Meat Popsicles

redvelvetone

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So as some of you know, I have been feeding my cat Magnus, some raw and a rotation of mostly grain-free canned foods. I tried giving him some commercial raw (Nature's Variety Instinct) but he kept turning up his nose at it, but LOVES boneless raw meat in general, as well as giblets. 

ANyway, I was hoping I could get him to eat the commercial raw food so I could up his raw percentage and still make sure his food is properly balanced. (I just don't have the time to premake and  prepare homemade raw meals all the time and I'm afraid of not getting them balanced correctly). 

I thought, since Magnus normally gets his wet food warmed up slightly, the temperature of the frozen patties was too cold for him. So I defrosted them until they were room temperature but he still wouldn't eat it. I mushed them up thinking the "hockey puck" texture was what was bothering him and still no go. Tried different flavors. Still he'd whine when he'd see it was in the bowl and would walk away (this is a cat, btw, that will eat almost anything).

BUT finally figured it out! 

I put out a frozen pattie one time when I was going out and was going to be not around for his regular meal, and figured if he got hungry enough, he'd eat it when it defrosted. When I came home a few hours later, the bowl was empty.

I tried doing this again and discovered that Magnus likes eating the raw food completely frozen. He just licks it until it's all gone, like a meat pop. He eats it as soon as I put it in the bowl straight from the freezer. But he won't eat it at room temperature at all. (Conversely, when I buy him meat from the grocery store, he likes this at room temp best)

The good thing about this is because he tends to scarf down all his food within seconds, it usually takes him a good 10-15 minutes to eat his meat pop so it forces him to slow down.

Does anybody else's cat like their meat completely frozen?? 
 
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ldg

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Oh there's your beautiful boy!!!!!!!!!!!!! :love:

And that is just too funny! Mine were temp sensitive at first - it had to be room temp. Now they'll eat it (and seem to prefer it) straight out of the fridge... but not frozen. :lol3: So glad you figured it out!
 

minka

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That's really funny xD
Maybe there's something about the commercial raw that tastes really strong to him, so when it's frozen, it just tastes the right amount.
You know, kind of like how icees are good when they are frozen, but not as a melted drink. >__
 

Willowy

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I prefer many things frozen (like peas) due to texture. So why not cats, too? :lol3:

I've seen mine try to eat frozen raw, but I thought that was because they really wanted to eat it NOW instead of waiting, I never thought they might prefer it that way! I'll have to experiment a little.
 
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redvelvetone

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It's possible he just overcame his pickiness about it and being the voracious beastie that he is, he has no patience for waiting (I mean he eats almost everything else - very rarely have I seen him turn up his nose at anything unless it's difficult to eat - like sometimes when I feed him stuff with a bone in it he whines because he prefers boneless, but after whining for a bit he'll start chomping down on the boned meat). And he never leaves anything for later. He always eats everything as soon as it's put in his bowl and usually is whining for more after.

I may try defrosting one pattie and still see if he eats it or it HAS to be frozen.

ANyway, he's due for a vet check up soon so I can find out how much he weighs finally and figure how if I am feeding him correct amounts or not.

When he was a year old he weighed 12 lbs but he's now a year and a half and I'm fairly certain he's heavier - at least 13, possibly 14 lbs. I've been aiming for 200-230 calories per day for him but he's still hungry all the time.

I don't believe he's overweight. I mean, he's not a slender cat, but he is very long. If I walk down the hallway carrying him he stretches out and can touch both walls on either end with his feet.



 

minka

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Its hard to say, especially on a black cat, but your vet will be able to tell you for sure. :)
 

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My girls seem to prefer raw still a bit icy. Both the Rad Cat and the home made. Mazy and Jennie like their canned portions warmed up, but..they do like the raw still a bit frozen.

(I have the same concerns as you do about feeding home made, so they only get an ounce of PMR a day)

I have a baby scale to monitor weight. I love it and weigh them every Sunday. It's really handy. Most weight estimates are not very accurate, for some reason. I like knowing to the half ounce how they are doing. It's definitely worth the money, to have that peace of mind.

This is the one I use:

 

mimi507

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lol!

1. each cat has a unique personality, so although MY cat doesnt do that, yours may do that and enjoy it!

