but i have some questions and don't want to drag up old posts!

Raw diet - well semi-raw

I am thinking about trying Bilbo and Jemima on some raw food see how they (and i) get on. I am a complete novice when it comes to mean having been a vegetarian for all of my adult life and never bought or prepared the stuff but willing to give it a go!

I am planning to start by leaving them with their biscuits down all day and leaving them with a pouch in the morning like normal just going to change their evening meal to raw.

How do i do it! Just buy a bag of (for instance) chicken drumsticks, defrost 2 during the day and put them down in the evening!? Do they eat the whole thing or do i need to give them meat and fish with no bones? Please be as simple as possible when answering i really have no clue

What type of things can they have mince, chicken, fish? Does any of it need to be cooked or can it all be fed raw and also how do you go about quantity? Does it get left down or picked up and disguarded as soon as walk away? Jemima will eat mostly all her food in one sitting but Bilbo likes to just eat a little and come back later to finish - will it smell?

Ahh too many questions!

Help

This may work but if they are fussy eaters they may not bother with the raw. It really depends on the cat.


You could try that and it may work,. if they turn their noses up at it try scoring the flesh or bashing it up. Once they realise that it is food they should take to it without any "prep". Meat, skin and bones (uncooked) is the best way to feed them.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats
www.back-2-nature.co.uk - Raw Food for Dogs, Cats and Ferrets

www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding

Thanx for replying - am willing to give it a try just don't want to suddenly change everything hence reason i am wanting to still give pouches during the day (for now) as not around and i know they will eat them.

I would try more slowly especially as you are going combo.

You can buy diced turkey thigh (at S'bury) and loads of supermarkets do stewing steak, stewing lamb etc. This can be diced and frozen on trays then packed into plastic bags so that you only need defrost a little at a time.

See which meats they like, and how they take to it. Then once used to it introduce boned meat such as chicken wing, drumstick, possibly rabbit.

I found that cutting up into smaller pieces worked - chopping board, large sharp kitchen knife and a hammer to bash the knife through the bone worked well.

One of my cats has never really taken to raw; as he is very thin I would rather he ate the wet complete at the moment. The other has taken to it with gusto and cracks and eats the bones most of the time.

Rabbit is her favourite and my semi also likes rabbit and raw from time to time.

(I buy the rabbit for £3 per whole butchered from the farmers market and cut it up as described above - she eats it all! It has a grassy smell, rabbit does - quite distinctive).

hmmm ok will have a look and see what i can find - can cope with chicken breast, mince etc. not too sure about cutting up whole food like rabbit (maybe bribe my dad!)

So does it work out cheaper to feed raw as although i don't buy i know meat can be expensive - does it go a lot further than the pouched food e.g. they don't eat as much?

It really depends on where you buy you meat from and what types of meat you feed. Obviously feeding Beef fillet steak works out very expensive but feeding chicken, hearts, disocunted meat and meat from specialist pet food suppliers does work out cheaper.

Chicken wings are probably the best to start with as they are easy for a cat to handle.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats
www.back-2-nature.co.uk - Raw Food for Dogs, Cats and Ferrets

www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding

Yup - remember that cats are adapted for eating 'dirty' meat and can cope with bacteria that we cannot.

Supermarket meat is fit for human consumption. Even 'end of date' stuff that you find discounted has to have a 'safe' time for human consumption. So no problem buying stuff at end of date.

Freezing will kill bacteria anyway. Just label it as 'For the cats'.

If you have a friendaly butcher, it may be that you can buy offcuts etc and organ meat.

Hearts are really lean, and not as icky as they sound. Funnily enough Waitrose sells Ox cheeks for like £3.50 a kilo - I use them in stews but no reason why you can't use them for your cat.

When I get back from hols am going to ask at Farmers Market about off cuts etc

İve been a strict Vegan all my life but prepare my 4 dogs and cats food - some cooked some raw - use Chicken Fish Tongue liver testes chicken livers lung stewing steak and sheep. Use a hand mincer. Mix with rice and grated veg. I know not everyone agrees with using veg.

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well have bought some chicken breast (cheap from lidl!) to try tonight - guess i just put down a little and see how they go with it.

Freezing does NOT kill bacteria, it only stops it gowing. Re-growth starts as soon as the meat raises in temperature. Just treat meat exactly as you do for humans and there will be no problems.

Lean meat is the worst type for cats, raw fed cats need fat as it is easy to convert into energy.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats
www.back-2-nature.co.uk - Raw Food for Dogs, Cats and Ferrets

www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding