Raw feeding? Could it be?

[alicatjoy]

I guess I should admit that I am a bit nervous about starting this post 

.

Let me begin by stating that my cats are as far from normal as could ever be possible. They've never been easy keepers. But, I love them and am willing to do whatever is necessary for them to be as happy and healthy as they can be. And, in the spirit of willingness, I am looking for some information on raw feeding.

My cats have eaten raw before, but only in small quantities -- treats, if you will. And, I have only ever used commercial raw. I've never been in a place where cost was a factor before. But, this year has been difficult and I need to be very conscious of my finances. That means that commercial raw is not necessarily an option. And, I'm not even certain that I am ready to go full-on with raw feeding. I may be looking, at this point, to supplement their diet with raw rather than make raw the main attraction. That may be something I am looking to do come what future may, but, for now, I would like to learn how to incorporate raw into my cats' daily diet...without breaking the bank or their spirits in the process.

First, a bit about my cats. Cassidy is a 4 year old DLH. She has IBD and has had some serious medical issues this year including frequent urinary tract infections and a benign abdominal mass which needed to be removed surgically. She has a severe allergy to lamb and several other sensitivities, but she appears to have less issues since her surgery early this past summer. Delaney, a 4 year old DSH and Emory, a 5 year old DSH, are both healthy cats with good appetites. Neither have documented food allergies or sensitivities, but I have been trying to get Delaney to put on some weight. She lost almost 2 pounds this summer while I was away and she has not yet restored her weight. It has been determined that the weight loss was stress-related and not due to illness, but, regardless, she doesn't seem to be eating enough to maintain her prior weight and this has me somewhat concerned. Guinness is a 1.5 year old DLH. He will eat anything, anytime. So far, he has no allergies or sensitivities. Lastly, my Finnegan is an almost 3 year old DLH. He has severe food allergies. It is believed that chicken is an allergen, but, by and large, his sensitivities are to grains within the food. And, feeding a primarily raw diet will eliminate that concern. However, it is not known whether he has allergies to other animal proteins and this is a very real concern for me since he does suffer from skin ulcerations due to allergies as well as an increase in the type and severity of asthma symptoms he displays. He has also dealt with urinary tract infections and blockages. All in all, I have a motley crew with some significant issues I am working with. But, that being said, I know that many people have successfully fed raw to cats with known allergies and medical conditions -- and, perhaps even more important to note, I know that many cats have had a cessation of symptoms or complete recovery following the introduction of a raw diet.

Time management, space in the refrigerator and freezer, sanitary issues, and my finances are important notes to remember. I am out of the house quite a bit currently and my time away from home will only increase as I return to work. I am still planning on feeding them a portion of their current diet when beginning with the raw, but I do want to work with something that is easy and time effective to get started. I also don't have a lot of space to store large quantities of raw meats for the cats. I'd prefer not to buy in bulk and to start with one or two raw items before jumping in head first. As far as feeding raw, I have concerns for my health. I am a diabetic with a very weak immune system. Dealing with raw meat is a safety concern for me. I do follow proper hand washing and hygiene, but I want to be conscious of what and how I feed raw to the cats. And, lastly, I am significantly encumbered by my finances. I do not have access to a local butcher due to cost at this time. So, I need to look into what options are available at more commercial locations...without relying on expensive, commercial raw food.

So, with that all being said, where do I begin? How do I start? And, what the heck do I do?! I'll admit that I am a bit anxious. And, I definitely have some worries and concerns. But, I understand the importance of nutrition and I want to explore raw feeding for my cats. I know we have quite a few members here who have been successful with feeding raw and I'd like to make use of this forum and the expertise of those who have walked this path before me. I suppose where there's a will, there's a way. Well, here I am -- ready and willing with 5 kitties with big appetites!

 

[carolina]

Hi Allison! Welcome back to TCS! And to the raw forum, of all places! I am on my phone, and heading to bed as I have a very long day before going out of town again tomorrow... But I will come back later to post when I have more time! Just wanted to say how happy I am to see you here, and what a wonderful decision you have taken! This is going to be wonderful both for your babies and for you as well! Big hugs!

