How do I feed both my cats raw food?

[taquitos]

Hello all! I'm a newbie here so let me start by introducing myself and my cats.

My name is Shae, and I work at a local pet boutique that puts an emphasis on animal nutrition. We are HUGE advocates of feeding raw, and the owner of the store makes her own homemade raw to sell in store. With that said, my cats were on a grain free kibble, getting wet food once a week, because I wasn't fully comfortable with the idea of feeding raw at first. Well, that all changed when a couple of weeks ago, one of my cats, Cha Cha, developed urinary crystals. Luckily there was no blockage, but he is back home and now I have switched both my cats to raw.

Here's the thing... One of my cats LOVES raw. He used to never be a big fan of any food, really, but with raw he finishes his meals first (for the first time ever), and will often go and eat uneaten food from my other cat's plate. My other cat isn't full, but he just takes longer to eat his meal (he used to scarf his old food down but not anymore).

I know cats are supposed to eat 6-8 small meals a day instead of 2 big meals, but you can't free feed raw and I simply don't have the time to feed more often during the day. So what do I do to make sure that my slower cat gets his full portion a day? Do I lock him up in the bathroom until he finishes?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Willowy]

Most people can squeeze 3 feedings in--I do it before work, after work, and at bedtime. Maybe not perfectly spaced but at least each meal can be smaller, maybe it'll give him a chance to finish. Or, yeah, you can put him (or Mr. Munchy) in another room.

Congrats on an easy raw transition! Some of us have more trouble than that! :lol3:

 

[carolina]

Most people can squeeze 3 feedings in--I do it before work, after work, and at bedtime. Maybe not perfectly spaced but at least each meal can be smaller, maybe it'll give him a chance to finish. Or, yeah, you can put him (or Mr. Munchy) in another room.
Congrats on an easy raw transition! Some of us have more trouble than that! :lol3:

That's how I feed mine - once before work, once after work, and right before bed, late night.

The three meals are equal in size. My cats weigh 11, 13 and 17.5lbs, and they all eat the same amount a day - 4.5oz.
They eat their food in minutes - it took a little while to get there - the most important thing is establishing a routine, IMHO. Feeding on the same place, at the same time, will help them to get used to it. In the beginning it would take them much longer to eat.... Sometimes a full 1/2 hour.... Now it take a minute or two..... and they are done.

I feed them home made raw, "boneless frankerprey" Essentially frankerprey, but instead of feeding bones, I supplement it with Calcium.

Feel free to ask any questions, and congrats on the change!!



Oh and about this:

Here's the thing... One of my cats LOVES raw. He used to never be a big fan of any food, really, but with raw he finishes his meals first (for the first time ever), and will often go and eat uneaten food from my other cat's plate. My other cat isn't full, but he just takes longer to eat his meal (he used to scarf his old food down but not anymore).

I know cats are supposed to eat 6-8 small meals a day instead of 2 big meals, but you can't free feed raw and I simply don't have the time to feed more often during the day. So what do I do to make sure that my slower cat gets his full portion a day? Do I lock him up in the bathroom until he finishes?

I also do have a cat who eats super fast, and goes for everyone's plates.... HE is the one who I lock up :nod: I then stay with the other ones making sure they finish their food - in the beginning they needed help with enticements sometimes even feeding a piece or two by hand, moving them back to their plates, etc), and only then I let everyone leave their plates.....

 

[princessesme]

I feed my kitties like the others - before work, after work, and before bed. Works great and they seem to be happy with it. Like Carolina said, they eat in minutes. Esme used to be a very slow eater, but now she is done within 5-10 minutes, while my other is done in 2 minutes. For my guys, I have to lock Esme up since Naku will eat her food. He gets too stressed if he is in a room locked up and she doesn't mind, so that's how I do it. Since I don't really have doors on my main floor, one eats in the bedroom and the other eats in the hallway, right outside the door (he has to be near her and be able to hear her

)

Do what works best for you to get their feedings in per day and stick to it, no matter how much crying they do at first.

Or, at least as much as you can.

 

[wolcar]

I've been feeding 3am, 3pm and 6pm but we are currently working on spreading it out a little bit and making it more even. lol  My boys eat their food so darn quickly with one being a speed eating champion contender so I just stand there until they are done.  But if one took a lot longer than the other then I would probably put him in another room.

 

[carolina]

Hey Taquitos, have you started? Do you have any more questions? How is it going?