Feeding raw and canned for a complete diet?

nora1

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Hello raw-feeders!

I've searched the forums and couldn't find much, so thought I would ask here.

I would like to feed my 2.5 year old cat raw and canned food. My plan was for one meal to be canned, and the other, a raw meal which would either by: chicken neck, chicken wing, or turkey heart.

I've heard that feeding some canned and some raw isn't recommended as it could unbalance the bacteria in their stomach. I'm wanting to keep feeding canned for the convenience, but I know her teeth need some love so I've been feeding the odd chicken wing here and there, which she is loving, so I am wanting to make it a daily addition.

Thoughts? Ideas?

She's 9 pounds, and active so I try to fill her with roughly 200 calories a day. Is a chicken wing/neck/heart considered a meal?

Thanks in advance! I have a "Growlies" pet store near me, which supplies meat from "Buddies Naturals" if that helps :)
 

Columbine

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I feed a combination of raw and canned, as do several other members. I'm not sure about the wisdom of feeding prey model raw and canned though - simply from a nutritional perspective. All other forms of food are balanced and compete within each meal, but prey model raw works on the principle of the diet balancing out over the days and weeks. Because of that, you're at an increased risk of feeding an incomplete diet overall.

Having said that, it is perfectly fine to feed up to 10% (in caloric terms) of the diet as unbalanced, so long as the rest of the diet is complete. So, if you want to offer a little prey model raw type food as treats/chews then thats absolutely fine.
 

mschauer

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Having said that, it is perfectly fine to feed up to 10% (in caloric terms) of the diet as unbalanced, so long as the rest of the diet is complete. So, if you want to offer a little prey model raw type food as treats/chews then thats absolutely fine.
I'd like to offer a clarification here. Feeding a diet that is part nutritionally balanced and part nutritionally unbalanced can result in the overall diet being unbalanced. We sometimes suggest that feeding a small amount of an unbalanced food in conjunction with a food that is believed to likely have more than the minimum level of nutrients might be OK as the excess nutrients may make up for what is lacking in the unbalanced food. There is a big assumption involved with that though; that the nutritionally balanced food contains enough nutrients to balance the other food.
 

LTS3

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 Is a chicken wing/neck/heart considered a meal?
No. That would be a treat. A complete raw meal would include organs and bones or a vitamin/mineral supplement.
 
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nora1

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Thank you all, very much for the insight! I was worried it might be too unbalanced to plan it this way. I'd love to do 100% raw, which is something I guess I'll switch to quicker than planned. My only concern with it, is the planning on thawing the meat.

How does everyone plan their raw?

Take it out of the freezer the night before? Leave it out, or put it in the fridge to thaw?
 

Columbine

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I usually thaw in the fridge overnight, and I wouldn't recommend thawing big blocks of food any other way. The raw I use is in little cubes though, so in an emergency I'll thaw those at room temperature.
 

LTS3

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I take out about 3 days worth of NV frozen raw medallions and let it thaw in the fridge. The medallions are usually eatable within a day and a half. For the 2 lb chubs, it takes about 2 days to defrost enough (in the fridge) for me to mix a pre mix into the meat.
 
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nora1

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Excellent, thanks again! I have been defrosting in the fridge but was wondering what others did. I guess I can always thaw out a few chicken wings at once, to last a few days. 

We're going away for a bit in a few weeks, so I'll wait until after we're back to introduce more raw meals. I want to make it easier for my cat sitter!

PS - my vet is somewhat on the "raw team". I asked for her opinion the other day and she said she doesn't recommend it, but doesn't frown upon it either. I was impressed, as I thought she was going to be on the "dry kibble team" 
 

wildog47

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Hey. I have a similar question. I have a 8 month old kitten that I got eating wet and I switched her to Stella and chewys freeze dried raw. Right now no raw poultry is allowed into Canada from the US state of Wisconsin since January 2015. So I was forced to switch to primal freeze dried food. However now primal is on back order from the US due to increased demand. Because commercial prepared raw foods often experience issues would it be okay to feed her a meal of canned and a meal of freeze dried primal raw. By doing this I keep her used to variety of canned in case the raw ever cuts out. The canned is a small portion of her daily diet (1/3 calories from canned). She will currently eat anything because I taught her as a little kitten to eat a variety of flavours. She will currently eat any flavour . I have heard feeding canned and raw can be bad for digestion as it is a mix of raw and cooked which have different digestibility. Any thoughts?
 

lisahe

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Hey. I have a similar question. I have a 8 month old kitten that I got eating wet and I switched her to Stella and chewys freeze dried raw. Right now no raw poultry is allowed into Canada from the US state of Wisconsin since January 2015. So I was forced to switch to primal freeze dried food. However now primal is on back order from the US due to increased demand. Because commercial prepared raw foods often experience issues would it be okay to feed her a meal of canned and a meal of freeze dried primal raw. By doing this I keep her used to variety of canned in case the raw ever cuts out. The canned is a small portion of her daily diet (1/3 calories from canned). She will currently eat anything because I taught her as a little kitten to eat a variety of flavours. She will currently eat any flavour . I have heard feeding canned and raw can be bad for digestion as it is a mix of raw and cooked which have different digestibility. Any thoughts?
Yes, it's fine! Our cats eat around 60% raw food (largely Primal) and the rest canned. They do very well on it, love the foods, and don't have any digestion issues. I hope your kitten enjoys the combination, too!
 

lisamarie12

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Regarding combining canned and raw: My little guy eats about 3/4 raw and 1/4 canned, never had a problem with digestive upset.

