Update on my cats

[lilmonkeykeeper]

About a month ago, I posted asking for some help and guidance on getting my cats on a healthier diet, and then I kind of disappeared (sorry!).

I've been working on getting my cats transitioned, I think I'd like for them to go 100% raw eventually but here's where we are today:

I've been mixing diced raw meat or raw meat pureed in the food processor in with canned food in gradually increasing amounts and leaving whole chunks of food out for them to sample.  They are fed on meal schedules and get food offered 3 times a day.

Tigger (my 6 year old male) and Waffles (Kitten) are doing pretty good.  Both will sample the chunks and Waffles will eat whole prey (feeder mice are his favorite).  Tigger had one incident of vomiting and diarrhea and since then has been a little bit choosier about what he will eat off the plate which makes me a bit worried because he was eating really well before.  Heart meat from chickens, turkeys and pork are their favorites right now.  They also like the pork chunks they've gotten.  Waffles eats everything because he is a kitten.  I'm worried Waffles isn't getting enough to eat though.  He looks a little thin to me.  I offer him 6-8 oz of food a day and he's really only eating 3-4 oz maybe 5 on some days. He just seems to be too busy to eat.  He's active and playful and in that lanky stage of growth so it might just be that.  He is offered plenty to eat.

Tora (my 7 year old female FLUTD kitty).  Tora is a kibble junkie and it was challenge to get her off the prescription kibble.  She has just NOW (this past week) started eating enough of the canned food mix (with only about 25% raw mixed in) for me to feel comfortable stopping the kibble completely (she's been getting a small portion of kibble daily because she wasn't eating the canned food).  Honestly, if I can get her to eat canned food mixed with raw food and that's all she eats the rest of her life, I'll be happy.  She shows no interest in the chunks of food and if I put too much of the ground raw in with her canned, she will sniff and walk away.  I have found that she eats better if she is by herself, so she goes into her own little kennel now and she gets her food in there and she gets time to eat it.  She's eating well and haven't had any litter box problems yet (knock on wood) so she seems to be adjusting well.  I'm getting some pH strips and will start monitoring her pH at home just to make sure. 

Some questions:  The kitties are not getting bone in meals right now, but since everyone is still getting canned food I'm thinking this is ok? I feel I read somewhere that they can eat up to 50% unbalanced?  I'm going to start introducing some ground egg shells and bashing bones in small chicken pieces to get them eating some bone.  Waffles eats the mice and I know he's getting some bones there.  Any other tips to get them interested in eating more whole foods?

I feed my dogs raw but for some reason I'm stressing out more about it with the cats.  They just seem a bit harder to me for some reason. 

 

[burretje]

Getting a cat to eat bones can be a challenge. There are some tricks though:

- Bash the meaty bone with a hammer until it is bone 'soup'. If they eat this, bash it a little less next time.

- Try to get your hands on softer bones and/or bones from different animals. If available you can try animals with softer bones first. Quail is very soft and cats generally love it. 

- Cover the meaty bone in wet food. The smell and taste of the wet food might lure them into trying something new

- Cut some peaces of meat so they become partly separated from the bone. This way they have a piece to start eating from

You might need to keep trying. It took my Mya 3 months to start liking bones. She refused no matter wat I tried. Until one day she stole a guinea fowl wing I had intended for her sister. I watched her in disbelief as she started eating the meat. I was sure she would stop at the bone, but she didn't. She ate that too. 

Calcium is especially important with kittens. If they are eating 50% raw but no bone of supplement, they are not getting enough calcium. Personally I'd draw the line at 10 to 15%. 

 

[Willowy]

If they Absolutely Won't eat bones (or don't digest them well), you can supplement calcium. Crushed eggshells work well. I know there's info around here somewhere that says how much to use.

 

[ldg]

The kitties are not getting bone in meals right now, but since everyone is still getting canned food I'm thinking this is ok? I feel I read somewhere that they can eat up to 50% unbalanced?  I'm going to start introducing some ground egg shells and bashing bones in small chicken pieces to get them eating some bone. 

Calcium is especially important with kittens. If they are eating 50% raw but no bone of supplement, they are not getting enough calcium. Personally I'd draw the line at 10 to 15%.

You're not remembering correctly. The number that's OK to feed unbalanced, as burretje points out, is up to 15% (not 50%) of their diet can be fed unbalanced. And calcium is one of those things that you really don't want to be short on for long - especially with a kitten. If Waffles is eating feeder mice, he's definitely getting more calcium than the others, but...

If using eggshell as a calcium source, you basically need to add 1/32 teaspoon of eggshell powder per ounce of meat (that includes "muscle organs" like heart, lung, gizzards). Secreting organs (liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen) require 3/64 teaspoon per ounce. If you're going to be using crushed, not powdered, eggshell, the typical large egg results in a teaspoon of powder. I prefer to be more exact, but to give you an idea.....

I'm surprised they don't have loose stools from not enough calcium. :dk:

I feed my dogs raw but for some reason I'm stressing out more about it with the cats.  They just seem a bit harder to me for some reason. 

Because dogs usually aren't picky eaters. :lol3: And you can let them go hungry for a day, and they'll be more accepting of what you give them to eat. Cats can be picky, and you can't "starve" them into eating!