Question about Alnutrin and Whole Prey Feeding

[pinkman]

Hey all. 

I have been feeding a mix of ground raw with Alnutrin and Frankenprey (balanced, of course) recently, and a couple questions have been coming up.

First is, does Alnutrin go bad if not placed in a refrigerator if unopened? I bought a new packet online and totally forgot to read that it says to store refrigerated. Should I go ahead and just buy a new pack? Not a big deal, either way.

Secondly, I've been a lot more interested in feeding Whole Prey eventually. What is a good way to start? I randomly bought a whole frozen guinea pig the other day, it's pretty big. I think around 4 ounces of food. Maybe I should hold off the guinea and go buy some quails or chicks? Or can I cut open the guinea to make it more tempting?

Thanks all. 

 

[ldg]

Well, I never noticed the Alnutrin had to be refrigerated! I doesn't go bad in the sense of making the cats sick, as I never refrigerated it. I don't know how that affects the nutrients in it. :dk:

As to the whole prey... I think at first no matter how small it is you'll need to cut it up. Cats aren't used to their food having feathers or fur, so probably wont' recognize it as food without being cut up. Mine wouldn't tackle the smaller pieces of chicken wings if they weren't cut up - and those didn't have feathers or fur on them!

 

[cat person]

Hi Pinkman

(I just have to say, I

your screen name/user-handle),

Anyway, I have been feeding whole live prey for many years now. I have fed it it to a pure exotic cat (Leptailurus serval), exotic cat hybrids (F1 Bengal and F3 Savannah) and pure domestics. I am guessing you want to feed F/T whole prey items, not whole live prey items. I have never just fed F/T prey items.

If you want help feeding live prey items, I can give you a great deal of help/advice. I also have a post about it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/235056/does-anyone-feed-whole-prey-diet.

On top of LDG's GREAT advice, I would recommend you start with pinkie mice (just born mice), they can be seen here: http://jenmarie.itgo.com/photo.html. They can be purchased at your local pet store, in both live and F/T form.

Lastly, has your DSH, ever allowed outside? Or, is she a completely indoor cat?

 

[pinkman]

Hi Pinkman

(I just have to say, I

your screen name/user-handle),

I am guessing you want to feed F/T whole prey items, not whole live prey items. I have never just fed F/T prey items.

Lastly, has your DSH, ever allowed outside? Or, is she a completely indoor cat?

Hi Cat Person! Yeah, I am thinking about incorporating F/T prey items. I think for now I am gonna put the guinea pig deep in the freezer, and once I move I am going to purchase some week old quails to incorporate into her diet. I've been feeding majority ground and frankenprey a few days of the week. Luckily, I'm moving to a neighborhood with many butchers so I may increase the amount of frankenprey.

I am not sure if she's ever been outside prior to me adopting her. So I guess that makes her a completely indoor cat.

Laurie, I think I'm really lucky with Lox. She eats almost anything, she just doesn't like beef or lamb liver as much as far as I know. No need to wings into small pieces.