Anyone else have a cat that hates rabbit?

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I've been feeding raw to my three boys for about a month and a half now from a few different proteins I got from hare-today. I originally got chicken, pork, beef, venison and rabbit, although I am quite aware now that I probably should have stuck to rabbit and poultry. Anyway, I have one finicky guy that enjoys the chicken a lot but is OBSESSED with the pork (frozen 20+ days). I've never seen him so excited to eat in the 4 years we've had him, it's insane. The venison and beef are not any of their favorites, which is to be expected. The rabbit though seems to be the lowest on the list. My finicky boy Morty will only eat a nibble and then ignores it for the rest of the night. Out of curiosity, does anyone else have a cat that dislikes rabbit? I couldn't find much after searching other forums.

 

[Tobermory]

I have three cats and none of them liked rabbit very much. They’d eat it, but they clearly weren't enthusiastic about it. Since they were indifferent and I was paying $15 a pound at a local butcher shop, I stopped buying it! They’re currently on a chicken, turkey, pork rotation.

 

[Beholder]

I have three cats and none of them liked rabbit very much. They’d eat it, but they clearly weren't enthusiastic about it. Since they were indifferent and I was paying $15 a pound at a local butcher shop, I stopped buying it! They’re currently on a chicken, turkey, pork rotation.

Oh that's interesting to hear that you're cats are very similar! I was really surprised that my finicky cat loves pork so much considering it's a red meat and so many cats don't like red meats. On a side note, since you feed them pork, have you noticed any fat in their stool? I know pork is a fattier meat, but when my cat Morty eats it I've noticed it looks like undigested fat comes out at the end of his solid stools. I haven't noticed yet if it happens with my other two boys.

 

[Maurey]

My kitty is a waste disposal She’ll eat pretty much any protein I give her, but she typically gets rabbit as her “treat meals” four days a month for some protein variety :> Would be 8 meals interspersed through the month, but it’s impractical for me to freeze raw in anything but 500 gram containers because her food takes up over a third of my limited freezer space as-is.
I give her protein variety by giving her “snacks” out of any farm-bought protein I buy for myself, and I’ve yet to find anything she’d truly reject. She’s kinda half-hearted towards calamari, which is odd, as she likes her monthly piece of farm-raised salmon haha. Maybe it’s the texture?

In any case, it might be that I generally can’t reasonably afford as much variety in her diet as I would like — pretty much anything but chicken or possibly turkey is really expensive where I live in the amounts she needs a day (200 grams/~7 ounces) — but she gets super excited when she realises she’s getting bunny, even if it’s just a small amount when I’m cooking rabbit for myself.
She’s always a great eater, and excited for food, but she’ll commonly vibrate her tail in excitement when she realises she’s getting a bunny meal ^^
Regarding pork — I have no doubt that she’d like it, but I don’t really have a source I’d trust for buying it in high enough quality to let my cat eat it, sadly. Plus, her tum just doesn’t handle fatty proteins overly-well, she used to end up with looser stools because of it when she got fattier cuts in her raw.

 

[Tobermory]

On a side note, since you feed them pork, have you noticed any fat in their stool?

I use pork loin which is fairly lean. The chicken thighs, though, have quite a bit of fat on them. But I’ve never seen fat in their stool, and I do keep a pretty close eye on their “output” since two of them are 16 and all three are prone to constipation. Can you take a stool sample to your vet?

I thought mine would be excited about bunny, too, but no, Maurey . I accused them of not being quite “cat”!

 

[Maurey]

I thought mine would be excited about bunny, too, but no, Maurey Maurey . I accused them of not being quite “cat”!

It's definitely unusual! My girl even goes crazy over dehydrated bunny ears, the ones they usually sell as dog toys. Jum just loves them, and will commonly eat an ear in one to two sittings -- she really likes chewing, for a cat! In fact, I originally bought her dehydrated bunny feet, thinking she'd like them as a toy for playing fetch. Imagine my surprise when she started eating them!
In any case, took the foot away, started buying her ears, instead. I also started making her raw with bunny for a few days a month :>

 

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I use pork loin which is fairly lean. The chicken thighs, though, have quite a bit of fat on them. But I’ve never seen fat in their stool, and I do keep a pretty close eye on their “output” since two of them are 16 and all three are prone to constipation. Can you take a stool sample to your vet?

