I think I'm ready....

[princessesme]

Here is what I do, and works well:
I cut all the chicken, put into a large ziplock bag, and back into the freezer. Then all the lamb, and do the same thing.
After all the meats are into their large bags, I pull the small Ziplock bags and start the packing into portions.
Weight the meal sizes - TIP: Always leave about 20% in weight for water loss during defrost - especially on hearts!! Hearts lose a LOT of water, and the last thing you want is to find out you have less meat than you need when you defrosted! For the other meats you can leave around 15%.
I weight the portions and keep putting the bags aside. When I finish one meat, say the chicken, I flatten the baggies, squeezing the air out, close the baggies, wipe quickly with a paper towel and label them with a thick permanent marker.
Put them inside a large ziplock bag, and into the freezer.
Onto the next meat.
I pack all my cats meals together - for example:
I have 3 cats, who were eating 1.6oz each per meal = 4.8oz. + 15% = 5.5oz. All the chicken baggies will weigh that much.
At meal time, I just pull one from the freezer, defrost on warm water, supplement and serve.
As for instructions, in the beginning I had a menu in the freezer. Now I don't follow one - I just serve 2 white meats for the day, and one red.
And feed hearts often - they LOVE hearts, and it has a shock full of vitamins!
I do have a Kitty Instruction manual for the Petsitters, since I travel at least 3 weeks of the month and need to rely on them to feed the kitties while I am out of town..... It is pretty detailed.
Once you get used to it, you pretty much get into an auto-pilot - you know when you miss something in their food...... You have the feeling that "something is not right"

Thanks for the tip! I was not factoring in for the water loss, but makes sense. My kitties are eating 2oz per meal, but I'm thinking of bumping Esme down to 1.8oz or 1.6oz since she is starting to leave just a teenie bit, every now and then.

I do something similar when prepping their meals. I cut up, chicken for example and drop the bits into one big bowl to weigh it. Then I take out my little baggies and portion them into individual kitty meals, smoosh the bags, label them, and toss them into a large freezer bag (also labeled). I like to keep the mini bags labeled though, so if I have multiple meats thawing out for the day, I know what's what.';[pppppppppp <<-- had to keep that. Naku typed that in.

Carolina - So, you do not feed a 2nd secreting organ? I know you feed the FD liver treats, if you are not feeding the second organ, how many of those are you feeding? I'm just asking so I have a backup plan if the kidney doesn't work out, since I do have frozen chicken livers and Etta's FD chicken livers available (until I can look into another order with organs from Hare Today).

 

[ldg]

I start the bagging process by calculating how many ounces of meat I have that needs bagging. I divide it by the ounces I need per bag, so I know how many bags I'll need. I take my Sharpie waterproof pen, and write "12 oz Chicken Breast" and put the date on it (so I know to use oldest first). I label all the bags first, then open them all, so I don't have to open bags with chicken or lamb covered hands. I'm pretty good at eyeballing the amount to cut off to get to my 12 ounces - I cut it, drop it into the bag, and add or subtract as necessary. I fill all of them, wash my hands, wipe the bags with a clorox wipe and then a damp paper towel, squish the air out and ziplock closed. Shove the pile of meat filled, labeled bags into the freezer. :lol3:

 

[carolina]

Carolina - So, you do not feed a 2nd secreting organ? I know you feed the FD liver treats, if you are not feeding the second organ, how many of those are you feeding? I'm just asking so I have a backup plan if the kidney doesn't work out, since I do have frozen chicken livers and Etta's FD chicken livers available (until I can look into another order with organs from Hare Today).

Just one a day for each cat.... That's all I feed :nod:
Hope doesn't get any, and there is liver in the Call of the Wild already. Liver is tough, as you don't want to feed too much.... Because too much Vitamin A can be harmful for cats..... So I keep it on 1 treat/day :nod:

 

[princessesme]

Hmm.. interesting! I may consider that option for Esme since she is our picky eater.

THE KIDNEY WAS CUT UP TODAY!

Carolina - You definitely scared me with the kidney, but we had the windows open and the fan on and didn't smell a thing! Even after we turned the fan off, it smelled fine in the room.

We only cut up 1 kidney today, since they will only go through one per month. I gave Naku a tiny piece and he ate it right up! I split all of my organs up into 1oz baggies, so they can each get one baggie split up throughout the day twice a week. Same for their livers. I sure hope Esme will eat it! She was being super picky this morning and was not eating at all. I put some ground lamb down (she will eat Rad Cat 100%) last night and she ate maybe 50% (Hare Today). Then this morning, we tried HT Lamb again and no success. Even FortiFlora, so then we moved onto giving her some wet to get her to eat something and she was not trying to have it. I am going to give her a little bit of chicken shortly to get something in her tummy, but she is holding out for either Rad Cat or chicken chunks right now.

Since they were pretty much fine with lamb (at least, if it's Rad Cat) and like chunks, I think I will try lamb bought from the store and chunk it up. But this week, I may try transitioning them into pork. We still have lots of Rabbit in the freezer, but with the last

session, I will save that for last. And... I tried eggshell powder with both of them, versus MCHA and they ate it right up!!

