Hi All!
So for years I've been reading about cooked diets and raw feeding. To be honest it does scare me. Raw for the obvious and cooked because I'm terrified I will do it wrong and they won't get what they need and I'll kill them. One of the main reasons to try this is that I have one cat that has allergies and is so picky it's beyond ridiculous and frustrating. I often have a difficult time getting the foods he will eat. One day I'm afraid I won't be able to get it - that happened once already. I was lucky I had a stash and then managed to get him one ONE other food.
A very nice pet store owner gave me a sample of Duck fare game raw from Big Country Raw. They are fairly local to me and that excites me.
So today, after 3 weeks of mentally prepping, I tired it. I have made the 1 pound meat into very small packages as at the moment I'm not interested in transitioning. I'm interested to see if they'll eat it. (I followed the direction to the letter on how to re-freeze so they can be portioned.) Side note: my mom was with me as I'm not great with raw meat so I'm having to learn. She even commented about how good and good quality the meat looked. That's high praise. So that helped me to feel better.
I took the small portion out, let it get to room temperature, and gave each of them a 1/2 a tablespoon to try.
Three of these cats were former ferals, the problem eater was indoors most of his life.
Results: All the cats but one of the ferals rejected it. Braveheart was looking at me like "More please". She was a big hunter outside even though she was well fed. All the others wouldn't even try it. *sigh*
Initial thoughts and questions:
In fairness I may not have left it out long enough to try properly due to me being afraid. How long is it safe to leave out?
They might not like Duck. (Charlie the problem eater does though.)
The cats like soupy food. I could add some water to it the next time I try? Make it a bit soupier?
Any ideas on how I can try other ways?
Keep in mind right now it's not about transitioning. I know when that happens I have other directions to use and supplements to add in some cases. Right now it's about trying to see if they'll actually eat it. :-)
So for years I've been reading about cooked diets and raw feeding. To be honest it does scare me. Raw for the obvious and cooked because I'm terrified I will do it wrong and they won't get what they need and I'll kill them. One of the main reasons to try this is that I have one cat that has allergies and is so picky it's beyond ridiculous and frustrating. I often have a difficult time getting the foods he will eat. One day I'm afraid I won't be able to get it - that happened once already. I was lucky I had a stash and then managed to get him one ONE other food.
A very nice pet store owner gave me a sample of Duck fare game raw from Big Country Raw. They are fairly local to me and that excites me.
So today, after 3 weeks of mentally prepping, I tired it. I have made the 1 pound meat into very small packages as at the moment I'm not interested in transitioning. I'm interested to see if they'll eat it. (I followed the direction to the letter on how to re-freeze so they can be portioned.) Side note: my mom was with me as I'm not great with raw meat so I'm having to learn. She even commented about how good and good quality the meat looked. That's high praise. So that helped me to feel better.
I took the small portion out, let it get to room temperature, and gave each of them a 1/2 a tablespoon to try.
Three of these cats were former ferals, the problem eater was indoors most of his life.
Results: All the cats but one of the ferals rejected it. Braveheart was looking at me like "More please". She was a big hunter outside even though she was well fed. All the others wouldn't even try it. *sigh*
Initial thoughts and questions:
In fairness I may not have left it out long enough to try properly due to me being afraid. How long is it safe to leave out?
They might not like Duck. (Charlie the problem eater does though.)
The cats like soupy food. I could add some water to it the next time I try? Make it a bit soupier?
Any ideas on how I can try other ways?
Keep in mind right now it's not about transitioning. I know when that happens I have other directions to use and supplements to add in some cases. Right now it's about trying to see if they'll actually eat it. :-)
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