Dog raw food in comparison

[kitty queen]

Please move this post if it really should be in other animals but anyways.

I currently feed my cat commercial raw but I've been reading the recipes on here and all the resources posted and I think once I'm ready I'll make the investment in a home grinder and supplements.

My real question is, how does raw cat food compare to dog recipes? Do any of you feed both and grind at home?

I'm really trying to figure out how much overlaps so when I go to stock up on supplies I know what I could grind together and then just separate and add the different organ meats and supplements.

In other words, could I make a big batch of ground chicken with bones and some organ meat and then split in half and finish each recipe with the individual vitamins.

 

[vball91]

Actually, most of the cat recipes I have seen are fine for dogs as well. There are several members here who feed both their cats and dogs the same recipe.

 

[kitty queen]

Interesting. What I've read seems to be fairly different with dogs having more fish included, less supplements, and fruit and veggies included. I'd be interested to see what other people do that feed raw to both cats and dogs.

 

[carolina]

I feed my dog raw as well..... Although I am no longer feeding commercial or ground.
Dogs CAN eat vegetables, but it is not necessary - they can eat pretty much the same diet as cats, with a few minor differences:
Dogs need a bit more bone.... Cats need more taurine than dogs - it doesn't hurt to add taurine into the dog's diet, but if you eat whole pieces of meat, the taurine in it will be sufficient.

My dog weighs 45lbs - he eats 1lb of meat a day. 10% of that is liver. Sometimes I do 5% liver and 5% other organ, but mostly liver.
I feed one meal a day with bones - generally it's 1/4 Cornish hen, and 2 meals of boneless meat. That will be any other muscle meat - chicken, turkey, beef, hearts.....

He eats liver in every meal, and I give him Fish oil in the am, probiotics twice a day, and enzymes every meal.

He is doing really well on the diet - since I changed him from eating commercial (with veggies), the only change I noticed was MUCH less poop.

I feed him 3 meals as I feed my cats 3 meals and I want to prevent animosity in between the four cats and the dog.

Generally speaking, if a recipe is fit for a cat, it is fit for a dog - most recipes aim for 10% bone and have plenty taurine for the cats - it covers the needs of both parties. Some commercial diets will average in the middle for the bones, and sometimes the kitties might end up constipated..... in which case you will want to "dilute" the recipe with a bit of meat for the cats until you hit their "sweet poop spot" :nod:

 

[Willowy]

All that and. . .if you have a really large dog, feeding purely prey-model raw can get very expensive :/. So some people will add some rice or oatmeal or veggies or something just to bulk out the diet cheaply. Since dogs have a higher tolerance for grains/carbs, etc., this is OK, though I wouldn't do it if cost weren't an issue.

There are a zillion different ways to feed a dog a raw or homecooked diet, since they don't have such strict dietary requirements as cats do. You just have to pick which one fits your budget and lifestyle best, and what your dog does best with.

And. . .Carolina has a doggie! I didn't know that.

 

[carolina]

All that and. . .if you have a really large dog, feeding purely prey-model raw can get very expensive :/. So some people will add some rice or oatmeal or veggies or something just to bulk out the diet cheaply. Since dogs have a higher tolerance for grains/carbs, etc., this is OK, though I wouldn't do it if cost weren't an issue.

There are a zillion different ways to feed a dog a raw or homecooked diet, since they don't have such strict dietary requirements as cats do. You just have to pick which one fits your budget and lifestyle best, and what your dog does best with.

And. . .Carolina has a doggie! I didn't know that.

W Willowy , you haven't met Bruce Wayne?

bruce-bugsy.jpg

• carolina
• Mar 8, 2014

buce.jpg

• carolina
• Mar 8, 2014

Bruce was a very impulsive decision..... But the best impulsive decision I have ever made :heart3:
A rescuer friend of mine made me aware of him - he had been with his family since he was 8 weeks old - then he was dumped at a high kill shelter at 2 years old as he was "aggressive with little kids but he never bit anyone - he just growled". That was enough to put him straight into the death row.
He didn't have a chance for adoption, he wasn't shown like the other dogs - he was going to get killed and that was final.
He passed his assessment with flying colors though - not a sign of aggression, so the volunteers created a facebook page trying to save him - it was shared 800+ times, and no one stepped up for him
On the day he was going to be put down, the rescuer called me - one hour prior to the expiration time - I was in Austin with a customer in a meeting..... She was crying and desperate.
I called my sitter, and told her to pick him up in the shelter.... stop by at petco to buy a bag of raw food for him on the way home. The rest is history.
He is an AMAZING dog. He is the most gentle dog you can possibly imagine with the kitties. If there is a cat fight, he will separate the fight and stand by the bullied to make sure it will not get bothered again :heart3:
I have locked Mac outside in the yard once, and Bruce alerted me by barking at the door - I wouldn't known had not been for him.
He gets slapped on the face constantly by the cats, and all he does, is put his fact down stretch his paws forward as to say..... you are it's alright, I am your friend.... I am not going to hurt you :heart3:

And little kids? He LOVES them!
It makes me sad someone left him to die at the shelter after being with him all his life....
But now he is with me, being loved to pieces, pampered, and living a good life - I am thrilled he is my baby, and he is here to stay - someone's trash is someone elses riches, I suppose!

Anyways, sorry for the hijack!

 

[goingpostal]

Not a whole lot of difference other than size of bones depending on the dog.  My dogs get bone in on a more regular basis than the cat and totally different proteins but that's because my cat is picky.  I feed PMR, nothing is ground, no supplements, no veggies so can't help you there.  Fish is not well liked around here so I've stopped buying it.  I stick to about $1/pound so it's less than feeding a decent kibble for me. 

 

[furmonster mom]

I feed frankenprey style, and my dog gets the same stuff as the cats.

She gets the bigger bones, but no added veggies or grains.  I've actually tried giving her stuff like apples, peas, oatmeal,... she looks at me like, "crazy mommy, what am I supposed to do with that?".  Though... every once in a while I give her a carrot because she does like them.  lol