Never had meat in his life but just went scary wild over a piece

[katocy]

Hello all!

This is my first post here although I've been around for some time.

Just came home from the supermarket. Put the stuff on the floor to go to the bathroom real quick. Came back out in like a min but my 4 mouths old who I've raised since he was 3 weeks old and I've never fed anything but dry food had ripped through two bags to get to some meat i brought home. When i came out, his head was buried in the bag trying to pull out a chunk. Soon as i approached him, he managed to bite off a nice piece. Caught him real quick and tried to take the piece of meat from him but he was holding on to it for dear life...growling like crazy!
I had to get a knife and cut half of the meat, after which he bolted under the bed chewing and loudly growling.

Never seen my adorable timid little thing like that. It was kilo watching wild cat in a safari or something. What just happened?!

Granted when cats were in the wild, they were like that and never fat dry food but like i said, this cat has never tasted meat in its life and yes he actively seeked out the meat and savagely tore it up and ate it!

I've seen a lot of house cats that would nowhere near anything that is not dry food. How come mine is not like that even though I've only ever given him dry food. He is always in the kitchen with me sitting next to my feet and looking up and begging for food! And if i dropped anything he would immediately eat it...although it was never meat. He would eat bread, cheese and even fried onions!

He has always got fresh dry food and and water so i know he is not starving. I changed the brands a few times and stuck to one that he seems to really like it.

Btw he was an orphaned stray cat that i took in and bottle fed.

Any enlightenment would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[katocy]

Sorry for all the typos above. Can't believe you can't edit here :/

 

[murr7maggiom]

He's telling you to start feeding raw food and ditch the dry stuff. There's a forum on here about how to do it. I buy a commercial brand called RAD but it isn't widely available in the USA. My cat Murray really loves it.

 

[Willowy]

Haha, he knows he's a carnivore! Good for him. Since you know he likes it, maybe you can specifically give him a piece of raw meat now and then, or, if you don't like the idea of raw, a cooked piece of meat. You may consider switching to a canned food or a home-prepared meat diet---dry food doesn't have a lot of high-quality meat in it, and cats need a higher level of moisture as well. Here's a website that discusses that more in depth: www.catinfo.org

 

[betsygee]

Sorry for all the typos above. Can't believe you can't edit here :/

You can edit your posts after your 6th one: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265354/editing-of-posts-now-available-only-from-your-6th-post-onward

 

[katocy]

How come some cats I've seen never do that. They wouldn't touch raw or even cooked meat, or any human food for that matter

 

[fhicat]

Your cat has attained enlightenment. With that grocery bag, you have awakened his inner carnivore, and he now knows what he's been missing his whole life.

Really though, dry food is not the best for cats. They are meant to eat meat and get their water intake from their food. All cats are different. Some cats who have been dry their whole lives won't recognize meat as food. You are lucky. It's his calling.

 He would eat bread, cheese and even fried onions!

Onions are toxic to cats -- I would strongly suggest you not feed him onions.

And welcome to the forum! Don't forget to introduce yourself and your cat(s) in the New Cats forum!

 

[raintyger]

If I were you I'd switch him to raw since he's shown you that's what he wants and will accept.

 He would eat bread, cheese and even fried onions!

I trust this is only a small part of his diet. As Fhi09 pointed out, onions can give cats blood anemia, so I wouldn't give this at all. Bread is a carb and as such can cause all sorts of problems with inflammation, obesity, and diabetes.

 

[furmonster mom]

He is following his natural carnivorous instincts.

Carnivores are designed to eat fresh meat.

You know, people used to brag about their cat's hunting abilities.  When someone said, "He's a real good mouser!" it was considered a high compliment about the cat.

Unfortunately, cats who have been fed dry food all their lives no longer recognize fresh meat as "food".  Their primal instincts have been suppressed, so to speak.  Kittens, on the other hand, are still in their primal stage, much like children before they learn social rules.  So, kittens are much more receptive to the idea of meat as food.

Research a raw food diet.

It's what your carnivore was designed to eat. 

 

[irinasak]

I agree with the above posters, but I would also like to assure you that your kitty is smart and acted normal, even the growling part.


I have to guard the groceries from two of my cats, as they also like to serve themselves with the meat of the day. I have had wrappers shredded and meat taken under the bed, on the bed, and so on. The third cat would rather have pineapple leaves, but she is weird in many ways.

So what I am trying to say is that your kitty is smart and realized what is good for him - and really like it. It has happened now and not before because this meat probably smelled extremely apetizing to him, or he just had some sort of curiosity that made him search and revelation when felt the taste.

 

[happybird]

The third cat would rather have pineapple leaves, but she is weird in many ways.

There is always one in every group.
(but the weirdos are usually my favorites)

 

[katocy]

Thank you so much for all the replies guys! Really appreciate it! For those who are saying i shouldn't feed my kitten onions, i suggest you read the entire post. Common sense and logic alone says that onions shouldn't be part of a cats diet. It was one time that that happened and it was when i "accidentally" dropped a piece of onion and my kitten got to it before i could pick it up.
Anyway, the point of telling you that was to understand why my kitten would eat onions. Is that normal kitten behaviour?

Its not that i have anything against feeding my kitten wet food. Its just that its not within my budget. I am not in the States and over here, wet cat food is several times more expensive than dry food. I simply can't afford it.

 

[irinasak]

Anyway, the point of telling you that was to understand why my kitten would eat onions. Is that normal kitten behaviour?

Its not that i have anything against feeding my kitten wet food. Its just that its not within my budget. I am not in the States and over here, wet cat food is several times more expensive than dry food. I simply can't afford it.

One of mine eats pineapple leaves, pancakes and muffins. Another one is absolutely mad about olives. The third would eat anything and anyone, including medicines. He chews on capsules that are filled with powdered meds, like he chews the probiotic capsules or the lysine capsules. And they all eat gren onion leaves.

Of course I don't feed them those things, but really, who thinks to guard the pineapple from the cat?! But I am not trying anymore to understand cat normality...

 

[betsygee]

Of course I don't feed them those things, but really, who thinks to guard the pineapple from the cat?! But I am not trying anymore to understand cat normality...

    Boy, do I have boring cats.  They eat cat food.  

 

[thelifeofzeus]

Instead of making my own thread, question for all of us.. are there any stand out brands when it comes to raw meat for cats? Or is it like just by a AAA steak from Safeway and give him a piece?

 

[Willowy]

Meat is meat . Just make sure it's from a respectable source if you want to feed it raw. If there's any question about the handling of the meat, cook it. Ground meat should be cooked, because grinding it necessitates a lot of handling and germs can get into it easier.

If it's more than 15% of the cat's diet you need to add calcium and other things to make it a balanced diet. If it's less than 15% you don't have to worry; it's just a treat.

 

[jclark]

FWIW..a few years ago my now senior main coon helped himself to a package of chicken breasts which were defrosting in the sink. He pulled the package of 3 large breasts out of the sink and across the first floor of the house were he proceeded to eat 1 whole breast. Needless to say he was a little slow on the go for the next day or so but no worries otherwise.