Getting started on raw/home cooked food

[ut0pia]

Hi! I haven't been on here in a while, hope everyone is doing well..

Recently I discovered a lump on Jake's belly, so I took him to the vet and the vet diagnosed him with a lipoma, a benign fat filled tumor..I am a firm believer that diet plays a huge part in any disease, so I want to improve his diet..

He is mostly used to eating dry food (which is terrible, I know 

). I am really hoping I can transition him to something healthier, whether it is food I cook for him at home or raw food. I know raw is going to be hard to get used to, but even home cooked will make me feel better...

I know A LOT of you here feed raw food or make your kitties your own food...Any tips on what kind of meat to buy, as well as storing it and preserving the food? Do you buy in bulk and freeze? Can I just buy meat from the grocery store or does it need to be a specific kind of meat? 

I know that's a lot of questions, and I don't want to waste anyone's time with writing out a full lengthy response, so any links with helpful information  you found helpful to share would be great!

 

[peaches08]

I buy meat from the grocery store and feed ground/chunked raw with supplements. The supplements I use are according to www.catinfo.org chicken thighs recipe. If I'm not using bone, I use homemade eggshell powder for a calcium source. I read labels to make sure that the meat is not enhanced (too high in sodium).

What you could try for now is to cut off a small piece of meat that you're cooking for yourself and see if he'll eat it. Or cook the meat with no seasonings. You won't know until you try!

One of my cats has a lipoma on his back. His diet was dry kibble before I got him, but he was only 1-1.5 years old when I got him. I just keep an eye on it like the vet said to do.

I think a healthy diet is always a good idea, and some cats take right to it. Some need a slow transition. Check out the resource stickies in this subforum...lots of awesome info in there to help you decide which way would be best for your cat and situation.

 

[ut0pia]

I started reading a bit from the archive and i can see that first step I have to make is stop free feeding.

Jake has never really taken any interest in any chicken or meat i've ever eaten, usually he will taste a bit but that's it. That probably has to do with the fact that he is never hungry since he is free fed. So I am going to start giving him three portions per day of kibble to start with, while introducing some raw meat within the kibble to see if he will eat it.

I also see some info on supplements which will be necessary, although at this point since I definitely will not be doing anything drastic but rather slowly introducing new foods I will not worry about it just yet..

Just to mention now he eats food that is somewhat better quality than a lot of the popular junk brands, it has no by products and fewer grains but is still far from the diet I want him to have..

Wish me luck, this will be a change of routine for me that I have to stick with...I know he will do fine as long as I do my part and make the transition properly. I love this forum since it helps me stay motivated to do the right things rather than doing what is most convenient, so I will definitely post what progress we've made.

 

[carolina]

Good to see you back girl!
I will be quick as its very late and I really need to catch some sleep....
First thing to do is to put him on a schedule.
When I transitioned Lucky, my kibble addict, changing her to EVO helped a LOT. EVO is very calorie dense, so even if they eat a little bit per meal, they get all they need for the day, which is great. When they are free fed getting to to eat a meal on schedule is one of the biggest hurdles.
So I highly recommend switching him to EVO, and putting him on scheduled meals.
From there, if he eats wet, replace the dry for wet. If not you can introduce raw with the kibbles, tiny bit per meal.
With Bugsy and Hope I did the kibbles to wet to raw.
With Lucky, the kibble addict who had never eaten wet in her life, I went from kibbles to raw.
If you do the wet route, just mix a but of raw into the wet.... Tiny itsy bitty. Like a teaspoon. Then keep adding and removing the wet until all you have is raw.
Think about the process of transitioning kibbles.
The easiest way to start is with a balanced commercial raw while you learn how to prepare your own food-won't take long. By the time he is transitioned a dog comfortably eating, you should also be ready to go to prepare his homemade meals.
The important thing to remember is, this is not a race, it can be frustrating, some cats WILL test your patience to the limit. I promise you though, in the end, all of them are avid, natural carnivores. They just need to realize that :lol3:
I am happy for you, always happy to hear someone is making a switch. IMHO, there is nothing better for the health of a cat than a balanced raw diet. Way to go! And welcome back!

