This is going to be one for the books! Transitioning Lucky, Bugsy and Hope to Raw.... Challenges Gal

[carolina]

Guess what?
it is the ONLY one that PSP doesn't carry :lol3:
They have Turkey, Chicken, Beef and Salmon, Chicken and Salmon and quail - NO Rabbit :wife:

I might have to go to Cat Connection.......

 

[ldg]

That's bizarre! Can't they order it?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Guess what?
it is the ONLY one that PSP doesn't carry

They have Turkey, Chicken, Beef and Salmon, Chicken and Salmon and quail - NO Rabbit

I might have to go to Cat Connection.......

Wouldn't they order some for you, since you shop there pretty frequently?  And what about quail?  Are you concerned it's a little too close to chicken? 

BTW,

for Lucky!!  (and I just LOVE all your Emoticoms...where on earth do you find them?  I've tried using some from other sites on here, but they don't seem to "stick"!! That one of the smiley on the toilet had me laughing hysterically

)
 

 

[carolina]

We have Poop!!!

Yey for Miralax and Guar gum!! Yep, poor boy was backed up..... he pooped and pooped..... What came out first was hard as a rock, poor thing..... no wonder he was having a hard time
The rest was fine miralax-softer poop - not soft poop by any means, but sofTER.

We are done with Miralax now, but he will continue to take Guar Gum for good measure......

Oh, he was SO happy once he left that litterbox! he was a different cat! jumping, running, and giving Lucky trouble!

 

[carolina]

(and I just LOVE all your Emoticoms...where on earth do you find them?  I've tried using some from other sites on here, but they don't seem to "stick"!! That one of the smiley on the toilet had me laughing hysterically )

 

I get them from two different places - I have a tool bar for smiley central, and while it is not automatic, it does give me the html codes, so I can just copy and paste it here, and this place too:
http://www.sherv.net/liar-emoticon-895.html
"you click on "codes" and it gives you the Forum codes......

 

[ldg]

YAY BUGSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bigthumb:

 

[carolina]

quick update on their dinner as I am about to prepare their later dinner - everyone is on the kitchen waiting for me already - little clockworks those kitties! :lol3:

Lucky Did not have a great meal.... She had about 5 out of the 7 treats I made for her.... and didn't touch the 8th treat - the pure, without halo. I will make 7 again tonight with halo, and one without it - once she eats them all, I move to 8 +1. She didn't eat much of the kibbles either, but since she had suck a great breakfast, I decided to leave her be - I will play with her hunger now - don't want food? Don't have it - hopefully she will be starved enough to eat all the raw treats tonight :nod:

Bugsy and Hope - Same same - 100% lamb.... Tomorrow will be lamb and rabbit. Hope is getting quite feisty though - she is getting food aggressive! She will finish her food, stalk Bugsy's plate and hiss at him trying to get him out of there so she can eat
Need to watch her carefully..... otherwise she will become a pigglet...... and he will not have enough!

Talking about that...... I ordered the scale! :blobturq: It's going to be here on Tuesday!! Now I am going to know for sure how much these kids weight and will be able to monitor them very carefully!! Can't wait!!

ok................................... let me feed those furry beasts now before they make a meal out of myself

 

[carolina]

Late Dinner-Day 18-Another Successful Meal ​

Go Lucky!!! ​

Lucky ate her SEVEN Treats tonight, made of Rabbit NV meat She did not eat the "wild card" - the pure one, without the Halo, but ate every single one of the others
Tomorrow she will get 8 + 1 as planned
She also had a good Kibble meal, good poop.... good everything...... and kept it all down :bigthumb:

Bugsy and hope did great :bigthumb: They are like clockwork now - at 10:30pm they are on the kitchen waiting for me :wait: and they only get up when I take them to the room with the food - the three of them swinging their tails and screaming their heads out!
I am LOVING feeding them on a schedule :bigthumb: It is quite the excitement over here during meal times - you FEEL the love! :lol3::lol3::lol3:

Tomorrow I need to get more food at PSP - I will see if I talk to the manager about Feline's Plus.... for now I will do a bit more research to see if I find another food without veggies and fruit..... I really want to feed them all meat.... We shall see what I find! :cross:

 

[feralvr]

YAY for POOP O METER, it is working again !! Good, Good boy, Bugsy. I was worried a wee little bit.

