Raw Food Intro Issue (my Cat Likes It Too Much!)

Shaana Carolta

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I am starting my cat on a raw food diet. I found recipes online, which I plan on following to the letter. In the meantime, to get him used to it, I bought a raw food starter pack from my local pet store.

He absolutely loves it, but he loves it so much he won't eat his regular food. I'm trying to introduce it to him by giving him small amounts, but he won't eat the rest of his food. I'm worried he's not getting enough nutrition. We tried giving him a larger amount of raw food (~1oz) once a day and then his regular food at the other times, but he got so sick, he was nauseous for a whole day and threw up everywhere.

I know that it's not healthy to just switch foods on a cat, but he loves it so much. At the same time, he won't eat anything else if we start feeding him the raw food. Even if we mix it in to his regular food, he won't eat it because he smells his regular food. How do I introduce the raw food to him in a way that won't make him feel sick, yet he's getting enough nutrition?
 
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Shaana Carolta

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I don't know why it says Kitten My cat is a senior, ~12 with early stage CKD. It's important that he eats his regular food to offset the phosphorus until we get him on an appropriate raw food diet for his needs.
 

goingpostal

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You can switch to raw cold turkey, you don't have to slowly transition. I'd do one or the other, not both.
 

Columbine

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Hi Shaana Carolta Shaana Carolta :hithere: Welcome to TCS:welcomesign:

Switching to raw too fast can cause digestive issues, so you're absolutely right to take it slow. Rather than offering the two foods side by side, mix the wet food with the raw. That way, your cat can't reject his old food, and you have total control over how fast you switch.
Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food (canned, Raw, Or Homemade)




The 'Kitten' label under your name is simply your current status - it will change over time based on how long you've been here and how many times you've posted :) Its nothing to do with your cat's age ;) This article explains it:-
Promotions and Benefits
 
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lalagimp

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We didn't transition the boys at all, really. Tom got urethral blockages and we immediately stopped kibble and put them on canned. Then I tried commercial raw for a bag to see how they liked it, which they did. Then I started making my own raw. They just eat too much for me to not make my own food and still be able to afford them.
We space out their feeding though. The max at any given time is 1.5 oz.
They eat six times a day. It was five, but 3pm is designated for snacks because Tommy needs an extra feeding to keep his weight up, and the other cats were throwing a fit. Tom gets 6.5 oz in his feeder, and then a feeding of Stella and Chewy. Stewart only gets 4 oz in his feeder, and then gets a few minnows or a small chicken heart or an equivalent.
 

daftcat75

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How do you transition a cat to a new food when they won't eat the old food anymore? Portion control. Start him with 1/4 portion of the new food. Let his digestion see the new food without overwhelming it too quickly. Once he has a well-formed poop on the new food (confirmation that he is deriving nutrition from it), you can slowly increase his portions over the next several days until he's back to full portion. Take it slowly, though. You don't want him to get sick on the new food and then not want to eat either food anymore. If he doesn't show too much distress after meals with reduced portions, you can feed him more frequently at the smaller portions until you're back to full portions again.

You can also leave a few bites of the old food on the plate for him if it's important to keep that food in his rotation. He may come around to the old food again--especially with smaller portions of the new food. If he does come around to the old food again, proceed with the transition with both foods on the plate so he doesn't have to go hungry on the smaller portions of the new food.
 

Kieka

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How do you transition a cat to a new food when they won't eat the old food anymore? Portion control. Start him with 1/4 portion of the new food. Let his digestion see the new food without overwhelming it too quickly. Once he has a well-formed poop on the new food (confirmation that he is deriving nutrition from it), you can slowly increase his portions over the next several days until he's back to full portion. Take it slowly, though. You don't want him to get sick on the new food and then not want to eat either food anymore. If he doesn't show too much distress after meals with reduced portions, you can feed him more frequently at the smaller portions until you're back to full portions again.

You can also leave a few bites of the old food on the plate for him if it's important to keep that food in his rotation. He may come around to the old food again--especially with smaller portions of the new food. If he does come around to the old food again, proceed with the transition with both foods on the plate so he doesn't have to go hungry on the smaller portions of the new food.
Do you mean 1/4 new food and 3/4 old food? If so, that is correct.

