The Raw Diet

[Gatomons]

Does anybody here know about kidney problems in cats?
Is it more obvious with cats in the care of humans versus cats who take care of themselves outside?
I have seen and heard of all the problems that dry food has on our kitty pals.
Has anyone put their cat on a raw food diet, but still got kidney problems later in life or no?
Very curious to know because my cat will soon be back on an all raw diet.

 

[Daisy6]

Good questions Gato. We have a subforum about raw and homemade cat foods so you can get much better answers there about feeding raw food to an older cat.

Someone who feeds her own cats a homemade raw diet said dry food is like cereal and if you only eat cereal every day, you would turn your nose up at a salad. So it's not easy to make a switch, she says, without first putting your cat on wet food and gradually moving from that to whatever raw diet feeders put in their freezers.

 

[10009891]

Hi Daisy6, where is the forum on preparing raw diet for cats? The problem that I have is that I am very squeamish when it comes to handling raw meat and bloody organs.

 

[tabbytom]

Hi Daisy6, where is the forum on preparing raw diet for cats? The problem that I have is that I am very squeamish when it comes to handling raw meat and bloody organs.

Here you go :- Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

 

[Tobermory]

Hi Daisy6, where is the forum on preparing raw diet for cats? The problem that I have is that I am very squeamish when it comes to handling raw meat and bloody organs.

Hi 10009891 ! Look toward the top of the Cat Nutrition forum page and you’ll see the Raw and Home-Cooked Cat Food subforum.

 

[10009891]

Thanks

 

[coffeeharlot]

Gatomons I know a bit about kidney disease, mostly what I learned after my previous cat was diagnosed with CKD. I can't speak of how it relates to a raw diet, though I can say that from the research I've done, the very large majority of cats fed even a canned diet do not develop kidney disease unless there are other factors involved. It also tends to be much, much later in life than a cat fed a dry diet.
If you mean outdoor only cats for "cats who take care of themselves outside," that's difficult to say. Because they're outside and the owners aren't monitoring their every move like an indoor cat would be subjected to, a cat could have an issue that the owner doesn't notice until something really goes wrong and there's a bunch of stuff happening health wise, or something unfortunately happens to the cat because they're outside and not on the top of their game. In my experience, a lot of outdoor cats are also still fed a dry diet in addition to whatever they hunt up themselves, either from another person leaving dry food out or well meaning neighbors.

10009891 There's also commercial raw foods and packaged freeze dried foods you can just add water to, no messing with raw meat yourself. You can also purchase pre-ground meats/bones/organs, so all you have to do is mix in supplements, freeze, and feed.

 

[lalagimp]

My supplier was out of stock by the time I needed, so the rabbit was late. When I either don't have room to thaw, or don't get my meat in time, I have this store in town called The Big Bad Woof that I'll stop in to get commercial raw. They have a website you can look at to see what brands are available and do other research. I grabbed another bag of Small Batch today that states on the package it's made on the West coast.
I honestly don't know what's ahead of me since Tommy didn't move to wet and raw foods until he was 7 years old.
I can also vouch for Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw nuggets. I use those to supplement Tom when his weight is low.

 

[Azazel]

I’ve never had a cat refuse raw food on first try, old or young.

Water is most important for kidneys. Since raw food is high in moisture it’s just as good as feeding all canned for water intake.

 

[Gatomons]

@Daisy6 Thank you for the advice. That's strange. My cat hates dry food and prefers her raw food. I usually bought the food from a local pet store where the food was made local. Now I've moved so I need recipes to make my own for her.

@coffeeharlot I highly doubted that an all raw diet would lead to kidney problems. It's more like dry food would do it because I've heard of many problems relating to dry food....

@lalagimp Sounds delicious LOL. I wonder if I should buy from online.

 

[Daisy6]

Hi Daisy6, where is the forum on preparing raw diet for cats? The problem that I have is that I am very squeamish when it comes to handling raw meat and bloody organs.

So it is mainly the thought of touching heart,lung, stomach, intestines, kidney,and blood on a cat food recipe that grosses you out?

 

[furmonster mom]

I feed a raw diet, and I've lost a dog to Addison's, a cat to liver disease (which was managed for 9 years), another dog to kidney failure (at 21 yrs), another cat to kidney failure (at 20 years), and now we are losing another kitty to kidney and cancer.

In truth, our pets will die of something or another eventually; cancer and organ failure (kidney, liver, heart) are at the top of the list - regardless of the diet you feed.

The life expectancy of our pets is dependent on several factors including genetics, environment, veterinary services, and nutrition. We can't really do much about genetics, and sometimes veterinary practice goes sideways, but we can control environment and nutrition. Feeding a raw diet is an option that many pet owners feel is the most optimal for nutrition.

It doesn't mean the animal won't eventually come down with something in the long run, but it will hopefully be a long run.