Early research - am I ready for raw?

[fhicat]

Are those the 5lbs chubs? I always ordered the 2lb chubs instead - not sure how much of a difference it makes in price, but I feel like 5lbs is gonna take forever to thaw >.<

Leave it out in the sun! 

Yep, those are 5 lbs. It depends on the protein, I think the turkey one was about the same price/lb, but the beef one was something like 80 cents cheaper per lb for the 5 lbs. Still about 90 cents cheaper per day to feed him - which translates to $320 savings a year.  I have some wellness canned food left for those meals when the meat hasn't thawed, so it isn't too bad. Tempted to leave it out in room temperature for a few hours to speed up thawing, but I shouldn't.

 

[aprilprey]

Suggestion: we make our own sausage and store it in chubs in the freezer.  When we want some, The Boyfriend grabs the big heavy cleaver knife, the rubber mallet - and then pounds away at the frozen chub until a 2" slice is cut off.  They are a little smaller so YMMV.

Another option might be an electric knife...I'll bet that's an easy thrift store buy.

 

[fhicat]

He was bugging me for food, so I thought I'd give him some gizzards to chew on.

He seems to like it. Finished his bowl. It's very satisfying to see him chew on raw meat that he's supposed to be eating as a cat. Seeing him work his jaw and hearing the distinct chewy sound.

However, he takes them out of his bowl though. Is that normal? Can he be trained to eat in the bowl? If not, what can I do to stop my carpet from getting gizzard debris?

 

[pinkman]

I suggest getting some sort of large place mat - I prefer food grade silicone, but you can get plastic, or even use a towel if you have a lot. Or, you can try feeding him at a designated feeding station that is elevated - like a table.

Both my cats drag their food out of their bowls. Is it something that you can train out? Not sure but my guess is no. Many raw feeders who have dogs use a designated towel, with no bowl.

 

[fhicat]

So he suddenly decided he didn't want raw. Gave it to him for breakfast and he sniffed it and walked away.

Should I take him to the vet? I still don't have a carrier yet.

 

[peaches08]

Maybe add a little canned to it? If he only refuses raw then he probably doesn't need a vet.

 

[fhicat]

That's the thing, he has never refused anything, so this actually qualifies as a "drastic change in behavior".

I just tossed him some treats and he ate them, so I'm hoping it's just a bad batch or something.

 

[peaches08]

Was it a new protein? Or was anything about it new to him?

 

[fhicat]

Cornish Hen. He's been eating it. The only explanation I can come up with is that it was "opened" too long ago - it's a 2.5 lb tub and I used to rotate between canned and this one. So it's possible that something has changed in that time or it's no longer "fresh". 

 

[peaches08]

That's possible. If he'll eat some canned or something else, I'd say it's the food and no need for a vet visit. When it comes to raw, I only thaw out a few days worth of food at a time.

 

[fhicat]

Well, silly cat ate the HT turkey meat I prepared. He finished his bowl over a period of time - usually he finishes the canned food in one or two sittings. There's no "gusto" in his eating, but at least he finished it. Hopefully no further issues.

 

[ritz]

Raw is better processed than canned, so he may feel fuller sooner.
And I find that chicken/fowl can go, well, FOUL, within a few hours: I'll feed Ritz chicken in the morning, and in the evening she will sniff it and then just look at me--she won't touch it. Cats smell is better than humans and since Ritz will/does eat anything, I've learned to respect her nose in these instances.

 

[fhicat]

And I find that chicken/fowl can go, well, FOUL, within a few hours: I'll feed Ritz chicken in the morning, and in the evening she will sniff it and then just look at me--she won't touch it. Cats smell is better than humans and since Ritz will/does eat anything, I've learned to respect her nose in these instances.

That makes sense. I'll have to relearn his meal schedule and how long I can keep raw food in the fridge before he stops eating it. Seems he is on a different hunger schedule now. He just finished his whole turkey bowl in one sitting after not having any food for 12 hours.

Raw meat smells funky. 

 

[ldg]

I found that my kitties really didn't like eating the same protein more than once a day. I just adjusted the schedule to have something different ready at each meal. I know many don't use a schedule, but I found it made feeding raw "think-free." Just look at schedule on fridge, remove stuff needed for the next day from the freezer and go. Of course, I do have to portion everything up into individual meals - but as I don't feed commercial any longer, that's part of the process anyway.

 

[fhicat]

Just gave him some gizzards (that he munched down a couple of days ago) for meal, but he ate a chunk and walked away. I wonder if it's a good idea to give him 2 meals a day instead of 3. Seems like he's not wanting to eat much with raw. He's eating normally though, but it's more like 3.5 oz a day so far.

 

[meranaldar]

 
However, he takes them out of his bowl though. Is that normal? Can he be trained to eat in the bowl? If not, what can I do to stop my carpet from getting gizzard debris?

I feed my cat her raw on a small plate, edges curve up a little (maybe half or 3/4 of an inch), but not much like a bowl. She eats most things over the plate, though sometimes drags it out, especially larger things like chicken necks. But I also put the plate on a bit of a plastic table cloth which I cut down to an appropriate size. Easy to clean and fold up out of the way.

 

[laralove]

 
I was in a bachelor's program, the second in my life, from 2009-2012.  Classes M-F with 3+ hours commuting a day - sometimes 4 (100 mile round trip).  Thus I admire your fortitude - there is NO WAY I would have even bothered with the raw issue while I was in school.  It was all I could do to remember to keep cat food in the house and feed them 2x a day - and keep the litterbox under control!

You go girl.

Ah, I'm in a bachelor's program now. I transferred as a junior last year from community college. I was commuting 3 hours per day twice a week my first semester, 3 days a week my second. I finally moved closer after a summer of M-F classes in which I had to stay with friends two nights a week to cut costs. I still have an hour daily commute and make the now-2.5 hour drive twice a week to get my kids. So exhausting, but the 30 minutes each way now is much easier. And my drive is through the country, which is sort of relaxing.

I'm lucky to have a boyfriend who works from home, so I can rely on him to help with the feedings, though I do all the purchasing because he's my cat. BF will definitely help with the preparation of raw, though. So that will be a help for the transition from wet.