Might be silly questions;

[sneakylemon]

Hey guys, first time poster here.

My little girl MJ just had a litter of five healthy kittens a week ago. Yes, I will be getting her spayed ASAP.  I feel terrible I let her get pregnant so early in her life and have made it my mission to be much more responsible as a cat owner, I really want the absolute best for her.  She is inside only and I do not feed her dry kibble.

On to my questions.  I have decided to switch from wet canned food to a raw diet, I was wondering if the Primal nuggets could be used as a stand-alone diet for her?  What should I feed the little ones once they start eating?  I have been trying to read through the numerous articles and references online about raw feeding but it is pretty overwhelming.

If the nuggets by themselves are not sufficient, what else should I give her?  I bought some organic canned food a couple days ago and she loves it.  I have access to a lot of stuff at a local 'holistic' pet store, and can order whatever is needed online.

Edit: I also have an empty freezer just sitting in my basement doing nothing, so I have lots of room for frozen stuff.

 

[sneakylemon]

here are a couple pictures.

 

[ldg]

I'm so sorry she got pregnant.

But in answer to your questions, yes, Primal is a complete and balanced food. :nod: They MAY have added a new product I'm not aware of, but just look at the bag - if it says "AAFCO complete and balanced" or "For All Life Stages" or something like that, it's supplemented. :nod: I think mrsgreenjeens has a kitty eating it, and wolcar's kitties liked it.

As to the kittens, as soon as they're ready for "real" food, you can make it smooshy (with water). In the wild, a feral cat mom feeds her babies raw food... and there's no reason not to start them on the very best right from the start! Of course, you'll probably be adopting them out to people who won't feed them raw, so if that's a consideration, I'd just wean them onto canned food, I guess. :dk:

As for the longer term feeding of your MJ, I would consider adding other raw foods into rotation. If the store carries Primal, they likely carry other things, or can get them. Easily available are usually Nature's Variety, or Bravo Balanced blends... maybe Vital Essentials.... I've always been a fan of rotating not just proteins, but brands - whether kibble, canned, or raw. :nod: I know I wouldn't want to eat the same food over and over again, at every meal. And it helps ensure that they get a variety of nutritional components.

 

[sneakylemon]

Thanks so much for the reply! and the timing was perfect, just about to leave the office and now I can go pick up the food before I head home.  I'll get a nice variety for my girl so she doesn't get bored of anything.

I have found homes for all the kittens, and they are all close friends of mine.  I will more than likely tell everyone that I would rather start feeding them the watered down primal, and hope they will agree to keep them on a raw diet.  If not I'll go with canned food.

Thanks again, much appreciated!

 

[ldg]

Hopefully you'll catch this before you go.... you might want to start with just the Primal. When switching to raw, sometimes kitties don't recognize the food as "food" at first. It does require a whole adjustment to their systems (back to a more normal acidic environment). But new (raw) proteins can sometimes cause vomiting or a small bout of diarrhea. This are usually VERY short-lived. But when we transitioned, we just took those little things along the way as meaning we need to slow down on the introduction. :nod: Of course... there are kitties that take to it like ducks to water, and have no issues. So just play it by ear, and see how it goes!

I just wanted you to be aware you may have to put a little work into a transition. I started by slowly mixing some into their canned food, and gradually increasing the amount to 100%. And THEN I started adding new proteins. And once you're feeding all raw, and nice rotation of proteins, then I added other brands of food.

One thing many raw feeders do - and I recommend - is using a probiotic daily. Kitties that have been eating kibble or canned food for some time often have gut flora that's a little out of whack. So a human acidophilus supplement can really help. :nod: I give a probiotic (just sprinkled onto their food) once a day. They like it! I use Natural Factors acidophilus+bifidus (double strength: 10 billion CFU - colony forming units). I order it from Amazon.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, we serve up Primal here, and it's a completely nutritious food.  And I agree with LDG, if you are not keeping the kittens, then I would probably not feed them raw, unless the new owners will continue to feed it to them.  BUT, on the other hands, if you're keeping them, then by all means, start them on it as soon as they are willing

.  

Once MJ takes to raw, then you can really branch out and order all kinds of varieties of meats, especially since you've got the space.  Lots of people order from Hare-Today.com, but it depends on where you live.  They only ship to the USA.  But you can get so many varieties, and they can grind it up (including organs and bones if you want), then you can add a supplement (which they also sell) with additional vitamins, etc..  They sell rabbit, goat, lamb, quail, venison, mouse, duck, llama, chicken, turkey, pork, salmon, tripe, (I'm just going off the top of my head, so am sure I'm missing a ton of other meats!)

 

[sneakylemon]

wow you guys are great, can't express how much I'm digging all the help. I'll be mixing the primal in with some wet food she already likes and see how it goes. she eats everything so I'm hoping it won't take too long, but I'm prepared to take it very slow, slow is smooth and smooth is fast after all. I will defiantly be ordering that probiotic today as well.

 

[Willowy]

I'll actually say that if I didn't know what the new owners would be feeding the kittens, I'd start them on raw AND canned AND kibble. The more things they're introduced to early in life, the less picky they'll be. We all know how annoying it is when our kitties don't recognize raw meat as real food! But since you know their new owners you can ask what they want the kittens started on.

And, I agree, try for as wide a variety as you can. Every meat has different nutrients, every brand of pre-made has a different vitamin mix, etc. so the wider the variety, the less chance of any trouble with deficiencies or overdoses.

 

[sneakylemon]

she loves the primal chicken and salmon nuggets.  I put one down to see what she would do, and it was gone in seconds.

 

[carolina]

I'll actually say that if I didn't know what the new owners would be feeding the kittens, I'd start them on raw AND canned AND kibble. The more things they're introduced to early in life, the less picky they'll be. We all know how annoying it is when our kitties don't recognize raw meat as real food! But since you know their new owners you can ask what they want the kittens started on.
And, I agree, try for as wide a variety as you can. Every meat has different nutrients, every brand of pre-made has a different vitamin mix, etc. so the wider the variety, the less chance of any trouble with deficiencies or overdoses.

plus, IMHO, getting some raw food early in life will just help, I think :dk: IMHO, the better start they have, the better off they will be.... I don't see how raw could possibly hurt them :dk:

Considering how much harder it is to introduce raw/canned than kibbles to an adult cat (due to the ingredients and lack of animal digest or fat coating), I don't think I would even bother with kibbles either.... One might, but it is that necessary? :dk:

Anyways, I do think that any raw, for any lenght of time is better than no raw at all :bigthumb:

 

[ldg]

she loves the primal chicken and salmon nuggets.  I put one down to see what she would do, and it was gone in seconds.

That's GREAT! :bigthumb: She's going to make this easy for you! :lol3:

 

[feralvr]

Well, it seems that MJ IS going to make this easy for you!! That is just great!!! Wish they could all be that easy. Also, glad to hear that the kittens all have good homes and I just can't help myself, BUT could you make sure your friends get their new kittens spayed and neutered!!! So very important. Good luck with this raw transition. Sounds to me that MJ will make this a breeze for you! :bigthumb:

 

[sneakylemon]

I'll be making sure they all get spayed/neutered.

Another question about the Primal nuggets, I don't think I fully understand the portioning.  MJ has always been rather tiny looking to me, and right now she's back to around 5 lbs (don't have a scale handy at the moment).  The back of the package says 5 lbs = 2 nuggets, it also says 2.5% of their weight. 3.5 nuggets equal an oz, so I don't see how 2 nuggets would be sufficient.  Also, I should be upping it to more like 4-5% because she is nursing all those hungry little mouths, right? very rough calculations in my head would lead me to something around 3 ozs a day? which would be 3.5 nuggets 3 times a day. does that seem right, or am I totally off? 

When I go the primal food calculator on their website it said 160 calories/day.  That would only be one ounce of food.

Very confused.

 

[ldg]

I feed 12 pound, 10-yr old rather inactive cats 4.5 ounces of raw food a day. While cats typically need less raw than canned, I would think a nursing mom should be fed as much food as she wants, and I would not be surprised if that was 2 or more 5.5oz cans of food a day, or 6-9 (or more?) ounces of raw a day.

 

[sneakylemon]

yeah, i'm just gonna keep feeding her as much as she will eat until she's done nursing, then on to scheduled and portioned meals.

looks like i'm going to start preparing some homemade raw food for her though, 14 ozs for 25 bucks seems kind of steep.  MJ's health is well worth it, but it just doesn't seem practical.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Sneaky, where are you getting that it takes 3.5 nuggets to equal an oz?  Supposedly, 1 nugget equals 1 oz, however, I have found they 1 nugget weights more like .7 oz.  Plus, I just checked my bag, and it says for lactating/pregnant cats to feed from 4 - 8% vs the 2.5%.

But just feeding her until she stops eating should work too, as long as she doesn't get fat!

 

[wolcar]

Sneaky, where are you getting that it takes 3.5 nuggets to equal an oz?  Supposedly, 1 nugget equals 1 oz, however, I have found they 1 nugget weights more like .7 oz.  Plus, I just checked my bag, and it says for lactating/pregnant cats to feed from 4 - 8% vs the 2.5%.

But just feeding her until she stops eating should work too, as long as she doesn't get fat!

Since I've gotten my scale and have weighed the nuggets, I also come up with 1 nugget = .7- .8 ounces. I have yet to put one on the scale that is actually an ounce.  My cats have since moved on to actual meat but I'm sneaking in a 1/2 nugget here and there to finish off the package. lol

I'm glad your kitty has taken so nicely to the primal :-) Mine adjusted very quickly as well but I've read some stories on some pretty picky kitties. lol

 

[sneakylemon]

i also thought that 3.5 nuggets seemed like a lot more than an ounce but thats what the bag says.

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• sneakylemon
• Sep 25, 2012

 

[Willowy]

Oh, it's the freeze-dried kind! I think the others are talking about the frozen kind. Do you rehydrate them or feed them dry?

 

[sneakylemon]

after she just ate the first one so fast i've been giving them as is.  still have wet food out though just in case she wants it instead.