I have two cats (1.5y and 2y old) that I adopted almost a year ago, I am feeding them with grain-free complete wet food (Animonda Carny, Weruva, ZiwiPeak etc.). I rotate the wet food (brands and "tastes") to keep it interesting and more nutritious and they seem to be happy about it.
Recently I talked to my vet and she praised me for how well I feed my cats (meaning quality foods) and asked me why I don't feed them a raw diet instead since that would be cheaper than expensive wet food. I have my reasons (I am not fond of handling any raw meat (makes me sick, to be honest) and my freezer is so tiny I couldn't store much in there, and since I don't have a car, getting quality meat on a regular basis would be hard), but just for the sake of it, I tried buying a little piece of chicken today (it was only about 30g for each cat), I put it into a hot water for a few seconds (internet told me it helps with bacteria and my cats like their food warm anyway) and served it, and never have I ever seen my cats so happy about their meal! I mean, they will swallow down their wet food and lick their paws on a daily basis, but this time they were meowing and begging me for more, sniffing the kitchen and trying to find if the delicious food is hidden somewhere. And now every time I go to the kitchen, they run after me and meow (which they don't do usually).
I know realistically I am not ready to try raw diet yet (I haven't even researched it properly), what I wanted to ask, is it a good idea to give them meat for one meal and wet food for the second or will that make their diet incomplete? I know a small piece of chicken won't have everything they need so I am worried that by giving them some meat instead of a complete wet food meal I might make it worse? Should I leave the meat for a treat instead?
Recently I talked to my vet and she praised me for how well I feed my cats (meaning quality foods) and asked me why I don't feed them a raw diet instead since that would be cheaper than expensive wet food. I have my reasons (I am not fond of handling any raw meat (makes me sick, to be honest) and my freezer is so tiny I couldn't store much in there, and since I don't have a car, getting quality meat on a regular basis would be hard), but just for the sake of it, I tried buying a little piece of chicken today (it was only about 30g for each cat), I put it into a hot water for a few seconds (internet told me it helps with bacteria and my cats like their food warm anyway) and served it, and never have I ever seen my cats so happy about their meal! I mean, they will swallow down their wet food and lick their paws on a daily basis, but this time they were meowing and begging me for more, sniffing the kitchen and trying to find if the delicious food is hidden somewhere. And now every time I go to the kitchen, they run after me and meow (which they don't do usually).
I know realistically I am not ready to try raw diet yet (I haven't even researched it properly), what I wanted to ask, is it a good idea to give them meat for one meal and wet food for the second or will that make their diet incomplete? I know a small piece of chicken won't have everything they need so I am worried that by giving them some meat instead of a complete wet food meal I might make it worse? Should I leave the meat for a treat instead?