 

[princessesme]

As I had assumed.. Esme did not eat the kidneys at all! I only gave her a little bit with her chicken thighs and she ate right around it. When I first got the FD Chicken Liver treats, she did eat them, but I'm not confident she would continue to eat them everyday. I'm going to give it a shot for the week, but if she isn't consistent in eating it, then she may be my CoTW girl. Naku, on the other hand, I'm so happy he'll eat pretty much anything you give to him.

 

[carolina]

As I had assumed.. Esme did not eat the kidneys at all! I only gave her a little bit with her chicken thighs and she ate right around it. When I first got the FD Chicken Liver treats, she did eat them, but I'm not confident she would continue to eat them everyday. I'm going to give it a shot for the week, but if she isn't consistent in eating it, then she may be my CoTW girl. Naku, on the other hand, I'm so happy he'll eat pretty much anything you give to him.

Do you have FD chicken?
That's Lucky's magic powder..... I put a bunch into my magic bullet, turn that into a powder, then put the parmesan cheese lid on the cup (The lid with a bunch of little holes), and sprinkle the powder on her meals.

She won't eat raw without her magic powder, but will eat the entire thing in one sitting with it :nod:

I use Whole life chicken . I buy the huge bags though..... They are also great meals for when the babies are not feeling well, or treats when you are going to be late feeding them :nod:

You can try sprinkling the kidney with it and see if she will eat.....

As for the FD liver, try crumbling them in smaller pieces - I do this as mine LOVE it and pretty much swallow the entire thing whole. But Hope who doesn't really like it, will eat smaller pieces :nod:

 

[princessesme]

Do you have FD chicken?
That's Lucky's magic powder..... I put a bunch into my magic bullet, turn that into a powder, then put the parmesan cheese lid on the cup (The lid with a bunch of little holes), and sprinkle the powder on her meals.
She won't eat raw without her magic powder, but will eat the entire thing in one sitting with it

I use Whole life chicken . I buy the huge bags though..... They are also great meals for when the babies are not feeling well, or treats when you are going to be late feeding them

You can try sprinkling the kidney with it and see if she will eat.....
As for the FD liver, try crumbling them in smaller pieces - I do this as mine LOVE it and pretty much swallow the entire thing whole. But Hope who doesn't really like it, will eat smaller pieces

I do, but she doesn't respond to it very much as a topping. Forti Flora has really been the only thing that'll convince her for anything. I have a different brand though, so maybe I can try Whole Life next week if I order it this week?

 

[carolina]

I do, but she doesn't respond to it very much as a topping. Forti Flora has really been the only thing that'll convince her for anything. I have a different brand though, so maybe I can try Whole Life next week if I order it this week?

What brand do you have in hand? WL is very much like Halo..... Minus carragernan :nod:

 

[ldg]

Yeah - for the kitties that don't like the kidney enough to not eat it, but don't like it enough to eat it plain, coating it with the Whole Life chicken works well here. But we have a COTW kitty. :lol3:

 

[princessesme]

I have Pure Bites, which is 100% Chicken Breast. I think I will try splitting the chicken liver treat in half for her too (give her two smaller pieces, instead of one big one).

 

[princessesme]

Just when everything seems like it is going smoothly, Naku backs of the chunks. He seemed a bit.. hesitant, almost last night, kept dropping his chunks off to the side, then going back. This morning, he wouldn't eat at all, even plain ol chicken which he usually loves. I gave him a 0.5oz of kidney yesterday afternoon and his poops were soft last night. Then he did something we have never seen him do, and that was rub his toosh on the carpet. Other than those two things, he is still his crazy self!

So.. I can only assume the kidney was a bit much and gave him the runs a little bit and who knows, maybe his tummy was hurting this morning? Poor guy..

If it's not that, then my only other assumption is his teeth, since he has the gingivitis pretty bad in his canines. I wish they could talk and just tell me what's up!
I'm nervous about his cleaning but excited too if it will help him feel better.

 

[ldg]

Aw hun.... Poor Naku! I think you're forgetting one of the primary "ingredients" of a successful transition... slow introductions. If the goal is 0.5oz of kidney with a meal (that's how much I feed in their 1.5 ounce meals), then start with 1/4 or 1/2 of that, and see how they do with it. :nod:

Did you remember to provide more calcium with the kidney? When I feed 1.5 ounces of meat, I provide 3/64 teaspoon of eggshell (one "smidgen" and one "drop."). When I feed a 1.5 ounce meal that is 0.5 oz liver or kidney, and 1 ounce of meat, I provide 1/16 teaspoon of eggshell (2 "smidgens"). :nod:

The ounce of meat needs one smidgen - the 0.5 oz of liver or kidney needs one smidgen.

 

[princessesme]

Thanks! I thought 0.5oz would be small enough. When I measured the eggshell powder, I rounded it a little bit because I wasn't sure how much extra to give off hand. I think I will try the chicken chunks with a "kidney" piece on top (I'm going to shoot for 0.15-0.25oz). Thankfully they are cut up into pretty small pieces so I can get them into teenie portions. He seems to be a little better tonight. I let him check out Esme's chicken chunks and he was kinda interested, but not so much, so he got HT ground lamb tonight and ate it right up.(I'm sorry if this might've been posted before) So, for the organs, since they would have to get 2oz of each per week, should I give FD liver treats once or twice this week to get his other organ in? Prior to the raw transition, he has had FD liver treats without any tummy issues.

 

[ldg]

:doh3: That's right - he eats 2 oz of food at each meal, doesn't he? So that would have been 25%. :nod: Well, when something like that happens, you just have to give his tummy a rest, and then start (again) with a smaller amount. :nod: :rub:

I'd wait until he's got normal stool before trying again. And yes, for now, I'd use the FD liver if he hasn't had issues with it. I introduced one organ at a time, and especially as the first go-round gave him soft poop, I'd stick to just one thing at a time. :nod:

 

[princessesme]

That's right - he eats 2 oz of food at each meal, doesn't he? So that would have been 25%.

Well, when something like that happens, you just have to give his tummy a rest, and then start (again) with a smaller amount.

I'd wait until he's got normal stool before trying again. And yes, for now, I'd use the FD liver if he hasn't had issues with it.

I introduced one organ at a time, and especially as the first go-round gave him soft poop, I'd stick to just one thing at a time.

Thanks for the tip! He is back on his rounds of chicken, lamb, and duck hearts for right now until Thursday when I plan on introducing pork. I just wanted to give his tummy a rest so he can eat his standard meats for now. Esme is on and off with the duck hearts and ground lamb (which is all I have until I can get some regular lamb), so she is on chicken for the moment. Considering she went INSANE with the Christmas ham and tried to scale the walls to get onto the counter for the ham, I sure hope she likes the pork.

So far, Esme has been consistent with her chicken liver treats.

Naku had a vomit episode this morning but is still his spunky self, so I think it was one of those vomits as part of the raw process.

Thank you BISSELL for handheld steam cleaners!

 

[ldg]

:lol3: I know - I don't know what we'd do without those handheld cleaners!

 

[princessesme]

FD Liver is going over much better than kidney (for now)! (Also got a BM confirmation that Naku is back to normal!) I think I will start feeding one small chunk per day (probably Sunday or Monday), to get his body used to it. Maybe if I try one small chunk with Esme too, she may try it. I am going to try coating it in FD chicken too. They start their pork transition tomorrow, so I'm hoping that goes well!

I also started bumping them both down to 1.5oz yesterday and so far, so good! I was going to keep Naku higher, but he has started leaving a few chunks behind so I'm going to keep them at 1.5oz, which is about 2.25%-2.5% of their body weight. Plus, they are getting a chicken liver treat daily and will be getting a weekly sardine.

 

[ldg]

Yep - those ..... litter box reactions, let's call them, to new introductions are usually really short lived!

And YAY for FD liver is all I have to say! :lol3:

 

[princessesme]

It's been a couple of days since I have posted, so I figured I would add an update.

With Esme now being on prednisone, she seems to have gotten more fussy and actually isn't eating as much, but at least 85% of her food. She is still eating at least 2% of her body weight at least, so that's good. At the moment, I think she is pretty cautious of feeding time, because I have been pilling her shortly before and then putting her down to go eat. I'm thinking I might have to change that up a bit, but I just want to make sure she eats and doesn't regurgitate the pill (which she has done in the past with other medicines). With her fussiness, she hasn't been eating chicken liver treats anymore, so I switched her back to CoTW today, indefinitely. She likes it, it makes her happy, so I'm just going to stick with it. I also plan on ordering some more S&C's since they both LOVED it and I think it will be great to have on hand with Esme starting this medication and Naku going to get his teeth cleaned on Thursday (just in case he is being fussy with normal raw).

Besides the little health hiccups, they have been doing fine with their foods. I got them transitioned over to pork last week, so right now I have chicken breast, chicken thighs, duck hearts, llama (Naku - Esme not so much), lamb, and pork. It seems they will eat pork, but they're not going cuckoo for it.

 

[ldg]

Overall, they're really doing well! That's a really nice rotation of proteins!

Yeah - even the pork I have to do 05/50 with a white meat (chicken or turkey breast, though sometimes I use thigh).

....and I had the same thing happen with Spooky. I used to pill her at meal time, and then she started avoiding meals. I had to start just randomly pilling her during the day, and using a treat to make sure it went down. :nod:

As to the CoTW, I'm the same with Lazlo. He likes it, he does well on it... and honestly, because of his cancer, I actually like the anti-oxidants in it for him. So I'm keeping him on it.

Something else to consider for Esme, BTW, is 500mg of Evening Primrose oil. From all the work I did on Flowerbelle when they thought she had asthma, it's recommended for that (and skin-related allergy itching). It's high in GLA, which cats CAN convert to DGLA. It's an omega 6, but it acts like an omega 3, in that it's an anti-inflammatory 6. :nod:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18194593

This study was with GLA and EPA - but you're already giving them krill oil, right?