 

[ldg]

Hi Allison!

OK, diving right in..... :lol3:

1) Allergies.

I don't know if you remember, but Carolina's Bugsy was VERY allergic to and intolerant of chicken in kibble or canned cat food. And when she feeds him just regular store-bought chicken, even raw, he has an issue. But if she buys the vegetarian-fed chicken (which she gets at Walmart), he does really well with it. Princess Esme had the same problem with her Naku. She's pretty well along in her transition, but Naku is doing great with raw chicken!

So proteins that your kitties have a problem with when fed cooked may not be a problem when fed raw. :cross:


2) Crystals.

If you look at the ingredients of kibbles with grains in them, you'll always find an acidifier of some type in there. For instance, with the prescription Hill's c/d (which my cats ate exclusively - kibble and canned - for 6-7 years because of issues three of the boys had: 2 with struvite crystals and 1 with calcium oxalate crystals), the acidifier they use to make the food pH neutral is methionine. Methionine is present in meat, which is way a raw diet is naturally acidifying. On a raw diet, kitties will have a urine pH of 6.5. Lauren's Pipsqueak had an ongoing problem with interstitial cystitis, to the point he needed to be on ... prednisone? and elavil (amytriptaline). Lauren (Feralvr) weaned him off of these meds, and on his raw diet, he's had no flare-ups, and his urine pH remains a constant 6.5.


3) IBD.

Well - you know Carolina's Bugsy. But a number of kitties with IBD have transitioned to raw. It doesn't work for all of them, but all of the kitties in the TCS forum that have IBD that have switched to raw are doing really well on it! Let's see..... you can look up Southpaw, um.... right now Laniecat is transitioning to raw because of Lanie's IBD... let's see, Jim Peterford switched his kitties to raw, and it has helped his baby, that had triaditis, thrive! I know there are quite a few more examples, but I think you get the point. Some IBD kitties do better on with boneless: Carolina uses powdered eggshell as the calcium supplement. :nod: (And it's ultimately affordable! The little bag lasts seemingly forever, and I'm feeding 8 cats raw food!) http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/shop_online.html - it's the last product, scroll all the way down the page.


4) Starting slowly

To start, it's safe to feed up to 15% of their diet unbalanced. So if you want to start by just offering "treats" of raw food, you can do that to see how they like it. Or you can figure out how much you feed them per week. Do you feed three meals a day? Two? Four? :dk: If you feed 3 meals a day, 15% of the diet usually works out to being able to safely feed them 3 meals a week without worrying about balancing the meals. :nod: So that's a thought on how to start working it in, and see how they (and you!) do with eating/feeding it.


5) Immune system - cat Start a probiotic!

FYI, our Lazlo was on chemotherapy for six months, which he completed in January. Our Chumley is FIV+. We began the transition in January, while Lazlo was still on Chemo. We've had no issues with bacteria in the meat, and Laz and Chum have done GREAT. It is best to start them on a probiotic - which, after the research I've done, is something I'd want to be giving them no matter the diet at this point. Almost especially on canned or kibble, a probiotic would really help their GI systems - and there is SUCH a strong link between the health of the GI system and the health of the immune system (given that 90% of pathogens enter our bodies via the GI tract!). The GI tract IS the frontline of the immune system. :nod:

This is the one I use. I sprinkle it on their food once a day.
I think it's also the one Carolina uses.


6) Immune system - person

There are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself. It's really not that difficult. Use one cutting board dedicated to the kitty's meat. I prefer plastic, so I can bleach it. You can use gloves. I find I don't like them, because I'm not always aware of what I touch if I have gloves on. I just prefer to wash my hands when I'm done working with the meat. But I use a bleach spray on the surfaces when I'm done. You can put placemats down under the cat dishes (if any kitties remove meat from the dish to eat it), and then just use the bleach spray on the placemats when you wash them up after the meal - this works well to ensure there are no issues outside of the food prep area.