I thought mine would be excited about bunny, too, but no, Maurey . I accused them of not being quite “cat”!

Ahh gotcha, yeah I've just been using the bone grind from hare-today. And as for the vet, while my cats do go in for regular check ups and teeth cleanings, I haven't found a vet around me that supports raw diets so I'm hesitant about bringing in a sample because I have a feeling they'll just say it's because I'm feeding raw and to stop doing so. They're the traditional Hills/Royal Canon vets. Luckily he is in good health (and at a healthy weight) and it only seems to happen with pork. He also is never constipated nor does he get diarrhea so I doubt he has a parasite or anything. I'll definitely look into pork loin though. I haven't had meat myself in about 10 years so I don't really know a lot about fattier/non-fattier parts.

 

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It's definitely unusual! My girl even goes crazy over dehydrated bunny ears, the ones they usually sell as dog toys. Jum just loves them, and will commonly eat an ear in one to two sittings -- she really likes chewing, for a cat! In fact, I originally bought her dehydrated bunny feet, thinking she'd like them as a toy for playing fetch. Imagine my surprise when she started eating them!
In any case, took the foot away, started buying her ears, instead. I also started making her raw with bunny for a few days a month :>

Oh I'll have to try the ears for my kitten. He loves rabbit feet so much! While he doesn't eat them (although the ones I bought are kinda meant for that) he loves to play with them. He'll ignore all of his other toys and play with the feet for hours at a time, growling if my other cats come near him because he's afraid they'll steal it hah. They are a bit creepy to see on the floor though--the bigger ones look so much like cat feet!

 

[Maurey]

Oh I'll have to try the ears for my kitten. He loves rabbit feet so much! While he doesn't eat them (although the ones I bought are kinda meant for that) he loves to play with them. He'll ignore all of his other toys and play with the feet for hours at a time, growling if my other cats come near him because he's afraid they'll steal it hah. They are a bit creepy to see on the floor though--the bigger ones look so much like cat feet!

Hopefully he'll like them! I'm happy he enjoys playing with his bunny feet ahah. The kind I got were meant as dog treats, but I didn't want to risk it -- rabbit bones are hollow, and compounding that with dehydration, I was too worried Jum would hurt herself, so I went on the prowl for bunny ears :>

I can imagine re: the creepiness! I didn't have them around for long, but seeing one in the dark while I was half-asleep was unsettling!

 

[livismom1]

I don't do raw but have do dehydrated raw...Ollie will not eat rabbit. My daughter used to have a pet rabbit and the two would play and almost cuddle each other. So it could be the whole "we don't eat friends" thing. lol

 

[daftcat75]

Krista loved rabbit! But with a caveat. She was very partial to the leg meat. The other cuts were too rich for her. She'd give those back. And she just didn't care for any hare-today chubs in any protein. She loved turkey too but she wouldn't give the turkey chub the time of day. However, if I bought turkey thighs from the butcher, she was all over those. And yes, feeding her just rabbit leg meat was even more expensive than you can imagine. I would buy two whole fryers from the specialty grocer in order to get 1 pound of leg meat. I removed the liver and kidneys and saved those for the grind. For some reason these fryers never came with a heart. Then I'd cut off the back legs and re-wrap the remaining carcass for my waste disposal of a beertender friend. In return, he would let me drink for free on rabbit drop nights bringing my cost down from $75 for 1 lbs of leg meat to something closer to $50. He fed some of the rabbit to his cat but he would also cook it up and eat it himself. I bought a manual grinder off Amazon for something like $40. I would grind the leg meat and the organs together and then add the rest of the supplements to make a homemade food she absolutely adored . Obviously, at that price, it was treat meals: twenty by one ounce meals that I used to reward her for taking her nightly prednisilone. She also ate the Rawz rabbit pate for the last year of her life.

If you're on the East Coast, Fossil Farms in New Jersey sells rabbit legs in a 4.5 lbs package (8 to 10 legs) that brings the price down to about $20/lbs. Though shipping brings that price back up. I'm on the West Coast. Shipping was just about the same price as the thighs. Stocking up would have brought the price back down. But when Krista's IBD progressed to lymphoma, I wasn't sure about feeding raw anymore to an immuno-suppressed (chemo) cat. Sad that her remission was not long enough for me to start up with the rabbit raw again. (No condolences please. Let's remember her life. Not her passing.)

