making the switch

[mom2twins2007]

Hi my baby is 7 months old. She was very sick earlier in the week. An xray confirmed no obstruction. She had to be anesthetized and get an enema. The doctor has recommended taking her off kibble. I can't stand the smell of canned food so I've decided on raw. Has anyone tried my pet carnivore? I know a lot of people use better in the raw. Do you have to order that online? Any other kinds that you've had success with?
I tried freeze dried Stella and chewys...total fail.

 

[zoinks]

I have tried hare today which is similar to my pet carnivore I think? They deliver nutritionally complete ground mixes?

We use better in the raw. Order the biggest bag online and it lasts a few months.

We feed one of my cats stella & chewy's and have no problems with it. He turns his nose up at the real raw (ground mix or BiTR)

When you are transitioning to raw they usually don't love it right away. They are used to the pungent smell of kibble. Usually you need to tempt them into starting it by adding some tuna water, cheese, crushed kibble.

Good luck with the switch.

 

[Ollie]

I use Primal. I used to use Natures Instinct Variety as well but they stopped making it suitable for cats her in Canada anyway. Apparently taurine is expensive so their formula is for dogs only now, though you can mix it in with another brand. I've also tried Stella and Chewy but my guy gets the runs ( think it's too much fish?). I've tried the Primal freeze dried and he likes it but super expensive.

 

[OwnedByOdysseus]

Hi, This doesn't really answer your questions but I wanted to share my story of raw feeding with you.

My baby is just over 14 weeks old now and I got him from the breeder at 12 weeks old. I knew before I took him home I wanted to do a raw food diet and did tons of research, hours of reading! I ultimately decided that the frankenprey raw feeding model would be easiest, most cost efficient and best for me. It is so easy to do a raw food diet on your own that is completely nutritionally balanced and for a much smaller price tag then pet store brands!

Basically how it works is that you try to recreate the natural proportions of what a cat would be eating in the wild, 80%meat 10%bone 5% liver 5%other secreting organ. You can balance out the proportions over a week to make it easier. I make sure that Odysseus has one meal of heart weekly to get his taurine, as well as a snack of a raw egg and sardine once weekly for omega 3. I went to the local farmers market to price and source all of his meat and that way I know everything he is eating is hormone and antibiotic free. Figuring out how much to feed him was a bit trickier as he is still a kitten and they can eat up to 8% of their body weight (where as adults eat between 2-4%) So I started him off at 5oz but within a week realized I needed to up that. I've been feeding him 8oz now which for his 3lb body seems to be working well. He no longer goes to his food dish 'begging' for food between feedings.

Transitioning Odysseus was very easy! When we brought him home the breeder sent us with a zip-lock bag of kibble she was feeding. We left the kibble out for him for the first few days, transitioning to the new house he wasn't seeming to eat at all. As soon as we say he had ate the small bowl of kibble we left out for him we crushed up some kibble and rolled a piece of pork in it, offered it to him and he devoured it! He has been on a fully raw food diet since and doesn't miss the kibble one bit. I think we may have got lucky because he is so young. I hear it may be harder to transition older cats..

If you have any questions or want to see the meal plan I worked out for Odysseus just ask! Also if you want more information on this raw diet plan google "frankenprey for cats" there is so much information out there!