Cowboy is going to try

[meuzettesmom]

My new kitten doesn't like kibbles. I was thinking he is the best one to go on raw then, since he isn't a 'hooked' on the bad stuff yet.

If I do, since he is nine weeks old,should I get him vitamins? What kind? Surely raw won't have what he needs to grow, will it?

 

[furryfriends50]

I fed my youngest cats raw right from the start - Morey, Mitch, and Rodent switched when they were 4-5 weeks old, while Malachi (adopted from a shelter) switched at 3 months old.  I fed them, and am still feeding them, frankenprey raw.  It is 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% kidney/spleen/thymus/reproductive organs/brain.  I don't add any special "supplements" or vitamins to their food, all they need is already there. 

What has worked best for them (and for me) is to give each of them their own special ziplocs of food, once they are done with one I pull another out of the freezer.  Each ziploc contains 20 ounces of food: 13 ounces of meat, 5 ounces of bone-in chicken necks, 1 ounce of liver, and 1 ounce of kidney.  They go through one of those ziplocs in two days, so it doesn't go bad before they finish it!  They are also given fish oil (anchovy/sardine/mackeral) to help balance out the omega content of what they are eating.  The typical amount of that is 100mg of omega-3 for a 10 pound cat each day. 

They took to raw very easily, I put it on a plate on the floor, and half a second later they were attacking it with gusto.  All my cats are eating raw, and while a few of them were harder to switch than others, I have not yet had a cat that wouldn't switch over (and I have switched about 40 cats/kittens to raw!). 

If you haven't looked it over already, http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240809/raw-feeding-resource-thread  has a list of all sorts of resources and information about raw feeding.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

My new kitten doesn't like kibbles. I was thinking he is the best one to go on raw then, since he isn't a 'hooked' on the bad stuff yet.

If I do, since he is nine weeks old,should I get him vitamins? What kind? Surely raw won't have what he needs to grow, will it?

I think the trick to it is that he will just need MORE than an adult cat.  I was just reading a brochure I rec'd from Primal this morning, and it was addressing the amount of food, and it specifically said to feed kittens a little more than twice the amount you would normally feed an adult. ( This was of their nutritionally complete raw meals.)  You definitely want to make sure you are feeding the a nutritionally complete meal, not just pieces of meat!  I am currently buying the frozen patties/nuggets that have everythingnecessary in them and are all ground up and mixed together, just so I don't have to worry about making sure I have the correct percentage of everything.  One day I hope to be able to make my own, or feed Frankenprey. as it sounds like Furryfriends is doing.

 

[furryfriends50]

I let the kittens eat all they want - which for mine was about 16-20 ounces of food a day at the peak of their growth.  At 1.5 years old the same kittens (technically cats) still are allowed to eat all they want which ranges from 6-12 ounces a day.  It still sounds like a lot, but the two that eat the most are fourteen pounds now, their ideal wieght, and run around the house like maniacs half the day!
 

I think the trick to it is that he will just need MORE than an adult cat.  I was just reading a brochure I rec'd from Primal this morning, and it was addressing the amount of food, and it specifically said to feed kittens a little more than twice the amount you would normally feed an adult. ( This was of their nutritionally complete raw meals.)  You definitely want to make sure you are feeding the a nutritionally complete meal, not just pieces of meat!  I am currently buying the frozen patties/nuggets that have everythingnecessary in them and are all ground up and mixed together, just so I don't have to worry about making sure I have the correct percentage of everything.  One day I hope to be able to make my own, or feed Frankenprey. as it sounds like Furryfriends is doing.

 

[speakhandsforme]

No, he shouldn't need vitamins, as long as you're feeding him a nutritionally complete raw meal. You can supplement his food with taurine if you want some peace of mind, though. (He can't overdose on it.) And if he doesn't want bones right away, you can use calcium powders too.

If you're looking to transition him to raw, I would try bone-in frankenprey with him immediately. :nod: Since he's so young, he'll probably take to it quite well, as every kitten I've met eats anything and everything voraciously. If you need help with menu planning, I can send you mine as an example. He should be able to eat small bones quite easily, even now with his tiny baby jaws.

As for raw having what he needs to grow, a nutritionally complete raw meal (i.e. including muscle meat, bones, liver, and other organs in the right proportions) will indeed have everything he needs to grow. It's what he would be eating outside if he was a feral catching plenty of mice and birds every day. :nod:

 

[meuzettesmom]

We failed at the raw food. Failed at finding suitable kitten food. I mix milk replacer to can food to make it. I could find kitten dry easier than wet. I am trying Royal Canin . it is smaller kibbles than the others. He can crunch it.

We just got Natures Variety Instinct today in the mail. Nobody here liked Evo. Still pitchin'

 

[feralvr]

I think the trick to it is that he will just need MORE than an adult cat.  I was just reading a brochure I rec'd from Primal this morning, and it was addressing the amount of food, and it specifically said to feed kittens a little more than twice the amount you would normally feed an adult. ( This was of their nutritionally complete raw meals.)  You definitely want to make sure you are feeding the a nutritionally complete meal, not just pieces of meat!  I am currently buying the frozen patties/nuggets that have everythingnecessary in them and are all ground up and mixed together, just so I don't have to worry about making sure I have the correct percentage of everything.  One day I hope to be able to make my own, or feed Frankenprey. as it sounds like Furryfriends is doing.

YES!!! Kittens need so much more food than adults. My three P's ate twice the amount of food they are now eating. AND back then it was dry/canned. They ate at least eight to ten ounces total of food a day and four meals a day too!!!!!!

I also love the fact that the commercially made raw has everything included so I don't have to worry about minerals/vitamins, etc. :anon: Maybe someday.... I would like to go to boneless FP. But right now this is working for us and actually some days, it just doesn't work :rofl: