Hello, am new round here so I hope you don't mind me jumping straight in with a question!

I was wondering how you go about boiling chicken and fish for your cat - and what sort of chicken/fish you should use? I know that this may sound entirely stupid, but I am vegetarian and have never ever cooked chicken or fish, so am totally clueless! I know a friend who says that she sometimes roasts white fish for her cat, is this another suitable way to do it?

We have just adopted a wee cat (Josie, 2.5 years) and she's had a spot of diarrhoea over the past day, so I thought about trying some really plain food for the next day or so and if there is no improvement, take her to the vet. She's totally happy and well so I am not overly concerned just now.

Hi there, and welcome!

If I were you I'd just give her the chicken (any chicken really, if it's only for a short while it doesn't matter which parts you give her as long as it's got meat on it) without boiling it at all - same goes for the fish. If she will eat it raw, this is much better for her than boiled.

If she won't eat raw, try just cutting the meat up in small pieces and plonk them in water to boil for a very short while - try to keep the pieces raw on the inside. Don't add any spices, salt or such.

I'd also recommend you do a search on these forums, there have been plenty of threads on cat food and upset stomachs which may help you.

Good luck

__________________
Have a look at my website!

Fit for the sunshine so it followed her, a happy tempered bringer of the best, out of the worst.

Thanks. I couldn't quite face the chicken - gonna get my boyfriend to do that when he gets back tomorrow - so I have fish! Will try it raw....

Didn't see a search function, but it must be there! Will have a look....

Cheers.

Hi Toons.

I roast my chicken in foil. That way it stays nice and moist. As for the white fish - microwave for 5 minutes! They love both. I either buy standard 'white fish fillets', or coley portions, or sometimes if I have run out they have cod or haddock fillets, whatever is in the human part of the freezer!!

__________________

Rossi & Casey - my little champions! 2 years old in April 09. Proper monkies and thoroughly spoilt

I read that you should be caerful where you get your meat etc from if you are feeding it raw because of possible contamination in various forms from some of the sources of the meat and modern slaughter houses.

Any thoughts on this one?

__________________

If you are getting from a pet food manufacturer they have to be registered with Derfra, they are inspected by the Meat Hygine Service and the have to send off samples for bacteria testing.

Modern slaughter houses are some of the cleanest places I know. I vistmany each week and they are cleaner than most butchers I know.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats


www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding

Thanks for the help. In the end I got some skinless, boneless haddock fillet and chopped it up (actually with a pair of scissors - worked well!) then gave it to her raw just to see. She LOVED it. Wolfed it down like I've not seen her do with packet food. And no more diarrhoea. Yay!

Do cats get all the nutrients they need by eating raw?

In fact, I'm sure I can find that answer on the forums!

Cheers
I was concerned as it was mentioned in a book I have about raw diets and it was confusing to read something that outdated in a new book.

__________________

Glad she liked the fish!

You will indeed find lots of information on here about feeding raw. Just to summarise quickly; a raw diet should consist mostly of raw meat (heart counts as meat). Approximately 85%. Chicken/turkey thighs/legs are a good place to start, but any meat goes. Then, you need some raw organ meat (liver, kidneys etc), this should be approx. 10%. Lastly, some raw bones, approx. 5%. And that's it! It really is very simple and as long as she will eat raw, she'll get all the nutrients she needs from this diet.

You can't feed fish as the main diet unfortunately, but once a week will be fine.

You'll probably need to cut the meat in smallish pieces for her to eat at first, and you'll probably need to crack the bones for her to help her chew them. Most cats that are fed 'normal' cat food have weak jaws and it takes a little while for them to build up strength enough to crunch through bones. Just don't give up if she won't take to the bones straight away, keep offering them every day and one day she'll get it. Until she starts eating bone, you can add some powdered eggshells to her meat/organs. Just a pinch at each meal - keep an eye on poos and if they're too loose, add more eggshell. If they're white and powdery, use less.

To help getting the ratios right between meat, organs and bone I make batches of food, mix it all up and then freeze portion sizes. I find it much easier to make sure I've got the right amounts that way rather than trying to estimate the amounts every day. It's also easy to just defrost over night ready for the next day.

The raw food smells a lot less than commercial cat food, so you may find that sprinkling some powdered Thrive freeze dried treats (assuming she likes them, my cat loves the chicken version but hates the prawns) on top of the meat helps get her interested.

Oh, and don't go and buy a whole load of meat... try them out on her first, you may well find she has one HUGE favourite or that she HATES a particular type of meat (like my cat loves rabbit and won't touch lamb).

I could go on and on about this.. but I'll stop here for now, before I bore you to tears - if you have any more questions just ask, happy to help

__________________
Have a look at my website!

Fit for the sunshine so it followed her, a happy tempered bringer of the best, out of the worst.

Depends on the book, who wrote it and for what benefit they wrote it! If it was an American book (as most are) then this is a different story as they have different regulations than EU and the UK. If it was written by a "converted raw feeder" then they may have never been to a slaughterhouse so cannot comment.

__________________
Karen

www.kiskasiberians.co.uk - The home of Hypoallergenic Siberian Cats


www.rawfed.com - Information on Raw Feeding