Raw feeding for cats?

[brittanymarshel]

I have been looking at the threads about people feeding raw meat to cats so I decided to take the plunge and feed raw but only now and then, not all the time. I went out and got some chicken wings.

My question is do you just take chicken wing out of the packet and give it to the cat as it is? And also is there a particular age for cats to give them raw?

Thanks

 

[nwc]

Start your cat off with just the wing tip, then work towards the wingette. Some people like to smash the bones with a hammer first in the beginning. Be sure to check online databases for bone and calcium content of the average chicken wing.

 

[Ppsneepie]

I buy an already packaged raw food for my one cat, Jinx, and she likes it. I can’t make it myself, because I’m a vegetarian.

I didn’t think it would gross me out, but when I brought it home I found I had a really hard time touching the mashed chicken. I then convinced myself that I was somehow poisoning my cats and my kitchen counters with the raw meat, so I’m taking a little break on the raw stuff. Hopefully it goes better for you

 

[Azazel]

I would suggest starting with a cut of meat that doesn’t include bones if your cat has never had raw before. You can just give small chunks of whatever you make for yourself such as breast or thigh. Organs are also great nutritious treats. Gizzards and hearts are my cats’ favorites. Gizzards are especially good for teeth because they are tough but you probably want to slice them into smaller chunks.

If you want to feed bone as treats I would stick to wing tips or necks. Be very cautious when feeding for the first time and make sure to supervise.

I also wouldn’t do bone treats more than a couple times a week cause they may throw off your cat’s calcium-phosphors ratio intake. If you want to move to full homemade raw then you can use a recipe that incorporates bones.

 

[daftcat75]

I have been looking at the threads about people feeding raw meat to cats so I decided to take the plunge and feed raw but only now and then, not all the time. I went out and got some chicken wings.

My question is do you just take chicken wing out of the packet and give it to the cat as it is? And also is there a particular age for cats to give them raw?

Thanks

I would set aside some time to read feline-nutrition.org.

Meat is not complete.

There’s more to it than just giving them a chicken wing. If you don’t pay attention to nutrients and the balance between them, you can create some serious health problems. For example, if they get too much phosphorous and not enough calcium, they take the needed calcium to maintain pH balance from their bones. You can see how this can become dangerous over a period of time. For this reason, a lot of raw feeders prefer grinding meat and bone together to ensure the correct balance in every portion. You will also need to feed organs because meat and bone is not enough. And if you can’t source certain organs and assure their freshness (and most people can’t source eyes and brains), then you’ll also need to add supplements.

In other words, do your homework. Don’t just wing it.

 

[daftcat75]

That said, you can feed the occasional wing as a treat (no more than 10% of his food) until you’ve got your recipe and materials together.