[spookychick13]

PJ is still on canned food and doom nuggets, and I tried to get him to eat a bit of raw chicken today.

He looked at me like I had grown another head.

I am going to put it in the fridge and try again this afternoon. :
This is the boy in question. He is not happy.

 

[spookychick13]

Any kitty people have tips on how to transition them?

 

[ruckusluvr]

no tips. just wanted to say cool looking cat!!!

 

[spookychick13]

Hehehe, thanks, he is my sweetheart.

I rescued him when he was itty bitty.

He is the boss of our veterinary practice.

I think he was telling me to get the heck off facebook and get to work in that picture.

This is when he was a little dude.

 

[wags]

I cant help you here! But that is a sweet kitty! Adorable. But anyway, I tried to give my one dog raw chicken the leg and he looked at me sniffed it like ok what the hecks this, did not touch it!?!?!? So I dont know transitioning seems for my dogs here a waste of time! But "eh I have never fed raw so I am guessing its just what they get use to! Anyway sorry I am no help:frown:, but that kittys so cute!:smile:

 

[spookychick13]

I cut the meat off of the bone and drizzled 'tuna water' on it.

Success!

 

[CorgiPaws]

I got a approx. 2 year old kitty from the shelter last month, and I'm going through the same thing. I've found a few tips, they honestly haven't worked for us, but maybe you'll have better luck.

Offer the raw when the kitty is actually hungry, about 12 hours after the last feeding.
You can try hiding little bits of raw in canned food, gradually hiding bigger and bigger pieces.
Pretend kitty can't have it. Put the wing on your plate like it's your food, and walk away from it. They tend to have more interest in YOUR food than theirs.
If they're already eating canned food, start with ground raw, gradually hiding little chunks of raw in it.

I can't even get my cat to eat canned food. SHe's a kibble junkie, so we've had no luck whatsoever.

 

[DaneMama]

What a cutie...love his face markings!

Ok...will he eat canned food or canned fish (tuna or sardines)? If so I would use that to your advantage. Add in some raw meat to the canned food, a VERY small amount at first so as to "hide" it. If he will eat it with the bit of raw mixed in, gradually increase it over time. It might take 6 months or so until he is fully on raw, but at least its better than never.

If you have an asian market nearby, I would venture into one and get some small, whole, fresh, frozen fish and make a "blend" with it in a food processor or blender or chop it up really fine. That will make a good addition to either canned fish or canned food.

You eventually want him to eat whole small prey items like fish and birds, but that might not happen...crunching through bones does not seem like a cats cup of tea LOL. In that case, a "blended" raw diet is still worlds better than kibble.

 

[spookychick13]

He definitely eats canned.
I will try mixing it up, I have some boneless turkey thigh I can chop up for him.

I will try a bit of the pork I gave the doggies this evening as well.

He seemed much more interested in it after he actually tried it.

 

[DaneMama]

Good to hear...and good luck...keep us updated on the transition :biggrin:

 

[CorgiPaws]

Any news on the transition??

Still no luck whatsoever over here. Stubborn kitty.

 

[spookychick13]

So far he will eat raw chicken 'chunks' with tuna juice on them, but that's as far as we got.

He is all about the canned food, though, so I might try smearing some on a bone in chicken breast and see.

I also might try to give him a rabbit head when those arrive and see if he likes it.

He caught a mouse once (long story as to what a mouse was doing in the clinic, but it has to do with a door being left open) but he didn't eat it.
He gave it to me very proudly instead.

He also dropped a grasshopper into my coffee last summer.



Have you tried the tuna juice trick?

 

[CorgiPaws]

Have you tried the tuna juice trick?

Yeah. she will lap up the tuna juice, but won't eat anything. I even tried to hide a little tuna in her dry food. Lame attempt, I know. In the morning there was two clean slivers of tuna in the dottom of a totally empty and dry bowl.
I am about 6 weeks into trying, and not yet willing to admit defeat! lol

 

[spookychick13]

Wow, she is a stubborn kitty!

Don't give up!

 

[DaneMama]

Sounds to me like PJ is making good progress on the switch if you can already get him to eat raw chicken!!! Just give it some time and he will most likely be a pro.

Have you tried smearing canned cat food on other cuts of meat?

 

[spookychick13]

Sounds to me like PJ is making good progress on the switch if you can already get him to eat raw chicken!!! Just give it some time and he will most likely be a pro.

Have you tried smearing canned cat food on other cuts of meat?

No, not yet, I admit I often forgot to bring a little of the dog's meat to work with me.
I will have to buy him his own stock or something so I stop forgetting.

A lot of my Hare Today order will get split up and put in the work freezer (ew, I know) for him.

 

[spookychick13]

OK we're starting over. :/

PJ is not about the raw unless it has tuna on it.
So we're doing this:
Canned with commercial raw mixed in until he accepts that.
Then we're doing commercial raw with chunks mixed in.
Then all chunks.

The sucky part is, he has to have kibble on the weekends when we are closed, so I bought him a bag of Orijen. He has a timer that feeds him automatically.

I will keep everyone posted.

 

[DaneMama]

Sounds like a good plan. You just have to do what works for them and what they will tolerate. Keep up the good work and patience!

How many days is PJ left alone on the weekends?

 

[spookychick13]

Well technically just on Sunday, but unfortunately I don't trust anyone else here to remember to feed him.
Isn't that sad?

 

[DaneMama]

We often fast our cats one day...they just get a bigger meal the day before or after. Would it be horrible for him to go a day without food?