# Raw fed cats



## carbonxxkidd (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm glad there is an area of this forum to ask questions about other animals! I tried to join a cat forum to talk about it more, but have not been approved to post there yet and I feel like I can't wait any longer for answers/advice.

I am in the process of trying to transition my two cats to an at least 50/50 raw/canned diet. So far it seems to be going okay, except I haven't found a source for organ meat (other than liver) yet.

My 6yr old female cat, Callisto, will eat literally everything I give to her, as long as I cut it up a bit first. She's eaten chicken wings, half a quail (that I got at an Asian food market, will have to ask them about kidneys or other organ meat the next time I go there), pork chunks (I bought some pork necks at the grocery store and just cut the meat off, super cheap), chicken hearts/gizzards/liver, chunks of beef, chunks of chicken breast/thigh. I tried venison last night and she ended up projectile vomiting (into the litterbox! how perfect!) which is a total first for her (she hasn't thrown up once in her 6 years of life) and so I'm not sure if we're going to try that again. Other than the venison, she has pretty much taken to the raw meals like a champ. She is a bit heavy, I think - sometimes she looks the perfect weight and sometimes she looks/feels a little doughy. I thought raw might help her lose some weight.

My 4yr old male cat, Ganymede, is more picky - he will take a bite or two of boneless meat and then walk away. Chicken seems to be a favorite and he did actually eat the whole half a quail I offered to him, bone and all (it was cut up a bit, but still). It's hard for me to get him to eat an entire raw meal otherwise. I wanted to switch Gan to raw, especially, because he has had some digestive and urinary issues in the past and I have heard raw might be the way to go. Being on an grain-free canned food for the past year has already helped him significantly, he has gained a pound and no longer looks and feels anerexic, but raw might help him more. After 1 week of eating raw for dinner, his breath is basically non-existent (he has had nasty breath ever since he was a tiny kitten) and his gums are already looking better (he had some mild gingivitis I think, slightly red at the base of the teeth, it's turning pink now). I don't have access to a grinder and am nervous about buying ground stuff at the grocery store (where it's cheapest) because of what I've read online, but am not sure how to get him to eat more! 

Right now they are getting grain-free canned (Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit) in the morning and raw at night. I have only started consistently feeding raw this week for dinner, and am kind of apprehensive about making a total switch for time and nutrient purposes. Is it okay that they are eating a half and half diet? I am not sure how much they should be eating with each meal. They each get about 3oz canned food in the morning and I have been giving them 2-3oz of raw at night, right now...each cat should weigh about 9lbs. Should their raw meals be perfectly proportioned (80% meat, 10% bone, 5% organ, 5% liver) every night or can I do that over the course of a week or so like with a dog? Suggestions on getting Ganymede to finish his whole meal?


----------



## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

It's fine to feed half and half if your cats don't have any digestive issues with it, my cat was on canned before raw and I went back and forth for awhile while I figured out what she would/could eat and I got more comfortable with it. I usually did a day of raw, day of canned though. You balance over time, don't worry about getting it exact over the day, do it over the week or month. Keep in mind canned food smells really good and raw not so much, that may account for why your other cat isn't as gung ho about it, or he might just not be big into chewing and working for his meals yet. You can try mixing it, or chopping it up really small and working your way up. I don't grind anything personally but I know a lot of kitty raw feeders do.


----------



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I agree with dressing it up a bit. When I had my foster boy last year there were some raw meals he didn't want to touch, so I added some of his canned to it or sometimes he'd eat it even if I just poured some of the juices from the canned over it. He hated, hated organs so I usually chopped them really really tiny and mixed them with his other meals. Over the course of a few weeks I stopped having to add anything to get him to eat and he started to really enjoy his meals. I find its harder to determine how much to feed with cats but I assume the longer you do it the easier it gets, I only had my boy for 3ish months...


----------



## Felix (Oct 9, 2012)

For the source of organ meats, is there an Asian Market near you? I always went there when I was feeding PMR and got a lot of really great scores. Or a local butcher might be able to help you as well, may have to special order. Just a few suggestions


----------



## carbonxxkidd (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks everyone! Ganymede tends to not even finish his canned meals...he'll walk away when he's half done and if I remind him he will eat a little more...not sure if this is him being picky or if he's actually just full. I tried to mix a bit of chicken thigh into his canned tonight after he ate 3-4 small chunks of just chicken and he totally ignored it. I'm beginning to think he will just take forever to transition, haha. He did seem to get excited about the chicken at first though, which is a good sign...he just didn't eat very much! 

So far, there hasn't been any digestive issues (other than Callisto vomiting up her venison last night) which is great. I can already tell that Callisto has more energy from eating raw this week. It might just be my imagination, but she rarely plays with me and after her 2nd meal she played with me for a full 25 minutes! Leaping and running after her toy mouse when she usually will just bat at it lazilly when I put it near her. Good signs.

Felix, there is an Asian market by my house where I got the quail, I didn't even think to look there for organ meat but I will definitely ask them the next time I go there. They had a pretty extensive meat department. A friend of mine told me to try Mexican markets too so I will have to find one of those.


----------