 

[carolina]

^^ by the way, sorry for all the typos... Typing from my phone and auto correct is a disaster.... Too tired to go back and edit... My apologies to all... Hope you got the essence of my post :doh3:

 

[ut0pia]

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Thanks, Carolina! 

So, one step at a time…I have started trying to get him on a schedule. I fed him this morning a big bowl of kibble, left it out for him to eat for about an hour, and then took it away..

I will feed him again in the same way at lunch and at night…

He gave me the most disdainful look when I took away his food. It was funny, first he looked curious and confused, and when he realized what I was doing it was just pure hatred…I feel a little bad lol. I want him happy always! And he has such a healthy spirit, always so hyper and playful..I don’t want to mess anything up..change is scary. But I know it’s for the better..

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[ldg]

HI! Good to see you back!

For the timed meals - the main thing is he doesn't know to eat enough within a given time period. What I did was leave a measured amount out overnight, and worked on meals during the day. When they were eating enough at meals, I pulled the kibble at night. You probably want to target three meals a day (before work, after work, and before bed). You can give him some snacks between at first - when they're used to free-feeding, they may get acid build-up in their tummies and vomit bile. Once he's eating more at "meals," you can start to drop the snacks between meals.

Just make sure he's eating enough. Tough love doesn't work with cats. :lol3:

 

[ut0pia]

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Hi Laurie

You are so right…I ran home from my lunch break to check on him, I put down some food and initially he didn’t even take an interest in it. Then a little bit later, he ate just a few bites L This is the part I am least comfortable with because I don’t know how much is enough for him..Since he is free fed I have no idea how much he was previously eating.

I will have to take it slower than I thought..Also I tried giving him some raw chicken tenderloin, and he didn’t even bite. He looked at it like it was an object put in front of him, not food…

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[ldg]

Try some canned food first maybe. The issue is smell. Raw food has very little smell, especially compared to kibble, that is sprayed with animal fat. Or buy some Fortiflora, and sprinkle that on the bite of chicken. It has animal digest in it, which is what is sprayed on the kibble.

Consider buying some freeze dried meat treats: does he like fish? Bonito flakes? Or freeze dried chicken breast, or chicken liver, salmon, shrimp.... these are far healthier "toppers" than the Fortiflora. It's just figuring out what makes him "dig in."

If you want to know how much he's eating let him continue to free feed for a couple of days. Measure how much kibble is out. Measure it the same time the next day. Put the fresh kibble out, again, measure how much is out. Then measure how much is left at the same time the next day. With two days, you should have a good idea of how much he needs daily.

Once you resume the meals again in a couple of days, take half of his daily amount, and divide it into however many meals you're going feed. Put the other half out overnight for grazing (as the first step in the transition).

At each meal, put a little bit of chicken in small (very small?) bites, coated with crushed kibble, or powdered freeze dried treat he likes, or Fortiflora, and just put it in the same dish with the kibble, but next to the kibble. Or if necessary, even on a dish next to the kibble being served as his meal. Just work on getting him used to the raw food.

Basically it's about both desensitizing them to the presence of the new strange stuff - and getting them used to the idea that the new strange stuff IS food. :lol3:

Think of it like a kid that's only ever eaten dry cereal at every meal. Now you want them to eat salad. It looks and smells NOTHING like what they've been eating, and it sure doesn't look or smell like food! It's going to take a LOT of salad dressing, cheese, and bacon bits to even get them to taste it. With time, you can use less dressing, cheese, and bacon bits. Eventually they will love and crave that salad, especially as they realize how much better they feel eating the salad. But it's a process.

Have you seen this? It might help: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food

 

[bettyloulicious]

Hi... I'm new to this site and was reading a thread on diarrhea in cats/ kittens... I'm interested in how to start on a raw food diet... How do I begin?

 

[bettyloulicious]

Hi... I'm new to this site and was reading a thread on diarrhea in cats/ kittens... I'm interested in how to start on a raw food diet... How do I begin?

 

[ldg]

Hi... I'm new to this site and was reading a thread on diarrhea in cats/ kittens... I'm interested in how to start on a raw food diet... How do I begin?

