Whole Prey Raw and vacation?

[thetoolmaster]

Forum newbie here.  We just got a 4-month-old Bengal kitten, Luna, and are in the process of transitioning her to whole prey. She came to us on kibble but has already been switched to canned food.  I've also fed her some raw fish fillets and half of a small fish caught in the lake where my parents live. I'm not personally squeamish about feeding whole prey since I've owned snakes for years and fed them f/t mice (of course, they don't tear them apart when they eat them, but the "idea" of it doesn't bother me at this point...).

My question is more around what whole prey feeders do on vacation! Would it be better to keep some canned in her diet so whomever cares for her will be able to feed her more easily? We don't plan to leave her at home anytime soon since she's so young (in fact, we have a 4-day trip planned next week, but we'll be bringing her along) - but I do want to be prepared for the inevitable when it comes. 

Thanks in advance for the input!

 

[basscat]

I found it IMPOSSIBLE to feed whole prey when rehabbing a bobcat kitten.  I had no idea where to buy whole prey reasonably near me, and reasonably priced. She got the occasional "fresh" road kill squirrel ever now and then.
She got a whole chicken every now and then, but, that was somewhat of a mess because she would eat 1/3rd of it, and bury/hide/cache the rest. Then another 3rd the next day, then the last of it on day three.  (her enclose would be pretty rank by day three).
SO, for the most part, I fed chicken necks, livers, gizzards, hearts, and deer parts that were not "choice people cuts".

When I would leave for a weekend.  She would either get a whole chicken (because she made those last three days).
OR, I would PRE-PORTION chicken necks into containers, leave them in the fridge, and have a friend stop by and give her one of the portions per day.

And, good thinking on your part to think and plan ahead.
There just aren't many people out there that would have no issue with feeding your cat another animal while you were gone. 
In my case, I figured my friends would "gross out" and say "heck no!"

 
(but, they were fine with a bowl of chicken necks that they didn't have to touch)

 

[dhammagirl]

Hi.
I have one cat that gets whole mice and chunks of rabbit for breakfast, then raw ground whole carcass rabbit for dinner.
We had the pet sitter, who we had used before we started the raw diet, come over and I showed her what to expect. A small bag in the fridge labeled for each breakfast day, with the mouse or chunk, and a small container of raw ground labeled for each dinner. She didn't have a problem with it. She didn't have to actually touch the mouse or chunk of raw meat, just empty the contents of the bag into his dish. This was just for three days. When we go on a week long trip next month, I guess I'll need to have her take stuff out of the freezer at some point.
I'd say the trick is to have meals portioned and labeled. [emoji]128008[/emoji][emoji]128568[/emoji]