Raw Food.

[bernii123]

Ey guys.. So I would like to start feeding my cats raw food. I want to start little by little as they are use to just eating pellets.

I always got told that raw meat will give my cats worms so never wanted to give them raw meat but Ive been seeing all over the internet that raw meat is actually really good for cats and dogs.

I would just like to know the basics.

What raw meat am I allowed to give my cats?
What bones are they allowed to eat?
Are they allowed to eat the skin on a chicken ect...

Thank you

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It's good that you are doing some research before you start feeding raw, and also good that you are being open minded about it. However, please make sure you really know what you are doing before you do this as if you don't feed a nutritionally balanced raw diet, you can do harm to your furry friends. You will need to make sure you are feeding not just the meat, but also the correct portions of bones and organs too. Have you seen this thread? Raw Feeding Resources It has all kinds of links in it that can help you out.
One thing you can do is start out by buying commercially prepared raw food that is already 100% nutritionally complete and see whether or not your cat(s) will even attempt to eat it. That's the way I went with mine. It took some coaxing, let me tell you . Then, after many months of reading up on it and having many discussion in this forum, I ventured into making my own food.

My thoughts are, never buy ground meat from a grocery store to feed your cats. Gosh, you can feed, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, rabbit, cornish game hens, mice, sardines, kangaroo, etc., gizzards and hearts are also consiidered muscle meats, NOT organs.

Any bones as long as they aren't cooked or too big (beef and lamb unground) should be ok (I could be all wet here as I never fed whole bones - this is why you need to read the above thread)

I wouldn't feed too much skin just because you've got to figure in the fat content. But when feeding chicken wings, I certainly wouldn't skin those.

 

[maureen brad]

I would also read www.feline-nutrition.org if I were you. It is important to get information before you begin and to have an understanding of raw feeding. It is not hard to do but, most of us get into it slowly as we learn. Feline Nutrition site has a lot of good info. Good luck. If you do begin feeding your cat a raw diet you will be glad you did.There are so many ways to do it so, do some research and find what you are comfortable with.

 

[lalagimp]

my resource was catinfo.org
I read it at least 9 times before I started making mine.
We get bone in ground rabbit from Hare Today and use turkey thighs from the grocer you chunk up with kitchen shears after parcooking them in the oven.

 

[orange&white]

If you're starting slow, you can feed raw meat and/or bones up to 10-15% of their diet without worrying too much about a balanced diet. If you're not a vegetarian, you can offer them some bites of whatever fresh raw meat you are cooking (unseasoned, no lunch meats or sausage, only fresh). You can buy chicken wings, necks, or use ribs off a chicken breast for cat treats as well. A raw egg yolk per week is a good treat, as is a tiny bit of liver (not too much liver though...too much can be toxic). 15% would be 1 day out of 7 days...most cats eat 5-6 ounces of raw food per day...should be ok to "mix it up" with mostly meats/eggs and a little bone...up to 5-6 ounces of raw over the course of a week. More than that and you'll need to start balancing.

When you decide to "jump in" and feed more that just a treat ratio of their diet, use either recipe from catinfo.org or feline-nutrition.org to make sure you are balancing the nutrients. At that point, you will need a kitchen scale, a few tools and some supplements. You don't need a grinder, although it would make "raw life" easier (I don't own one).

 

[bernii123]

Thank you guys so much for all this information.
I havent been on here for a while.
I am taking it slow. My kittens get a raw meal each morning and pellets at night.

I mix it up between chicken, turkey and beef.
They seem to enjoy it alot. I dont give them any big bones. They like to chew on the turkey boned but they dont get too far as it is really hard .