Hare Today/raw Food/catsite Newbie

[Sansa]

Hello CatSite members! This is my first post!

I'm currently feeding canned and would like to transition to raw for my two cats.

I would like to keep it as simple as possible, so I was going to order ground meat/bone/organ mix and supplement the Alnutrin WITHOUT calcium, plus salmon oil.
Are there any problems with this recipe I'm not aware of? I've just started researching about feeding raw and it can be a little overwhelming, especially since it involves the health of my pet(s) and I want to get it right.

For amounts-I should go off the feeding guidelines listed on the website no matter the calories in the meat? Say I mix turkey and chicken and rabbit and duck. These mixtures would have different calorie content. So for my 7 lb cat (11 mo old-she's small) and 8 lb cat (6 mo old) the calculator says I should feed roughly 8 oz or 1/2 a pound of food per day to maintain 3% bodyweight.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[orange&white]

The pre-ground mixes are a great way to start. Sounds like you're doing good research.

The only thing I notice is that you have one kitten who is 6 months old. She'll very likely eat more than 4 ounces of food a day, and you should offer her 3-4 meals a day as much food as she wants. Your 11 month old can eat like an adult, and 3% of her body weight is a good place to start. Cats usually eat 2-4% of body weight; kittens twice as much (4-8%). Your 11 month old may tell you that she wants more food than 4 ounces per day, or she may not eat that much.

(My kitten was eating 6-7 ounces a day during her 6th month as she gained from 7 to 8 pounds. Her appetite has dropped off the last week, but it may pick up again with the next growth spurt.)

 

[dhammagirl]

You could get a scale, like one for babies (I got a used one at a resale store), and weigh them every week or two.
That and a small digital kitchen scale for weighing the food.
If they're gaining weight, or gaining too quickly, reduce the food, not gaining enough or losing weight, feed more. I have an overweight cat that has lost almost 4 pounds over the last year, so calories in the food is something I try to take into account, but since that's imprecise with homemade raw food, weighing him and monitoring how much is being fed is direct feedback. With a kitten, I agree that giving them as much as they want is a good place to start. But that's also how I ended up with a 20+ pound cat, because he was always crying for food. Granted, at the time I was feeding kibble because I didn't know better. Raw rules!

 

[orange&white]

A scale is a good idea since raw feeders tend to measure food as a percent of body weight. I purchased a shipping/postage scale which can weigh a fraction of an ounce of food, and it can also weigh up to a 55 pound pet.

 

[Sansa]

Thanks for the tips!

Is there a concern with the bone content of the pre-ground? I read that 80/10/10 is the correct ratio.

Also, what is the consistency of the pre-ground? Should I expect small fragments of bone or has most of it been ground into a powder?

 

[lalagimp]

It is the correct ratio but most pre ground on Hare Today is not sold that way. It should be cut with another boneless meat mixed in. It does contain small bone fragments. They either eat them or eat around them and leave the larger bone pieces behind in the dish.

 

[orange&white]

Hare Today's bone-in grinds do have too much bone. You should order some of the boneless grinds to get to the correct ratio (80/10/10), or better yet, get some whole, unground boneless meat that you can cut into chunks to mix into the bone-in ground. Chewing on chunks is good for the cat's jaw strength and dental health.

You should expect bones fragments in the meats. Your cats will probably eat all of the fine-grind, but may leave a piece of bone on their plate occasionally if you ordered the course-grind.

I make the cats' mix homemade. Sometimes I'll find a piece of bone that the cat will leave on the plate after cleaning all the meat and marrow out of it.

 

[amysuen]

Welcome! I started my homemade food journey about a month ago and have gotten TONS of help from these nice people. (They didn't even laugh at my dumb questions! )

Good luck transitioning to raw! We've transitioned from kibble to homemade fairly successfully but still have to transition from cooked to raw. I'm looking forward to reading about your progress!

 

[Sansa]

Thanks amysuen ! I'm glad to be here. Everyone seems helpful and friendly. I've decided to go the boneless ground and chunks from Hare Today + EzComplete route for now until I get some experience under my belt.