Opinions on.........

[jcribbs]

Morning,

Was wondering if anyone had any opinions on :

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/\\


I am thinking about full time supplementation of raw food with their current "taste of the wild" diet. A long time ago i had a very sick little kitty and I ground her up a raw food concoction with supplements that saved her life... I am thinking of raw as a preventive type food for all of them.

any ideas???

Jenn

p.s. Well, after reading a few threads in this area, I am going to find some chicken necks after work.. And maybe a little liver. I have 18 cats in an enclosure and one in the house. I think I better buy the 40 lb box if I can find one.....haha

 

[auntie crazy]

Hi, JCribbs!

Raw Meaty Bones is a great site, however, it's focused primarily on dogs; if I were you, I would research the following:

Feline-nutrition.org

catinfo.org

rawfedcats.org

rawfed.com

These are great sites for gleaning information on feeding our little carnivores their natural diet.

Cats fed kibble and canned all their life have to both learn how to actually chew and gain the strength in their jaws necessary to chew and break down bones, so if I were you, I'd not start with liver and bones. Start instead with easy to chew meat chunks like chicken, then work your way up to a variety of meat chunks. Once the cats are comfortable with those, you can add in different organ meats and finally bones, making sure all the while that you're balancing what you're feeding (an unbalanced raw diet can cause serious issues). Of course, if you're feeding half commercial / half raw, that balance isn't as important... once you hit about two thirds raw, though, I'd work on maintaining the 80/10/5/5 balance.

There are a couple of threads here that you might find helpful, too:

Natural Diet Information Resources

What does your menu look like?

Taking the plunge into raw.

Good luck! And welcome to the raw side!

AC

 

[jcribbs]

Awesome!!

Thank you. I have much to read......

Jenn

 

[jcribbs]

The first site I opened was rawfedcats.org and there was a cat with a larger shiner in his mouth. OMG. I have a creek right in front of the house with "schools" of huge 4-5" minnows swimming everywhere.... I might head down there and try to catch some.

husband just called and he told me where a "seine" is in our shed... back later. I want to do this now.

 

[jcribbs]

ok......I've decided I'm not a minnow catcher. I'll have to wait till saturday, put my water boots on and stand on the bedrock with probably a rope tied to the seine...... And my husband will be home so if I slip on the moss and break my leg, someone will be around to rescue me. No fish tonight!!!


Here's my creek. It is probably 30' in front of the house and teeming with life. In one of the pics, you can see where the bedrock ends and where the drop off starts. That is our swimming hole. I stood in the same spot and just shot the camera both directions from me. It's hard to tell from the pictures but this water is absolutely clear. We pump it directly in the house for our drinking water in lieu of a well. Depth is very deceptive here. That hole is over our heads.





Are fish good to feed....? Small 5-6" fish. If they are, I have an endless supply of small and large fish.

 

[saitenyo]

Fish are okay as a treat, but not good to feed on a regular basis. Raw fish in particular contain thiaminase which can lead to thiamine deficiency if fed a lot. I've also read there are some possible concerns about links between too much fish and hyperthyroid problems in cats but I'm not very well-read on this issue.

Ideal meats for cats are more along the lines of small birds (chicken, game hens, quail, even turkey or duck) and small mammals (mice, rabbits). Catching food wild is also potentially a bit risky since you don't know what parasites the animal could be carrying.

I'd recommend sticking with human-grade meats, sourced from supermarkets or reputable pet food vendors who intend the meat to be fed raw to cats. I buy chicken at my local grocery store, and premade raw nuggets (Primal brand) from my local pet store in various varieties (chicken, rabbit, and turkey currently).

The links AC posted above should provide you with some great info about what meats to use and where to get them!