How much money/visits you spent on holistic vet when transitioning to raw?

[koobe]

Dear all,

I understand going raw feeding should be done with a holistic vet. And I understand transitioning to raw is not a one time give-this-raw-food process. How much money or visits in general have you spent with the holistic vet during the process?

There is a holistic vet in my area who charges $125 for first visit, $90 for additional pet on first visit. $55 for first 20 mins of consulting, and $30 for additional 5 mins after that. With my 2 kittens, I am estimating about $1000 on vet visit/consulting to transition them to raw!! In that is the case, I am not sure if I can afford that

 

[sharky]

It varies ... The two I use one is holistic/ conventional and a visit is 40$ and you go to the pet store next door to get the raw ( first time visits are about an hour )... which the brand I like Omas is 5lbs for 10-15$( figure a 10lb cat eats roughly 4 ozs a day that is about 3 weeks food).... NV 3lb is 12-22$... Rad cat is 4$ for 8 oz ... Primal is close to NV pricing

The other one is 55$ per visit and she tells you the closest store to you that has the raw food .First visit is up to 2 hours .. She uses all kind of food alot like me

I realize you live in a expensive area but that seems like I would keep shopping

.... 1000$ seems to high ... I have never come accross a vet charging in 5 minute increments

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by sharky

It varies ... The two I use one is holistic/ conventional and a visit is 40$ and you go to the pet store next door to get the raw ( first time visits are about an hour )... which the brand I like Omas is 5lbs for 10-15$( figure a 10lb cat eats roughly 4 ozs a day that is about 3 weeks food).... NV 3lb is 12-22$... Rad cat is 4$ for 8 oz ... Primal is close to NV pricing

The other one is 55$ per visit and she tells you the closest store to you that has the raw food .First visit is up to 2 hours .. She uses all kind of food alot like me

I realize you live in a expensive area but that seems like I would keep shopping

.... 1000$ seems to high ... I have never come accross a vet charging in 5 minute increments

So Sharky, did you go to both vets just once? If not, how many times on average? My goal is to end up making most of the raw food, which I will need a lot of instructions. I suppose that will increase the number of visits and consultings.

 

[sharky]

One is my regular vet so it is a ONGOING thing.. After so many yrs she lets me text quick ??s to her ...

I think I was ahead of the curve went I went raw since I had been researching pet foods for over 5 years when I started using my current vet...

But a friend of mine I think had three visits before she was comfortable moving to a NON commercial diet...

I still see the other vet on occation as she does the oriental medicine , my regular does the western herbal

 

[furryfriends50]

I didn't work with a vet but did a lot of reading online and also read lots of books about raw feeding.

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

I didn't work with a vet but did a lot of reading online and also read lots of books about raw feeding.

Furryfriends50, are you feeding completely raw? Do you make your own food?

 

[carolina]

Koobe - can you go to your own vet instead? In that case you can work with him with a commercial balanced raw food, perhaps? So this way at least you are safe that you will meet the AAFCO standards and your kitties will get all the nutrients they need?
That price is out of control... But you should have a vet behind you in the process... Many things can go wrong LONG term...
But there are many brands out there that will give you a completely balanced diet already - all you need to do is thaw and serve... This way it makes it easy to work it out with your vet, even if he/she is not a holistic vet...
Please don't mix it on your own without the guidance of a vet...

 

[chris10]

My local holistic vet was about 200 , maybe a tiny bit more, for all four cats. I think first was 70-80 and the rest was discounted. I have only used her a couple of times, once for general checkup and another for one of my kitties licking too much. which involved a fair amount of discussion on nutrition, skin tests, and blood work. For just about anything else, including other general checkups, I use a conventional vet and try not to talk about nutrition with them. As I just get an earful from them. I still use the holistic vet but not very often.

 

[furryfriends50]

Originally Posted by koobe

Furryfriends50, are you feeding completely raw? Do you make your own food?

I've fed completly raw for a few months now - I make all the food myself. I had been doing part raw since april 2009 but don't remember which month I made the total switch over.

 

[auntie crazy]

No vet was consulted here! All five cats are fed 100% raw and I did all the necessary research to understand what I was doing and why before I started. My regular vet supports my choice, but I did not ask his opinion or permission before making it - he knows less about feline nutrition and raw feeding than I do and admits it.

I don't grind, use a "recipe", or cook my cat's food, since cooking destroys the nutrients that make raw so good to begin with. (To be honest, I can't understand why anyone cooks - and then supplements - their cat's food. Science hasn't identified every single nutrient present in prey animals, nor do we know which ones in what amounts cats require, so how can supplementors know they are giving back to their cats everything they needed that was in the food before they cooked it? Doesn't make any sense to me! ....but I digress, sorry!)

