Hi all, I am very keen to introduce my cats to a raw diet, having learned a lot form this forum on the benefits I have come to the conclusion that not only is it better for the ctas but it would be better for us also as 1- it works out cheaper than even the cheapest rubbish cat food and 2- that subsequently would work out cheaper with regard to vet bills as the cats should be healthier overall.

Now I have seen a very popular website mentioned on here a number of times but I have been more thinking about inquiring at a local butchers.
I have always wanted to visit a butcher weekly to buy my meat which I believe is better quality than any supermarket and is supporting local business. I was thinking if I could build a relationship with a butcher not only would me and OH be getting better food but my cats could too. The reason for the butcher question is 1- don't have a big enough freezer to order in bulk and store therefore internet postage costs don't work out very well and 2- it would encourage me to go the butcher ever week and not just be lazy and pick stuff up when doing the weekly shop.

So after all that, does anyone know if there would be any issues with feeding raw meat from a butchers to the cats? I am sure i remember reading somewhere about using pet food specialists due to additives etc but surely if its ok for us its ok for them? Also other than chicken wings, pig cheek, liver, heart etc what else could I ask for?

thanks all x

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

i buy all my cats meat from the butchers... he makes it all up to order for me at the end of the day...

This is what always goes in

beef mince
lamb mince
chicken mince
chicken wings
liver (lambs and only a small bit)
kidneys (again lambs and only 2)
heart - usually lamb but can be ox
lungs - lambs again
ribs - lambs

Now on top of that he throws in whatever else he has left... so it could be

chicken necks
chicken drummers
turkey necks
turkey wings
game carcases (pheasent, partridge, duck, goose etc)
other meat (never pork), such as diced chicken, steaks etc - whatever is left and cant be sold the next day...

He charges me 0.50p per lb... I do him a favour by taking everything that isnt going to be able to be sold the next day, and he minces it all up in the big industrial mincer for me!

My cats also get chicken wings, turkey wings, chicken necks and lamb ribs to chew and crunch too!

Wow! Fantastic thank you so much for this!!! So does the meat have to be used daily then? I presumed I could keep it in the fridge for at least a few days?

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

up until this week i bought 7lb bags of it... because i only had limited freezer space...

But ive rung him up this week cos i have now got a chest freezer... he's gonna make me a big batch up (about 10kg) so that i can store it!

I bring it home, roll it into portion sized meatballs (a bit yukky lol), then shove them into bags and into the freezer... then every night i take out the meat for the next day for them.

Hope that helps xx

Hi great you are going to give raw a chance.
Just a lil advice, due to it's high fat content, which could cause indigestion , as well as it's unique odour lamb should be used a lil later after you have introduced othe meats.
Some beef is not tolerated by some cat's initially so again, try some of the other meats first as if everything is mixed together how do you know which meat the cat may be having a problem with, as you may just think raw isn't working. Try a lil at a time.
Liver some cats don't like the taste, liver represents the "A" vitamin never over do lover in the diet, too much a is just as bad as not enough. no liver treat's.
Lean meats (muscle meats) are preferable over fatty as a high fat content inhibits proper digestion.
Will you be mixing meat with a premix designed for raw?
Good luck.

I wasn't intending to mix anything else I was hoping to introduce raw gradually, at the mo they get dry down all the time and wet a few times a day for the kittens only once for the older cat. I was thinking initially to leave some dry down and feed them twice a day with raw until I'm sure they are getting enough of the right stuff that I can remove the dry completely.

I have tried a couple of tit bits here and there, like bits of raw chicken breast, bits of raw steak as I am very fussy and won't eat any meat with fat bouncy or yukky bits so often as I'm being harassed while I'm preparing it I will chuck some stuff down to them and they eat the lot double quick.

So from what I can gather I can feed meatball type lumps of mixed minced stuff and also give chicken wings, necks etc to give a bit of chewing fun and thats it? Is it possible that feeding raw is actually less hassle than using commercial products as well as being cheaper?

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

There are other supplements you should add to your raw recipe unless you are grinding whole carcasses. You can make it up in bulk and freeze it in meal portions.
FNES - The Feline Nutrition Education Society
This is a good site to start out learning about how to feed raw.

other good resources if wanting to learn more:
Raw Fed Cats
rawcat : Raw Cat
rawpaws : RawPaws™ Holistic Pet Care
http://www.bluegrace.com/RawFeedingFAQ.pdf
Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi
http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf
Rawfood Diet for Dogs and Cats: recipes ideas
Raw Feeding FAQ
Norja Diet
http://edenrise.com/dotters/raw/links.html
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/document ... rdbook.pdf
Cat Fanciers' Association: Role of Diet
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/120/9/995.pdf

Thank's hun, just caught up with the thread, agree, agree, agree.
Do not feed dry aswell as raw/bone, they will get awfull constipation & dehydrated, I think you need a lil more info like this before you start changing diet, lil ones seem to take to raw feeding quicker than an older cat. Meat diet is just not enough, the meat may have been frozen before so this will loose some vitamin's & minerals, they need some supplement's they would have been getting from a fresh carcass, that if they were hunting would be in the kill.

Will it not be possible to get my butcher to grind bones up with the meat so I don't have to supplement?
Don't worry I wasn't chucking all my commercial food in the bin just yet I want to talk to a butcher once I have a good idea of what I need to ask for, I need to find a butcher I'm happy with and who is ok about doing this for me and I need to calculate costs before I change.

I'm hoping it won't be too traumatic for them as they eat wet and dry at the mo the younger prefer wet and eat prob 80% the elder is the reverse and probably eats 80% dry. Importantly though they all eat wet happily and all will happily eat bits of raw meat I give them. They all love chewing on my fingers so im hoping meaty bones won't be too much of a challenge either.

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

jst wanna say this is a great post and i shall be lookin at those links too as im lookin at given my 2 a raw diet.

thanks for makin this thread and also for those who have replied very good

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