 

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Krista loved rabbit! But with a caveat. She was very partial to the leg meat. The other cuts were too rich for her. She'd give those back. And she just didn't care for any hare-today chubs in any protein. She loved turkey too but she wouldn't give the turkey chub the time of day. However, if I bought turkey thighs from the butcher, she was all over those. And yes, feeding her just rabbit leg meat was even more expensive than you can imagine. I would buy two whole fryers from the specialty grocer in order to get 1 pound of leg meat. I removed the liver and kidneys and saved those for the grind. For some reason these fryers never came with a heart. Then I'd cut off the back legs and re-wrap the remaining carcass for my waste disposal of a beertender friend. In return, he would let me drink for free on rabbit drop nights bringing my cost down from $75 for 1 lbs of leg meat to something closer to $50. He fed some of the rabbit to his cat but he would also cook it up and eat it himself. I bought a manual grinder off Amazon for something like $40. I would grind the leg meat and the organs together and then add the rest of the supplements to make a homemade food she absolutely adored . Obviously, at that price, it was treat meals: twenty by one ounce meals that I used to reward her for taking her nightly prednisilone. She also ate the Rawz rabbit pate for the last year of her life.

If you're on the East Coast, Fossil Farms in New Jersey sells rabbit legs in a 4.5 lbs package (8 to 10 legs) that brings the price down to about $20/lbs. Though shipping brings that price back up. I'm on the West Coast. Shipping was just about the same price as the thighs. Stocking up would have brought the price back down. But when Krista's IBD progressed to lymphoma, I wasn't sure about feeding raw anymore to an immuno-suppressed (chemo) cat. Sad that her remission was not long enough for me to start up with the rabbit raw again. (No condolences please. Let's remember her life. Not her passing.)

That's really interesting. I'm fairly new to raw so I haven't really explored too many different cuts yet, I've basically just been feeding them the pre-ground meat/organ/bone grinds. I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to start grinding my own just yet though, mainly because we live in an apartment and I've heard grinders can be loud. Also my fiance and I are both long time vegans and while I don't see that big of a deal in it (it's basically the same as what is in a can of food) he's definitely not ready for it. He wasn't happy when he came home from work to see rabbit feet on our floor hah. 40 dollars does seem like a steel for a grinder....since it's manual is it loud at all? Can someone with say....0 arm muscle work it?

My cats all refuse to touch Rawz for some reason. It might be the type I bought (I think it was minced or something) because I was a bit limited as the others had fish oil and I have no way of knowing if it's pharmaceutical grade or not. Also I am in California, so I can imagine it would be quite expensive to order those, especially if my cats won't eat them. Thank you for the information though!

 

[daftcat75]

Rawz pates are where it's at. The shredded texture is in all the chicken and fish flavors my IBD kitty couldn't have. But she adored the turkey pate and grew to love the rabbit pate. She wasn't super keen on it at first. But she warmed up to it when she realized that was all she was ever going to get. I think her lymphoma burned the turkey bridge. We never did get to try it again after remission.

Manual grinder is only as loud as the obscenities that might escape your lips if the grinder doesn't stay put. More on this in a moment. It also doesn't require arm strength. What it does require is a good non-slip counter surface to mount to. It's a vice grip not a screw-down. Though you can get those kind too. But I don't think your landlord would appreciate the renovation. In my kitchen, the countertop is polished granite. Even though there's a plastic shim piece that goes between the steel vice and the counter to try to improve traction, the grinder would start to "dance": it wouldn't stay still. I must have spent more effort trying to keep the grinder in place than the actual cranking motion. If you freeze the meat before grinding, it's much easier to grind than thawed meat. Thawed meat requires more arm power and it turns to pink slime in the grinder. With frozen meat, you get a much cleaner grind. I'm told you can also grind frozen meat in a food processor. But I haven't tried that. The only time I tried a food processor was with thawed meat which, you guessed it, became pink slime.

