A little background for those who don't know...I transitioned my cats from the highest quality kibble/canned food to commercial frozen raw several months ago, for one of my boys that had chronic diarrhea. Raw feeding totally fixed his tummy problems and worked wonders for the other cats that I wasn't expecting - including my 8 year old girl that I had taken to the vet because she was "not herself", had blood work done, vet just said "she's getting older and slowing down" and couldn't find anything wrong. 2 days of raw food and she was running around like a kitten again.
I was sold on raw!
I've always been too scared to prepare the food myself. Reading so many different methods and theories...ground, whole, bones or no bones, veggies or none, supplements, the whole thing has been so entirely overwhelming for me that every time I thought I was ready to switch from commercial to making the food myself, it would freak me out and I'd just go to the store and buy another (very expensive) bag or two of frozen food. That took all the guesswork out of it, and I could sleep at night knowing my cats were getting all the taurine, calcium, vitamins, etc. they needed.
Then I started having problems... first, the cats were getting tired of their raw nuggets. I had to buy liver powder to sprinkle on top or go back to mixing some with canned food to get them to eat it. We were taking a step back with our raw feeding progress! I even had to put my 8 year old back on cat food completely because she flat out refused the raw food. The only raw I could get her to eat was fresh raw chicken. Second, I started noticing some quality issues with the commercial food. More than once, I had to return $60 worth of food to the store because it was freezer burned. That really got me concerned and finally ready to dive in and tackle doing it myself.
For weeks, I've been reading everything I can get my eyes on, including some weblinks from some very helpful members on this forum (thank you!).
No joke, I have been losing sleep over this, so terrified that I'm going to screw something up and end up with a constipated, taurine deficient, blind cat with a heart problem all because I wanted to save a buck on their food. With a LOT of help and a lot of researching, I think I am finally getting it, and finally comfortable with this!!!
Would love to hear everyone's input and suggestions. I'm still very "green", obviously, trying to get the hang of it. My cats are loving every minute of it..they seem excited to try whatever I throw in front of them so far! Still not sure I'm balancing it all properly, still not sure of the amounts to feed - but the more I read, the more I'm learning that I've been making this out to be much more complicated than it really is.
Here's where the diet stands - for now. I totally consider this to be a transition. My ultimate goal is to get them eating whole prey. I'm not sure yet if that's a possibility...time will tell!
For now, they're getting ground meat/organ/bones with a supplement added. I don't think I need the supplement, but this is for my peace of mind until I get a stronger handle on what I'm doing. Per a member's recommendation, I think I'll probably just give taurine and omegas in the future. The proteins are rabbit, chicken, turkey, duck and pheasant. The rabbit today was a huge hit! They also love beef, but Mandy can't stomach it...it comes right back up after she eats it. (If she can't handle beef muscle, should I assume she couldn't eat beef organs, too?)
Again, my ultimate goal is to transition them away from ground, so my plan is to start adding chunks and bones and eliminate the ground but ...baby steps...
I'm also giving them chicken wings, necks, and hearts. Right now as snacks because I haven't figured out portions and they haven't been able to get through the bones yet. Until I know they can eat all their bones, I plan to stick with the ground meat/bones so I can be sure they're getting all the calcium. I know it isn't ideal, but I'd rather they get calcium from ground bone then from a supplement or bone meal (blech!).
Last night I gave each kitty a chicken drummette just to see what would happen. It was awesome!! I was so proud of my little carnivores, ripping away at their goodies.
Surprisingly, my tiny little 8 year old, Helen, didn't hesitate at all. She gave it a really good effort, but isn't strong enough (yet) to eat the bone. Walter was a riot, running through the house with his drumstick hanging out of his mouth. Mandy, the one who gave me the hardest time switching to raw, is the only one of the 4 who actually ate the bone! It took her two hours, but she was determined!
I think I might be enjoying this raw feeding thing as much as my cats are!
I was sold on raw!
I've always been too scared to prepare the food myself. Reading so many different methods and theories...ground, whole, bones or no bones, veggies or none, supplements, the whole thing has been so entirely overwhelming for me that every time I thought I was ready to switch from commercial to making the food myself, it would freak me out and I'd just go to the store and buy another (very expensive) bag or two of frozen food. That took all the guesswork out of it, and I could sleep at night knowing my cats were getting all the taurine, calcium, vitamins, etc. they needed.
Then I started having problems... first, the cats were getting tired of their raw nuggets. I had to buy liver powder to sprinkle on top or go back to mixing some with canned food to get them to eat it. We were taking a step back with our raw feeding progress! I even had to put my 8 year old back on cat food completely because she flat out refused the raw food. The only raw I could get her to eat was fresh raw chicken. Second, I started noticing some quality issues with the commercial food. More than once, I had to return $60 worth of food to the store because it was freezer burned. That really got me concerned and finally ready to dive in and tackle doing it myself.
For weeks, I've been reading everything I can get my eyes on, including some weblinks from some very helpful members on this forum (thank you!).
No joke, I have been losing sleep over this, so terrified that I'm going to screw something up and end up with a constipated, taurine deficient, blind cat with a heart problem all because I wanted to save a buck on their food. With a LOT of help and a lot of researching, I think I am finally getting it, and finally comfortable with this!!!
Would love to hear everyone's input and suggestions. I'm still very "green", obviously, trying to get the hang of it. My cats are loving every minute of it..they seem excited to try whatever I throw in front of them so far! Still not sure I'm balancing it all properly, still not sure of the amounts to feed - but the more I read, the more I'm learning that I've been making this out to be much more complicated than it really is.
Here's where the diet stands - for now. I totally consider this to be a transition. My ultimate goal is to get them eating whole prey. I'm not sure yet if that's a possibility...time will tell!
For now, they're getting ground meat/organ/bones with a supplement added. I don't think I need the supplement, but this is for my peace of mind until I get a stronger handle on what I'm doing. Per a member's recommendation, I think I'll probably just give taurine and omegas in the future. The proteins are rabbit, chicken, turkey, duck and pheasant. The rabbit today was a huge hit! They also love beef, but Mandy can't stomach it...it comes right back up after she eats it. (If she can't handle beef muscle, should I assume she couldn't eat beef organs, too?)
Again, my ultimate goal is to transition them away from ground, so my plan is to start adding chunks and bones and eliminate the ground but ...baby steps...
I'm also giving them chicken wings, necks, and hearts. Right now as snacks because I haven't figured out portions and they haven't been able to get through the bones yet. Until I know they can eat all their bones, I plan to stick with the ground meat/bones so I can be sure they're getting all the calcium. I know it isn't ideal, but I'd rather they get calcium from ground bone then from a supplement or bone meal (blech!).
Last night I gave each kitty a chicken drummette just to see what would happen. It was awesome!! I was so proud of my little carnivores, ripping away at their goodies.
I think I might be enjoying this raw feeding thing as much as my cats are!
