New to raw feeding and have questions!

[oakshimmer]

Hello everyone!

Just thought I would stop by and give the latest update on Kitty. I am happy to say she is doing wonderfully!

I personally couldn't be happier with how things are going lately. Poops are perfect and well formed, and of course non smelly!

As a matter of fact all my friends who also have cats are quite jealous that my cat's poop does not stink!

I have been venturing off into a whole new side of raw feeding lately, and getting more brave with the meats I am feeding to the cat and now also the dog. I have to admit that I look forward to grocery shopping now just because I want to see what tasty new meat I can feed to the fur babies. So far we have tried chicken hearts and gizzards, beef liver in small amounts, lamb chops and the latest is beef heart! So far all the raw grocery store meats have been a hit, no fuss at all is had when I feed these new fresh meaty chunks. Best of all, both pets are getting the much needed chewing action for healthy teeth and gums.

At first it seemed like Kitty was a little challenged by the meaty chunks but now she is getting the hang of it. It takes her longer to eat a meal this way, but she seems to really enjoy it. The dog on the other hand is still gulping down the meat...

I am so glad I am becoming more comfortable with feeding raw meats, I never thought I would feed grocery store meats, and here I am a few months in this and already getting the hang of it! Both my pets have never been better! Kitty seems to really be loving me for it too!

She has a vet appointment next week to get a check up on the ear, I think I will get her weight. My husband picked her up for a snuggle one day and his comment was, "whoa! what are you feeding her, she weighs a ton"! My obvious response was "meat"! She doesn't feel any heavier to me, her usual weight is around 10lbs so I hope she stays around that weight. Can you really over feed a cat raw food like you can with kibble or canned?

She looks good to me anyway and seems happy and healthier than ever!

Day 2:

Again a delay in pooping, he went last night at 3am (I know because he came to meow me awake).....He has not gone yet, almost 3pm now. He did go several times later in the day yesterday. I am introducing the raw nibbles only in the am and waiting and watching how he reacts.

At the same time I am downsizing the royal canin into his nature variety canned food. It is down to a tablespoon or less blended into his food.

Waiting...

Hello sunnybelle76

When I first switched Kitty to 100% raw food, she did not have a poop for almost 3 days!

When she finally did go, I discoved a very small quite hard even crumbly if squished poop! It is very normal for cats to not go for a few days. As LDG pointed out, most cats on raw will go every 1-3 days. And yes the poop will be firm and there will likely be a lot less of it too. My cat was going every 2 days on average once her body got used to the new diet, but now she seems to go at least once a day!

The kibble is what is likely causing the flare ups, but as you decrease that food, you will start to notice consistancy in the stool.

And of course as LDG has suggested, if you do create your own thread in this forum, you will be able to better track your kitty's progress, and get answers you need from the members on this site. Everyone on this forum is very helpful and have lots of wonderful advice! Keep up the good work with your Kitty!

 

[ldg]

Actually, yes, you can overfeed a kitty on raw food. :lol3: Too many calories is too many calories. Of course... most cats get more energetic on raw, so burn more calories, so they can eat more than they did before. Basically, you have to keep an eye on their weight until you know what the right amount of food is. I was overfeeding my kitties when we first switched to raw, and ended up having to cut a few of them back a bit.

But for the GREAT news! I'm SO SO SO SO glad she's feeling so well, and everyone's enjoying the raw diet! :lol3:

 

[oakshimmer]

Good evening my fellow cat lovers!

Just thought I would stop by and give a little update on Kitty. I made mention in another post that Kitty Had a date with the Dr. for a check-up. The exam went well and she passed with flying colors. The ear or whats left of it is looking great so far and Kitty is still Cancer free at the moment.

I am so relieved that the cancer is behind us and

that it stays that way. On another note, Kitty put on a pound and a half since her last weigh in...

it seems that all that extra fun with trying out new raw meats has gone a little over board.

She really seems to love the real non prepared meats so much I can't resist giving her some a few times a week. But now it's back to trying to loose some weight. Dr. wants her to be at least 9 1/2 pounds instead of her hefty 11 lbs! Oops!

She usually gets at least 3 NV raw pucks a day, but now that she is on the mission to drop some weight, I have got her on only 2 1/2 pucks a day. So when I want to add a nice meaty meal I just substitute a puck for it so we can still enjoy a yummy meaty meal of our choice! Seems easy enough.