This is the grinder I got. You might look on Amazon to see what other options you have for the feet/grip.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQSW44/?tag=thecatsite

I believe homemade raw is the best looking food. And Krista thought it was the best tasting. But we did go through many rounds of "Krista Test Kitchen" to find out what she actually liked.

Here is the process in a picture collage. I have spared you carcass pictures.

 

[Beholder]

Rawz pates are where it's at. The shredded texture is in all the chicken and fish flavors my IBD kitty couldn't have. But she adored the turkey pate and grew to love the rabbit pate. She wasn't super keen on it at first. But she warmed up to it when she realized that was all she was ever going to get. I think her lymphoma burned the turkey bridge. We never did get to try it again after remission.

Manual grinder is only as loud as the obscenities that might escape your lips if the grinder doesn't stay put. More on this in a moment. It also doesn't require arm strength. What it does require is a good non-slip counter surface to mount to. It's a vice grip not a screw-down. Though you can get those kind too. But I don't think your landlord would appreciate the renovation. In my kitchen, the countertop is polished granite. Even though there's a plastic shim piece that goes between the steel vice and the counter to try to improve traction, the grinder would start to "dance": it wouldn't stay still. I must have spent more effort trying to keep the grinder in place than the actual cranking motion. If you freeze the meat before grinding, it's much easier to grind than thawed meat. Thawed meat requires more arm power and it turns to pink slime in the grinder. With frozen meat, you get a much cleaner grind. I'm told you can also grind frozen meat in a food processor. But I haven't tried that. The only time I tried a food processor was with thawed meat which, you guessed it, became pink slime.

This is the grinder I got. You might look on Amazon to see what other options you have for the feet/grip.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQSW44/?tag=thecatsite

I believe homemade raw is the best looking food. And Krista thought it was the best tasting. But we did go through many rounds of "Krista Test Kitchen" to find out what she actually liked.

Here is the process in a picture collage. I have spared you carcass pictures.
View attachment 368129

Apologies, I just went to look up if Rawz pate has fish oil and realized I was feeding an entirely different brand, Crave. I have no idea what made me confuse those two! I might give them a try though because I'm not seeing any added fish oil. My finicky cat Morty (same one with a fish allergy) needs a pretty big rotation. With the exception of pork (which he will eat every meal no problem) everything else he only likes once a week. I think I might try some of their products though as it looks like catfooddb gives them an 8 on the pate and I've seen quite a few people recommend them. He was doing well with Tikicat for a while but recently has decided he no longer likes them either.

And thank you for the information! Knowing that this isn't too loud, I'm really interested now. Our counters are that cheap, fake looking granite...maybe laminate? I'm not sure but underneath it just looks like particle board or something so I wonder if they would hold up. With the raw meat rotation I just ordered today I'm doing Chicken/Turkey/Pork/Quail/Duck (plus chicken organs) and after doing the math including the shipping/alnutrin/oil it comes to about 2.37 per cat per day. While this half the cost of when they used to eat canned food alone, I know if I ground it up myself I could get it down to probably less than a dollar depending on the proteins. Chicken by itself is already less than a dollar a day so I'm sure that could get down to a few dimes. Lol I'm a college student so every bit counts.

Also I see that you use a whisk? Do you usually add extra water to it (other than what supplements call for)? I have to use a potato masher and spoon to mix all the supplements in. I think it would probably break my whisk. Sorry for all the questions, I'm still a bit new to this.

 

[Tobermory]

I don't really know a lot about fattier/non-fattier parts.

I didn’t either, but I found the following info on one of the raw feeding websites. (I can’t remember which one.)

Cuts of Meat

• Pork butt, often very cheap and very fatty.
• Pork loin chops very lean and cheap 2-3x per year.
• Beef brisket, usually the cheapest beef, particularly Memorial Day and July 4th. It's also the highest fat cut of beef.
• Leanest beef = eye of round roast. It's surprisingly low fat.
• Also with beef, the grade usually indicates fat content: Select beef is usually low fat, Choice has a little more fat running through the meat, and Prime beef is usually well-marbled with fat. So what we humans like, Prime beef, is most expensive because all the fat tenderizes the meat and adds flavor. Select meat is tougher, chewier, leaner and cheaper...great for kitties!

