I am trying to move towards a raw diet for my cat Spaz who is 16 years old and suffers from IBD.
He has been a kibble head for his whole life. The past several years multiple vets have bounced him from one prescription kibble to another. I finally decided on my own to move him to wet food. That in the least stopped the vomiting. However, he still kept losing weight.
I recently transitioned him to Honest Kitchen Prowl which is a dehydrated raw food. He is now finally gaining weight after losing steadily for nearly a year.
I would like to go whole prey as it seems to be the best way to be assured he is getting everything he needs and nothing extra.
Below are some questions I have in regards to whole prey and IBD:
Will his stomach be able to digest the bones correctly?
I've seen some sites say IBD cats may have problems with bones.
Will he be more susceptible to bacteria or parasites that may be in the food since his immune system may be compromised?
I've read that cats are pretty hardy against bacteria but I've also seen mention that cats with immune system issues may not be able to handle bacteria as well.
How likely am I to find vomit with feathers, fur and "bits" in it?
My female eats feathers off of all her toys and then throws them back up. I've had to de-feather, de-tail and de-whisker all of the toys in the house because of her. 9_9
Has anyone found a budget friendly way of going whole prey?
So far it looks pretty costly. I'll likely end up spending more money on cat food than people food as it's going. Even Rad Cat seems more affordable.
Is any nutrition lost during the freezing process?
Especially if frozen for a period of weeks or months.
Any thoughts on whole prey vs. other forms of raw feeding for IBD? I don't like the idea of buying bags of ground critter since they typically don't use a single whole animal per bag. It's usually a bunch ground up at once and then put into bags. How do I know how much calcium I get in a bag? Did I get 4 livers and only 2 hearts? Did a thyroid make it in that particular bag? Seems impossible to be sure without grinding it myself.
Thanks in advance for your help!!!
He has been a kibble head for his whole life. The past several years multiple vets have bounced him from one prescription kibble to another. I finally decided on my own to move him to wet food. That in the least stopped the vomiting. However, he still kept losing weight.
I recently transitioned him to Honest Kitchen Prowl which is a dehydrated raw food. He is now finally gaining weight after losing steadily for nearly a year.
I would like to go whole prey as it seems to be the best way to be assured he is getting everything he needs and nothing extra.
Below are some questions I have in regards to whole prey and IBD:
Will his stomach be able to digest the bones correctly?
I've seen some sites say IBD cats may have problems with bones.
Will he be more susceptible to bacteria or parasites that may be in the food since his immune system may be compromised?
I've read that cats are pretty hardy against bacteria but I've also seen mention that cats with immune system issues may not be able to handle bacteria as well.
How likely am I to find vomit with feathers, fur and "bits" in it?
My female eats feathers off of all her toys and then throws them back up. I've had to de-feather, de-tail and de-whisker all of the toys in the house because of her. 9_9
Has anyone found a budget friendly way of going whole prey?
So far it looks pretty costly. I'll likely end up spending more money on cat food than people food as it's going. Even Rad Cat seems more affordable.
Is any nutrition lost during the freezing process?
Especially if frozen for a period of weeks or months.
Any thoughts on whole prey vs. other forms of raw feeding for IBD? I don't like the idea of buying bags of ground critter since they typically don't use a single whole animal per bag. It's usually a bunch ground up at once and then put into bags. How do I know how much calcium I get in a bag? Did I get 4 livers and only 2 hearts? Did a thyroid make it in that particular bag? Seems impossible to be sure without grinding it myself.
Thanks in advance for your help!!!