So.... Whole prey questions

[Dana_And_Monster]

I am considering feeding rats/mice, but I have some concerns..
Does a rat contain a cats daily nutrient needs? If not/if so, can I feed it alongside a cats regular canned food? Or how often should I feed it?

Should I skin the rat and cut out the bones or no? My friend says I should because it can be unhealthy. I have no problem doing this, but also cats eat rats in the wild.. So that doesn't fully make sense to me.

Should the rats be from a commercial store or do they have to be from somewhere specific to cats?

Thanks for reading and responding. -Dana.

 

[Willowy]

A whole mouse or rat has all the nutrients a cat needs. But it needs to be whole, and the cat needs to eat everything (except sometimes they leave the intestines).

Any place that reptile owners trust for rodents should be fine. Reptiles are fairly sensitive and many are worth a lot of money, so if the supplier is held in high regard in the herping community they should be just fine for cats.

Has your cat ever eaten whole prey? It unfortunately isn't always as easy as just tossing your cat a whole rodent and them chowing down. Many cats raised on commercial food won't know what to do with it.

 

[Dana_And_Monster]

A whole mouse or rat has all the nutrients a cat needs. But it needs to be whole, and the cat needs to eat everything (except sometimes they leave the intestines).

Any place that reptile owners trust for rodents should be fine. Reptiles are fairly sensitive and many are worth a lot of money, so if the supplier is held in high regard in the herping community they should be just fine for cats.

Has your cat ever eaten whole prey? It unfortunately isn't always as easy as just tossing your cat a whole rodent and them chowing down. Many cats raised on commercial food won't know what to do with it.

Oh good okay, so the fur is no problem? Thank you, we have a good place that our herp friends shop at so I will look into that.
..Nope, he's never eaten or caught anything, he's a little too non-graceful for that, good point. That's also kind of why I was asking if I can get one from a shop instead of buying some in bulk online just for him to not eat it.. We will give it a go! If he doesn't eat some I know our dog or the ferals out side will!

 

[dhammagirl]

Starting with very small mice or baby rats or mice if you can get one, or a few, could be a good first whole prey feeding try. I get my cat whole adult mice from Hare Today, and they offer “pinkies”, tiny furless baby mice, practically bite-suzed for a kitty.

 

[Dana_And_Monster]

Starting with very small mice or baby rats or mice if you can get one, or a few, could be a good first whole prey feeding try. I get my cat whole adult mice from Hare Today, and they offer “pinkies”, tiny furless baby mice, practically bite-suzed for a kitty.

Oh thank you! I don't think anyone carries pinkies around here so I will check that site out!

 

[Willowy]

Hare Today is expensive for whole prey; unless you're going to order ground meat too I'd recommend a reptile supplier like The Big Cheese or RodentPro.

Most places that sell rodents for reptiles will have pinkies. It's the most common size people need.

 

[Dana_And_Monster]

Hare Today is expensive for whole prey; unless you're going to order ground meat too I'd recommend a reptile supplier like The Big Cheese or RodentPro.

Most places that sell rodents for reptiles will have pinkies. It's the most common size people need.

I could buy some meat with it, I do homemade, I hadn't heard of those yet so I'll give them a whirl right now!