Thinking Of Raw Feeding

[mariya]

Hello, I was previously feeding my two cats Blue buffalo dry food for breakfast and Friskies wet food (1/2 can) for dinner.
I am aware that dry food isn't ideal for cats. One of my cats had a bladder stone and went through a lengthy hospitalization to get it fixed. since then, I've gotten more aware of what I feed them. Unfortunately both my cats are extremely fond of their dry food so I switched to wellness dry food but he's still on Friskies while I find better nutritional options.
The one with FLUTD is now on prescription diet: Royal Canin S/O but he refuses to eat the wet food version and is currently only eating the dry food version which is extremely concerning to me. I understand how vital it is for him to be on fully wet food. Through researching, I learned about raw feeding and discovered a brand called Big Country Raw. They have raw blends with meat, organs, and bones all grinded up. However they only say to supplement with herring oil and sea kelp. But all the other videos I've seen on raw recipes require a ton of vitamins including eggs, taurine, vitamin E, vitamin B Complex, etc. so I'm confused on whether this blend would be a full meal or not. Does anyone feed their kitties this brand? Also, please send me some transitioning tips! Thank you!!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Hopefully these help;

Raw Feeding Cats: Calcium And Bones

Homemade Food For Cats: Consider Your Recipe!

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food (canned, Raw, Or Homemade)

 

[daftcat75]

Hello, I was previously feeding my two cats Blue buffalo dry food for breakfast and Friskies wet food (1/2 can) for dinner.
I am aware that dry food isn't ideal for cats. One of my cats had a bladder stone and went through a lengthy hospitalization to get it fixed. since then, I've gotten more aware of what I feed them. Unfortunately both my cats are extremely fond of their dry food so I switched to wellness dry food but he's still on Friskies while I find better nutritional options.
The one with FLUTD is now on prescription diet: Royal Canin S/O but he refuses to eat the wet food version and is currently only eating the dry food version which is extremely concerning to me. I understand how vital it is for him to be on fully wet food. Through researching, I learned about raw feeding and discovered a brand called Big Country Raw. They have raw blends with meat, organs, and bones all grinded up. However they only say to supplement with herring oil and sea kelp. But all the other videos I've seen on raw recipes require a ton of vitamins including eggs, taurine, vitamin E, vitamin B Complex, etc. so I'm confused on whether this blend would be a full meal or not. Does anyone feed their kitties this brand? Also, please send me some transitioning tips! Thank you!!!

There are complete commercial raws that are thaw and serve. There are mixes where you provide the meat and they provide everything else. And it sounds like Big Country Raw is in between the two. That’s confusing but not unheard of. I would follow their feeding directions so as not to over-supplement.

 

[kittyluv387]

It really is complicated to say the least. Prey Model Raw is the 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Some people believe that you don't need to add much else to that while some people believe you do need to add supplements. A lot of these come in grinds. If you're just starting out why don't you check out alnutrin or e-z complete? They are supplement packages that you can add to meat.

BTW I would be careful about buying from that company. I'm looking at the country blend turkey flavor and it contains 25% bone. Yikes!! That's way too much. You would have to add muscle meat to it and maybe some supplements to balance it out. Many people on here have even said their cats got constipated on 10% bone so they opt for 7%.

 

[lisahe]

I agree with kittyluv387 about being careful about buying from this company: the duck is also 15% bone and the other food (country blend, I think it was?) was also 15% bone. Personally, I'd stay away from foods like that, both because of the risk of constipation and because that's way too much (cheap) bone. Their duck food is just duck meat, liver, and bone, with no listing of added nutrients: the "nutrient facts" page lists a lot but seems to say there are 0% nutrients added. You'd definitely need to clarify that!

I, too, wonder about looking into a premixed supplement to make your own cooked or raw food. We use EZ Complete for our cats -- with chicken, turkey, pork, and occasional beef -- and they love it.

As for transitioning: starting slowly and keeping expectations low is the first thing. Some cats take to raw food very quickly (ours loved it from their first try), others are hesitant or even resistant. You may have trouble with your FLUTD cat if he has such a strong preference for dry food. Then again, sometimes a cat really loves the smell of fresher food that doesn't come out of a can! Good luck!

 

[MargoLane]

Hiya! I can help on this, because I actually feed Big Country Raw! While they have a lot of mixes and grinds, I only feed the grinds that are 10 percent bone. Those are Farm Fest, Pure Beef, Pure Pork, Pure Kangaroo, Pure Lamb, Pure Buffalo. They recommend a few others for cats, but anything else is from 15 to 25% bone and it's just too much.

I emailed them and asked them about supplements before I started feeding, and the only supplement they say you need is an Omega 3 Fatty Acid, and they sell one made from herring oil. I just buy mine at the pet store because the bottle they sell is huge, and seems like it would go rancid before my one cat could finish it. They recommend adding a green vitamin supplement, if you want. I use a probiotic/greens powder. I don't supplement taurine, because the 10% organ meat should be enough. But I also feed a little canned most nights as a snack, and at least once a week a whole day of canned when I forget to defrost. Plus, I feed whole smelts, and snacks of frozen or freeze dried liver. So I feel like I'm pretty covered. If you're worried, BCR sells a taurine supplement as well.