I can proudly say that we are true converts! I think Kitty likes the real meaty meat more than the commercial diet, but since I will not be making her homemade meals I am hoping that substituting a prepared meal for a meaty meal about 3 times a week won't be bad. I did add a pinch of Taurine to her meaty meal today just in case. A meaty meal day would look something like this:

Morning : 1 NV puck

Dinner: Meaty meal (1oz)

Evening: 1/2 NV puck

Is this still balanced enough if I am only feeding it to her 3 times a week give or take? I don't want to have a diet that is not well balanced. I suppose that is why I added the extra Taurine today just to be safe.

Also I am so excited to tell you all that Kitty has not had Diarrhea for 2 & 1/2 months!

And when I say diarrhea I am not talking about mucus. She still gets that sometimes, but it never seems to change the firmness of her regular poop! So I think that is progress! She gets the mucus issue maybe once or twice a month, but it usually seems to resolve in a day or so. So I am just pleased that she has made some major life changing progress overall!

 

[angels mommy]

That's great news! Yea, Angel loved raw so much, he gained 2lbs! Going from 14 to 16, so we are trying to loose weight too! It's tough because he loves food, he will sometimes sit at his dish when he's done, as if to say, "Uh, um, more please mom."

 

[sunnybelle76]

Would love for my cat to gain weight.  The poops are less and gosh even solid, miracle!!!!

We are doing the slow transition to raw, mostly cuz he can't go too quickly. But I like what I see so far but would love to see him

gain weight & for the other cat to lose the weight.

thank you all for your continued support and advice.

 

[ldg]

NO CANCER is the BEST NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW that makes me smile!!!!

And yes - 3 meals of meat a week is just about right to not unbalance her overall diet. You probably don't even need to add the taurine, but it sure doesn't hurt.

I'm so happy for both of you! :rub: :rub: :rub:

 

[sunnybelle76]

Did anyone else have problem with the NV raw duck formula, I was told it was high in bone content?

 

[oakshimmer]

Thank-you all for your kind comments!

It sure is easy for them to gain weight and seems so hard to get it off. It is even harder to have to tell them no when they give you those sweet kitty eyes!

Things are good though and I think we are doing better at standing our ground when it come to strict feeding rules.

Sunnybelle, I feed the NV raw duck all the time, and so far my cat loves it. The bone content of all NV raw products are the same at 15% bone. From what I understand, that can be high for some cats. But you will know if it is a problem for your kitty if passing stool becomes a problem. Just to let you know, my cats poop is very small and hard, but she poops everday now that her body is used to the food. Don't be alarmed at the size or firmness of the stool. I would only be concerned if your cat can't pass a stool. You can offer some meaty meat in addition to the NV raw to balance out the bone meat ratio if you are concerned about the bone %. Glad to hear your kitty is doing better!

 

[ldg]

:lol3: Yes, it's more of a trick to get them to lose the weight. With Ming Loy and Chumley, all I did was barely decrease the amount I fed them at each meal - and feed that amount for like a week. I was reducing the amounts by literally about 2g at a time. :lol3:

 

[oakshimmer]

Hey Guys!

Sorry I have not been around for a few weeks, I have been busy in my personal life and it has been bothering me that I have not stopped by to post an update on Kitty.

Unfortunately we have had a few set backs in the last few weeks. First of all, Kitty has been having an issue with mucus, it has been happening quite a bit and I had to increase her pred. I tried to ween back down to her regular dosage but she would continue to relapse.

I decided to try giving her 1 half a tab of pred everyday to see if that would help, and it seemed to help things get back on track, but from time to time I still notice mucus.

Also, over the last few weeks I have noticed another lump starting to appear again on her troubled ear. She had another appointment today with a new vet who said it is cancer again most definitely. Again he said we could do another surgery but the cancer may again come back.

The cancer cream he said would not work because it is a deep tumor. Only treatment is surgery and even then it may not be a success. So he said that the best thing I can do is up her Pred to one 5mg tab daily and give pepcid and wait and watch her. I am so bummed out! He also felt that she is indeed older than 3-5 and feels like she is more around 6-8 and he mentioned that she has cataracts forming. So I suppose she must be older than we all thought.

So that is the latest update, I am sorry it wasn't better news. Still, the raw food seems to be the best thing that we have done for her over all health and I will continue to feed it to her. The new vet made a face in objection to her raw diet, but I made sure he knew that it was the only diet that has ever helped her with her IBD or cancer.

I hope next time I will be able to post with some better news....

 

 

[ldg]

I was just wondering how things were going! And I am so sorry about both issues - but especially about the cancer. :heart2: Lazlo had a different kind of cancer, which we were able to treat with chemotherapy. But he remains on 5mg of prednisone a day, and he also gets 1 pepcid a/c (10mg) daily. When we last stopped it, he developed bleeding ulcers again, so he stays on it.