Where are you located? If in the U.S., it's quite easy to get started by buying a commercial frozen raw and work with that for the introduction / transition. There are also premixes that can be purchased to make just meat complete; some that make cooked meat complete; some that make meat & liver complete, etc. A lot of options.

The best place to start is the resource threads, really. There are links to what's available in various parts of the world as far as premixes. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, there are a number of commercial, already balanced, prepared raw foods available. If you have to make your own, there are links to recipes for either ground, or links to how to feed prey model raw.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

 

[ut0pia]

Try some canned food first maybe. The issue is smell. Raw food has very little smell, especially compared to kibble, that is sprayed with animal fat. Or buy some Fortiflora, and sprinkle that on the bite of chicken. It has animal digest in it, which is what is sprayed on the kibble.

Consider buying some freeze dried meat treats: does he like fish? Bonito flakes? Or freeze dried chicken breast, or chicken liver, salmon, shrimp.... these are far healthier "toppers" than the Fortiflora. It's just figuring out what makes him "dig in."

If you want to know how much he's eating let him continue to free feed for a couple of days. Measure how much kibble is out. Measure it the same time the next day. Put the fresh kibble out, again, measure how much is out. Then measure how much is left at the same time the next day. With two days, you should have a good idea of how much he needs daily.

Once you resume the meals again in a couple of days, take half of his daily amount, and divide it into however many meals you're going feed. Put the other half out overnight for grazing (as the first step in the transition).

At each meal, put a little bit of chicken in small (very small?) bites, coated with crushed kibble, or powdered freeze dried treat he likes, or Fortiflora, and just put it in the same dish with the kibble, but next to the kibble. Or if necessary, even on a dish next to the kibble being served as his meal. Just work on getting him used to the raw food.

Basically it's about both desensitizing them to the presence of the new strange stuff - and getting them used to the idea that the new strange stuff IS food.

Think of it like a kid that's only ever eaten dry cereal at every meal. Now you want them to eat salad. It looks and smells NOTHING like what they've been eating, and it sure doesn't look or smell like food! It's going to take a LOT of salad dressing, cheese, and bacon bits to even get them to taste it. With time, you can use less dressing, cheese, and bacon bits. Eventually they will love and crave that salad, especially as they realize how much better they feel eating the salad. But it's a process.

Have you seen this? It might help: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food

I did see that thread in the archives! Very helpful...

So I have started feeding him canned food throughout the day and 1/3 of a cup kibble at night. He loves canned food, even more than kibble.. the sound of a can opening makes him go crazy!

I also mixed in some cubed chicken tenderloin in his canned food. He ate a few pieces however there is a vein the chicken i did not cut through very well so the cubes were all connected and he picked it up and it freaked him out. He ate those pieces and then started to put one up to his mouth and as soon as he figures out what it is, spits it back out  

 

[ldg]

:lol3: Good thing it didn't get caught in his teeth and then follow him around!

Well that's great he loves canned food! Makes it a lot easier to introduce ... whatever you want. He'll get over this!

 

[ut0pia]

LOL that actually almost happened!! He ate one piece and the piece connected to it was hanging from his mouth and he had some trouble getting it off..

When I've seen feral cats eat birds and other prey, they just lean on top of the food and chew through whatever is under their mouth...Jake doesn't really lean over this food, he picks it up and places it outside his bowl and eats it there....he never really liked biting pieces off. He loves bananas, but unless i give him a tiny piece he would never try to bite off a piece from the banana..

Maybe I should start with ground meat?

 

[carolina]

@Utopia, if he loves canned food, have you tried putting him straight on a schedule? Canned only?
I bet if you feed him nothing but canned, pull the kibbles completely, he will eat for you, on time, all his meals on schedule. He just needs to be hungry enough :nod:

With kibbles to graze on during the night he isn't.....

My cat who liked canned were on a schedule in a day or so - the problem was Lucky, the kibble addict.
But the key was to pull the kibble from them :nod:

From there you just slowly mix the raw in - bit by bit, and take the wet away. Mix a tsp of raw in, remove a tsp of wet....... Next day you add another tsp..... and so on. Soon you will feed 100% raw and he will not even notice the difference!
You just move at his pace.

 

[ldg]

Loving canned food totally works in your favor here!