[CorgiPaws]

Does raw feeding work the same for cats? Jon and I are considering adopting a shelter kitty or pair when Champ finds his forever home, and obviously would want to feed raw.
Same 80/10/10 general guide? One protien source for two weeks. Would I start the same way I started Griss? 2-3% adult body weight?

Any information would be appreciated, we're calculating bills and whatnot, and just wondering how much it would cost to feed kitty! We're perfectly fine financially, (closing on our House Dec 14th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) just trying to continue to save, save, save!

 

[RawFedDogs]

Does raw feeding work the same for cats?

I feed the cats the exact same food as I feed the dogs. When I feed dogs chicken quarters or backs, the cats will get drumsticks or wings. When I feed the dog canned salmon, the cats split a can. When I feed beef heart or pork roast, I cut some up in to tiny little pieces for the cats. When I feed venison, the cats get venison meals at the same time.

Same 80/10/10 general guide?

I never go by that but if you do, cats would be no different.

One protien source for two weeks. Would I start the same way I started Griss? 2-3% adult body weight?

Yeah, if you can. Cats are more difficult to start on a raw diet and they will only eat so much then stop. They almost always walk away leaving a little. The dogs get it. :smile:

OH, one thing to remember when switching cats ... they can't go for days without eating like dogs do sometimes so you need to make sure they get something to eat just about every day when trying to switch.

 

[Lynn In Tenn]

Thanks for the info. I've been trying to get my cat to eat raw. She is very slow to catch on. Cats can be sooooo stubborn She'll eat chicken and turkey if it's not too big. Strange though, she won't touch venison.

 

[CorgiPaws]

Thanks RFD, i was pretty sure that was the case, just wanted to double check. I've actually never had a cat before, though i've heard it can be tough to switch an adult to raw. We are leaning towards a pair of adults but who really knows. So it's okay to cut it up if that's the only way they'll eat it?

 

[DaneMama]

If I were you I would look into getting a kitten. I tried to switch my two adult cats over and they were not interested. Tucker was a bit interested, but not totally (he was eaten by a fox last May) and Tilly pretty much starved herself into hepatic lipidosis (essentially liver failure, we had to rehome her because she wasn't doing well with all the dogs when Tucker died).

A girl brought in this tiny 1 pound, emaciated kitten into my work because she was vomiting and very sick. The next day she called in and told us that she didn't want the kitten anymore, and asked if we could find her a new home. So with both of my previous cats gone...I pretty much got suckered into taking this new kitten home :biggrin:

She has been so easy to switch over to a raw diet. She will eat anything. We are constantly having to lock her up when we eat, because she has been known to steal food right off our plates LOL.

As far as the diet goes, she just gets a bit of what the dogs are eating. We also don't really follow the 80/10/10 rule either, even with the dogs. We just use it as a guideline.

We also go to the asian market here and get small, whole, fresh fish for her to eat. Most of the time she eats the entire thing, but leaves the heads sometimes.

Whole, frozen mice is another thing we get for her. She eats them completely in about 30 seconds. We get them from a reptile store. We tried giving her a live mouse once but it kept biting her LOL...so we brought in one of the dogs to kill it for her. I'm pretty sure we are going to try giving her a live one again, now that she is a bit older and bigger.

I have constantly been looking for small birds, quail and such, at the asian markets too, but haven't been lucky yet.

She will eat chicken backs just fine too.

As far as quantity goes, we just eyeball it. I have never weighed anything for her or the dogs. We just estimate what looks like an appropriate meal for her size. If she comes back still hungry we give her a bit more. If she starts cleaning herself after eating we know that she got enough to eat. She generally gets fed only once a day, maybe twice. Again, cats are totally different than dogs. Kittens don't really need to eat quite as constantly as puppies. They are not growing as quickly or as much.

When she came to us, she was in horrible shape. Of course we switched her right away and now she is really healthy. She will most likely always be small for her age, she only weighs 4.5 pounds at around 7 months (kitten generally gain 1 pound for every month of aging until they reach full grown). She is doing fantastic!

 

[Kristofski]

I have constantly been looking for small birds, quail and such, at the asian markets too, but haven't been lucky yet

Look online for "button quail" breeders. I watched a show on live feeding cats, and one of the most nutritious food for them is button quail, and they are mega cheap. If you can find a breeder, they can get you them by the dozen. Snake people also use them for boas and pythons. High protine, perfect for the cats.

 

[DaneMama]

Thats awesome!!! Thanks for the suggestion...I will look into it for sure :biggrin:

You learn something new everyday!!!

 

[RawFedDogs]

So it's okay to cut it up if that's the only way they'll eat it?

I give them the chicken drumsticks and wings whole but the beef heart and pork roast is cut into small pieces. I started with very very small pieces and have gradually increased them so that they have to chew off part of them before swallowing. If you gradually increase the size of the pieces, they won't notice it.

 

[jenh22]

First just give them some raw and see what they do with. If they refuse there's a few tricks you can try.

When you feed raw at first try and do it when they're hungriest. For adult cats about 12 hrs since they last ate and kittens about 4-8 hrs since their last meal depending on how young they are. If they won't eat it you'll have to feed them something else.

Try sprinkling a little Parmesan cheese, sauce from canned food/tuna or even some crushed kibble on small pieces of raw. (keep the kibble to a minimum to avoid stomach upset)

If they like cooked meats you can take some boneless chunks and cook them less and less each time. Eventually just searing the outside and then completely raw.

If they've only ever had dry kibble, it may be easier to switch them to canned and then raw.

Slowly start mixing a little bit canned with the kibble, then when you get them switched completely to canned start putting small cut up pieces of raw meat in. Slowly make the pieces larger and larger.

I'm sure they're lots of other tricks.

With a dog you just give them the food and either they eat it or they get in at the next meal. Cats you basically have to cater too (not all, but some) You need patience and creativity to get a picky cat to eat.