Diluting Darwin Bone Content

Anoxia

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Hello! I'm considering using Darwin's introductory offer to get my cats acclimated to raw before transitioning to homemade, but I know high bone content and the resulting constipation is likely guaranteed. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for diluting the bone content to a safe amount (or if it would even be possible to do this knowledgeably? I didn't see a mention of what percentage of their food is composed of bone)?
  • I was considering mixing a poultry and lamb packet (50/50?) and using that instead. However, I heard new proteins should be introduced slowly in raw food and I'm unsure if introducing two proteins at once would be considered too much?
  • I would prefer not to order exclusively lamb because I don't have plans to incorporate lamb into a homemade rotation. However, if it is more important to have a cat acclimated to the texture/nutrients/etc. of raw during a transition, rather than the protein, I can reconsider this!
  • I don't currently have a grinder or food processor at home, so any meat I introduce myself at this stage would be chunked at best and I don't yet know if my cats will eat it for a meal. (I assume any meat I introduce would need to be supplemented if the transition is far enough along that it is no longer considered a treat.)
If Darwin's is not good for raw transitioning, I would appreciate hearing that as well! I have alternatives in mind, such as just chopping up thigh meat and mixing it with wet food as Dr. Pierson suggested, but I thought I would try asking first.

Thank you!
 

Azazel

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I don’t think it would be easy to dilute a commercial food because there’s no way for us to know exactly what it’s composed of. Usually when we dilute homemade food we account for the amount of extra muscle meat in the batch by adjusting the supplements too.

I would personally be cautious to try and do this with commercial food.
 

She's a witch

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Darwin’s claims both Turkey and Chicken have 10% bone which in theory apparently shouldn’t be too much, but it is for some cats. Mine had some constipation issues when fed only this, but doesn’t when fed occasionally (now they get it around once, twice a week, I somewhat prefer chicken as at least it doesn’t have necks). You don’t have to assume it will be problematic for your cats, I understand that not all cats react that way to bone. Especially if you will still be feeding canned together with raw, it might as well be totally fine for the brief period before you try homemade. Or, if they like Darwin’s straight away, you can always prepare your homemade and feed them rotationally with Darwin’s.
 

kittyluv387

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It's not that simple diluting it. Other nutrients might need to he adjusted.
 

daftcat75

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If you're not comfortable with it or certain they'll do well with it, you don't have to fully transition them. A lot of people feed a diet of both canned and raw. I make Krista a homemade boneless raw from rabbit leg meat, rabbit kidney, rabbit liver, and supplements. Of the 9 or 10 oz of food she eats each day, raw only makes up 1 oz of that. That's still plenty to see differences in her coat and definitely in her attitude. Another thing I will do occasionally for Krista is give her "rabbit sashimi" which is leg meat cut up very finely with scissors I use only for cutting meat. I will give her small (a few grams or less than a teaspoon) of this as a treat. As long as you keep the sum of the treats (raw or otherwise) at 10% or less of their diet, you're okay if you give them treat meat (unsupplemented pieces of meat.)

Can you get Alnutrin? This is a great way to start with your own raw. You can get chicken hearts and livers at just about any meat counter. If you make friends with the butcher, he can set aside turkey hearts and liver whenever he processes whole turkeys for the cuts they sell. I got a manual meat grinder from Amazon (Weston #10 meat grinder and sausage maker) that works just fine for processing thigh meat and organs into a grind suitable for mixing with Alnutrin.

EZ Complete is another great option. I can't give it to Krista because she has a chicken sensitivity. But since yours don't, you can use EZ Complete to balance as little as a single 45 gram (ounce and a half) meal.

You have options. If you're uncertain about raw, take it slow. I suggest adding a meal time specifically for raw or adding it to only one meal per day to start. This way if it doesn't work out, they are not left without their normal meals. You don't have to rush the transition and it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.
 
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Anoxia

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Thank you so much, everyone! I'll go with offering Darwin's infrequently, rather than diluting it; if they seem receptive to it more than once or twice a week, I can add Alnutrin with chunks (thigh/hearts/liver), and then move ahead with obtaining a grinder! 🙌
 

daftcat75

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I started with a manual grinder. You're not going to process bone with it. But as long as you freeze your meat before grinding it, this is very competent. My thought was, "I'll start with a manual grinder and grow into an electric if and when I feel like I need to upgrade." Can't beat this price either.

 
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