Without having the data readily available nor the desire to research it out again and find it...I'll say that taurine is not sufficiently damaged by the freezing process to be that concerned about it so long as you're using dark muscle meats and hearts as your primary source of taurine. And as...
I've been here for a relatively short period of time (7 months), but there's been a new addition to my pet family. Akuma is a 17-week old marble bengal, and is a new friend for my 16-month old siberian, Shiva!
And Shiva! (because she's so purty!)
As noted by others, chunked meat is decent for dental health (and mental stimulation, by the way). But raw bones is where you're going to see the best results. Chicken wings are great for this, as the bones are small. Some cats are able (and willing) to graduate to chicken thigh bones.
Even so...
The gel caps are perfectly safe to consume. Dissolve in hot water and mix well with the rest of your slurry ingredients. I don't puncture or cut anything, and it can dissolve while I do my meat grinding.
Blood work came back all negative. White cell count was normal and no Leukemia or AIDS.
4 days out from all this and he's back to normal now, so it seems that either the antibiotics did the trick or he would have gotten over whatever it was naturally. Either way he's better and that's all I...
Vet said that if he'd eaten something bad, he'd either be vomiting or diarrhea, and I've not noticed either one.
This morning he finally showed a bit of interest in food and he urinated, so those are both good signs. He's a bit more alert, but still fairly lethargic. Really good news is that...
Yesterday Kratos (5-month old siberian) was sleeping a lot more than usual. He wasn't his usually energetic self and didn't eat much, but I didn't think too much about it. But he didn't come to the bedroom last night like he has every night since we got him 6 weeks ago. When I got up this...
@Roxane0470 What was the basis for the vet wanting to see a 2 lb weight gain? If the cat was obviously underweight and malnourished from the shelter then that's one thing. But not every breed of cat weighs the same, or exhibits the same physiological characteristics of being over/under weight...
Our two shih tzus were on dry kibble their entire lives. One just passed a few months back and he had only a few teeth left. The remaining pup only has a few of her teeth left...all because we'd always been told that kibble keeps their teeth clean so no worries! Such a lie, and the fact that...
UPDATE
I had to separate their feeding as Sophie suggested. Shiva started gobbling food so that Kratos wouldn't take it all (even though he wasn't) and started throwing it up as a result. Upon separation she has ceased vomiting and all is well again.
Nice heads up, @sophie!
Recent pic of the...
Just dish soap and water here. I clean the food dishes every morning, and they don't get any food outside of the dish. But if they did I would use bleach on the floor.
My two siberians don't really lick me at all. But like tobermorey said...if they did I would just refrain from licking that place until I'd washed properly. :biggrin:
Here's my thing with salmonella (or any other bacteria that exist on raw food): CATS AREN'T PEOPLE. Salmonella can harm or kill us, but a cat's digestion system is vastly different than ours, most importantly in how short it is. And you would think that this would be something that vets would...
Heheh...love catchin' people like that!
My vet was very complimentary of our kittens' coats and teeth (I brush 4-5 times/week and give the occasional gizzard). And thankfully no flack for the diet.
I've even seen some people put their cats on VEGETARIAN DIETS...as though they were one of...
My kittens are eating about 5 oz./day each of Dr. Pierson's homemade raw. It fluctuates though...some days they down 6 oz. each, other days they barely finish 4 oz. each.
As to size...breed should be a consideration as well coupled with the fact that too many vets out there don't understand...
Bruce...you and I are of like mind on this nutrition thang. And you make a good point about vets being cautious about raw diets, as there are so many genuinely bad ones out there...like you mentioned with the fruit and grains that should most definitely not be in a cat's diet.
I just took my...
I use a penny can sometimes and hiss other times. The penny can is extremely effective. Now I have two kittens that know to stay out of the kitchen and off the dinner table and counter.
My siberians learned very quickly, now I rarely have to use the can. Hissing is less frequent as well, but...
I have switched to the Tractor Supply equine pine pellets and it is wonderful for us. The cats use it, the pellets dehydrate the solids very well--no odor--and the urine causes the pellets to turn to sawdust (but not so fine the cats can inhale it) and the sawdust falls into the slats at the...