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Old October 1st, 2009, 07:33 PM
Gatika Gatika is offline
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Question So, can I get some input on a raw cat diet?

I've been doing a lot of reading and such, and there is a lot of conflicting information out there. So, just thought I'd throw this out there and get some insight from people that already feed their cats raw.

I understand proportions to be 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ. I'm guessing these proportions are by weight and not volume. This seems a little odd to me, since just looking at a mouse, it doesn't seem to be 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ, but whatever.

So, if I generally follow these proportions and offer the following:
Quail (cleaned but otherwise whole)
Chicken (meat - thigh/breast - and RMB - wings mostly, can't seem to find necks or backs anywhere)
Pinkie or juvie mice/rats?
...as the meat

And use mostly chicken organs: liver, heart, gizzard

And offer whole fish once or twice a week, like:
Anchovies
Sardines
Mackeral
Herring
Silverfish?

...and possibly supplement her diet daily with something like Wellness (I'm thinking half raw, half Wellness), will she be a healthy, happy cat? Oh yes, and an occasional raw egg is okay? Twice a month or so?

And what's the general consensus on parasite prevention? My intention is to offer her only raw food that has been frozen solid for at least 7 days, to diminish the chances of anything surviving, but should she be on a medicine based parasite prevention regimine? And should I supplement with taurine since I'll be freezing stuff? Or will the Wellness handle that okay?

Lots of questions, I know. But I want to do this right.

Last edited by Gatika; October 1st, 2009 at 07:57 PM.
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Old October 1st, 2009, 10:10 PM
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I just recently got some great advice from L4H for feeding raw. Haven't had time to try it out yet but plan on it soon. I'm sure she will be on early tomorrow and can give you some answers. Also, sugarcatmom should be on shortly. Hopefully she can answer your queries.
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Old October 2nd, 2009, 12:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatika View Post
I understand proportions to be 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ.
Yeah that's the general guideline although some say 5-10% organ.

Because every cat is different you do want to keep a close watch on the poop, if you're consistantly seeing hard dry crumbly poop = too much bone possibly causing constipation, if you're consistantly seeing soft squishy poop or diarreah = too much organ

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatika View Post
So, if I generally follow these proportions and offer the following:
Quail (cleaned but otherwise whole)
Chicken (meat - thigh/breast - and RMB - wings mostly, can't seem to find necks or backs anywhere)
Pinkie or juvie mice/rats?
...as the meat

And use mostly chicken organs: liver, heart, gizzard

And offer whole fish once or twice a week, like:
Anchovies
Sardines
Mackeral
Herring
Silverfish?
Half of your organ portion should be liver & the other half heart, gizzard etc

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatika View Post
...and possibly supplement her diet daily with something like Wellness (I'm thinking half raw, half Wellness), will she be a healthy, happy cat? Oh yes, and an occasional raw egg is okay? Twice a month or so?

And what's the general consensus on parasite prevention? My intention is to offer her only raw food that has been frozen solid for at least 7 days, to diminish the chances of anything surviving, but should she be on a medicine based parasite prevention regimine? And should I supplement with taurine since I'll be freezing stuff? Or will the Wellness handle that okay?
You can do half & half w/canned if you like, better for their digestion if not fed raw & canned in the same meal, same day is okay though. Depending on your cat you may find her turning her nose up at the canned once she gets into raw Raw egg is fine, twice a month is good.

I soley raw feed, with most of what I use is bought fresh, given fresh if I need it the day I buy it or I package & freeze. I don't do a minimum number of days frozen, but I'm also not feeding fish. Though if you want to feed fish and are unsure about parasites remove the intestines. Avoid "Fresh" Salmon only feed frozen or steamed.

Cats & dogs have natural microflora in their intestines that take care of the bacteria from raw meat. Since their systems are so used to commerically cooked kibble/canned the number of microflora may need a boost for which you can use a probiotic such as Natural Factors Ultimate Multi - for my 12 lbs senior cat I give 1/4 capsule twice daily.

Freezing shouldn't affect taurine levels. Taurine is naturally found in heart, especially high in beef heart (if you can get your cat to eat it - mine wouldn't ). Supplementing with Wellness would make up for any lack in what you're feeding or what I do is give NuCat Vitamins twice daily

Here's a site for more reading http://rawfedcats.org/index.htm
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Old October 2nd, 2009, 09:59 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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I use a kitchen scale to weigh out the muscle meat, bones and organs.

I have no problems feeding my cats half canned (Instinct) and half raw. Puddles, Jasper and Sweet Pea are on that diet, Rose is pretty much 100% raw as she finds cat food pretty much . I would not advise to feed any cat food that has rice or grains in it as it may slow down the digestive tract. Raw meat should go through your cat in 5-12 hours max. to minimize the chances of bacteria to multiply.

Feed only the raw yolk portion of the egg, the white portion should be partially cooked as there is something in it (can't remember exactly what it is)that doesn't agree with cats. The yolk is to provide the Vit B's for your cat, which BTW requires more Vit B than any other carnivore per body weight. Egg white does provide a low phosphorus form of protein, so if you cat does have kidney issues you should add this as a protein source.

I buy my meat from my local butcher whom I trust his hygiene and freshness, that is very important when feeding raw. It is much cheaper to make cat food than it is to buy it.

Good luck.

http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood...es_and_Sources

Oh the raw egg yolk should be minimum once per week, twice is better. I add 3-4 yolks to about 6 lbs of food.
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Last edited by Love4himies; October 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 AM.
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Old October 2nd, 2009, 05:32 PM
Gatika Gatika is offline
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Pulled this from another site...I think the egg white thing might be a myth.

"Raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin and excessive amounts of raw egg white could cause a biotin (B vitamin) deficiency resulting in skin and hair problems. This data came from laboratory rats that were fed abnormally large amounts of raw egg white proportional to their bodyweight. It is unlikely cats would consume dangerous quantities of avidin unless you fed them raw eggs at every meal."

And thanks for the input everyone!

Last edited by Ford; October 6th, 2009 at 10:03 AM.
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