How much raw is too much?

[Wrinks]

Forrest is on a raw food diet, with the occasional can of blue buffalo canned food. He loves his diet, so much in fact he cries all around the house for more pretty much 24/7. We just switched to raw about 3 weeks ago. The packages i get are 1/4 lb each. He currently eats about 2 packages a day, so 1/2 lb. He would gladly eat more if i gave it to him, but im not sure i should. He is OBSESSED though, seriously....he sleeps on the kitchen counter now that he is on raw so everytime someone walks into the kitchen he can jump up and beg them to feed him LOL. He is about 11 lbs right now, and just over a year old. Any thoughts?

 

[rogerswabbit]

When I put my ragdoll on can food because she was taking medicine and that was the easiest way to get it in her I found she did the same thing. She would cry none stop around the clock to be fed even if she had already eaten. I ended up having to put her on all dry food again and it still took months before she stopped begging all the time for the can.

My sphynx eat raw and while they seem to like it, I haven't had the issues you are dealing with so I can only compare it to the can scenario we went through with my oldest cat. I feel for you 100%. Good luck. The only solution we found was to go to a dry food and if you are a raw lover that's not a great option.

 

[Inflamed]

We experienced something similar with Lucifer. We tried raw for awhile nut he became obsessed with his food! He turned into a different cat and could only think about food. Even when he was asleep in his blanket and you would get up, he would jump up and run to the kitchen. He didn't play anymore he was that obsessed. And believe me, he was getting plenty!
In the end we decided it was't worth it and switched to a great grain-free dry and wet and Lucifer is doing wonderful on it.
Keep in mind that though sphynx eat more than other cats you csn certainly overfeed them! But you'll have to figure out what works for you by trial and error.

Good luck!

 

[Khaleesi]

Half pound of Raw for a cat is more than enough. Cats should eat between 100-150 g a day. That half pund pack is 227g. When cats and dogs are on RAW they always scream for more. Because cats, really don't know when there next meal is coming. So when they see you walk into the kitchen they will want more and more. If you fed the cat everytime it wanted food, your cat would become so obese leading to issues. I know you feel bad, because the kittyseem hungry but trust me half pound of food is great!

 

[DoctorSpock]

All my cats are the same way and the only thing that works for me is feeding them throughout the day. Dr. Spock will get an ounce w/gizzard & heart and the gremlins get 2oz/feeding. Total for Spockie is 6 oz and the gremlins 8oz or more 4-5 x's/day.... Both of the babies are now about 4 + oz now... They look fabulous, no URI's, no gooey poo, and are a blast to watch or play with...

When I fed Spockie just twice a day he would holler at me all day and I mean HOLLER! So feeding him an oz at a time worked for me. When I was working, I used an automatic feeder to feed him throughout the day. Love that thing! It works like Pablos Bell! It makes a whirring sound and when Spockie hears it even in a deep sleep, he'll run to it and eat! Might be something that would work for you?

 

[Monchchichi]

All my cats are the same way and the only thing that works for me is feeding them throughout the day. Dr. Spock will get an ounce w/gizzard & heart and the gremlins get 2oz/feeding. Total for Spockie is 6 oz and the gremlins 8oz or more 4-5 x's/day.... Both of the babies are now about 4 + oz now... They look fabulous, no URI's, no gooey poo, and are a blast to watch or play with...

When I fed Spockie just twice a day he would holler at me all day and I mean HOLLER! So feeding him an oz at a time worked for me. When I was working, I used an automatic feeder to feed him throughout the day. Love that thing! It works like Pablos Bell! It makes a whirring sound and when Spockie hears it even in a deep sleep, he'll run to it and eat! Might be something that would work for you?

They make automatic feeders that keep raw cold???? Where can i find this contraption?

 

[DoctorSpock]

They make automatic feeders that keep raw cold???? Where can i find this contraption?

I googled "automatic feeders" and I think Amazon had them... My first one had the disks that you fill w/water and freeze. That one lasted about 2 years and died. My new one has 5 pie shaped wedges and is programmable but no disks to keep cold. So I used the old ones and set the feeder on top of two (one on each side) to keep the food cold. I also put the food frozen in each wedge for the day. Worked like a charm especially when he wanted to be fed 4 am !

 

[SealySphynx]

My elderly domestic short hair cat does this too! I switched him to canned Wellness, but it was really expensive for how much he was eating. So I did research and switched him over to homemade raw. Now he can't get enough! I feed him throughout the day, the containers I picked are single serving so when the foods gone that's all he gets for the day. He will still beg and if you let him, he will eat it until he throws up!

Oh yea, now that he's on raw, he thinks he's a kitten again. He races and jumps and plays like there's no tomorrow!