Many for Kitty - and for you, too. :heart2: :rub:

 

[oakshimmer]

LDG, thank you for your support as always it is appreciated.

I have a question about the long term use of pred, how soon after doing the 5mg tab daily did your kitty start to develop ulcers? And does the pepcid help with the ulcer? I am so worried that the pred will eventually sqrew her up, but it is the only real choice when it comes to the real major issue with the cancer. I have read about pred side effects but it does not say when and how long a cat would start to show symptoms of side effects. What kind of symptoms does your cat have that would indicate ulcers? Again thank you for all you help.

 

[ldg]

Oh, I'm sorry. The pred did NOT cause the ulcers. We don't know what did, but it's most likely because he had ulcers that the lymphoma massed in his stomach. Lymphoma, when it forms a cancerous mass, usually masses at sites of chronic inflammation. I knew Lazlo was throwing up a lot, and had hairball issues (and maybe that's what caused the ulcers? No one really knows. ), but a number of visits to the vet didn't find the source of the problem. She did recommend an endoscopy as the next step... but he stopped vomiting then, so we never did it. Had we done it then, we might have found the cancer 6 months earlier than we did.

But the pred and the ulcers were unrelated. Many kitties are on pred long term, with no side effects. It does put them at risk for diabetes, I know that's stated as a potential side-effect. But our Tuxedo cat had to be on a much higher dose of steroids for years to control an autoimmune condition that caused anemia. The 5mg of pred is just an anti-inflammatory dose, not an immune-suppressive dose. Tuxie was on the long-acting steroids, getting shots of depomedrol. For a year or more, he needed them every 2 weeks. After that, he needed them less frequently over time - every three weeks for a while, then every month for a long time. He was on this large dose for 5 - 6 years. :nod: And he never had any side effects.

But Lazlo is on the pepcid to prevent ulcers. When they found the cancer, they saw he had bleeding ulcers. So we treated him for them, and the resolved (we could tell by his blood work, and then confirmed it at the next ultrasound when we checked in after the first month of chemo). But the vets, at the time, didn't have us keep him on the anti-ulcer meds. And after a couple of months, he threw up blood again (looks like coffee grounds, not fresh blood). So we knew he had bleeding ulcers again. At that point, all the vets decided he needed to stay on the pepcid, even once we knew his ulcers had resolved.

Most cats actually handle steroids really well. The use of steroids in cats just isn't at all the same as it is in people. In people, the most often seen long term side effect of steroids is brittle bones - I guess it affects how we use calcium? But it doesn't have that side-effect in cats. The most common - and even this is not common - side effect in cats is diabetes. The main symptom for that is drinking a lot of water, though if you have blood work done every six months or so, you can keep an eye on it. :nod:

As to ulcers... the main symptom is simply nausea. Vomiting, of course, would be a symptom, but isn't necessarily. Nausea is characterized any of several ways... extra saliva when eating, for instance. When he first had cancer, he was eating a canned food diet, but I still had kibble in the house and fed it as a treat. When I'd put it down for him to eat, because it was just a few pieces as a treat, it wasn't in a bowl. There'd be a wet spot left where he ate it. So that's a sign. Or sitting in a meatloaf position, with the head down, looking kind of uncomfortable, as opposed to the relaxed one, with feet tucked under. That's another sign of nausea. Lip smacking can be a sign, or just frequent licking of lips. :nod:

But overall, the pred itself hasn't caused Lazlo any problems. He gets nauseous from time-to-time, but it's usually a hairball, not the pred - or I think he'd be nauseous all the time. I think his stomach motility isn't working right - not surprising after having had a cancerous tumor dissolved by potent chemicals. So I'm still figuring out the right mix of things for him. :heart2:

What you may want to consider is one of the things I'm using for Laz. :nod: ( I'm figuring out how many times a week he needs it, but I'm trying to address a hairball issue). It's slippery elm. It's a fiber, but has anti-inflammatory properties. It coats and soothes the GI system from top to bottom. It can interfere with nutrient absorption, so you don't want to use it all the time (though we did use it for Chumley 2x a day for over a year - different situation). But you can try using it 2x or 3x a week - even up to every other day. :nod: It may even help with her mucous problem, actually. (Though I guess she's going to be on the pred!). I use 1/4 teaspoon of loose slippery elm bark powder, mixed with 1 teaspoon of George's aloe vera juice (George's isn't organic - organic is very bitter - but George's is the only non-organic one I know of that doesn't have any preservatives in it). I let it gel up, and mix it with the run-off meat juice from the raw I dethaw. Very soothing!

