Hi all, I’ve been reading a lot about raw feeding for cats, I wanted to say thank you to all the people here who have put together a lot of helpful links and resources. I do, however still have questions and hoping to get some help or pointed in the right direction.
I have two cats (3 yo and 6 yo, both are rescues and I want to give them the best diet I can afford). Currently, they eat canned food (weruva, fancy feast, I and love and you, tiki cat, and sometimes other brands for more variety). I also use Ziwi air dried food sometimes. I’ve started adding some freeze dried raw foods into their meals (got some samples from my local pet store) as a way to introduce them to raw foods. So far they’re both doing well, one cat likes it a lot more than the other though . The prices for commercial raw food are quite high, so I want to make my own cat food but I'm scared of doing it wrong and hurting my fur babies.
What would be the safest way to provide benefits of raw food to my cats while making sure they get all the vitamins/minerals etc in the amounts they need? Can I give them both canned and raw food, either in the same feeding or separate feedings? I'd like to keep using canned foods as a backup in case I can't give them raw for some reason.
For raw food, is it safe to buy commercially made frozen or freeze dried, such as Northwest Naturals, or a subscription like Viva, or what would be a good brand?
If I try making the food myself, would it be easier to buy meat/organs and use a premix? What is a good premix to use? I'm also quite confused about the whole bone issue, should I use raw bones or just use a supplement that has calcium and phosphorus in it? What if I want to occasionally give them a chicken wing tip or a foot for dental health, would that add too much bone to the diet?
I've read that many people use Dr Pearson's recipe, but I can't find if anyone has been using it long term and had good success. Is it a good recipe to use? Can it be used with other meats besides chicken?
Thanks everyone in advance!
I have two cats (3 yo and 6 yo, both are rescues and I want to give them the best diet I can afford). Currently, they eat canned food (weruva, fancy feast, I and love and you, tiki cat, and sometimes other brands for more variety). I also use Ziwi air dried food sometimes. I’ve started adding some freeze dried raw foods into their meals (got some samples from my local pet store) as a way to introduce them to raw foods. So far they’re both doing well, one cat likes it a lot more than the other though . The prices for commercial raw food are quite high, so I want to make my own cat food but I'm scared of doing it wrong and hurting my fur babies.
What would be the safest way to provide benefits of raw food to my cats while making sure they get all the vitamins/minerals etc in the amounts they need? Can I give them both canned and raw food, either in the same feeding or separate feedings? I'd like to keep using canned foods as a backup in case I can't give them raw for some reason.
For raw food, is it safe to buy commercially made frozen or freeze dried, such as Northwest Naturals, or a subscription like Viva, or what would be a good brand?
If I try making the food myself, would it be easier to buy meat/organs and use a premix? What is a good premix to use? I'm also quite confused about the whole bone issue, should I use raw bones or just use a supplement that has calcium and phosphorus in it? What if I want to occasionally give them a chicken wing tip or a foot for dental health, would that add too much bone to the diet?
I've read that many people use Dr Pearson's recipe, but I can't find if anyone has been using it long term and had good success. Is it a good recipe to use? Can it be used with other meats besides chicken?
Thanks everyone in advance!