However, if you mean a forced switch where your cat is only eating a quarter their normal calories and none of the old food is available, that is an incredibly risky move. Cats who are given a choice of eating nothing but the new food are at a high risk of fatty liver disease among other problems. Usually cats who must make diet changes are already at risk for medical complications. Adding a starvation method on top is just asking for trouble, IMO. It also won't reduce stomach problems since they are still eating a new food and your likely adding on gorging and speed eating problems on top of it.

When a diet switch is needed, sometimes it is better to make a sudden switch. Stop the old food and start the new. It will likely cause some digestive upset but if we are talking kidney problems, IBD, etc those are minor problems that will self resolve with time. Some cats don't have much problem switching, especially those who are fed a variety regularly.

Ideally when switching a cat from one food to another you want to do a gradual switch. Shortest period is a week where you have 1/4 new, 3/4 new for the first two days. Then half and half for two days. Then 3/4 new and 1/4 old for two days. Then all new. I prefer to make the switch over a month by slowly increasing the ratio to prevent any digestive issues. You can still have issues with even a slow switch if the ratio of fat to proteins is drastically different. Which is why I recommend a middle transition food if you are making a drastic change.

If you have a cat who is stubbornly holding onto an old food you may have to take it slower or try other methods. Try grinding up kibble and sprinkling it on as a topper for example. Hiding the new food under the old and slowly increase ratio of new to old over several months. Use topper type foods to entice your cat to eat.

One of the most important things when it comes to cat food is to remember the best food for your cat is the one they will eat. If your cat won't eat it it doesn't matter how great it is you should feed them what they will eat.

In this case, if the cat is loving the raw try to space it out into small meals over the course of the day. Several tiny meals. You do want him to keep getting his daily calorie allotment but the food is probably too rich. Hopefully by spreading it out as much as possible his system won't be so hard hit.
 

molly92

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I would try feeding the raw food at a normal level (and still offering a little bit of the old food just in case) and incorporating probiotics and see if that helps with the upset. Ideally you want to give the probiotics about a half hour before the meal, but they also help when fed with food. Look for something with acidophilus and a high cfu count (in the billions). My cat likes to try to eat the gelatin capsule so I can usually get her to lick the powder straight out of an opened capsule if she's been nauseous and I don't want her to eat right away, but most days I sprinkle half a capsule over each meal. You can't really overdose so you can do more.
 

daftcat75

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Do you mean 1/4 new food and 3/4 old food? If so, that is correct.

However, if you mean a forced switch where your cat is only eating a quarter their normal calories and none of the old food is available, that is an incredibly risky move. Cats who are given a choice of eating nothing but the new food are at a high risk of fatty liver disease among other problems. Usually cats who must make diet changes are already at risk for medical complications. Adding a starvation method on top is just asking for trouble, IMO. It also won't reduce stomach problems since they are still eating a new food and your likely adding on gorging and speed eating problems on top of it.
...

If you have a cat who is stubbornly holding onto an old food you may have to take it slower or try other methods. Try grinding up kibble and sprinkling it on as a topper for example. Hiding the new food under the old and slowly increase ratio of new to old over several months. Use topper type foods to entice your cat to eat.
If the cat has stopped eating the old food, mixing the old food in just ensures the cat won't eat the new food either. On the other hand, if you try to crash a cat on the new diet with full portions from the start, you risk making that cat sick and averse to the new food. Now you have two foods the cat won't eat.

I have had to do more food transitions with my IBD kitty than I can list off. I can tell you that crashing her on the new diet was the least successful method.

The other thing with portion control is that I will increase food frequency if (and only if) she's up for it. If I give her a quarter portion and she's miserable but she resets in a few hours and wants more, then I'll give her another quarter portion. If she isn't asking for more, then I wait for the next timed feeding and use whatever bribe I have in the house to get her to eat at least that portion, if needed. On the other end, if she's readily eating the new food and it's coming out a foul undigested mess, I don't keep shoveling that new food in her. I expect a couple of days of distress but if things don't firm up by the third day, then that's not the food for her.

