Please help transitioning kitten to raw

[rynara]

Hello! I've been transitioning my nearly 11 month old siberian kitten to raw. She's had some digestive issues for several months now, and an ultrasound revealed some thickened intestines so I'm switching her to try to head off what the vet thinks is IBS before it develops into anything more serious.

I've been feeding Darwin's turkey, and we're up to a 25% old food, 75% raw mix right now. She started being picky at about 50/50, taking a long time to eat her food and starting to leave a little behind, but she was still eating so I kept going.

I feed twice a day. Recently now, she'll finish her morning meal with the help of some freeze dried treats as a topper, but she's leaving behind most of her evening meal, even with the toppers -- she'll usually nibble off the crumbled treats and pick at the rest before walking off.

Given that she is eating, I'm not sure how to proceed. All of the advice I've seen is for cats who won't eat at all, so I'm not sure if it's safe or possible to try to outlast her. Should I keep going and hope she gets used to the flavor, or that she'll eventually get hungry enough to eat? Or should I go way back, maybe to 75% old, 25% raw, and try to transition more slowly?

I've been giving her slippery elm bark about half an hour before her meals for the last week, and she hasn't vomited since I've been doing that, but I'm also wondering how much of this could be nausea? I'm not sure how to tell; she's not lethargic or drooling at all. Additionally, in the past her vomiting is proceeded and followed by a couple days of diarrhea but she's had good stools.

Finally, how much might be her appetite waning as she gets close to a year? When do kittens start eating less as they approach adulthood? She's less active than she was a month ago so I do think she's calming down.

Thank you!

 

[maggie101]

If she is not eating all her food, I woud take her to the vet. It may be her teeth or something more serious. Cut back on the raw. Not all cats like it. See if she will eat more. Some need a slower transition to raw. One of my cats does not like it

 

[LTS3]

Maybe she's bored of the Darwin or just doesn't like it? Can you try a different brand of raw?

 

[rynara]

There's Primal at my local pet store, I could try that. She's never been picky about any kind of wet food before, so hopefully I can find something that works for her.

 

[Beholder]

I agree that she probably just doesn't like the food. Every cat is different...and most are pretty picky. I make my own raw food and each of my boys has a preference. Morty likes pig and hates rabbit, Po likes rabbit and hates pig, and Goose likes everything but beef which makes him vomit. Kittens are usually pretty easy to transition to raw, but at 11 months your girl is entering adulthood. Once fully grown their appetite should cut back a little bit, so it is natural for them to eat less. However, you're going to need to use your own judgement to decide if her diet is normal or not based on her size and weight. Some kittens don't become fully grown until a year and half to two years, although most are done by a year.

How much exactly are you feeding her? Raw food tends to be more calorie dense so (unless it's full of carbs) cats don't need to eat as much of it compared to wet food.

You also mentioned that she may be experiencing nausea but you aren't sure. I have found in my own experience that while slippery elm is helpful, it seemed to decrease Morty's appetite, so this could also be the culprit.

 

[Mailmans_Mom]

Well, I have an older cat with IBD and a 1.5 year old who is the pickiest eater I've ever had, so maybe my 2 cents will help.

There are different kinds of IBD. It could be a dietary allergen or it could be auto-immune. We biopsied my girl's stomach and intestines and found it to be largely small intestine autoimmune. If your girl has a food allergy, I would prioritize getting her onto a novel protein ASAP. If she's autoimmune, protein type won't matter. Note that it takes 6 weeks to 3 months of a novel protein food trial before you know if it's working.

I did a fecal matter transfer with my IBD girl using the pills from Animal Biome. I think that is what helped her the most, but I honestly did everything at once just to get her better, so who knows. It's good the slippery elm is helping.

My 1.5 year old is the pickiest eater I've ever had. I've heard people say that some cats transition foods molecule by molecule. That's my girl. It was worse when she was younger. She would eat slowly, play with her food, like you described. As she's gotten older, it's gotten better. So you may find in 6 months she's more tolerant than now.

Best of luck to you. She sounds lucky to have you!