Sorry about dinner for Lucky, she is a tough cookie :nod:. The game is in with that one :lol3: Hopefully we will hear a good report on Lucky later tonight..... Wow Hope is really lovin' the raw, Miss Piggy. Presley, Perkins and Wendall goes nuts for the raw meat when I get it out of the fridge and start making little ball treats. It seems is they either REALLY love raw and go for it right away or they are the opposite and they need to be encouraged and talked into trying a bite..... Love these great reports, Carolina! Even when things don't go perfectly at each meal, you seem to make progress each day

 

[carolina]

Found one that's Vegetable and Fruit free, but unfortunately not many proteins.... Just Chicken, Turkey, Beef and Lamb - all single protein, which is nice. They do not use bone, or bone meal though :dk: But, meat all AAFCO guidelines - they use straight calcium. Price is pretty good and shipping is decent too :nod: Nature's Menu

Another vegetable and fruit free.... this is FANCY stuff - GREAT formula - They use Whole prey - i.e.: Whole Turkey, or Whole Chicken, Whole Rabbit, always free range, and never mix proteins..... Down side.... quite $$$ - I also love that they use 3 organs in their formula too.... Pretty good stuff it seems.... The rabbit is pretty tempting.... Looking for a great Veggie/fruit free rabbit! Here you go: http://www.fegnion.com/Raw_Fed_Cats_Nutritional_Contents.html

EDIT: The shipping and handling is already included in the price.... so it is a bit more than Rad Cat.... but - Rad Cat has not Rabbit, so I placed an order :nod: I will update with the kitties feedback :nod:

 

[carolina]

Day 19 - Once you go Rad you never go Back​

:lol3: The title pretty much sums up the kids feelings about Rad Cat.
Hope and Bugsy had NV Rabbit for Breakfast today after days of Rad Cat, and were not impressed..... While on Rad Cat it barely takes ANY Fortiflora for them to finish their entire meal, and nothing is left in the plate, with NV rabbit is a whole other story. Lots of sprinkling and they do not finish their food
They totally got spoiled by the meat :nod:

I do have some RadCat Turkey defrosting right now, and will go to PSP for more today - I also can not wait for my order from Fegnion to arrive - I think they will love it - I have a feeling it is much the same kind of food as rad cat, since there is nothing but meat in there :nod: So exciting

Lucky was served 8 + 1 treats today, but only ate 6, so I will serve the same quantities next time. She LOVES them -definitely the highlight of her meal They were made of Rabbit NV. Here is where NV gets really handy - the meat is denser and much easier to make the little rolls/treats.
She also had an excellent kibbles meal this morning - pretty much licked her plate clean :bigthumb: - no vomit whatsoever either - my little girl is doing good on the meat!
I am so relieved that at least she is no longer eating Purina whew! I bet now with 11% carbs, and a bit of raw in her diet, even if as treats, she will already improve her quality of life :bigthumb:

Now momma is going to take a well deserved nap........ didn't sleep much last night as I was searching for foods until LATE at night.... but I found what I was looking for - yey!!
Here is to a great day! :beerpals:

 

[feralvr]

Go take that nap !!!!!!!!!! Kitties all have full bellies so you can all nap the afternoon away. GREAT NEWS for today . I do love the NV raw meat's and that they are a bit more dense - easy to make tiny peas. My four boy's are just insanely nuts for raw now. THE OTHER TWO - Pipsqueak and Perla are still giving me a bit of trouble with taking to the raw. BUT I can mix it thoroughly in the wet food and they eat it right up. So that is a start .

HAPPY DAY to you and the furkids :rub: :heart3:

 

[ldg]

GO LUCKY, GO! She's really taken a LEAP ahead, hasn't she?

