Ellie Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I hate buying cheap dry food, and my one-time favorite, Innova, has been bought out by Proctor and Gamble and is just not as good as it used to be. In searching for a good home-made cat food, I found a site that was all about raw food. What does the hive think about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I have been feeding my cats raw for 6 years with great success. They are elderly (15 and 18 yo) and were in very poor health when we switched them. They were on prescription food for crystals, had dull, oily fur, dull eyes, dental issues, etc.... All of their health issues resolved quickly afterwards so I am a big believer. My vet is not a believer and thinks I am nuts. Especially when I stopped having to buy the expensive prescription food from him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I have been feeding my cats raw for 6 years with great success. They are elderly (15 and 18 yo) and were in very poor health when we switched them. They were on prescription food for crystals, had dull, oily fur, dull eyes, dental issues, etc.... All of their health issues resolved quickly afterwards so I am a big believer. My vet is not a believer and thinks I am nuts. Especially when I stopped having to buy the expensive prescription food from him. What do you feed them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Fine. It can be hard to do, but otherwise not a problem. My holisitic vet agrees, and would prefer pets to be on all raw unless there is a special reason for a particular pet not to be. I went a bit farther than the usual approach and got baby mice for my current cats when they were kittens. The mice (that were intended for snake food) were to teach them that they should take care of mice as cats have done for ages. (We live in rural area.) Our dogs and cats have both eaten raw chicken including skin, bone and all (store where we are sells necks and other parts which could be used in soup etc., but often are being used for pets). And other raw foods. I stopped juicing due to the sugar in juices issue, but when I did that, the pets got a lot of the pulp and some of the juice. The cats like melon. They don't seem strong enough to handle beef bones, but handle chicken necks fine. If your kittens cannot, they could be ground. The dogs like most everything. When making dinner, I often pass some of it in raw state to the pets. Later they get some leftovers cooked. I avoid anything that is specifically supposed to be avoided, like say, grapes and onions for dogs. And don't do just muscle meat without bone because they need calcium too. Or if I do, then add calcium such as ground egg shells. Some people will add supplements, tripe, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Lucky kitties! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Well, I tried raw food with my cats and you know what they did? They dragged it around the house. Pieces of raw chicken...scattered through my house. So..no. I don't do that anymore. No clue why they did that. Of course they loved it, but I don't want raw poultry on my couch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 If you want recipes for homemade, you could get Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. There are also now bottled dried supplements that can go in with raw food to give all the extras like vitamins and taurine if just giving them raw meat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 What do you feed them? I have done both commercial and homemade. We started with Nature's Variety raw food. A local feed store carried it so it was the easiest. The store quit carrying it so for about a year I made my own by grinding up whole chickens. There was a local farm that I bought them from. I had to add some stuff to it to get the correct balance. I got sick of doing that (I am a vegetarian so it was not the most pleasant activity) so we are back to commercial. Since no one local carries it, I get it delivered from Darwin's. I have been the happiest with them. The only hassle is getting a huge cooler box every month but they send a label to send the empty box and packaging back for reuse so not a big deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I think you have to be careful when finding a recipe (and yes - be sure you have enough of their required vitamins and minerals!) For some reason, cat and dog food recipes invite a lot of woo commentary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I'd feed mine raw if they'd take it and have fed my dogs raw for years. I have one cat that won't eat anything but dry food though; not even treats or can tuna. My feral baby used to eat raw....but now just wants to lick the blood. I have to watch him in the kitchen or he'll try to lick the meat I'm using for dinner. And yes, cats tend to play with their food and drag the raw at least across the floor. Stefanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.