Can't Get Past 50/50 Wet-raw Mix

[HungryPandaCat]

I've been trying to my two cats to accept raw for a little over a month now. At first they both refused to touch it, so I've been gradually mixing a bit of raw into their wet food, increasing a bit each week. They've been on a 50:50 wet-raw mix for about two weeks now, and I can't seem get past this stage. They won't tolerate anything that's more raw and less wet.

Any tips on getting them to eat more raw?

 

[Tobermory]

Need more info! Are you using commercial raw or making it? If commercial, try a different protein or a different brand. One of mine refuses any commercial except for Stella & Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose freeze-dried which she’ll eat both as a treat and rehydrated.

If you’re making it, what recipe are you using and what protein? I use Dr. Pierson’s recipe, and the cats’ acceptance varies depending on the protein I use.

 

[HungryPandaCat]

For raw I'm using a commercial raw called Big Dog (for cats), its the only brand available where I'm from that doesn't cost a fortune. Tried Stella & Chewy freeze dried, they hated it even more.

The raw I'm on now is minced, so its easy to mix with the wet. Stella & Chewy are chunks and they ended eating around it. Currently on chicken, got some rabbit coming in soon so hopefully that'll go better, though for wet food they only like chicken and duck so I'm not too optimistic about raw rabbit.

 

[Azazel]

I think you just need to give it a bit more time. Two weeks is not much time for their digestive systems to get used to the change. Just keep trying to slowly increase the amount of raw in baby steps. You’ll get there eventually.

I don’t like S&C. It’s way too high in bone. Some other good commercial raw brands to try are Primal, Northwest Naturals and in my opinion the #1 best commercial raw for cats out there is Rad Cat (expensive, but might be good to add into your feeding mix- cats seem to love it).

 

[Tobermory]

I agree with A Azazel . Hang in there with 50/50 for awhile and then begin to sneak in more. I also agree about S&C, but I think it makes a good occasional treat. I also crumble a small freeze-dried nugget as a topper when one of mine is hesitant to eat a particular protein.

Speaking of toppers, have you tried putting something on top of your cats’ food to get them started? One of mine isn’t very excited about rabbit, but if I sprinkle Pure Bites freeze-dried chicken, a crumbled S&C nugget, or bonito flakes, she’ll finish off her meal. I also use Northwest Naturals dried pork liver for treats, and I save the tiny pieces and liver dust at the bottom for toppers.

 

[lalagimp]

The only raw I could get either of my girls to eat was Yue chowing down on the Raw Boost bits in her Nature's Variety kibble. The girls didn't like frozen raw Instinct, Stella and Chewy freeze dried, or the rabbit and turkey mix I make for the boys. Amalie and Yue prefer their food cooked, and their cans, cups, pouches, and cartons blow up my food bill. That was my driving force why the boys are eating homemade raw... because feeding 26 lbs of cats at $1.89 a can was friggin insane.
The ladies are only 18 lbs together.

 

[lisahe]

I think you just need to give it a bit more time. Two weeks is not much time for their digestive systems to get used to the change. Just keep trying to slowly increase the amount of raw in baby steps. You’ll get there eventually.

I don’t like S&C. It’s way too high in bone. Some other good commercial raw brands to try are Primal, Northwest Naturals and in my opinion the #1 best commercial raw for cats out there is Rad Cat (expensive, but might be good to add into your feeding mix- cats seem to love it).

I completely agree on the time -- every cat is different and a lot of people would be thrilled to have their cats eat half raw after only two weeks!

I also agree with Azazel's recommendations of brands. We use lots of Primal (because the cats love it), a little Northwest Naturals (because I think it's better food than Primal, though the cats don't like it as much), a little Feline Natural (which is great food but super expensive right now) in freeze-dried formulas, which our cats prefer to frozen formulas. In frozen, though, they get a small Rad Cat or Oma's Pride Purr snack each day and love both those foods. There are two other meals each day: one's homemade cooked food with a supplement, the other is canned. We feed lots of different kinds of food because our cats don't like a monotonous diet. Cat Catering stays busy here!

Tobermory 's tips on toppers are great, too: we do lots of those things as well. Egg yolk powder as a topper is also popular with our cats.

Good luck!

 

[HungryPandaCat]

I did it! Kinda. I finally got one of my cats to eat 100% raw! The other one still won't touch it if it isn't mixed but hoping she'll be peer pressured into accepting raw on its own.
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I would appreciated it if people could comment if the theory behind my cat math is correct.

For the one on the mixed diet, I'm currently mixing one 75g can of Thrive wet with 1/3 portion of commercial raw.

According to Thrive, it has 69 kcal/100g, so thats about 52 kcal per 75g can. The commercial raw has 182 kcal/portion, so 1/3 would be 61 kcal.

To calculate how many calories I'm feeding per meal I just add the two right?
52 kcal (wet) +61 kcal(raw) = 113 kcal/meal. I feel two meals per day so I think that should meet the daily recommended calorie intake for an 8 pound adult neutered cat. She's been on this mix for two weeks now and hasn't gained or lost any weight so it all appears fine.

 

[Daisy6]

How bad would it be to not get past 50/50 i9f the wet food is high quality without a list of unwanted ingredients? I think as long as you feed the best possible wet foods for one meal every day, there should be no problems with it being half of your cat's diet. Whe3n I say the best wet food I mean absolutely no plant-based ingredients in the recipe or natural flavoring, colors, etc. that scientifically are natural but are used as empty calories in cat food.

 

[lalagimp]

Because what you're saying doesn't usually exist in any high quality wet food. They mostly contain plant matter of some kind. This is why we're in the raw forum. It's the closest we can get to their intended diet. Raw is the best wet food.
I'm not complaining that a 50/50 diet is doing any harm, as I can't get my girls to eat raw, and I feed them the best I can with what they will eat. The boys eat the raw diet and I'm grateful for it.
What canned/pouched/cups of wet food are you implying has no unwanted ingredients to qualify as the high quality?

 

[Azazel]

To add to what lalagimp said, most of us would prefer to feed fresh food over processed food.

 

[HungryPandaCat]

I don't think it would be bad to stay 50/50, but if I could provide something even better, why not?

Currently the highest quality wet cat food that my cat would tolerate is Thrive, which they claim has no fillers or preservatives and contains only chicken breast, chicken stock, sunflower oil, vitamins and minerals. But it's super expensive. The commercial raw I bought is much cheaper and healthier so it's win win for me.