Hope you're napping! :lol3:

 

[otto]

I am LOVING feeding them on a schedule :bigthumb: It is quite the excitement over here during meal times - you FEEL the love! :lol3::lol3::lol3:

I've always loved schedule feeding too Carolina, I always tell people who free feed they are missing a large part of their cats' personalities. All my cats past and present had/have their own little meal routines and rituals. It's wonderful bonding time, isn't it? :heart3:

 

[carolina]

I've always loved schedule feeding too Carolina, I always tell people who free feed they are missing a large part of their cats' personalities. All my cats past and present had/have their own little meal routines and rituals. It's wonderful bonding time, isn't it? :heart3:

For sure!! I am loving it!
Things that I miss..... Being able to sleep late on weekends :lol3::lol3::lol3:
But seeing their little faces and spending time with them during feeding is really something special :heart3:
It was not easy to get them to eat on a schedule, that's for sure! Specially Lucky! But now I am having a blast :nod: And it is so much easier now that they are trained to eat all in one place too..... I am noticing several changes in their behavior, and feeding on schedule has a lot to do with it, I think :nod:

 

[carolina]

Day 19 - dinner and late night dinner

Hello peeps, sorry for the late update - I had a horrible migraine, and the bright screen was just not my friend today

I spent the day on bed, heavily medicated, got up to feed them and get some more food at Pet Supplies Plus, and straight to bed again until next feeding - Finally feeling better...... :nod:

Bugsy and Hope have definitely made their choices as far as brands here - They like all the meat and juice on Rad Cat, and I think they are over the veggies and fruits :lol3: So the NV will be left for Lucky's Halo treats.

Both meals were great - Turkey on the first one, and Turkey with a bit of lamb on the second. I can see they LOVE lamb They eat it like it's their last meal :lol3:! It was not completely defrosted though, so no luck for them - tomorrow we start full rotations - one meal of turkey, one of lamb - when fegnion gets here, one of rabbit, one of turkey, one of lamb - I want to keep rotating as much as possible to keep it interesting for them. :nod:

Lucky Had a great meal at dinner, and ok meal at late dinner- but since she is on EVO, she did get all she needed already for the day :nod:
At dinner she ate 6 raw treats - made of rabbit NV, and proceeded to eat almost 1/4 cup of EVO. She doesn't like the slow feeder - I have to toss the kibbles on the floor for her so she eats slower. If I just pour all on the plate she eats too fast and throws up. On the floor, little by little works better :nod:

At late night dinner, her treats were made of Rad Cat Turkey - she also ate 6.... and ate 1/8 cup of EVO.

I am getting ready to pull the plate from her and serve a meal of raw only :nod: I feel if I don't take this plunge she won't make the move on he own..... I am working on gathering the courage to do it. She is eating well, on a schedule, keeping all down, and doing fantastic really. She is on the right place, finally - it all lies down on me now. But I have to do it :nod:

I also took a plunge tonight at the store...... I bought a tub of Rad Cat chicken to try a bit with Bugsy and see how he reacts :nod: I have a tub and 1/2 of meat in the fridge right now, so it will be a couple of days before that's gone - then I will try 25% for a day to see. Usually the slightest amount gives him violent diarrhea...... But if it doesn't this time, it will open a lot of doors for us :nod:

Also considering buying Turkey and lamb from a couple of different sources I found that are 100% meat/no veggies to see how they like it - WAY cheaper than Rad Cat; would save me a bunch. I will see about placing a small order soon - debating if I do it now or when I come back from my trip - they are fine on rad cat, and the last thing I want is for them to have a reaction to something as I am away....
decisions decisions :scratch:

 

[carolina]

