Not sure where to start.

[Willowy]

Heh, people eat "Rocky Mountain Oysters" all the time :tongue2:.

They might call pancreas and/or thymus "sweetbreads". I don't know why they call them that, though! :lol3:

 

[melhammouche]

I've read all the info. Il get on the computer tonight to use the excel sheet thank you all for your help.
Btw in Australia we use kilos and grams so we will see how I go converting all that. What I wanted to do was buy three meats and all the organs and divide the organs between the meats and then divide that into equal portions. So I could give variety.

Oh and people may eat Rocky Mountain oysters but they can keep them for themselfs! Yuk I can't even imagine the texture!

 

[melhammouche]

Just a small update. I gave mia a raw chicken wing which I cut up into a few chunks to make it more manageable. Omg you guys she loved it! She was chewing on the bone and purring and loving it! Also I got all my livers and kidneys and beef and lamb and chicken and chicken wings from our towns big butcher so it all cost me the same amount as a week of her usual food. And I'm preparing it now so excited!

Also I was reading what people thought about raw feeding on yahoo answers for giggles.
They were saying that if you feed your cat raw it will give them diarhea and that it will eventually kill them, also that bone is bad for cats. What's up with those people

 

[tammyp]

Hi Melhammouche,  just wanted to say hi and welcome to raw feeding!  Nice to 'meet' a fellow Aussie raw feeder!

My first batch of religiously balanced meals just about killed us (arguments between me and hubby)!  But I'm in a routine now.  I did all the calculations, have it written on a paper in my purse, with the conversions in actual food items (meant I did a lot of measuring of different things and then the % calculations).  I work on weekly calculations. Eg, 95.2g of bone equals 6 chicken ribs, or one baby rabbit.  47.6g of liver equals one chicken liver, 59.5g of organ equals one sheep brain.  I don't worry too much about how much meat - its around 900g per week, but I don't get technical about adding in the meat % of the boney things.  

Then I spread out 21 tubs and my scales.  He has 3 raw meals per day, each around 40g, all the bits chunked (he hates mince!).  And I pack a row of liver+meat (7 tubs).  A row of organ+meat (7 tubs), and a row of boney meat (7 tubs).  I'll do 3 minimum different meat sources - a different one each meal.  Then I do the extra meat-only into extra tubs, and I can substitute a meat only instead of the bone as needed for good poos.  I don't label tubs, just keep them in different coloured plastic bags in the freezer so I know which 3 categories to take out for the day.

Seems to work...but our vet also wants at least one meal of tinned food.  I don't think tinned is super good, but its not kibble, and as Kato LOVES his can, we are happy enough to put it in (making 4 meals a day!)  He's a slim breed and super active, and the muscles on him make him look like a 100m sprinter!  A full raw diet has the added benefit of non-stinky poos, but I have found the one can a day keeps poos more consistent...plus he's very good at avoiding his organs and liver unless I hand feed it grr.

It's fantastic watching your cat eat like a tiger!  We sometimes take his meal out to the garden if he's hanging out there and he seems to really enjoy a 'picnic'.  It also has the added benefit of not needing to clean the floor as he often takes the food off the plate!

Hope it goes well for you!  (and if anyone has comments on my regime, please feel free, I'm still relatively new to it!)

 

[melhammouche]

Made my first batch tonight according to all iv read. And I had some liver left over after mia had already been fed so I put a thin strip of it in front of her to see if she would go for it and I turned around for a second and it was gone.. Lol! Iv portioned it out in all of its different flavours but I think mia can't wait for her next feed!

And might I just say omg another Aussie! Where are you from? I'm a Victorian

 

[melhammouche]

(By flavours I actually mean which lean meat they contain, chicken or beef or lamb.)

 

[ldg]

:lol3: Your little girl knows she's a carnivore! I love it!

...don't forget to offer her some treats during the week, of egg yolk and also sardine for her choline and vitamin D.