 

[maraozza]

I am very sorry that you have to deal with such unpleasant news about your Kitty’s health.

I wish you and Kitty all the best; please, be optimistic and hopeful. Sending you healing and :cross:

 

[otto]

Oh darn, I am sorry to hear the cancer came back. I know another kitty who had this type of cancer who had the same struggles with it returning. However that cat was fed a "what ever is on sale on the kibble shelf" diet. I am positive Kitty's healthy raw diet is helping her body fight the disease.

Kitty :heart3:

 

[oakshimmer]

Thank you everyone for all your support as always.

The last few days I have been very distraught about Kitty's cancer. I have asked multiple vets about her SCC and everyone seems to have the same response that it is a pretty tough if imposible Cancer to get rid of. All the vets say that her type will likely continue to reoccur over and over again. The last vet we saw thought that she was much older than we had suspected. Even said he noticed some cataracts. I was offered to try this cream Aldara for her tumor. But when I looked into it the cream has best results on SCC that is on the surface of the skin rather than a deep tumor. I wish I would have known that before I spent the $200.00 on this cream. I put some on her tumor and she seemed very annoyed and upset about it. I think it was burning or something. She then continued to lick her front paws like crazy!

I often wonder if I am doing too much, I mean, I have done 2 opperations, now this crazy expensive cream that causes burning and painful scabbing. I don't know if I should just let her be and baby her till the very end or if I should keep going with all these treatments.

She is my first cat, the only cat that has ever been my own, and the only cat that ever claimed me as her companion. In a way I almost feel ripped off, because I was gived such a sweet cat, only to have her in my life for a short while. I can't quite accept that I can't save her. It's tough. I just want to help and keep her with me, but I know that I will have to accept what life has given her. I wish I would have met her before she recieved this painful cancer.

I have been encouraged to give the cream a chance to work, but at the same time it sort of scares me. What if doing it speeds up the rate of the growth, or if the cream will cause an ulcer that will not close. I am so worried for my little sweet cat. Loosing her will be so hard for me. At this point the only thing I can do is hope for the best, and just love her.

I really hope the raw diet will help slow the growth, even though it seems to be a quick growing tumor. I will keep you all posted on how she is doing. I can only keep my fingers crossed that her time will be lengthened with treatment.

Thank you all for your support, you have all been so wonderful.

 

[oakshimmer]

Well, I have been applying that cancer cream for 3 days now. She seems to be doing okay on it. Her tumor looks real red and bigger than usual. That is apparently a side affect though. I am really hoping that this cream will shrink the tumor, or clear it up. That would be wonderful if she could get better. I am trying to stay positive since my last post. I have been really bummed out about this battle starting up again for us. I keep believing that the raw diet "is" the cancer fighting food for her, and I hope that it is strengthening her body so it can fight this thing.

I have only had her since Dec 2010, and it has been one heck of a adventure with everything her and I go through. I always tell myself that whatever time she has with me has likely been the best year of her life. At least she is eating the best diet any cat could have! When I looked at her early pictures of when I first got her, she looked pretty run down. Even now, with cancer, and IBD she looks great when on this diet. I know I am doing right by her. That gives me some peace of mind. We got 7 more days of this cream treatment. I hope things will improve. I will keep you all posted on her progress.

 

[ldg]

I have only had her since Dec 2010, and it has been one heck of a adventure with everything her and I go through. I always tell myself that whatever time she has with me has likely been the best year of her life. At least she is eating the best diet any cat could have! When I looked at her early pictures of when I first got her, she looked pretty run down. Even now, with cancer, and IBD she looks great when on this diet. I know I am doing right by her. That gives me some peace of mind. We got 7 more days of this cream treatment. I hope things will improve. I will keep you all posted on her progress.

This is exactly what you need to focus on. I'm so sorry she's fighting cancer... but she's so very, very loved, and that counts. I'm sorry it has to be so hard on you..... but I'm sending out mega doses of vibes that she'll win this fight! :heart2:

 

[oakshimmer]

Hello,

IMG_20130324_011713.jpg

• oakshimmer
• Mar 24, 2013

Snuggling with mama last night

 

[ldg]

Awwwww what a beautiful, sweet picture! :heart2:

I'm so sorry for the prognosis, sweetie.... but it's wonderful to hear she's feeling good!

THANK YOU for the update! I'd been wondering. :rub: