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Old November 25th, 2006, 08:38 PM
barkley21 barkley21 is offline
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Cat not taking to raw

Well, I tried giving Luna her first raw meal tonight and it didn't go quite as well as expected. I know cats love fish , so I went to the fish market today just for her, and bought some lovely sea smelts. When I got home, I cut one up into smaller pieces and added a little ground chicken with bone and drizzled some salmon oil over the whole thing. I served it to her expecting to see the same delight as when I gave our dog raw for the first time, but much to my chagrin, she just smelled it and looked up at me like with utter shock and ran away. She still won't come out from the bedroom
Any tips on what to do now? Do I give it another try? maybe a different raw meat? or just settle for a changing her kibble to get rid of the flakes in her fur?
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Old November 25th, 2006, 08:50 PM
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technodoll technodoll is offline
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LOL! cats didn't get that "finicky" reputation for nothing

here is good reading material for you... chock full of tips, tricks, recipes, etc: http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.html

Quote:
My cat won’t eat this food; what should I do?

There are so many different factors involved in how quickly and enthusiastically a cat will accept a new diet. If you’re still leaving dry food out all and allowing her to “free-feed” off that, then you’re not letting hunger work in your favor. You're not doing your cat any favors by feeding dry food.

Sometimes it’s best to switch your cat first to a quality canned food, and then start sneaking very small amounts of the raw food into that food and slowly increasing the amount over time until the transition is complete. Get the dry food OUT of your house. Your cat can probably smell it and will hold out stubbornly if she knows it’s there.

Devoted kibble addicts often have a difficult time accepting the new food, so you have to employ some tough love, and gather your own patience while honing your feline manipulation skills to get your cat eating healthier food.

Don’t be in too much of a rush to get your cat switched over. I hear an awful lot of stories of people who give up when their cats don’t instantly take to the new food. Remember -- the idea is to make the transition. Not to make it overnight. Proceed steadily in the right direction, slipping small amounts of the new food in with canned. Don’t rush things. I transitioned my cats over a period of three weeks. Other people with more cats or older animals took two months or even longer to fully get their crew on all raw. Take the time you need and don't hurry.
good luck with fussy kitty!

signed,

owner of two fussy doggies
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Old November 25th, 2006, 09:00 PM
barkley21 barkley21 is offline
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On a positive note, while I was out at the fish market today, I also stopped at the supermarket and picked up some chicken liver for the I have never bought him liver before because I was weary of him liking it because I heard that a lot of dogs don't, but I thought "what the heck?" and bought it anyway. Well...I can't tell you how much he :love: it! He went crazy for it! Up until now, as a base I've been feeding him a premade mix which contains either chicken or turkey mixed with ground bone and there are some ground organ meats in there as well, so I haven't really attempted buying liver on its own. I'm glad I did. It's waaaayyy cheaper and I'm so glad he loves it. Honestly, he loves every piece of raw that I've given him which makes me
Tonight's dinner consisted of some of the raw mix I mentioned above plus a chicken drumstick, 2 sea smelts, green lamb tripe, chicken livers, and chicken hearts.
I only wish my loved it too Thanks for the link TD, I'll give it a read and see if I can find some info on what to do from here.
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Old November 26th, 2006, 11:39 AM
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Lissa Lissa is offline
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Minnow is the same - she's refused every mixture I've tried so far. My next step is to try the expensive pre-made ground raw!

All I can suggest is either warming it up (do not cook it because you'll run the risk of making them more picky) - try dumping hot water over it or leaving it out for a few minutes before feeding (no more than 5-10 minutes).
Also, make sure your meat is fresh...that usually means don't go to the supermarket! Cats want their food to be fresh - they are polar opposites of dogs who will gladly eat the 3 day all raw meat that's been left in the garbage

I'd also be careful with fish - I worry a lot about mercury levels so even though Minnow will eat cod (which is one of the worst), I rarely give it to her. I stick with Herring and Mackeral (but of course Minnow sticks her nose up and those!)

Good luck!
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