 

[susi794]

I have 8 adult cats and I feed twice a day--2 lbs. at a time. So that is 4 oz. a piece twice a day for a total of 8 oz. a day. I am going to have to up the amount, because the babies are now eating the raw as well. If I feed more than that, or if someone didn't want as much and then another one ate the extra, we will often have vomiting. Most of the stuff I have read says an adult cat should be eating somewhere around 3.5 oz. a serving twice a day for a total of about 7 oz. a day--kittens should be fed as much as they want and monitored for weight, etc. When you first start out on raw, they want more because they are used to all the carbs from the kibble (kitty crack) they have been eating and are used to. It's just like a human being on a diet to lose weight--you can feed me an adequate amount of healthy food, but if I am used to potato chips, fries, ice cream, pizza, etc. I am going to cry for food all the time too. And just like humans with a major diet change, if they give it enough time, their stomachs will adjust to the new food and sometimes they will regulate themselves. I do believe that carnivores in the wild don't know where theier next meal is coming from, but it helps to have a schedule and feed your cats at the same time every day. Like Doctor Spock says, sometimes you have to feed lots of small meals. I would much prefer to do that, but I work all day, so I have to settle for the twice a day kind of feeding for now. But I do believe that if given enough time to adjust, they can become content with what they are getting.

 

[bthomas]

When I switched Elvis to RAW I continued with the same amount of food at the same times during the day- 4 oz two times a day, so a total of 8 oz per day.
But now, just under a month since the transition, he is starting to eat a little less at each meal. For now I've just been giving him the four ounces at each meal and then refrigerating the left overs and giving them to him a couple hours later- so now he eats the eight ounces throughout four feedings a day.

 

[Gensen]

I am thinking I am not going to let my kitten "see" where the food is or comes from... maybe if I don't let him "see" he won't get crazy nuts about feedings and the kitchen! lol... just something I am thinking might work after reading the "my cats are obsessed posts here"...lol!:Laugh:

 

[VenturaGuy]

I switched from. Natures Balance canned to RAW.....A california company called "Small Batch" www.Smallbatchpets.com It has Chicken muscle , bones, cartridge, hearts, liver, salmon oil, kelp, cranberry, dandelion, apple cider vinegar and bee pollen. They come in 1oz. sliders. Its very easy for me as a bachelor thats works a lot to thaw out some in the AM and feed them when I eat dinner.
BUT I have the same issue they go ape S##T crazy every time I go into the kitchen. According to the bag it says feed 2 sliders per day. But they acted like they were starving and meow non stop every time I went into the kitchen. So I give them Dry Wellness Core- a handfull each 2 times a day and raw every other day. They have settled down a bit, but RAW is defiantly cat crack.

 

[beamom]

I switched from. Natures Balance canned to RAW.....A california company called "Small Batch" smallbatch pets It has Chicken muscle , bones, cartridge, hearts, liver, salmon oil, kelp, cranberry, dandelion, apple cider vinegar and bee pollen. They come in 1oz. sliders. Its very easy for me as a bachelor thats works a lot to thaw out some in the AM and feed them when I eat dinner.
BUT I have the same issue they go ape S##T crazy every time I go into the kitchen. According to the bag it says feed 2 sliders per day. But they acted like they were starving and meow non stop every time I went into the kitchen. So I give them Dry Wellness Core- a handfull each 2 times a day and raw every other day. They have settled down a bit, but RAW is defiantly cat crack.

This sounds great, but alas, they're only in stores on the west coast, so I can't try on my finicky cat Bea.

2 oz of food a day doesn't sound like much, Sphynx do need a bit more food than regular cats. Maybe try a little more?

 

[SealySphynx]

I'm not sure because of all that extra stuff in there other than meat, bone, and organs but you should be feeding 3-4% of a cats body weight as a starting point. They should probably be eating more like 4-6 oz a day. If they're losing weight, they need to eat more.

Bea's mom, where are you located?

 

[beamom]

Hi SealySphynx, I'm in MA.

I've seen Nature's Variety, Rad, and one other kind of premade raw in the freezer at a local pet store. Also the dried kind - Honest Kitchen and Stella + Chewy's. I just thought making my own would be a little less expensive.

 

[SealySphynx]

I totally support homemade raw, it's much healthier and inexpensive. Cats don't need those added veggies and often times, more bone is added to the premade stuff than cats (or dogs for that matter) need. Bone and organs are cheaper than quality muscle meat, so often times they'll add more of those and less meat.

 

[SealySphynx]

Oh and the Honest Kitchen isn't raw, I'm not sure if it was before but it's not anymore. They recently changed their packaging and ingredients on a lot of their foods.

 

[beamom]

Oh and the Honest Kitchen isn't raw, I'm not sure if it was before but it's not anymore. They recently changed their packaging and ingredients on a lot of their foods.

I didn't realize that. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Bentley77]

Your sphynx sounds like mine!! Funny

Forrest is on a raw food diet, with the occasional can of blue buffalo canned food. He loves his diet, so much in fact he cries all around the house for more pretty much 24/7. We just switched to raw about 3 weeks ago. The packages i get are 1/4 lb each. He currently eats about 2 packages a day, so 1/2 lb. He would gladly eat more if i gave it to him, but im not sure i should. He is OBSESSED though, seriously....he sleeps on the kitchen counter now that he is on raw so everytime someone walks into the kitchen he can jump up and beg them to feed him LOL. He is about 11 lbs right now, and just over a year old. Any thoughts?