Considering a raw food diet (but I have some doubts)

[sweetcatgirl84]

I have read that feeding a raw food diet is so good as it comes closest to what a cat would eat if it were in the wild. I have been reading a lot of websites and I want to do it permanently.

But there's a bit of doubt and a few questions in my mind... can you really safely feed kittens/cats only raw food for the rest of their lives?

 I'm soo used to commercial cat foods that I'm scared of making the transition and making mistakes. But I know dry food and wet has so many associated health problems.

I have a (not concrete as I'm still unsure) plan to use chicken breast fillets, wings, beef, lamb, beef organs and the occasional raw egg including the shell and maybe some fish.  Does this diet plan have enough taurine in it and other cat essentials? Is it safe to buy meat/fish packaged from the major supermarkets? 

Do you need to abolish kibble completely if you go raw? Or can I feed both at the same time?

I want to alternate between these foods. Is that all well and good? Do I need supplements? because I emailed the lady who wrote the rawfedcats.org website and she said you don't need supplements such as powders etc

I know I have a lot of questions!! 

Thank you to anyone that answers

 

[ritz]

Welcome to The Cat Site, and congratulations on considering what I think is the best, ideal diet for cats.
I'll briefly answer your questions, and direct you to some excellent articles.
Yes you can safely feed ONLY raw food; you can also mix raw and canned food. Because of the different ways cats process wet versus dry food, you shouldn't feed them in the same meal, although you could sprinkle some dry food on top of raw food as an incentive.
You can certainly feed wet and raw food in the same meal.
If you use common sense, feeding raw food is perfectly safe. As you probably know, wet and dry foods have been subject to recalls; some of the worst dry foods caused death. If you would eat the meat (cooked), it is safe enough to feed to your cats.
The diet/rotation you propose seems good. You might also add some pork, assuming no religious reasons not to, and turkey. To ensure your cat is getting enough taurine, you can always add some heart (chicken is usually easiest to find).
I buy most of my meat from the grocery store; in fact, I will also buy meat at its “sell by” date because it is marked 30 to 50% off. (I have to freeze or portion it into meal size immediately.) I also occasionally order from HareToday, and I buy some organs and meat from a woman at the farmer’s market who will save specialty cuts/organs for me.
I personally don’t normally feed supplements, except ProBiotics and Egg Yolk Lechitin. I do think it is a good idea to supplement raw food with something like https://www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=290“just to be safe”. In my specific case/cat, Ritz throws up a lot, and sometimes I then give her baby food (which she’ll keep down). Since baby food isn’t nutritionally complete, I’ll add a tiny bit of Alnutrin.
When first giving your cat wings, try the smallest part of the wing first to get your cat use to chewing.
Finally here are some threads/articles. http://catcentric.org/2013/05/23/a-raw-feeding-terminology-discussion/
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263756/raw-types-comparisons
You have more questions: we have answers

 

[vball91]

As Ritz mentioned, you don't absolutely need supplements if you feed Prey Model Raw (frankenprey) in the proper proportions of 80% meat / 10% bone / 5% liver / 5% other secreting organ like kidney, spleen, pancreas, etc. although many PMR feeders do add egg yolks and canned sardines in water only (or fish oil). This method assumes your cat will eat bone-in meals. While kittens take to raw food pretty instinctively, older cats are much more resistant. If your cat will not eat bone-in meals, you will need to supplement with a calcium source. Eggshells are great for this as they are almost pure calcium.

In addition, some cats love liver and other organs, while other cats hate them. The method of raw feeding definitely depends on the cat (and your patience level

 ). Have a look through this thread which contains all the info you want on raw and come back with more questions individual to your situation. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

 

[sweetcatgirl84]

In my specific case/cat, Ritz throws up a lot, and sometimes I then give her baby food (which she’ll keep down). Since baby food isn’t nutritionally complete, I’ll add a tiny bit of Alnutrin.
 

Thank you.

Okay, it does make sense to transition with canned meat. You've boosted my confidence with this subject. I get the feeling a lot of pet owners and vets too are against raw feeding.

Do they typically throw up on a raw diet? 

I've checked online and they don't ship alnutrin or wysong or any other to the UK or the shipping is simply not affordable for me 

  

However, I have seen tablets on UK pet shop sites that are multivitamins. Do you think that'll be okay, to give a cat a pill everyday for the rest of it's life? I'm not sure...?

 

[vball91]

 
Thank you.

Okay, it does make sense to transition with canned meat. You've boosted my confidence with this subject. I get the feeling a lot of pet owners and vets too are against raw feeding.

Do they typically throw up on a raw diet?

If your cat is currently being free fed kibble, it would be better to transition him/her to timed meals before starting raw per the below thread. There can be vomiting during the transition due to several factors. Cats who have been fed a commercial diet all of their lives need time to adjust to raw. However, unless there is an underlying problem, there should not be any vomiting after the transition.Originally Posted by sweetcatgirl84  
 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food
However, I have seen tablets on UK pet shop sites that are multivitamins. Do you think that'll be okay, to give a cat a pill everyday for the rest of it's life? I'm not sure...?

Well, if you think about it, commercial foods all have the equivalent of a multivitamin added to the food. The idea behind raw feeding is to provide the nutrients needed in the form of fresh food as opposed to getting it from vitamins. Honestly, in your situation, I would supplement with a good human grade probiotic, egg yolks, tinned sardines in water only (and/or human grade salmon oil) and maybe taurine if you can source it as opposed to a pet multivitamin.

 

[sweetcatgirl84]

 The idea behind raw feeding is to provide the nutrients needed in the form of fresh food as opposed to getting it from vitamins. Honestly, in your situation, I would supplement with a good human grade probiotic, egg yolks, tinned sardines in water only (and/or human grade salmon oil) and maybe taurine if you can source it as opposed to a pet multivitamin.

Yes, that's absolutely the idea 

So how often do you add theses supplements? Every meal time throughout the day? Just one or two mealtimes throughout the day? Or just a few times a week? 

 

[vball91]

 
So how often do you add theses supplements? Every meal time throughout the day? Just one or two mealtimes throughout the day? Or just a few times a week?

Depends on the supplement and how important you feel that they are to the diet. I think in general, people feed about 1-2 egg yolks a week, probiotics daily, tinned sardines once a week and/ or fish oil daily, taurine with every meal.

 

[ritz]

Rest assured, in Ritz's case I do not believe it is the raw food that is the culprit; rather, it's due to the build up of acid in Ritz stomach because she goes 1 to 12 hours between meals during the week.
(As soon as she throws up, she wants more food and keeps it down.)
Now of course if your cat (or any cat) throws up every time she eats, for example, chicken, then she may be allergic to chicken or the food the chicken eats.