Is Your Cat Healthy On Raw Food?

[Neo_23]

I'm curious to know about the health conditions of cats who are eating raw diets. Please share your cats' past and current health state and let us know how long your cat has been eating raw food. If your cat had a condition that was treated with raw food, please share. If your cat has been on raw food for a while and healthy please also share. And finally, share if your cat experienced health issues while on raw.

Since there isn't much research out there about the health benefits of raw food, I thought it would be interesting to hear about people's experiences.

 

[Ardina]

My cats are doing great on raw! I primarily switched because Saipha used to be dry-food addict. It took me over a year to get her onto wet food and she was still incredibly picky and would turn up her nose at the food half the time, which was stressful and expensive. And then she tried a spoonful of raw and loved it! Unfortunately, she loves it so much that she's getting a little chubby, so I have to limit her portions now. But the other effects are great - her fur is silky and shiny. She has lots of energy. And the best part is - her poop went from soft and stinky to completely odorless. I used to brush Saipha's teeth, and now I don't have to since she uses her side teeth regularly to chew up chunks.

After switching to raw, I adopted a kitten. Mishka has been raised on raw since she was 2 months old. She also has super soft fur and dry, odorless poops (which is a good thing since she has a lot of fur on her uhhh "pantaloons" and soft poop would be a disaster). Her teeth are in excellent condition since she regularly gnaws on chunks and raw meaty bones. She's never been sick a day of her life.

I feed them homemade raw, and while it's more work than just opening up a can or pouring out some dry food, it gives me such peace of mind. I don't have to worry about all the weird fillers and gums and things manufacturers put in cat food. I never have to worry about recalls. I know exactly what is in their food. They don't get any grains, potatoes, vegetables, or other fillers that they have no need of. Which shows in terms of how much my cats eat. On canned food, Saipha ate 9 oz/day. On raw, she eats less than 6 oz because she gets so much more nutrition from each oz of raw. I don't have to worry that a manufacturer will change the formula and my cats will hate it. So I'm definitely glad I switched and won't be going back!

Edit: Love this thread, by the way! So many people don't even consider feeding raw or are told by their vets that it's too dangerous, so hopefully more people will see how much better cats do on raw and consider switching themselves.

 

[Difficultkitty]

My previous cats and present kitten had and get raw meat , also high quality grain free wet food . They seem to decide what they want more of . Often it seems a few pieces of raw and then heading to wet food .

 

[Neo_23]

My previous cats and present kitten had and get raw meat , also high quality grain free wet food . They seem to decide what they want more of . Often it seems a few pieces of raw and then heading to wet food .

How long have your cats been eating raw food? How is their health?

 

[dhammagirl]

My kitties have been on raw for about two years. I started it primarily because my youngest cat Zeke was getting very overweight and was always begging for more (dry) food.
He's lost almost 4 pounds, and his fur went from dry with flakes to soft and silky and no dry skin issues.
He's still very focused on food, but doesn't act like he's starving all the time, he's more satisfied.
His teeth are in great shape from the chunks of meat with bone and whole prey he gets in addition to the ground raw.
Bilbo likes the raw most of the time, Chloe will only eat it with some canned food mixed in. Fancy Feast classic pate is grain and veggie free and affordable, and they like it.
No more dry food.
Their health is good. Only Bilbo has a health issue with oral resorptive lesions and has had to have many teeth removed, but that's unrelated to his diet.

 

[sophie1]

Great thread, and I hope people who have had negative experiences with raw food will feel free to share.

My cats have been free-fed raw food since they were weaned. This includes commercial raw, whole animal grinds from online suppliers, and some locally bought fresh raw meats. They're now 4 years old. One of them regurgitates food after eating, sometimes a couple times a week, and the other developed gingivitis at one year of age. I brush their teeth daily and also feed them chunks of meat regularly, and the gingivitis hasn't recurred. Other than that both are in perfect health and are at perfect weights. No hair ball issues despite being long-haired cats (Siberians). And they're as playful as kittens!

 

[LTS3]

My Aby has been eating raw since he was weaned. He's 7 years old now and is healthy. He's had a few minor health issues in the past (burned paw, mushy poop). The mushy poop was likely a result of eating expired Stella and Chewy's. He got a nasty oozy red bald spot earlier this year which I'm pretty sure was caused by the sample of Small Batch raw. I guess he can't tolerate that particular brand.