Day 19 - dinner and late night dinner
Hello peeps, sorry for the late update - I had a horrible migraine, and the bright screen was just not my friend today
I spent the day on bed, heavily medicated, got up to feed them and get some more food at Pet Supplies Plus, and straight to bed again until next feeding - Finally feeling better...... :nod:
Bugsy and Hope have definitely made their choices as far as brands here - They like all the meat and juice on Rad Cat, and I think they are over the veggies and fruits :lol3: So the NV will be left for Lucky's Halo treats.
Both meals were great - Turkey on the first one, and Turkey with a bit of lamb on the second. I can see they LOVE lamb They eat it like it's their last meal :lol3:! It was not completely defrosted though, so no luck for them - tomorrow we start full rotations - one meal of turkey, one of lamb - when fegnion gets here, one of rabbit, one of turkey, one of lamb - I want to keep rotating as much as possible to keep it interesting for them. :nod:
Lucky Had a great meal at dinner, and ok meal at late dinner- but since she is on EVO, she did get all she needed already for the day :nod:
At dinner she ate 6 raw treats - made of rabbit NV, and proceeded to eat almost 1/4 cup of EVO. She doesn't like the slow feeder - I have to toss the kibbles on the floor for her so she eats slower. If I just pour all on the plate she eats too fast and throws up. On the floor, little by little works better :nod:
At late night dinner, her treats were made of Rad Cat Turkey - she also ate 6.... and ate 1/8 cup of EVO.
I am getting ready to pull the plate from her and serve a meal of raw only :nod: I feel if I don't take this plunge she won't make the move on he own..... I am working on gathering the courage to do it. She is eating well, on a schedule, keeping all down, and doing fantastic really. She is on the right place, finally - it all lies down on me now. But I have to do it :nod:
I also took a plunge tonight at the store...... I bought a tub of Rad Cat chicken to try a bit with Bugsy and see how he reacts :nod: I have a tub and 1/2 of meat in the fridge right now, so it will be a couple of days before that's gone - then I will try 25% for a day to see. Usually the slightest amount gives him violent diarrhea...... But if it doesn't this time, it will open a lot of doors for us :nod:
Also considering buying Turkey and lamb from a couple of different sources I found that are 100% meat/no veggies to see how they like it - WAY cheaper than Rad Cat; would save me a bunch. I will see about placing a small order soon - debating if I do it now or when I come back from my trip - they are fine on rad cat, and the last thing I want is for them to have a reaction to something as I am away....
decisions decisions :scratch:

EDIT - well..... There we go..... I placed an order from Nature's Menu - For Turkey and lamb - including shipping, for 14lb, it will save me $40 over Rad Cad, which will be a big savings in the end of the month, provided the furryfriends like it, of course :nod: Their formulas have what I am looking for - it is 100% meat and organs - they don't use bone either - they use straight calcium..... No veggies, no fruits, just the way we like it over here :nod:
If Bugsy does well on chicken, it might be a good source for it as well - I will not drop rad cat, but will definitely add them into the rotation to give my wallet a break. The cost goes down from $8.99/lb from rad cat to a little over $6 including shipping.....The larger the order, the lower the price too.... so if I add the chicken, or get larger orders the cost can go down to closer to $4 -which is GREAT :nod:
Now lets hope they like it!
And lets hope Mr. Fedex gets here with fegnion and UPS with Nature's Menu soon yey! Exciting :blobmir::blobmir::blobmir::blobmir:

 

[carolina]

Day 20 Report​

Let's start with the problem child, shall we?
Lucky! - So.... I was advised to increase the size of the treats as a next step for her......... and so I did........... and so it Failed..... MISERABLY She licked the Halo on top, carefully flopped them over, licked the halo from the bottom, and that was IT. Ate ZERO. NONE.
So.... It is obvious making them bigger is not going to work so well..... Tonight she is going back to the smaller ones..... and I will think about another solution :nod:
She ate about 1/8 cup of EVO, which is just fine as a meal :nod:

Hope and Bugsy got Lamb to breakfast........... with no guar gum - and here is what I noticed: they do NOT like the taste of guar gum. Even though it is little, they eat with much more gusto without it.
Next step for them? Cutting off Fortiflora. YEP. This is it - they are already transitioned.... they are on a schedule.... they love the meat, they are hungry, they are off kibbles - and they ARE spoiled and addicted to Fortiflora. They actually wait for me to sprinkle it before they eat :wait:. Well, no more. This is it friends - from tonight on, either they eat without fortiflora, or they don't eat at all - and THAT is THAT. I am laying down the rules now :nod: No sense into serving a whole bunch of goodness and sprinkling the heck of it with animal digest

So..... Cross your fingers guys :cross: - tonight truth will hit their plates like a hummer! :lol3::lol3::lol3:

 

[feralvr]

I've always loved schedule feeding too Carolina, I always tell people who free feed they are missing a large part of their cats' personalities. All my cats past and present had/have their own little meal routines and rituals. It's wonderful bonding time, isn't it? :heart3:

:heart3: :heart3: Couldn't agree more

 

[feralvr]

Ok Carolina - I have finger's and toe's crossed for tonight :cross: :cross: May the "force" be with you :lol3: and not the Fortiflora force :anon:

More Miss Lucky says.... - NO MOM - I was starting to like the smaller ones. Good on the EVO for her - num num and a good quality product to have on hand. I hope to hear a good report on Lucky tonight AND Hope and Bugsy - no Fortiflora :cross:

Great news and updates each day - just love your progress and devotion :nod: