Starting with Raw Food

[andrya]

I'm adopting a second kitten on Monday..so excited. He's been on Royal Canin dry and Fancy Feast wet.. Can I just start giving him the FF with raw to get him used to raw  and stop cold turkey the dry? I've got an appt at the vet but not for a week. I know the vet is holistic and is into raw / grain free but don't know about kittens.

Thanks for any help.
 

Yay, congratulations on having a kitty who's smart enough to recognize he's a true carnivore 

 (this usually takes work ).

And congrats on the new kitten.

To answer your question on cutting the kibble cold turkey and adding tiny amounts of raw to his Fancy Feast - l would say Yes! This is exactly what l did when l got my kitten. The breeder gave me cans of his wet, and a tub of dry (which l promptly threw out) and gave him tastes of raw with his canned. Needless to say he loved it, and had zero issues (he was almost 12 weeks old at the time.

 

[djkitties]

Yay, congratulations on having a kitty who's smart enough to recognize he's a true carnivore 

 (this usually takes work ).

And congrats on the new kitten.

To answer your question on cutting the kibble cold turkey and adding tiny amounts of raw to his Fancy Feast - l would say Yes! This is exactly what l did when l got my kitten. The breeder gave me cans of his wet, and a tub of dry (which l promptly threw out) and gave him tastes of raw with his canned. Needless to say he loved it, and had zero issues (he was almost 12 weeks old at the time.

Thanks! He started meowing by his bowl and I gave him a second square and he gobbled it up!! He then went right to sleep!! He'll probably be up all night later on..but that's another story. I hope this isn't a fluke but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Yes, so excited about my new kitten addition. I hope the whole transition goes well. I'm going to throw out the kibble right away, otherwise I'll be tempted to give it to him. Plus my resident kitty would be a kibble addict if I let him so I don't want to get hims started on kibble again. Otherwise, he'll hold out for kibble.

 

[ritz]

Yes, I would ditch the dry (or, better yet, donate it to your local SPCA/Humane Society/Animal Shelter/mail to Oklahoma), mix some of the raw with the FF, and rejoice!

If he was eating a lot of dry, watch his weight/hunger:  dry is calorically dense, raw can be less calories depending on fat content, so he might drop a few ounces or be hungry.

Finally, a tip I learned on this site:   ice cube trays hold about 1 ounce per cube.  You can portion the commercial raw or meat or kidney/liver into the cubes, freeze, and then pop them out into a baggie and store in your freezer, ready for later use.  When I'm done prepping everything, I left Ritz lick the "bowl" (cutting board, tray meat came in).  Usually has some extra liquid from the blood juices, Ritz loves it and gives her some extra liquid, which she can always use.

 

[harleydiva]

Thanks for the info. Sorry I didn't see this post until now. I can't find Bravo and I thought that primal was going to be more than canned, but according to their feeding guidelines it about what I was paying for canned. It's still a lot for me especially since I'll have two. But I'm so afraid of all the recalls that I would like to do mypetcarnivore. How do you defrost it ..does it come in a big package? The other thing is I have a small freezer so can't buy too much at once.  I'm going to look into rawpaws too...thanks for the tip!

They come in 1 or 2 pound deli containers.  I put them in the fridge 1 -  1 1/2 days before I am going to mix and package.  Mix with Alnutrin, repackage in serving size containers, and re-freeze.

I am paying significantly less (about half) what I was paying to feed canned.

 

[djkitties]

They come in 1 or 2 pound deli containers.  I put them in the fridge 1 -  1 1/2 days before I am going to mix and package.  Mix with Alnutrin, repackage in serving size containers, and re-freeze.

I am paying significantly less (about half) what I was paying to feed canned.

Thanks again for the info! Now I get it. You defrost in the fridge, mix and refreeze. I didn't know you could defrost and refreeze. Rawpaws doesn't deliver very close to me but it looks like mypetcarnivore isn't too far to drive for their drop off point. This is great help to me ..thanks. I will be so happy to be able to afford quality food! So, I'll go for primal until mypetcarnvore delivers. How may pounds do you get for your kitty?  If an entire month won't fit in my freezer, maybe I'll get what can and by primal when I run out each month.

Thanks

 

[peaches08]

Thanks again for the info! Now I get it. You defrost in the fridge, mix and refreeze. I didn't know you could defrost and refreeze. Rawpaws doesn't deliver very close to me but it looks like mypetcarnivore isn't too far to drive for their drop off point. This is great help to me ..thanks. I will be so happy to be able to afford quality food! So, I'll go for primal until mypetcarnvore delivers. How may pounds do you get for your kitty?  If an entire month won't fit in my freezer, maybe I'll get what can and by primal when I run out each month.
Thanks

Oh yeah! I make my cats' raw and have a deep freezer and grinder. I buy meat on sale, freeze. The night before making cat food I pull out the amount of meat I'll need and put it in a sink full of cold water overnight. Defrosted by morning. Rinse and make food, portion it out into individual servings and refreeze. I defrost only a couple of days at a time by putting the individual servings in the fridge. Mine don't like warm food, they like it straight from the fridge. Which is nice when I'm in a rush!

 

[djkitties]

Thanks again for the info! Now I get it. You defrost in the fridge, mix and refreeze. I didn't know you could defrost and refreeze. Rawpaws doesn't deliver very close to me but it looks like mypetcarnivore isn't too far to drive for their drop off point. This is great help to me ..thanks. I will be so happy to be able to afford quality food! So, I'll go for primal until mypetcarnvore delivers. How may pounds do you get for your kitty?  If an entire month won't fit in my freezer, maybe I'll get what can and by primal when I run out each month.

Thanks

Thanks. Do you get the Alnutrin with calcium or without? Also, do you get the premeasured bags or do you measure yourself. For me, I would be mixing in small batches 1 or 2 pound so maybe I would need the unmeasured bag. Do you know per pound how much Alnutrin to add? Thanks

 

[harleydiva]

Thanks. Do you get the Alnutrin with calcium or without? Also, do you get the premeasured bags or do you measure yourself. For me, I would be mixing in small batches 1 or 2 pound so maybe I would need the unmeasured bag. Do you know per pound how much Alnutrin to add? Thanks

If you are getting the ground mixes from My Pet Carnivore, they are complete....with meat, bone, and organs.  in that case, you would get Alnutrin for meat/bone....no calcium.  

The unmeasured is cheaper.  You just need a kitchen scale that will measure in grams to measure it.  The directions for the meat/bone mix says 32 grams per 8 pounds meat mix.  You dissolve it in water first.  They recommend 4 cups water to the 32 grams...but I use 3 cups unless the meat mix seems really "thick".  

Someone has probably figured out the small measuring spoon measurements rather than weighing it.  I have seen 1/9 tsp per ounce for the alnutrin with calcium....but not sure if it is the same for the no calcium mix.  

 

[peaches08]

If you are getting the ground mixes from My Pet Carnivore, they are complete....with meat, bone, and organs.  in that case, you would get Alnutrin for meat/bone....no calcium.  

The unmeasured is cheaper.  You just need a kitchen scale that will measure in grams to measure it.  The directions for the meat/bone mix says 32 grams per 8 pounds meat mix.  You dissolve it in water first.  They recommend 4 cups water to the 32 grams...but I use 3 cups unless the meat mix seems really "thick".  

Someone has probably figured out the small measuring spoon measurements rather than weighing it.  I have seen 1/9 tsp per ounce for the alnutrin with calcium....but not sure if it is the same for the no calcium mix.  

What she said!

I make my own supplement and add it to at least 12 lbs of meat at a time. I grind bone into mine so they already have a good source of calcium. Oh, and as far as water, I have a fatty on a diet so I add a lot of water to mine.

Check Craigslist and such for deep freezers. Well worth the investment!

 

[djkitties]

Thanks all!

Well, I'm in an apartment with no room for a deep freezer sigh, so I'll have to stick with either the primal or mypetcarnivore. I'm going to order some alnutrin this week as well.

Kitty loved the gizzards. Stupid question, but what part of the wing to you give. I'm going to get some wings and a good knife/scissors. Also do you get the necks at the grocery? Do the necks

come in a separate package.

Thanks!
 

 

[vball91]

Chicken wings come in 3 pieces. The smallest two (not the drummette portion) are usually fed. It helps to cut those up lengthwise the first few times you feed them, to expose the meat and make the bone easier to handle.

I have never seen chicken necks sold separately at a grocery store. You usually have to buy the whole chicken. You can sometimes find them in natural pet stores or local co-ops.

 

[peaches08]

I can buy a package of just chicken necks in my grocery stores...yet no chicken hearts! Craziness! You just have to shop around and see what you find.

 

[ritz]

I can find chicken giblets and chicken hearts in the same package--more giblets than hearts.  Both count as protein/meat.  Hearts have a lot of taurine.

 

[peaches08]

I can find chicken giblets and chicken hearts in the same package--more giblets than hearts.  Both count as protein/meat.  Hearts have a lot of taurine.

Giblets...gizzards? Gizzards are sold by themselves here. Common southern fried food.

 

[harleydiva]

My Pet Carnivore usually has chicken necks.  Be careful with them though....they are heavy on bone.  Too much bone can cause constipation.  The MPC mixes are already 10% bone, so you don't want to add a lot of bone to the diet.  The recommendations for cats is usually 7-10%.  Mine have never had a problem with the bone, but I also give them chicken hearts, or gizzards, or thigh strips a couple of times a week, so that probably cuts down the bone a bit.  

 

[djkitties]

You all are so helpful! Thanks so very much.
 

 

[djkitties]

My new kitten that I brought home today love love loves the raw primal!!!! Hope it's not a fluke.

 

[peaches08]

Good! It's so much easier when they're young...

 

[djkitties]

I actually think I might go for the cut up frankenprey after reading some more about it.!!  I'm going to try out chicken meat/wings/liver/kidney cut up version and see if kitties will eat it. They eat the ground type of canned and raw now. I have a small freezer and so wouldn't have to buy a huge monthly amount from MPC and seems like it may be less expensive route. Should I worry about the taurine or anyother thing as I guess I wouldn't or shouldn't (?) use a supplement such as alnutrin if I go the cut up frakenpray route. If they eat that I might not order from MPC.

I have a 1 1/2 year old kitty.. he weighs about 12 pounds and

a new kitten 14 weeks old.

Thanks for anymore help!!!
 

 

[djkitties]

Me again,

Does anyone alternate days with the cut up frakenprey and premix MPC/and or store bought like primal raw?

Thanks