Raw food

[nekoha]

My cats are on a prescription diet due to urinary tract problems (currently Royal Canin Urinary SO33). Also, there is a dearth of "pet stores" in Japan. So, two questions - would switching them to a raw diet be detrimental to their urinary health? And where exactly does one get raw diet food?
Of course I will talk to my vet about this before I switch, if I were to switch. And I certainly won't be switching for at least a few months, as we just moved!

I am very curious, though, especially as all the carbs in commercial kibble has worried me for years. Cats are obligate carnivores, so why feed them carbs?!?!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Nekoha

My cats are on a prescription diet due to urinary tract problems (currently Royal Canin Urinary SO33). Also, there is a dearth of "pet stores" in Japan. So, two questions - would switching them to a raw diet be detrimental to their urinary health? And where exactly does one get raw diet food?
Of course I will talk to my vet about this before I switch, if I were to switch. And I certainly won't be switching for at least a few months, as we just moved!

I am very curious, though, especially as all the carbs in commercial kibble has worried me for years. Cats are obligate carnivores, so why feed them carbs?!?!

You have to have the right % of mineral s ( in raw this is mainly from bones) ... This is definitely something for you and the Vet to talk about... I have known many with UTI issues that got far better with the right balance of raw but some who got far worse... Hence the talk to your VET.


Carbs are in dry food to keep it together, now one food does this with NO grain or starches , they bind via gluten... problem there is that gluten is the allergen part of the grain...

Most wet foods have little to no carb( outside of some with LOTS of gravy)

 

[Primula]

Originally Posted by Nekoha

there is a dearth of "pet stores" in Japan.

Silly question, but where do you buy your pet food then?

 

[furryfriends50]

Sharky - consider yourself lucky then!

A while ago Mikey hurt his paw - it was swollen and the vet couldn't find anything wrong. The vet commented on how healthy Mikey looked and I told them it was because I feed him a raw diet. Well, the vet blaimed the fact that Mikey is a raw fed cat on his swollen paw. What - was he chasing a gazelle in the backyard??? How they drew that conclusion that the problem was raw feeding is beyond me

The other vet here recommends Pedigree dog food and some almost meatless brand of cat food...if that says anything

 

[petfindergal]

Obviously, you have to be careful who you buy it from, how you store it and how you handle it. It is raw meat after all. I'm a vegetarian, but whenever I give my cats raw chicken, I'm really conscious of bacteria. (I also feel guilty about the chicken, so I give 'em Murray's brand chicken which is organic, and has the humane seal.) I don't feed my cats all raw food, but I do give them raw food as a treat and give them Raw Health brand chicken and fish patties as a meal once or twice a week. There was a recall recently of Feline's Pride Raw food because of salmonella, so I don't know if I would trust them.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

Sharky - consider yourself lucky then!

A while ago Mikey hurt his paw - it was swollen and the vet couldn't find anything wrong. The vet commented on how healthy Mikey looked and I told them it was because I feed him a raw diet. Well, the vet blaimed the fact that Mikey is a raw fed cat on his swollen paw. What - was he chasing a gazelle in the backyard??? How they drew that conclusion that the problem was raw feeding is beyond me

The other vet here recommends Pedigree dog food and some almost meatless brand of cat food...if that says anything

I know some vets arent good.. I do consider myself very lucky !... the ER vet once told me the cat had salmonella .. He was constipated

 

[nekoha]

Originally Posted by Primula

Silly question, but where do you buy your pet food then?

Great question! Short answer: the vet and a specialty shop that we found.
Longer answer: Most grocery stores sell some pet food of dubious quality. There are some specialty shops that sell pet supplies, but these are few, far between, and expensive. There also seems to be a large selection of catalogs and online sites for pet foods and supplies, but we are just stumbling onto these haphazardly.

 

[petfindergal]

This is what I feed my "kids", once or twice a week. They love it. It's called Raw Health and if you don't have a specialty pet-product store near you, you can buy it online. http://www.rawhealthpetfood.com/