I feed simple raw meat, organs and bone-in meats in the same percentages as would be found in a week's worth of eating birds, mice, insects, etc., along with sardines once a week (to address the change in agricultural practices that affects the Omega 3 & 6 content of cows, chickens, etc.), and whole mice or crickets every couple of weeks for the fun and variety of it.

My three older cats just had their annual physicals and the vet was impressed with their overall health, but especially impressed with the improvement of their Herpes Virus symptoms. After nine months on raw foods and six months off L-Lysine, all cats are asymptomatic!

 

[denali]

At first I did not consult my holistic vet on raw feeding. I did my own research on the rights and wrongs of raw feeding and feline nutrition. Then I started my cats on Urban Carnivore patties during the transition mixed in with their canned food. Once I got them completely switched over to raw food I then started making my own because it is MUCH cheaper.

The only reason I conslted with my holistic vet was because my cat that had regular diarrhea for years on vet prescribed food was now having pencil thin stools on a raw diet (his diarrhea had completely cleared up thank goodness). We had a consultation over the phone and discussed his health and then set up a diet. Her diet was very close to what I was feeding him already except she wanted me to add in some fibre veggies because she felt his pencil thin stools were due to the fact that he needed some fibre in his diet to bulk up his stools. And man she was right because he has had normal stools since our consultation in July. I do find that if I do not add enough of the finely grated zucchini into his batch of food then he has trouble passing a stool. So I am very happy with her recommendation.

The phone consultation was about $75 for 45 minutes. But I was okay with paying this because she never charged me for all the phone calls between her and I about my cat that has Feline Megacolon.

I am lucky because my regular vet is in support of raw feeding as well. I would say if you decide to go the route of researching raw feeding and feline nutrition I would recommend joining groups online in your city for raw feeding. I would never have known about my holistic vet if it hadn't been for people I met online on various groups in my city. People may be able to suggest a cheaper vet for you. I find that most people are willing to help out

 

[mschauer]

I didn't consult a holistic vet. So $0 here!

 

[darlili]

A question - what does a holistic vet provide that costs so much more than a conventional vet? A far more involved exam including all normal conventional tests as well as non-standard testing? (I'm assuming most holistic vets also adhere to conventional treatment and testing where warranted).

I mean, I can see a bit of a premium, perhaps, for a holistic vet, since there aren't as many of them out there in most areas, but that first pricing seemed extremely high without knowing what's included.

In any event, I think it's important that any major diet changes be taken in conjunction with working with a vet you know and trust. For myself, I like having a practice where they know everything that's happened with my cats - all treatments, visits, etc. I like that the ER vet they work with immediately faxes the case history over to the regular vet.

 

[esrandall2000]

Originally Posted by koobe

Dear all,

I understand going raw feeding should be done with a holistic vet. And I understand transitioning to raw is not a one time give-this-raw-food process. How much money or visits in general have you spent with the holistic vet during the process?

There is a holistic vet in my area who charges $125 for first visit, $90 for additional pet on first visit. $55 for first 20 mins of consulting, and $30 for additional 5 mins after that. With my 2 kittens, I am estimating about $1000 on vet visit/consulting to transition them to raw!! In that is the case, I am not sure if I can afford that

I believe that I know the particular vet that is being referred to here who is in San Jose (if not, then the SJ vet has the identical fee schedule as the one described here). I took my IBD kitty to her as my regular specialist could not control his vomiting or nausea and I was at my wits end. She spent 1 hour with him (including acupuncture) and prescribed four supplements. This was last Monday. As of that visit, he is now eating and is no longer anxorexic. HE HAS NOT VOMITED once. He is no longer waking me up 3-4 times per night. We go back in 2 weeks. I feed raw and she would like to make some additions to my current protocol, but said no changes until we see how he is doing. I would have paid twice what I did pay to get him to this point. I told my cat specialist what I was doing and she approved 100%. To date, I've spent at least $5,000 with regular vets and still had a sick kitty. At this point, I have hope. Now, I can only speak for my experience and no one else's. And I realize before I started this magnus opus that the OP was simply referring to transitioning to raw food and was understandably concerned about the potential cost of doing this.

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Koobe - can you go to your own vet instead? In that case you can work with him with a commercial balanced raw food, perhaps? So this way at least you are safe that you will meet the AAFCO standards and your kitties will get all the nutrients they need?
That price is out of control... But you should have a vet behind you in the process... Many things can go wrong LONG term...
But there are many brands out there that will give you a completely balanced diet already - all you need to do is thaw and serve... This way it makes it easy to work it out with your vet, even if he/she is not a holistic vet...
Please don't mix it on your own without the guidance of a vet...

