How should I go about converting my cats to a raw food diet.?
I have two wonderful cats, one is just over a year old, the other is seven years old. I am ready to start feeding them a raw food diet, but after having them both on strictly kibble diet all of their life, I am unsure as to what I should start them on. I have had people recommend chicken necks and wings, but I was wondering if anything else would be good. I would like to stay mostly in one protein source, at least at first.
Any ideas?
Lol! when I said I would like to stay in one protien source I ment until they had gotten the hang of a raw diet. So maybe for a week or two.
Tagged with: cats • chicken necks • protein source • raw diet • raw food diet • seven years • wings
Filed under: Raw Food Diet
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That might be a good start. Since they are used to crunching on kibble – if you chop necks and wings into very small pieces they might try it.
Those items are good and are NOT a properly balanced diet for cats so you have some things to learn there. You can try to see if they will eat a quality canned food such as Wellness. They may not recognise ANY meat as food.
There is a Yahoo group called Whole Cat Health and I would suggest you join it. The members are feeding raw or converting their cats to raw. The list owner is very knowledgable about cat nutrition.
I have been feeding a raw diet for eight years now. I use a supplement powder I get from Feline Instincts with ground chicken and ground turkey. Felice is the owner of the company and very supportive to her customers in helping them make the conversion.
give em raw food
the only problem would be the sudden switch upsetting the stomachs. and maybe mouth hurting from not using muscles and teeth for so long.
i would just start adding small amounts of raw food, slowly adding more raw and less kibble, for about a month.
they should be fine.
any signs of diarrhea or vomiting, cut back on the raw for a week.
they are designed for raw, they will adjust very quickly.
i do not fed raw, i would google for more advice.
mine are indoor/outdoor, they catch their own raw food.
raw organic liver is one of the best source of protein, iron… and it is better that it is organic, just try serving them some raw food in maybe another plate beside there food or add some in there kibble food so they will know what it is and get use to eating it.
Try these websites:
http://www.catnutrition.org/faq.php
http://pet-nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/home_prepared_natural_cat_food
Some recipes:
http://www.sahjasiamese.com/feeding/feeding.html
http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.php
And you should talk to your vet as well.
My first suggestion is never stay in 1 protein! Cats are very adaptable by nature, and if your going raw do it all the way! You should stay on 1 protein for now since they have never had raw before, but then switch afterwards. More then likely after sticking with raw, your 1yo will be able to have a mixture of proteins at once!
It is dangerous to mix kibble and raw in the same feeding, just as some background info. Raw is digested much quicker then kibble, and raw shouldn't linger in the system.
Staying on 1 protein can make the cats immune to the benefits or even allergic to it. Proteins should be rotated every 3-5 months, and there are many to chose from! Chicken, duck, quail, turkey, beef, lamb, venison, rabbit, kangaroo, shrimp, sardine, crab, lobster, mackerel, tuna, salmon, whitefish, etc!
Obviously, avoid what your cat does not do well on. For instance, my kitten does not do very well with Beef. Beef is a very tough meat, most small dogs and some cats can have a hard time with it. But she does fabulous on lamb. You'll know if your cat does bad on it by how often they poop.
The raw that your talking about is a good but expensive way to do it, going to the local grocery store for food. Pet food companies actually make raw diets like Nature's Variety, Bravo, Wysong, and Primal. Nature's Variety even has raw on their kibble foods!
As far as how to start, start by hiding tiny bits of raw around the house, so the cats think they have hunted it. Or you could use it as a training treat, making them stand for it, or calling them and rewarding them for coming when you called (I'm doing it with my kitten for safety reasons). Find a kibble food that is the same protein as the raw your using, and feed them a small amount of raw at night. Very Important: make sure that before feeding raw, your kitty has gone #2! Raw needs to move through the digestive tract to not cause problems, and this is how you'll know what agrees with your kitty best! And, before feeding kitty again, make sure they have gone #2 again. It's gross, and time consuming, but once they are completely switched over you'll be glad you have done it.
Others have given great suggestions but I wouldn't encourage you to hide raw around your house since it would be unsanitary to have raw meat around and not clean immediately afterward with hot, soapy water. It's just not sanitary. Anyway, probably to make the transition easier, you should probably switch the cats to a canned diet so they can become use to eating soft, chewy food rather than crunchy, dry food. Many cats eagerly eat canned food so it shouldn't be a problem. First, if you're leaving dry available all day, cut it down to 2-4 times per day, so they can get out of the habit of having food 24/7. Once feeding them on a schedule, feed one meal dry and the next canned, then dry, then canned. Eventually switch entirely to canned. AvoDerm Select Cuts is a canned food I would recommend for a short period of time. It is strictly meat and vitamins/nutrients. It doesn't have all of that unnecessary veggies/fruit. I say short period because Select Cuts only come in 3 flavors, 2 of which are fish. Cats shouldn't be eating too much fish during the week. Fish should be about 3 times per week or less. If you feed mainly the Chicken canned, the cats will become bored of it. Buy a month's worth of canned. Keep them on the canned for 2 full weeks, then start adding some raw to the chicken. I use mypetcarnivore.com whose supplier is Taylor Pond Farms. Another answerer led me to Taylor, but did warn me that they have had customer complaints in the past on receiving food that was already thawed. I haven't had any problems since I've been a customer. I chose them because they grind up the whole carcass, (if chicken, the entire body is ground excluding feathers) so this way the cat is getting the meat, bones and organs. All of which play their part in your cats health. Also this company doesn't add unnecessary veggies/fruit. You will have to add fish oil to the food. Make sure you do a somewhat slow transition by feeding. Each cat has their own taste. My cat accepted the turkey rather quickly, but chicken took a short while longer. I still haven't tried rabbit, fish, cornish hens, duck, or lamb. Good luck!
Edit: Another company would be Rad Cat Raw Diet. They would be my second choice as they do add a small amount of veggies and/or fruit to their frozen recipe.