My other cat has been eating raw since she was 6 months old. She was likley eating dry food prior to adoption. She's also 7 years old. Her only health issues has been ileus, FORLs, and the occasional constipation which a dose of Miralax takes care of.

My vet has no issue at all with me feeding a raw diet. He always comments on how healthy my cats are. I'm sure for his other clients he generally recommends commerical dry and canned food and prescription food if that is needed for a health condition.

 

[Ardina]

sophie1 - you reminded me about the hairball thing: Saipha used to have hairballs every couple of weeks despite being a shorthair because she shed so much. After the switch to raw, she hasn't had a single hairball in 6 months. Mishka, who is a longhair, has never had a hairball either.

 

[Difficultkitty]

How long have your cats been eating raw food? How is their health?

Since 'kittenhood' health is great . Shiny silky coats

 

[maureen brad]

Two of y cats have been on a raw diet since I adopted them (1 & 2 years ago) another has been on raw for 3 years. they eat a varied rotational diet, bone-in, prey raw model, and boneless. All are very healthy. No hairballs ( and 1 is long haired) the only issue I have is Farrah throws up red meats and Jack has suddenly decided ground rabbit of any kind is not for him.

 

[lalagimp]

The boys have been on homemade raw since December. It's tricky for me... Keeping their weight steady. I have to weigh them every week. They've always had issues with their weight. During early summer, Tommy just lost a pound he didn't need to, so I would work on getting him to stop losing while getting his weight back up gradually by about 2 oz per week. He was up to 6 1/2 oz mix per day. Right now we're back at 6 and he's 13 1/2 lbs. My other boy is 1 lb overweight, but we got him to stop gaining, so he's on 4 1/2 oz until we put him on a diet. He's 13 lbs right now.
See the differences? It's tricky. The have rabbit and turkey mix.

 

[orange&white]

I started 3 cats (ages 14, and two 3.5 y/o brothers) on raw in 2008, plus my two young dogs. All three cats were getting overweight and one had oily skin and dandruff. He was much too young for that. His brother went into hepatic lipidosis a couple months before switching everyone to a raw diet.

The improvement in health and vitality in all 3 cats (and both dogs) was almost immediately noticeable. Within a few weeks they all lost body fat and were bouncing around like kittens, so they gained muscle mass. The senior at the time lived to be a few months shy of 20 years, the longest-lived cat I've owned. He was never ill as a senior and passed peacefully at home.

In 2013, several factors caused me to switch back to processed food, including the one eating-disordered cat refusing food again, plus taking a job outside of the house versus working from home.

Switching back to processed foods came with regrets. A couple years back on garbage, and my terrier was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. My eating-disordered cat would eat nothing but kibble his last few years and died suddenly in Sept 2016 (probable heart attack). My now-senior cat became obese, and my Corgi started needing dental work.

I started back on raw this year. Of the original raw crew, I have the senior orange cat who just turned 13 and the Corgi who turned 10 years in June. Since starting back on raw, my senior has lost 4.5 pounds and is more active again, and my Corgi's breath is fresh with nice white teeth. He's lean, his eyes are bright and he plays like a puppy.

I've added a feral kitten housecat who just turned one-year. She's been raised on raw food and just got a great 1-year health check from the vet. I also have a backyard TNR feral who is eating raw since June and looks super.

 

[xeenthequeen]

My cat has been on raw since she was about 1.5 years old and she's now almost 5. I've switched between brands and varieties a lot but always feed frozen, vegetable-free, bone-in ground whole carcass or meat/organ blends.

Other than FHV flare-ups that have been consistent but mild for her entire life, Xena has had no health problems. She *had* very minor plaque on her back molars that went away when I started brushing her teeth daily a few months ago. I've also been giving her Plaque-off and raw meaty bones for the past year.

Other than puking up beef varieties (either due to scarfing it or not tolerating it well) she's never had any digestive issues since switching to raw. She used to have the absolute foulest smelling feces ever, so it's been a godsend.

 

[sarah430]

My kitties are only 15 months old and have been on raw about 6 months so I can’t say they are healthier than they would’ve been on non-raw. But their coats are soft and shiny, are a good weight, have a lot of energy and their poops don’t smell. So I’m satisfied that I’m feeding them well.

 

[Merlin77]

My cats have always had some form of raw in their diets, either fresh-killed prey or the cuts of chicken we provide. However, I notice that raw food keeps then more satisfied and prevents bloating. They also prefer real food such as pumpkin (Snake will gladly eat pumpkin without any meat added for temptation) and animal parts to dry food anyday. Not sure about wet food. Robin gobbled up a mouse and a bird within 10 minutes and didn't meow for any food until much, much later. Suki and Raven are our resident mousers-in-training, and all that hunting has really made chubby Suki much more lean.

Overall Expieriance with raw:

After seeing how much love they put into eating their raw food, I find myself craving chicken liver as well!

 

[sophie1]

Orange/white, that is a wonderful testimonial. Thank you for posting that!

Maureen - I've had similar issues with my cats. They'll eat rabbit from one supplier but not others, and they've suddenly stopped eating foods from the same supplier. For example, they used to love Hare Today ground pork but now they won't touch it, and that's over two separate orders. However, they happily ate pork from a chub left over from a prior order, and also chunks of pork loin from the grocery. I think it must be due to a change in supplier.

I have had some luck with reintroduction, mixing it in with something they like and gradually increasing the amount. That got them reliably eating My Pet Carnivore's rabbit, although they don't devour it like they do the turkey. This makes me want to mix up suppliers & sources to keep varying their diets. Almost everything I've fed them, except for local human food sources, has been switched up or not available at some point or other. It's a most irritating problem.

 

[maureen brad]

Sophie, cats are funny creatures. My cats love Rad Cat pork, I don't get it very often but because my son works at a pet food store I get 50% off.So, I get 2 big tubs a month. My cats will eat HT pork but are not crazy for it. I used to feed HT ground rabbit fur and all but a few months ago my youngest ( Jack) decided it was awful so I had to bait him to eat with Fortiflora or nutritional yeast sprinkled on it. They do love the large rabbit chucks from HT and ,sadly I bought some small batch rabbit last month when I was low on food and all 3 devoured it . Dang that was expensive and that cannot be their main source of rabbit from now on.I am just about to order from Raw Feeding Miami for the first time, the rabbit is more expensive than HT but ,like you I want to have a variety of suppliers so that they stay interested.I get super frustrated when i can't get what I want , for instance, i have been meaning to order from RFM for months but, when I have tried to put orders together they are always out of a few things I need. I end up waiting but, of course when those things are available the others have run out. UGH!I have never tried my pet carnivore, I am sure someday I will. I sometimes am so frustrated but ,Jack had a check up today and my vet says he is so healthy and his coat and muscle tome are fabulous. Things like that remind me why I do this.

 

[xeenthequeen]

I should have also mentioned in my post what an absolute pain in the butt it was to switch xena from wet/dry to raw. Many months of mixing with canned and topping with fortiflora, nutritional yeast, tuna juice, crumbled freeze dried treats, until she finally seemed to recognize raw meat as "food" and started eating it happily.

I just ran into my first ever raw she doesn't like - ground whole duck carcass. I was amazed since she usually loves anything fatty, but she's turning up her nose at it.

 

[sophie1]

Good to know about smallbatch. I'll check it out. The overhead with shipping and the increased online prices for rabbit might make smallbatch practical if local stores carry it. I know one that I could persuade to get it.

Cats are such funny critters! Definitely mixing suppliers might help with the fussiness issue, but sometimes they seem to change their minds for no apparent reason. It's part of the joy!

 

[JazznMurphy]

We’ve had our cats on a raw diet for 5+ years. The supplement we use is from Feline Instincts, along with unscented salmon oil. We’ve always used ground turkey breast. Tried rabbit, and duck mixed in - they wouldn’t touch it. We also give them bite-sized chicken tenders, which they love. We also supplement with a grain-free dry.

Our vet was very hesitant about their diet at first, as most vets tend to be, but finally admitted they were, by far, the healthiest cats he’d seen. We’re so glad we got them started on raw at an early age.