2. a beautiful cat as I said on your gallery

3. a great way to slow down his eating!
 

mimi507

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if you want him to eat slower, my cat has this special food bowl with ridges on the bottom, so that its harder to catch the food and takes longer. btw its for this purpose! u can order them online (ebay, amozon etc), get 1 from the vets or just go to a pet shop - they sometimes do them
 

mimi507

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ur cat looks pretty healthy judging by the pics btw, and if he LOOKS overweight, its probably his mass of thick fur! lol
 
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redvelvetone

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I don't think he's overweight, or if he is, it's by a small amount. He does not have a hanging belly, and he's pretty active. He's still pretty kittenish and likes to race around the place and leap around after his toys. I know when I brought him to the vet at 1 year old, and he weighed a little over 12 lbs, they said he was a few ounces overweight but nothing alarming. At this time I cut back on his kitten size portions and went with adult portions. However, I believe he's grown since then as he looks longer to me and he definitely feels heavier when I pick him up, but I think he feels solid. So if he's overweight it's not too much, and easy enough to correct. The vet did say he was a very long / large cat naturally, and when I originally brought him in at 6 months of age he guestimated he'd be about 15-16 lbs when fully grown.

The only things I find confusing is every canned food has a different calorie count. I used to feed him one can of wet per day, and sometimes raw food  (cutting down on the wet food portions the day I did the raw food supplements). But then I realized that the cans I feed him vary from 100 calories a can to 230 calories a can. So, now I look up the calories and whenever he has a can of food that is less than 200 calories, I try and supplement with a bit of extra (either raw food or a bit from another can) to even out the calories. I've been feeding him based on a guestimate of a healthy 13 lb. cat. at around 200-230 calories per day. I don't feed him dry - he just gets wet food (usually grain free) and some raw, and a few treats here and there (either freeze dried meat, or greenies usually).

He is an AWFUL beggar though! You cannot go near the kitchen with out him whining for food and if you are eating anything he has to see if he can have some. lol. 

When I get to the vets I'll find out how much he weighs and how many calories I should be feeding.
 
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mimi507

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ok then, that's good, and anyway, a few cats ARE very slightly overweight - mine is because I baby him too much! I feed him coz he looks at me with those big, beautiful eyes, and meows and nudges me, so I just give in! (Although I shouldn't)
 
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redvelvetone

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Just an update. Magnus had his vet visit and the vet weighed him. He actually weighed less than I thought he would as he feels heavy to me when I pick him up. Turns out he's 12 lbs. 12 oz, so only a few ounces heavier than he was at a year old. Vet felt his ribs and everything and said his weight was good. I asked her how many calories he should get a day and according to her calculations it was 236 calories. I had been estimating at between 215 to 230 for the amounts I feed him so looks like I was fairly close.

Anyway, I am actually surprised he's still only 12 lbs. I though the felt more like 14 so I feel better now. 

I guess he's just really fluffy.

Also with his raw food he is getting much better about eating the bone. I gave him a chicken wing the other day and he ate the entire thing, bone and all. he also caught a live mouse for the first time the other day! He killed it but didn't eat it though. I felt bad for the mouse as he didn't give it a clean death - basically he mauled it to death before I was able to get it from him. He was so proud of himself though. He was practically prancing around the apartment, and he was growling when he had the mouse and rolling around the place with it and flipping it through the air. 

 

ldg

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Well it would be hard to tell how much cat is under all that fur! :flail: And pleeeease pet that beautiful tummy for me? :love:

As to his mouse hunting skills... that's why I would never consider feeding live prey to our kitties. When we lived in a house, Tuxedo cornered a mouse. He thought it was a toy. :rolleyes: Gary had to rescue the terrified mouse.

But I'm glad he's eating his chicken wings! :clap:
 
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redvelvetone

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I will rub his tummy for you, that's a promise.

do you guys ever feed the frozen mice that you can buy online?

I am wondering if my guy would want one....

And do you just take out one mouse, let it defrost and give it to them? Or do you chop it up first?
 

ldg

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Well, the frozen mice come in all different sizes. What you may want to do is go to a local pet store that has supplies for snakes - they'll have frozen mice. And yes, to start, it's best to at least cut them in half (depending on the size you get), because without that, many kitties won't know to eat them... I haven't tried any yet. I did look into pricing, and they're expensive to feed (though we have 8 cats :lol3: ).
 
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