7) Homemade raw feeding options

For making home made, there are a number of ways of doing it. You can get a grinder, and use one of several online recipes that are time-tested. :nod: Or you can work toward whole prey model raw - which involves feeding 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% "other secreting organ" (usually kidney, spleen or pancreas). The advantage is you only need scissors and/or a knife.


8) Balancing options with non-ground foods

I don't know if it would be cost effective, but you can feed just meat and balance it with Wysong's Call of the Wild supplement. I know Carolina does this for Hope. I do it with Lazlo, and for now Princess Esme is doing this for Esme. :nod: It requires 1/2 a teaspoon of supplement per 1.5 ounces of meat. Lazlo doesn't like liver and can't keep down kidney, so I balance his meals this way. It already includes the calcium, etc. Cut up meat, add CoTW, and serve! Very easy, and a nice way to introduce raw meals without worry - and then you can work on adding proteins and/or organs if you want to work on lowering the cost by making your own balanced meals for them.

Liver: My Tuxie, Sheldon, and Spooky either do not like liver or cannot keep it down. Carolina's kitties don't really like or can't keep down liver. wolcar is a vegan, and is not ready to handle liver yet. :lol3: So we substitute Freeze Dried liver for real liver. wolcar and Carolina use Etta Says. I use that for Spooky, because Etta Says beef liver is the only liver Spooky will eat. But for Sheldon and Tuxedo, I use Stewart's Pro-Treat chicken liver. The Etta Says liver is cooked before freeze-drying; Stewart's Pro-Treat is raw. But freeze drying retains the nutritional profile of the original product with little loss of nutritional value, so that's an option.


9) Sourcing & Cost

There isn't any reason you can't buy most of what you need to feed them from your local supermarket or Walmart. Many meats are "enhanced," so when buying meat (especially chicken or pork), just check the sodium per serving to make sure it's less than 100mg per serving. I switched to raw partially because it saved me money over the premium canned foods I was feeding. I figured - as long as I could keep the cost per pound the same to feed them, they'd be eating a much healthier diet. And it's worked out that I am saving money feeding them raw. :nod: It was initially more expensive, as I needed to use a lot of "stuff" to get them to switch, but I pushed it, rather than going slowly.


There was something else I wanted to include, but I don't remember what it is. :lol3: I'm sure others will add, and if you have ANY questions, just ask!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yay!  I think going to raw, even part time, will be wonderful for your babies!  I don't think I can add any more to what Laurie has said, except to say that my immune system is extremely compromised, and I don't take any special precautions, no more than I do when preparing our own meal beginning with raw meat.  I use a plastic cutting board when the need arises, then just wash it in hot soapy water.  Wash  their dishes in hot soapy water each time after a raw meal, and wash my hands probably a couple of time during the process of feeding them.  I also feed them on plastic placemats, but don't always wash those, because they normally keep their food in their bowls.  (and half the time I end up moving their bowls off the placements, just because if they move like they're finished, I move their bowls to where they are because then  they are apt to eat more. 

 

[ldg]

Right! Just keep a pump of hand lotion next to the sink, so when you're done you can moisturize after all the hand washing!

 

[feralvr]

Hi Alison!!! Oooooo good for you trying your "hand" at raw!!!! Will be the best thing you can do for your kitties health overall :bigthumb: Laurie has given you much info to get you started!!!! I just use bleach to sanitize when I am finished feeding. My cat's all are pretty good about keeping their food in their bowls. I use felt placemats and will go over them with the Clorox wipes after each meal and wash them once a week as well. They stay pretty clean though. I also wear disposable gloves only because I have very dry skin to begin with and my hand's crack a lot in the winter. So I only wear the gloves to protect my skin, not so much to protect from myself from bacteria. :lol3: It really is quite easy once you get into a routine. I could do it in my sleep now. I really do like the Clorox wipes though. They are great for spot cleaning when I am all done feeding. Like Laurie, I also have a moisturizer right by the sink. I use it all day long too, especially this time of year. MUCH MUCH luck and can't wait to hear how things are going!!!!