As long as she's eating something, I'm not worried about hepatic lipidosis. Transition periods are transitional. They are meant to gently support her, usually from crisis into a soft landing on the new food. The portion-restricted part of the transition is a short period of time where she would probably be starving herself anyway. Instead of letting that happen or forcing her to eat a food she's sworn off, I give her the option of something she will eat, something that hasn't made her sick yet. The best food for an inappetant cat is the one she will eat. I do put some of the old food on the plate though. Sometimes she does come back to it. And if she does come back to eating the old food, then I can bring her portion of the old food back up to the transitional ratio to get her calories back up.

I don't consider this a starvation transition when she wouldn't be eating the old food anyway. It is a gentle ramp-up/reboot to the new food to cause her the least distress and maximize our chances that we'll be able to successfully complete the transition and come out whole again on the other side.
 

kittyluv387

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You should check out RadCat (raw). All their flavors have less than 1% DMB phosphorus.
 

Kieka

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If the cat has stopped eating the old food, mixing the old food in just ensures the cat won't eat the new food either. On the other hand, if you try to crash a cat on the new diet with full portions from the start, you risk making that cat sick and averse to the new food. Now you have two foods the cat won't eat.

I have had to do more food transitions with my IBD kitty than I can list off. I can tell you that crashing her on the new diet was the least successful method.

The other thing with portion control is that I will increase food frequency if (and only if) she's up for it. If I give her a quarter portion and she's miserable but she resets in a few hours and wants more, then I'll give her another quarter portion. If she isn't asking for more, then I wait for the next timed feeding and use whatever bribe I have in the house to get her to eat at least that portion, if needed. On the other end, if she's readily eating the new food and it's coming out a foul undigested mess, I don't keep shoveling that new food in her. I expect a couple of days of distress but if things don't firm up by the third day, then that's not the food for her.

As long as she's eating something, I'm not worried about hepatic lipidosis. Transition periods are transitional. They are meant to gently support her, usually from crisis into a soft landing on the new food. The portion-restricted part of the transition is a short period of time where she would probably be starving herself anyway. Instead of letting that happen or forcing her to eat a food she's sworn off, I give her the option of something she will eat, something that hasn't made her sick yet. The best food for an inappetant cat is the one she will eat. I do put some of the old food on the plate though. Sometimes she does come back to it. And if she does come back to eating the old food, then I can bring her portion of the old food back up to the transitional ratio to get her calories back up.

I don't consider this a starvation transition when she wouldn't be eating the old food anyway. It is a gentle ramp-up/reboot to the new food to cause her the least distress and maximize our chances that we'll be able to successfully complete the transition and come out whole again on the other side.
There are situations where this method does work and your clarification of when and how to follow your recommendation helps in understanding. As you said it originally it was a little concerning.
 

daftcat75

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In this case, if the cat is loving the raw try to space it out into small meals over the course of the day. Several tiny meals. You do want him to keep getting his daily calorie allotment but the food is probably too rich. Hopefully by spreading it out as much as possible his system won't be so hard hit.
We were actually more in agreement than I think you realized. This right here is essentially the same as what I was saying. The macronutrient ratios of the new food are likely to be different so smaller, more frequent meals can help minimize the distress of transitioning to a new food. If the cat won't eat the old food, the transition rules don't change. Smaller amounts at first with a gradual ramp up. I leave a few bites of the old food in case she comes around to it again--a short-term aversion.

We actually just did this last week. I transitioned Krista to raw too fast. Bunged her up good. Constipation that ultimately lead to a hunger strike. So I rebooted her on the canned she was eating before raw using portion control. I also left a couple of bites of Rad Cat on the plate. After a few smaller meals of the new food, she started to feel better again and started to eat those couple of bites of Rad Cat. Over the course of several days, I got her back to full calories and 20% Rad Cat again. We'll be taking this transition back to 100% raw more slowly this time.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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When I transitioned my furries to raw, I used digestive enzymes along with probiotics. They never had any issues with vomiting . I think the digestive enzymes really helped
 

Azazel

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Hi, if your cat is CKD then you will probably want to avoid feeding bone. Rad Cat is a good brand for CKD cats.
 

LTS3

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What online recipe are you using? There are tons of raw recipies out there but many are just made up by pet owners who have little to no background in cat nutrition so the recipe is not a balanced diet. Be wary of any online raw recipe that claims to be suitable for CKD cats.

Dr. Lisa of Catinfo.org offers consultation to create a raw recipe specific to your CKD cat's needs: Making Cat Food:
 
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