I use an electric grinder, and yes, it’s loud. I wear ear plugs. The kitties took off the first couple of times I used it, but now they ignore it. It makes fast work of grinding and while it’s loud, it doesn’t seem like it’s that much louder than a food processor. I’m sure it depends on which one you buy.

I was feeding Rawz pâtés before I started to make their food. Again, the little weirdos didn’t like the rabbit, but they did like the other proteins.

 

[daftcat75]

Apologies, I just went to look up if Rawz pate has fish oil and realized I was feeding an entirely different brand, Crave. I have no idea what made me confuse those two! I might give them a try though because I'm not seeing any added fish oil. My finicky cat Morty (same one with a fish allergy) needs a pretty big rotation. With the exception of pork (which he will eat every meal no problem) everything else he only likes once a week. I think I might try some of their products though as it looks like catfooddb gives them an 8 on the pate and I've seen quite a few people recommend them. He was doing well with Tikicat for a while but recently has decided he no longer likes them either.

And thank you for the information! Knowing that this isn't too loud, I'm really interested now. Our counters are that cheap, fake looking granite...maybe laminate? I'm not sure but underneath it just looks like particle board or something so I wonder if they would hold up. With the raw meat rotation I just ordered today I'm doing Chicken/Turkey/Pork/Quail/Duck (plus chicken organs) and after doing the math including the shipping/alnutrin/oil it comes to about 2.37 per cat per day. While this half the cost of when they used to eat canned food alone, I know if I ground it up myself I could get it down to probably less than a dollar depending on the proteins. Chicken by itself is already less than a dollar a day so I'm sure that could get down to a few dimes. Lol I'm a college student so every bit counts.

Also I see that you use a whisk? Do you usually add extra water to it (other than what supplements call for)? I have to use a potato masher and spoon to mix all the supplements in. I think it would probably break my whisk. Sorry for all the questions, I'm still a bit new to this.

The Rawz duck pate has salmon oil added. This should not be a problem from a food allergy point of view as fish oil is the fat. Allergies are to the protein. The other pates do not have added fish oil as far as I know.

I added as much water as the recipe called for: half a cup per lbs. of meat.

Krista had IBD and through much experimentation, we found that she could not have any of the premixes because they all had egg yolk: one of her sensitivities. I tried to follow a recipe as close as I could. But I did have to "off-road it." I don't recommend this. I did it for her because I was at the end of our rope about what might work with her. Ultimately, steroids, chemo, and eliminating all her trigger foods (including the fish flakes I was wrapping her nightly pred pill in) was what finally got us to remission. Unfortunately, she was too tiny and weak by the time we got here and succumbed shockingly quickly to a bladder infection.

This was the last recipe I was using for her treat meals: about 1 oz at night as a reward for our nightly medicine wrestling matches. The rest of her meals were Rawz Rabbit pate.

1 lbs boneless meat (rabbit or turkey thigh meat)
45 grams liver
1/2 cup water
1 tsp seaweed calcium
1/8 tsp Vitamin E
1000 mg Taurine
1 "pinch" (1/16th tsp) kelp (iodine supplement)

When I made it from fryer rabbits, I would toss in the kidneys as well. I probably adjusted the liver weight. But I don't remember anymore.

What's missing is the B vitamins which smells like feet and turned her off and the egg yolk which was a trigger food for her. We did try Alnutrin and it made a wonderful looking food that she adored. Unfortunately, it wasn't kind to her because of the egg yolk. If you are feeding predominantly raw, please make sure you use a supplement premix or follow a recipe (http://catnutrition.org or StackPath both have recipes I recommend.) An unbalanced recipe over time can result in nutritional deficiencies.

 

[Beholder]

I didn’t either, but I found the following info on one of the raw feeding websites. (I can’t remember which one.)

Cuts of Meat

• Pork butt, often very cheap and very fatty.
• Pork loin chops very lean and cheap 2-3x per year.
• Beef brisket, usually the cheapest beef, particularly Memorial Day and July 4th. It's also the highest fat cut of beef.
• Leanest beef = eye of round roast. It's surprisingly low fat.
• Also with beef, the grade usually indicates fat content: Select beef is usually low fat, Choice has a little more fat running through the meat, and Prime beef is usually well-marbled with fat. So what we humans like, Prime beef, is most expensive because all the fat tenderizes the meat and adds flavor. Select meat is tougher, chewier, leaner and cheaper...great for kitties!