 

[melhammouche]

She's already been getting sardines on the weekends because she loves the flavour is two meals of sardines enough? And also how should I incorporate the egg?

We couldn't have done it without you guys

 

[ldg]

I personally don't provide sardines or egg yolks as meals - I fed them as a "treat" in addition to meals.

The yolks, I just separate, plop them in a bowl! I do add a little water to them for a couple of the kitties, because some find them to thick and sticky.

 

[melhammouche]

Do you know the benefit of the egg yolk at all?

 

[sam1am]

eggs are a great source of protein, healthy carbs and good fatty acids, (the carbs are epecialy good for animals that shouldn't consume grains, like cats!). The albumen of raw eggs can serve as a digestive aid - I give my three year old siamese a raw egg with some turkey mince every morning, since she went off fish last year, and she loves the egg! 

 

[Willowy]

Egg yolk has choline, vitamin D, and, oh. . .lots of good stuff!

Here's the nutrition sheet for fresh raw egg yolks: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/113/2

 

[melhammouche]

You guys are so helpful you know that? So I can just give her some plain turkey/chicken mince and a egg for breakfast if I like?

 

[tammyp]

Hi Melhammouche - I'm in Victoria too!!  Have moved around the country/world a fair bit, but a Perth native.  

Have been here in Melbourne for 2.5years now.  Was in Melbourne for 2 years about 6years ago too.  We live in Richmond and get our raw meats from Queen Vic Markets (our preferred providers know us now!  They think Kato is very spoiled, and I have to say he probably eats better than us!).

We got Kato 2 years ago when we thought this time around in Melbourne would be us settling down.  Sure hope we will stay put for a good while yet!  We are finally getting Kato a much needed friend who will arrive in May.  I think the easiest time to 'switch'/ start raw is in kittenhood, as they are still working out what is 'food' and open to trying stuff.  So glad your little one is taking to it like a 'duck to water' - exactly as it should be 

  I've fed raw meat and bones to Kato since we got him - but relatively new to 'balancing' it, so he's not so good with the liver/organ.  How jealous am I of your gobbler!

 

[melhammouche]

I'm in shepparton, but I know the Victoria market and I'm so jealous of how much cheap variety you would have!

I've been feeding her raw at night and wet kitten food in the morning and she just seems to be eating anything I put down lol. I've noticed she's been eating bigger meals and chasing me for more food since I've started. I guess she's just growing.

 

[tammyp]

Yep, they sure eat heaps as kittens.  But at 2.5yrs old, Kato hasn't slowed down - either activity or eating!!

 

[melhammouche]

How cute! I just love Mia as a kitten but I'm so excited to see her grow and develop her personality

Such a beautiful thing getting to know them all their life. But then again it would be an amazing experience to rescue an adult cat and give them a new home and bond with them.

I'm in love

 

[tammyp]

Oh yeah, growing with a cat and developing your mutual understanding of each other is just awesome!  Kato just keeps getting smarter and smarter.  He understands a good few words, and is trying to teach us his language.  Cracks me up - he tells us off for emptying or stacking the dishwasher at night time by chattering at us and grumping at us and stalking off!  Then he jumps and grabs our hands as we turn off the lights before going to bed - somehow he figures lights off mean people are no longer around to play with him 

 

[melhammouche]

Awwwwwwwww it sounds like he has a great personality . We just came home from my mother in laws house who has Mia's brother. It's amazing how big and muscley he is compared to Mia and he eats his own food and then gets raw scrap meat. And basically eats until all he can do is lay down. Such a cute boy with beautiful green eyes and loves to be held and scratched. Cat personalities are so incredible, they are just as complex as human beings. A wonderful companion if your willing to care for them.

 

[minka]

You *can* feed a meal of only meat/egg, but that just means you have to make up for it in another meal. You can even go: okay, Mia needs this much liver per week and then feed it all at once if you wanted. As long as each week comes out to 80/10/5/5, you are good. :-)