure out what the heck I'm doing.
Any thoughts or advice?
Apologies for the length of this post, and thanks in advance for your replies.
Isabel always seemed to do pretty well on the Feline's Pride diet, which seemed to totally clear up her cystitis issues. She did, however, have ongoing, but relatively minor, problems with dental stuff and constipation. My vet prescribed lactulose (which I give every other day [about 3cc]), and dental wipes (which Isabel and I have a difference of opinion over). She also suggested adding water to her food to help with the constipation. I can't remember if the lactulose only became necessary after I switched to Bravo, but I do know I've only gone through less than two bottles total, and in retrospect I think it might coincide with the switch.
Isabel was getting tartar even while on the Feline's Pride (which is totally carb-free), and my vet said it was just a matter of genetics. I worried that because it was all just either ground food or boneless chicken chunks, there wasn't anything scraping on Isabel's teeth, but whenever I brought it up, she sort of acted like tooth problems were just a normal part of cat life. I asked her again and again if I should be trying to get Isabel to eat, say, chicken wings (for the bones), or some sort of tooth-cleaning treat, but she kept telling me it wouldn't make a difference.
Up until a couple weeks ago, my vet would come for Isabel's yearly physical and use her fingernail to chip off the tartar. Isabel's gums would bleed in response and the vet would give her a shot of antibiotics and steroids. But over the past couple years Isabel's teeth have definitely gotten worse, to the point where we moved to 6-month checkups. Her last visit, three weeks ago, my vet said it was time for an official teeth cleaning. So two weeks ago Isabel went in for that -- they removed two teeth from her upper jaw, both "premolar 3," one due to being fractured and the other because it had a "cervical neck lesion." In addition to the tooth stuff, her constipation issues seem to be getting worse, too. My vet also recommended that I start giving Isabel the lactulose on a daily basis.
I try to be an attentive cat owner, but I have to say it's only been since this teeth cleaning, seeing how utterly miserable Isabel was afterwards, that I decided to get online and see if maybe there was something I could do diet-wise to help prevent the problem. Now I feel completely overwhelmed with info about bone vs. no bone, ground vs. whole, carbohydrate percentages, pre-mixed supplements, stuff that's good for teeth vs. stuff that's good for digestion, varying the meat types ... the list goes on. I had no idea Bravo had carbs in it, and that carbs could be contributing to her tooth problems. I feel like for the past two years I've been giving her the wrong food, and two weeks ago she had to pay for my ignorance with two of her teeth and a lot of pain and suffering. Not only that, I've been studiously adding water to every meal, which, lo and behold, is apparently the exact wrong thing to do with a constipation-prone cat!
I want to do the best thing for her teeth while still paying attention to the constipation thing (because although it's not common that she has a real "bout," when she does, it makes her pretty miserable, too). I believe there's a raw diet out there for her that will fulfill all her needs without the use of added medications like lactulose. It doesn't make sense to me to be giving her meds just because I haven't learned how to feed her properly. My vet is useless in this area (although I do trust her in general), so here I am.
I'm willing to mix up batches from pre-ground stuff, but I don't have the equipment for doing the grinding myself, and I'd prefer to not do that anyhow. Nobody nearby sells Rad Cat (which seems to be the only other carb-free frozen stuff besides Feline's Pride), and when I went online to order some, the shipping, packaging, and extra charges for frozen food added up to 80 bucks for an 18-dollar order! Shipping alone was 47 dollars. Don't get me wrong -- I'm willing to pay this if it really is the best thing for her, but I did more research and it seems like maybe it makes more sense for me to go the less pre-packaged route, which will allow me to tailor her food to her specific needs.
I want to try ordering from Hare Today, but I'm confused about what to shoot for. I'm thinking that rabbit might be the way to go at first? But I don't know whether to order the stuff with bone in it, or the boneless stuff, or both, and give her a mix. From what I understand the bone stuff can make constipation worse, but is better for teeth. I also understand it might be important to get the most digestible stuff and mix it in so Isabel is simply eating more, which will automatically help with the constipation. I know I also need to get the pre-mixed supplement, but I'm unclear about the essential oils thing. Isabel once caught and ate a mouse that had gotten into the house, so I'm also wondering if maybe the whole ground rabbit, with the fur and bones, would make sense, since I know she's not averse to skin and fur and all that, but I don't know what that would mean in terms of the constipation.
I live in a rural area and there are tons of mice around and honestly, if I thought it would be safe for her, I'd be happy to go out and trap mice for her -- even to the point of doing the butchering myself, ha! However, the mice are so prevalent that I have a contract with a pest control company and I'd worry about them being contaminated by having eaten some of the poison. Never mind tapeworms, ticks, diseases, and such.
Anyhow, so yeah. I really just want to do the best thing for my cat. I take this cat-guardian thing very seriously and am totally committed to making sure she has what she needs. I'm not squeamish, although as I said, I'd prefer to not have to grind the meat. I'm not averse to putting in the time it takes to mix up batches of her meals. I think I just need some guidance.
Am I overthinking this? Does anyone else use Hare Today, and if so, do you have any suggestions on how to get started? Does anyone have experience with adjusting a raw diet for a rotten-toothed, constipated cat? I'm hoping for some direction on what, exactly, to order. I'm pretty sure I can transition Isabel from chicken to rabbit, but will that mess with her system since she's basically only ever eaten chicken her entire life? Should I order a bunch of different types of meat to start? (I did once try to introduce turkey Feline's Pride and Isabel rejected it out-of-hand and was convinced for like a week that I was trying to kill her.) I have only a regular freezer (as part of the fridge) right now, but plan on getting a separate one just for cat food once I figure out what the heck I'm doing.
Any thoughts or advice?
Apologies for the length of this post, and thanks in advance for your replies.
) - daily manual cleaning of your cat's teeth at home. In cats prone to dental issues, the best diet in the world won't be enough on it's own. Cleaning his teeth with an enzymatic kitty toothpaste is the single best way to ensure dental health - even raw meaty bones can't match it for efficacy 