As far as thawing, if you are using commercial raw products e.g.,  "bites" thaw quicker in your refrigerator than chubs of meat which take longer although it sounds like you are not doing commercial raw. 

I let my raw thaw in the refrigerator, I use within 24 hours, usually much less than that.

Good luck. :)
 

lisamarie12

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Hey. I have a similar question. I have a 8 month old kitten that I got eating wet and I switched her to Stella and chewys freeze dried raw. Right now no raw poultry is allowed into Canada from the US state of Wisconsin since January 2015. So I was forced to switch to primal freeze dried food. However now primal is on back order from the US due to increased demand. Because commercial prepared raw foods often experience issues would it be okay to feed her a meal of canned and a meal of freeze dried primal raw. By doing this I keep her used to variety of canned in case the raw ever cuts out. The canned is a small portion of her daily diet (1/3 calories from canned). She will currently eat anything because I taught her as a little kitten to eat a variety of flavours. She will currently eat any flavour . I have heard feeding canned and raw can be bad for digestion as it is a mix of raw and cooked which have different digestibility. Any thoughts?
I've never had a problem with doing both although I use a grain-free, fairly low carb canned food which may make a difference as far as digestibility.

Here is an article that may be helpful, discusses both feeding raw / kibble and raw / canned:

http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-feed-raw-and-dry-at-the-same-time

Cited from the article:

jn.nutrition.org/content/124/12_Suppl/2568S.full.pdf

That's great that you introduced variety to your kitten. :)
 
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wildog47

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Thanks for all the responses guys! I feed commercial freeze dried raw and for canned I feed a no grain, no corn, wheat or soy and 95% meat protein canned food. This is either instinct cans or wild calling cans.I feed all the flavours (rabbit, beef, venison, lamb, duck, chicken, Turkey and buffalo. ) on a rotation.
 

lisamarie12

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Thanks for all the responses guys! I feed commercial freeze dried raw and for canned I feed a no grain, no corn, wheat or soy and 95% meat protein canned food. This is either instinct cans or wild calling cans.I feed all the flavours (rabbit, beef, venison, lamb, duck, chicken, Turkey and buffalo. ) on a rotation.
Both brands are low carb, kitty should be okay with the combo. :)
 

meowlifestyle

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75-80% of the time I feed a home-made balanced raw ground food that I prepare, freeze and defrost small batches every day. The other 20% of the time I feed a variety of high quality fanned wet food and the occasional chicken neck to chew on.

It is a myth that cats should only be fed one time of food their entire life. A variety of protein choices is healthy for them. It builds up their digestive system and allows them to be able to handle a variety of foods.

I make a batch of ground raw frozen food about every 3 weeks. For a few days in between the batches I feed a high quality canned food. I also use the canned food in between batches if for example a neighbor is coming to feed the cats. This gives me flexibility in preparing the food.

When I buy canned food i always by a high quality food that is complete not complimentary. I also try to buy canned foods in proteins that I do not prepare at home such as lamb or turkey.

I have been feeding this way for about a year and find the varied diet really helps my cat and he doesn't have any poop or vomiting issues. But before when I was only feeding ground raw chicken if I changed his diet I would notice the difference in the litter box.
 

sophie1

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It is a myth that cats should only be fed one time of food their entire life. A variety of protein choices is healthy for them. It builds up their digestive system and allows them to be able to handle a variety of foods.
This is a really good point.  Also, cats can become fixated on a specific food if they're fed it exclusively - and if it's discontinued or changed, you'll have a real problem on your hands.  My cats have always gotten variety, and they have no trouble accepting or tolerating new foods.

The rapidly shrinking (at least in the US) commercial raw options for cats have this issue also.  They make great transition and convenience foods, but I really think if you are going to go raw, you either need to make your own from a variety of sources, or buy from small independent suppliers like Hare Today.   Also, as I've said before, the prices of those commercial foods are almost insulting - both raw and canned.  Ground up leftover chicken parts plus fillers for $8-10/lb??  Give me a break!
 

meowlifestyle

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Thank you Sophie1,

You are also correct that cats have addictive personalities and feeding only one food can indeed get them addicted to that food or develop allergies.
 

rita-rabbit

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my two are 14 & 15 years old respectively.  I changed them from 5o/50 dried & canned (go-cat & felix) to organic 100% dried, to 50/50 better quality dried/canned then to 100% canned & now to

50/50 raw/canned.  this last bit has only been the past 2 months - the prior changes took place over many years

I'm still on chicken & turkey only to minimise tummy problems - plus ground eggshells for calcium.  Note: taurine is lost when cut meat exposed to air so I cut the chunks from a whole piece for each meal - half of which is canned & the other half raw - I sprinkle the eggshell over the top & mix with a spoon & serve.

they are looking v healthy on this thus far.

sometimes I give the tabby tinned sardines & the tomcat oil capsules (as he won't eat the sardines).  I have also been giving them cat milk & slippery elm bark (1-2 times a week).

my plan is to continue with a similar diet - so as not to make things hard for catsitters.  Today I'm going to source some fresh kidney & liver - which I will cut & freeze to use in next weeks offerings.
 
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