Overall, I've been happy with their products. Affordable, 10% bone content options and readily available in Ontario. I've had them delivered and bought them in stores. Plus, I really like all the extras you can buy. I'll usually grab some lake smelt or chicken necks for bones/whole prey or some goats milk.

 

[mariya]

Hiya! I can help on this, because I actually feed Big Country Raw! While they have a lot of mixes and grinds, I only feed the grinds that are 10 percent bone. Those are Farm Fest, Pure Beef, Pure Pork, Pure Kangaroo, Pure Lamb, Pure Buffalo. They recommend a few others for cats, but anything else is from 15 to 25% bone and it's just too much.

I emailed them and asked them about supplements before I started feeding, and the only supplement they say you need is an Omega 3 Fatty Acid, and they sell one made from herring oil. I just buy mine at the pet store because the bottle they sell is huge, and seems like it would go rancid before my one cat could finish it. They recommend adding a green vitamin supplement, if you want. I use a probiotic/greens powder. I don't supplement taurine, because the 10% organ meat should be enough. But I also feed a little canned most nights as a snack, and at least once a week a whole day of canned when I forget to defrost. Plus, I feed whole smelts, and snacks of frozen or freeze dried liver. So I feel like I'm pretty covered. If you're worried, BCR sells a taurine supplement as well.

Overall, I've been happy with their products. Affordable, 10% bone content options and readily available in Ontario. I've had them delivered and bought them in stores. Plus, I really like all the extras you can buy. I'll usually grab some lake smelt or chicken necks for bones/whole prey or some goats milk.

Thank you so much!! Also thanks for the advice, I think ill also go for the 10% bone mixes. Also one of my cats has FLUTD and my vet said the raw diets typically have more phosphorus which can cause issues in the future. So for him, I'm thinking of feeding raw for breakfast and a prescription can for dinner. I'm confused about the quantity though. Since you also feed wet food, how much wet would you suggest for a 12lb cat? He'd eat 2oz raw for breakfast so I was thinking half a can for dinner? is that too little? Thank you!

 

[kittyluv387]

Thank you so much!! Also thanks for the advice, I think ill also go for the 10% bone mixes. Also one of my cats has FLUTD and my vet said the raw diets typically have more phosphorus which can cause issues in the future. So for him, I'm thinking of feeding raw for breakfast and a prescription can for dinner. I'm confused about the quantity though. Since you also feed wet food, how much wet would you suggest for a 12lb cat? He'd eat 2oz raw for breakfast so I was thinking half a can for dinner? is that too little? Thank you!

That's not completely true. The commercial raw foods generally have higher phosphorus because of too much bone. But if you make your own using a commercial premix that uses eggshell calcium and not bone, the phosphorus will be closer to 1%. Back when Radcat was still in business all their formilas had .97% phosphorus because they used eggshell. Also many canned foods have higher phosphorus so I email all the companies to find out the phosphorus amounts for the flavors I'm interested in.

 

[MargoLane]

Thank you so much!! Also thanks for the advice, I think ill also go for the 10% bone mixes. Also one of my cats has FLUTD and my vet said the raw diets typically have more phosphorus which can cause issues in the future. So for him, I'm thinking of feeding raw for breakfast and a prescription can for dinner. I'm confused about the quantity though. Since you also feed wet food, how much wet would you suggest for a 12lb cat? He'd eat 2oz raw for breakfast so I was thinking half a can for dinner? is that too little? Thank you!

Definitely take other posters advice when it comes to phosphorus! I don't really know anything about that. Maybe making your own would be more beneficial. I do know that the lowest bone content for Big Country Raw is 10% and maybe that's too high for FLUTD cats.

When it comes to amount to feed, I just go by calories. So, I portion out my raw by 1 days calories, which is 175 for my cat. That way when I want to substitute one meal for canned, I give her about 90 cals worth of canned food. There is some quick math and estimating going on, but she's holding steady at a healthy weight so it doesn't seem to be a problem. Good luck!

 

[Erin80]

Hi,
I do a partial raw and partial canned diet. The breeder we got our Vizsla from fed food from big country raw . Anyway, we get ours locally from a place called Furrballs Choice. I feed turkey only....at this point anyway. I actually don’t know the bone content....but they only get raw once a day so I’m not too concerned. It is a commercially prepared frozen blend, I just thaw and serve. They LOVE it.

As for how much....they get 3 oz of raw a day, sometimes a bit more...and they always eat it all. They also get 9 oz of canned each (Kaia is 9 months and Binx just turned a year so they’re still needing lots of calories) over their other 3 meals. I feed Authority canned food, the flaked variety....it’s not the best canned but not the worst either. Anyway, that’s what has been working for us!