I asked my vet about raw feeding in our first visit. I do not think he is too into the whole nutrition thing. He said "dry food is as nutritious as canned food. You can feed either dry or wet, just pick a brand of canned food you can see yourself stick with. Any big brands will do, like Iams, Science Diet. Cats do not get bored of eating the same thing everything, they get used to it. I think raw feeding is too much work and I am not convinced."

Right now I am feeding dry and wet, and starting feeding Rad cat raw food once a week since last week. I know I will be safe when feeding commercial raw food, but they are expensive. The 8oz Rad cat raw food is $5.99 here plus 9.50% sale tax. I will not be able to afford that in a long term. I eventually will have to look into making my own raw food anyway.

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by esrandall2000

I believe that I know the particular vet that is being referred to here who is in San Jose (if not, then the SJ vet has the identical fee schedule as the one described here). I took my IBD kitty to her as my regular specialist could not control his vomiting or nausea and I was at my wits end. She spent 1 hour with him (including acupuncture) and prescribed four supplements. This was last Monday. As of that visit, he is now eating and is no longer anxorexic. HE HAS NOT VOMITED once. He is no longer waking me up 3-4 times per night. We go back in 2 weeks. I feed raw and she would like to make some additions to my current protocol, but said no changes until we see how he is doing. I would have paid twice what I did pay to get him to this point. I told my cat specialist what I was doing and she approved 100%. To date, I've spent at least $5,000 with regular vets and still had a sick kitty. At this point, I have hope. Now, I can only speak for my experience and no one else's. And I realize before I started this magnus opus that the OP was simply referring to transitioning to raw food and was understandably concerned about the potential cost of doing this.

I think we are talking about the same vet. It is great to hear someone with the personal experience. Please kindly keep me updated about your next visit. If it is what you experienced, it is not that bad price-wise.

 

[esrandall2000]

Originally Posted by koobe

I think we are talking about the same vet. It is great to hear someone with the personal experience. Please kindly keep me updated about your next visit. If it is what you experienced, it is not that bad price-wise.

Will do. BTW, I also use Radcat as it is the only raw food my darling Whimsey will consider (sigh!).

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

No vet was consulted here! All five cats are fed 100% raw and I did all the necessary research to understand what I was doing and why before I started. My regular vet supports my choice, but I did not ask his opinion or permission before making it - he knows less about feline nutrition and raw feeding than I do and admits it.

I don't grind, use a "recipe", or cook my cat's food, since cooking destroys the nutrients that make raw so good to begin with. (To be honest, I can't understand why anyone cooks - and then supplements - their cat's food. Science hasn't identified every single nutrient present in prey animals, nor do we know which ones in what amounts cats require, so how can supplementors know they are giving back to their cats everything they needed that was in the food before they cooked it? Doesn't make any sense to me! ....but I digress, sorry!)

I feed simple raw meat, organs and bone-in meats in the same percentages as would be found in a week's worth of eating birds, mice, insects, etc., along with sardines once a week (to address the change in agricultural practices that affects the Omega 3 & 6 content of cows, chickens, etc.), and whole mice or crickets every couple of weeks for the fun and variety of it.

My three older cats just had their annual physicals and the vet was impressed with their overall health, but especially impressed with the improvement of their Herpes Virus symptoms. After nine months on raw foods and six months off L-Lysine, all cats are asymptomatic!

Auntie Crazy, you probably know about raw feeding inside out. I am not at that point yet. As much as I want to have a recipe to follow, I know it will not do much benefit unless I totally understand raw feeding. All the discussion here on meat:bone ratio are like rocket science to me. I wish I can have some guidelines to follow and start with.

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by Denali

I am lucky because my regular vet is in support of raw feeding as well. I would say if you decide to go the route of researching raw feeding and feline nutrition I would recommend joining groups online in your city for raw feeding. I would never have known about my holistic vet if it hadn't been for people I met online on various groups in my city. People may be able to suggest a cheaper vet for you. I find that most people are willing to help out

GOOD IDEA! I think I see a BARF group nearby, I will considering joining. My Cheetah has sensitive stomach, so I want to switch them to raw.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by koobe

GOOD IDEA! I think I see a BARF group nearby, I will considering joining. My Cheetah has sensitive stomach, so I want to switch them to raw.

that is a good idea ... also clean out a few pms Please