Hi

I am here with a few questions regarding raw diet (I know, you're probably all sick of these questions by now!) I would like to start my 2 dogs and 3 cats on a raw diet again.

I tried a raw diet with my pets about 5 years ago but didn't really know what I was doing. I stopped because they seemed less and less interested in the foods (although VERY enthusiastic at the beginning) as time went on, and a nasty experience of having to rid of some meat and there being a wheelie bin full of maggots - yuck!

At the time I was feeding them minced beef, eggs, fish, turkey legs, heart, kidneys etc.

Can you give me some advice as to what else I can give them that would KEEP them interested and enjoying their food?

My second question is with regards to the ratio.. How do I ensure I'm getting the right ratio per pet? - The cats eat from eachothers bowls, the same for the dogs...

Also, does the ratio have to differ as the animal gets older? My cats are 10, 7.5 and 4 months and the dogs are 9 and 7.5...

BTW...if I freeze some foods do I have to defrost before giving or can I just give for them to eat as they defrost naturally? (I know it sounds a daft question but I didn't know the answer)

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Donna. x

Hi Donna
I don't know about dogs, but I'll try to answer your questions re. cats.
Keeping them interested: tricky one, but the best bet is to get them used to a wide variety of raw meats, and ring the changes. My cats will eat chicken, turkey, (any fowl in fact), beef heart and tongue, rabbit, lamb, pork. And fish and eggs. You could vary the texture as well: minced, chopped, on the bone, long strips, etc.

Ratio: To be sure you're getting the ratio right, you could feed pre-ground raw which includes bone and organ, or prepare your own mix of meat/bone/organ, so that there is a balanced portion in each cat's dish. Or, you could feed the cats the same food in all dishes, but aim for balance over one or 2 weeks, ie, feeding chunks of meat most of the time and bones a couple of times a week, and liver/other organs a couple of times a week (this is how I do it, with 3 cats). They don't much like organ meat so I chop it finely and mix it in with the meaty chunks, or I puree it with some chicken fillet and blob it on the rest of their meat. Hiding it in some tuna or sardine usually works too.

The ratio doesn't differ with the age of the cat. The whole business of kitten food, and senior food, is a marketing gimmick from the pet food giants. You can check to see if the ratio is about right by the poop. If it's too soft, they need more bone.

Re. frozen food. Yes you should defrost in the fridge. It is recommended that you bring the food to 'prey' temperature once defrosted, by sitting it in a bowl of hot water. However, I've found that my cats are not bothered about that - they'll get their faces in the bag given half a chance and chow away on partially defrosted meat. I have heard of some raw feeders leaving semi-frozen food out, so that their cat/dog will eat it later when it's soft enough (if they are going out for the day), but personally I would not do this as I like to supervise mealtimes and clear the dishes away.

There's lots of support out there for raw feeding. Here are some good resources:

Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

If you are on Facebook there's a very knowledgeable group 'Raw Feeding (RF)', lots of experienced dog and cat owners on there and links to helpful docs, but beware they are very strictly into the 'prey model' so don't go asking them about ground or they'll give you short shrift. There are other more flexible (and friendlier) FB groups about raw feeding so that's a good place to dig around.

Good luck with it!

Well I tried my lot yesterday. I tried them on chunks of chicken fillet and pork chop...

Of all 5 (3 cats, 2 dogs) only 2 cats ate any. Suki my middle cat, wasn't interested in the chop but was happily chowing down on the chicken breast, and Dinsdale my oldest cat happily munched his way through the chop (bone and all).

My kitten Poppy had a sniff then turned her nose up and walked off. Its gonna be a learning experience for her. She did have a munch on the chicken but was totally disinterested and spat it back out!!

cant help with the cats, but the dogs - when I introduce my pups onto raw, first few meals are always minced chicken mixed with a little bio yoghurt, try that and see what happens

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Fere libenter hormines id quod volunt credunt

Wow, that is a result, Donna! 2 out of 3 cats happily nomming raw, bone and all! And your refuser is a kitten, so she's got plenty of time to learn. Try some different flavours and textures with her (also try warming to 'prey' temperature as mentioned above?). I'm sure she'll catch on. Not so sure how to deal with the dogs, but don't give up!

Thanks, I will definitely persevere. I am determined to get them onto raw. Its gotta be better for them than tinned and dry food.

I think what helped with the 2 cats is although they're both as soft as clarts, when they get outside they're ruthless killers. I often find a mouse or shrew head left on the patio, the odd bird wing and the other week I caught Dinsdale walking along the back fence with a wild rabbit! So they obviously appreciate the addition of meat they don't have to catch.

Well I bought some chicken thighs (actually I sent hubby out to buy chicken drumsticks and he came back with thighs)

All 3 cats tucked in quite happily. I was really quite proud of Poppy (my 4 month old kitten) as she had never had experience of raw food (whereas the others are old hands at catching a meal). She was tearing away at her meal and seemed to be really enjoying it - in fact she was trying to pinch some from out of Suki's mouth! Suki takes twice as long to eat her food;
she doesn't have many teeth left (she's nearly 8). She suffers from cystitis on a dry food diet but had gingivitus and the vet said dry food would be better for her teeth. I had to think of what would be best for her:

to eat wet food which wouldn't be good for her teeth but it'd mean she wouldn't suffer from uti's
to eat dry food which would be better for her teeth but then she'd suffer from uti's...

so unfortunately the teeth had to be sacrificied so now she takes a while to chomp her way through meat, meaning a chance for Poppy to strike!!

She still has her front teeth but some at the back are gone so could this pose a problem for her to chomp through bones? It doesn't seem to bother her with her catches.

x

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Donna...

PROUD mother of HARRIET...
and my furry babies;
DINSDALE - cat
PRESTON - dog
SCRABBLE - dog
SUKI - cat
POPPY - cat

soon to be mammy of some cute furry ratties!! xxx


"A Dog is for Life, not just for Christmas" - Dogs Trust.

Luckily you made the right decision as dry food doesn't do a great deal for teeth unless it is a special dental food, and I would still rate eating raw bone above that for teeth cleaning

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@ Donna,

This might help

Pet Food | Pet Foods Raw Dog Food, Cat Food & Pet Health Supplements

With regards to the dogs eating out of each others bowl so you don't know what ratio you get. Stop them.

Feed them in seperate rooms or you stand in the room together, if they only eat out of their own food bowl then you know they are getting the right amount