I use an electric grinder, and yes, it’s loud. I wear ear plugs. The kitties took off the first couple of times I used it, but now they ignore it. It makes fast work of grinding and while it’s loud, it doesn’t seem like it’s that much louder than a food processor. I’m sure it depends on which one you buy.

I was feeding Rawz pâtés before I started to make their food. Again, the little weirdos didn’t like the rabbit, but they did like the other proteins.

Thank you for the information! Unfortunately I don't know that an electric grinder going for 30min to an hour will be acceptable here. We can literally hear our neighbors conversations or TV through the walls and they really aren't that loud, which is unfortunate but that's the best 2k a month can get you for a one bedroom where I live. Maybe I'll try grinding some pork loin chops with a hand grinder and see how that goes. As of the past few days, it looks like my 8 month old kitten has a beef allergy so I think we'll have to keep that out of the house.

 

[Beholder]

The Rawz duck pate has salmon oil added. This should not be a problem from a food allergy point of view as fish oil is the fat. Allergies are to the protein. The other pates do not have added fish oil as far as I know.

I added as much water as the recipe called for: half a cup per lbs. of meat.

Krista had IBD and through much experimentation, we found that she could not have any of the premixes because they all had egg yolk: one of her sensitivities. I tried to follow a recipe as close as I could. But I did have to "off-road it." I don't recommend this. I did it for her because I was at the end of our rope about what might work with her. Ultimately, steroids, chemo, and eliminating all her trigger foods (including the fish flakes I was wrapping her nightly pred pill in) was what finally got us to remission. Unfortunately, she was too tiny and weak by the time we got here and succumbed shockingly quickly to a bladder infection.

This was the last recipe I was using for her treat meals: about 1 oz at night as a reward for our nightly medicine wrestling matches. The rest of her meals were Rawz Rabbit pate.

1 lbs boneless meat (rabbit or turkey thigh meat)
45 grams liver
1/2 cup water
1 tsp seaweed calcium
1/8 tsp Vitamin E
1000 mg Taurine
1 "pinch" (1/16th tsp) kelp (iodine supplement)

When I made it from fryer rabbits, I would toss in the kidneys as well. I probably adjusted the liver weight. But I don't remember anymore.

What's missing is the B vitamins which smells like feet and turned her off and the egg yolk which was a trigger food for her. We did try Alnutrin and it made a wonderful looking food that she adored. Unfortunately, it wasn't kind to her because of the egg yolk. If you are feeding predominantly raw, please make sure you use a supplement premix or follow a recipe (http://catnutrition.org or StackPath both have recipes I recommend.) An unbalanced recipe over time can result in nutritional deficiencies.

So the issue Morty has with fish oil is that not all brands use high quality oil. You are correct in that the allergy generally comes from the protein alone, and I believe that is the case with Morty. He has not had any reaction to the pharmaceutical grade oil I've been adding to his food (I got that tip from another forum from valentine319 ). Morty has had a reaction to every wet food I've given him with any type of fish/salmon/tuna/anchovy oil though, likely because they use a lower quality which still contains some protein. His allergy to fish is also very severe, so he'll vomit it up right away and usually for the next few days. It's good to know to avoid the duck one though and I'll give the rabbit a try and see if they like it!

I know you asked for no condolences so I won't give any, but I'm glad she had someone who did everything they could for her! It must have been extremely stressful. I thought a fish allergy and asthma were a pain so this makes me reflect a lot on how lucky I am to have three fairly healthy cats. (Although my cat Po is pretty fat at the moment lol)

Thank you for sharing your recipe! Luckily none of my cats have egg allergies, so I've been using alnutrin (for bone in) as well as Iceland Pure fish oil. I add the water the alnutrin suggests but I think I might start adding more because there is no way I could ever get a whisk through the meat. Maybe at some point I'll start mixing my own supplements, but at the moment I feel like Alnutrin is cheap enough through their website that it doesn't add too much overhead cost. With shipping/tax it comes to 47.70 for 80 pounds which adds a net cost of about .20 cents per cat per day. I'm sure it will add up over time though....