frugalmamatx Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Is there anyone here who can give me pointers on a raw food diet for cats? I have a young male cat who clearly desires meat over kibble. He'll eat kibble, but prefers tuna or raw beef - to the point of stealing it if I leave items out to thaw. Occasionally chicken, but not turkey. I've been supplementing the kibble with bits of meat and a few cans of tuna a week, but I'm considering going all raw for him. I've googled, but everything I turn up seems to be for dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Have you tried feeding cooked meat? Are you distinctly interested in the raw aspect, or mostly in increasing the amount of pure meat? I gag when opening canned cat food, so a raw diet if out for my kitties, but we do feed them a fair amount of meat. They just eat it cooked, like civilized little felines, alongside their cat food. If you don't want to have to remember to cook some meat plain when you cook human food, just cook some extra one day and freeze it. In addition to the ick factor, a raw diet is more work. You have to provide a good bit of variety so they get the proper nutrients, so you have to think about it a bit more and shop more often. And there's a lot more involved in the cleaning process of their bowls and feeding area, because you have to be careful about salmonella and such. Here are a few links I have, in case you missed them: https://www.petmd.com/cat/nutrition/can-cats-have-raw-food-diet http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/cat-health/cat-diet-nutrition/dangers-a-raw-diet-your-cat http://rawfed.com/myths/cats.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Just remember that cats are carnivores -- obligate carnivores, as in, they can't be healthy without meat, and really have no natural eating of plant materials. But, cats do NOT just eat the flesh of animals. They eat the whole thing, innards, skin, bones . . . Veterinary nutritionists generally hold up mice as the ideal cat food. I think they need to eat 20-30 a day or something insane like that. So, anyway, that's to say that steak/chicken breast/etc isn't going to a complete food for cats. So, if you're giving him more than a little "raw" diet, be sure it is nutritionally balanced for cats. Blech. LOL 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Veterinary nutritionists generally hold up mice as the ideal cat food. Cats tend to agree :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bensmom Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Just remember that cats are carnivores -- obligate carnivores, as in, they can't be healthy without meat, and really have no natural eating of plant materials. But, cats do NOT just eat the flesh of animals. They eat the whole thing, innards, skin, bones . . . Veterinary nutritionists generally hold up mice as the ideal cat food. I think they need to eat 20-30 a day or something insane like that. So, anyway, that's to say that steak/chicken breast/etc isn't going to a complete food for cats. So, if you're giving him more than a little "raw" diet, be sure it is nutritionally balanced for cats. Blech. LOL 20-30 a day???!!! I cannot imagine how a cat could consume that many. Of course, my mighty hunter won't eat any. He prefers to leave them on the front porch for me to admire when he is done playing with them ðŸ˜. Then he happily eats his canned kitty food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bensmom Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I was so intrigued by the idea of a cat eating 20-30 a day, I forgot to respond to the op. Our cat loves robbing the freeze-dried raw treats I mix in with the dog food. Our local pet store carries Instinct brand "rawboost mixers". Packaging says, "top your kibble with raw." They come in beef, chicken, turkey and lamb. My cat loves lamb. I am not sure if they sell a variety for cats or not, but the dog variety does not seem to have any ill effect on our kitty and since they are small freeze-dried pieces there isn't the smell or "ick factor" you may experience when serving fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 (edited) Not raw so this may not be of help to you, but my meat lover has settled into Nature's Instinct Limited Ingredient canned food. I didn't have good luck with their original, but the limited ingredient has worked well. I can't buy it locally so I order from Chewy. https://www.instinctpetfood.com/cats/wet-treats Edited March 12, 2018 by Pippen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 20-30 a day???!!! I cannot imagine how a cat could consume that many Seems very high to me. I found different numbers https://www.kirkwoodvets.com/cats/feeding-adult-cats/ " Outdoor cats, pure carnivores, eat mice. The average mouse has a caloric equivalent of approximately 30 calories. So the average 10 pound outdoor cat needs to eat about 8 mice a day if that is all they are eating. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarthur Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 We feed our old cat raw food because it is the only food that appears to nourish him. We tried all types of canned, dry, and frozen, but raw is the only one that works for him. He has gained weight on it which was needed. We are using Rad cat http://www.radfood.com and Instinct Raw www.instinctpetfood.com/cats. It is more expensive, but for us it is saving him from withering away. If you buy Instinct Raw from Petco or Petsmart, make sure it wasn't allowed to thaw and be refrozen. It should have separate nuggets and not be in a block. I have had trouble with it being spoiled. Other than having a hard time finding a good bag of it, we are happy with raw food for our cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I've had a pretty mixed experience feeding a raw diet to my cat. She hates the commercially prepared raw food because they grind it up into a rough mince or pate or gloop generally. She won't eat any food that's in any texture other than meat chunks or whole creatures. She got on better for a while with a homemade version but after a while refused it. I came to the conclusion it was because it was the same food too frequently and she likes a lot of variety even when I'm feeding normal wet cat food. She wants constant change. She's a big hunter and when the weather is warmer I'll see a minimum of 3 mice/shrews/ voles a day that she brings in and the occasional bird. She's probably eating more outside though. I gave up with the raw food in the end. I might try it again if I can find some alternative that is in a texture she likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 As far as I know Lisa Pierson (DVM) is considered to be one of the leading authorities on raw feeding cats. Her site is very thorough! Although since I looked at it last time it appears that she's gone from recommending all raw to recommending partially cooking some of the meat (good for her, IMO). If you don't want to go to all that trouble I'd consider a pre-made raw. It's expensive but maybe not prohibitively so for just one cat. Blue Ridge Beef is a good company that offers several products suitable for cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Well, I have tried giving my cats raw chicken, but they have this weird habit of dragging the pieces around the house before eating it. I uh cannot have my cats dragging raw chicken around the house. So that's a no go. Cat food it is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 My understanding is that cats do best on the same sort of PMR (prey model raw) diet that some people (such as myself) feed dogs, which is based on an 80 "meat"/10% edible bone/10% organs (half liver/half other) ratios. "Meat" in quotes as in includes fat, skin, connective tissues, etc. One special consideration with cats is that they can not synthesize taurine and thus need to be fed appropriate amounts of taurine-rich foods (such as beef heart). Having seen the results of a raw diet with my dog (which exceeded my highest expectations), I'd certainly try a balanced raw diet if I kept a cat, given that felines are obligate carnivores who ought not be eating cereal-based diets. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I have been feeding my now-elderly cats raw food for about 6 years now. I have made my own from whole local chickens but find the commercial stuff worth the cost. We use Darwin and have it mailed to us monthly. We did use Instinct for awhile because it was available locally but found, like a PP, that it was often thawed and refrozen or otherwise spoiled, so we switched. The difference in my cats' health was dramatic and almost instant. They had been on prescription food at that point were both quite sick before the switch. Not just sick but dull coats, dandruff, etc.... I now have 17 and 19yo cats with no health problems, shiny fur, and bright eyes that act like kittens. The raw food costs significantly more than cheap kibble or even "high end" grain free canned food. But I have already more than recouped the costs in lack of vet bills. Totally worth the expense and hassle for me. 1 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.