New kitty can't eat kibble. What should I free feed?

[maxwellb]

Hi everyone!

I brought my baby home two weeks ago. He is currently 7 months old. We feed him twice a day Primal Freeze Dried raw Rabbit, once in the morning, and once at night.

We don't leave anything out to free feed during the day because he has digestive issues. We tried Instinct Rabbit kibble but he gets diarrhea if he eats ANYTHING other than the freeze dried raw rabbit.

But the poor baby is go hungry during the day! I don't know what to do . I feel so bad that he is so hungry until we feed him again at night but he can't free feed on kibble. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this.

Thanks!

 

[Yoda mom]

@maxwellb hugs n head smooches..
surely members will chime in. I know some members use chip/feeders and the like
@Catzzzmeow may have some suggestions too

is the primal the one you can feed dry os well as hydrated?
I just tried to give my bengal a primal sample yesterday.. the packaged mentioned feeding it dry or rehydrated?


following for updates... surely there are other members who have the same circumstances

 

[maxwellb]

@maxwellb hugs n head smooches..
surely members will chime in. I know some members use chip/feeders and the like
@Catzzzmeow may have some suggestions too

is the primal the one you can feed dry os well as hydrated?
I just tried to give my bengal a primal sample yesterday.. the packaged mentioned feeding it dry or rehydrated?


following for updates... surely there are other members who have the same circumstances

Hi @Yoda mom

We are currently feeding him the food attached below. It recommends it be rehydrated for the importance of water in a cat's diet as per the back of the bag
.

We tried Instinct raw boost kibble but it gave him diarrhea.

 

[Yoda mom]

that's the same I tried hydrated for my bengal yesterday.. sigh.. she snubbed her nose at it.

we have several members that feed ;primal and stella and chewy freeze dried ... hope they can share their feeding tips

 

[Yoda mom]

tagging @Condo commando @Luna112 for some ideas too

 

[Yoda mom]

@maxwellb tagging @Amy Ritchison , I believe she feeds freeze dried primal too

 

[Sheldon13]

I leave out Vital Essentials freeze dried raw kibble for Ellie to snack on. I feed her a can twice a day and she drinks plenty so she gets a lot of water. She only nibbles on the kibble. If she was eating a ton of it I would become concerned with hydration, as you said. As it is it’s maybe 5% of her diet. I just like that it’s raw.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Condo commando]

Congrats!

Cats don't need to free feed but the issue with kittens is that their tummies are small so they need to eat several small meals. So it's really a matter of getting past the kitten stage and onto adulthood, and then you'll be OK to feed in the morning and at night. I would just leave some freeze-dried food for him but not get it wet as that would risk bacteria. It's not the end of the world to not reconstitute it. Ideally he would finish what you left for him a couple of hours before you get home so he's hungry again when you get home.

In summary, meal #1 would be in the morning before you leave the house, #2 would be while you're at work so you have to leave it for him, #3 would be when you get home from work, and #4 would be before bed. Get him used to eating at set times since it's raw food.

PS - you can also feed regular raw food when you are home which is cheaper, and save the freeze dried for when you can't be home.

 

[maxwellb]

Congrats!

Cats don't need to free feed but the issue with kittens is that their tummies are small so they need to eat several small meals. So it's really a matter of getting past the kitten stage and onto adulthood, and then you'll be OK to feed in the morning and at night. I would just leave some freeze-dried food for him but not get it wet as that would risk bacteria. It's not the end of the world to not reconstitute it. Ideally he would finish what you left for him a couple of hours before you get home so he's hungry again when you get home.

In summary, meal #1 would be in the morning before you leave the house, #2 would be while you're at work so you have to leave it for him, #3 would be when you get home from work, and #4 would be before bed. Get him used to eating at set times since it's raw food.

PS - you can also feed regular raw food when you are home which is cheaper, and save the freeze dried for when you can't be home.

Thanks for replying! We tried splitting the recommended amount on the back of the bag into 3 meals a day. He just sits and meows forever after eating because he is still hungry after every meal, especially after we've slept and have woken up in the morning to him meowing and meowing. For the Primal Freeze Dried that I pictured above, the recommended amount is 3-4 cubes twice a day for his weight. But since he is a kitty, does anyone have any suggestions on how much to feed him instead?

 

[Yoda mom]

Tagging @Amy Ritchison , I believe she feeds Primal

 

[Condo commando]

Thanks for replying! We tried splitting the recommended amount on the back of the bag into 3 meals a day. He just sits and meows forever after eating because he is still hungry after every meal, especially after we've slept and have woken up in the morning to him meowing and meowing. For the Primal Freeze Dried that I pictured above, the recommended amount is 3-4 cubes twice a day for his weight. But since he is a kitty, does anyone have any suggestions on how much to feed him instead?

I would feed him as much as he can eat in a set amount of time, like say 15-20 minutes. Those recommendations on packages are never exact but that's even less reliable when you're feeding a kitten. You want to feed him for a set amount of time until basically he's full and stops eating, and then that's it until the next meal. You want to get him used to a schedule and I'm sure he will acclimate because cats (and dogs) do great with routines.

Now with kittens they really don't have a big stomach so they will fill up quickly. But then they burn off calories faster, so they'll be hungry again. This is why they need more meals....I suggested 4 but since he is waking you up, you could give him a 5th meal at 4am or whatever time it is that he's waking you up. My cats that are older get a meal right before bed and they sleep thru the night now. This is kind of what you sign up for with a kitten

 

[Condo commando]

By the way they also make timed feeders with ice packs which would be good if you wanted to reconstitute the freeze dried food. I don't need this myself but if I had a kitten, since I feed raw, I would get it. It works best when you only have one cat. I don't know how somebody can make sure with more than one cat that the same one isn't eating both portions LOL
www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Bowl-Feeder-Pack/dp/B0002YHUPC

 

[Toa and Ross]

Maybe you could try a timed feeder? There are feeders with ice packs so the food will stay cold. This way your little one can have a nice lunch.

 

[Piggylovescake]

Okay so I feel your pain. Not the same situation but when we first got our chicken we changed her diet.. boop tail, poop bed, poop face just poop everywhere. Our poor girl had a poorly tummy.and I really started to consider and wonder what I got myself into.We didn’t go raw but we went grain free. It is more expensive but the first time she had a solid poop I cried. It’s trial and error and find a feed that works for you, give it a couple of days to work and settle.

Love and head smooches
Xxx
Marek, Amanda, chicken, squish &stormy

 

[maxwellb]

Hi everyone! Thank you for the replies.

Igor is eating 4 times a day now with the Primal freeze dried food. He eats 3 nuggets in the morning, 2 at 12pm, 2 at 6pm, and 3 at 9/10pm.

He is still CONSTANTLY meowing for food all day long. I'm not sure if I am underfeeding him or what. I can't tell what is enough or not enough.

Please help!

 

[Yoda mom]

@maxwellb hugs n head smooched to Igor.. love his name, hope to see pics of your cutie..
tagging @Condo commando and other raw feeders to chime in

@Condo commando show that is a great little feeder with icepacks... hope you can share it on the raw feeder thread..very helpful info!! thanks

 

[Condo commando]

Kittens are bottomless pits and you haven't said how big he is. A big kitten will eat a ton. But here's the good news - they have relatively small stomachs that fill up quickly. So they tend to not overeat because of that. You say he's constantly meowing....is that even when he just ate? Because if he's not full from his meal, that's a sign he didn't get enough to eat.

Now, I assume you are mixing those freeze dried nuggets with water.....water is good for the body anyway but it can also help to fill them up. So don't be afraid to put more water in.....it's good plus it's filling.

But the MAIN THING is his body shape. Does he have noticeable body fat? If no, he's probably legitimately hungry.

 

[maxwellb]

Kittens are bottomless pits and you haven't said how big he is. A big kitten will eat a ton. But here's the good news - they have relatively small stomachs that fill up quickly. So they tend to not overeat because of that. You say he's constantly meowing....is that even when he just ate? Because if he's not full from his meal, that's a sign he didn't get enough to eat.

Now, I assume you are mixing those freeze dried nuggets with water.....water is good for the body anyway but it can also help to fill them up. So don't be afraid to put more water in.....it's good plus it's filling.

But the MAIN THING is his body shape. Does he have noticeable body fat? If no, he's probably legitimately hungry.

Igor is 7.5/8lbs as of when we brought him to the vet two weeks ago!

He isn't visibly fat or anything! He is still meowing after his meals, yes. Should I switch to 2 large meals and one small meal mid day? Maybe 4/4.5 cubes in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 4/4.5 at night before bed?

I attached some images here.

 

[Condo commando]

OK he's definitely not fat. And remember, kittens tend to be more active and that means they burn the calories faster and get hungry again sooner. To me, it sounds like he needs more food.

My girl Sunday would eat 15 ounces of raw food per day when she was a one year old kitten and weighed 8 lbs. Thankfully she stopped growing LOL. She's 8 yrs old now and she weighs about 9.5 lbs but she only eats 7 ounces, so that's the difference.

I would spread the meals out into 3 or 4 per day and I would give him 12 nuggets divided out over the 3 or 4 meals. It might not be enough but then you can gradually increase by 1 nugget per day.

I know that particular kind of food is expensive from when I used to buy it, so you can also look into regular raw food which is cheaper. Maybe do a little of each.

PS he is a cutie

 

[maxwellb]

OK he's definitely not fat. And remember, kittens tend to be more active and that means they burn the calories faster and get hungry again sooner. To me, it sounds like he needs more food.

My girl Sunday would eat 15 ounces of raw food per day when she was a one year old kitten and weighed 8 lbs. Thankfully she stopped growing LOL. She's 8 yrs old now and she weighs about 9.5 lbs but she only eats 7 ounces, so that's the difference.

I would spread the meals out into 3 or 4 per day and I would give him 12 nuggets divided out over the 3 or 4 meals. It might not be enough but then you can gradually increase by 1 nugget per day.

I know that particular kind of food is expensive from when I used to buy it, so you can also look into regular raw food which is cheaper. Maybe do a little of each.

PS he is a cutie

Thank you for the advice!

Yes the Primal rabbit is about $40 a 14oz bag. Do you have any recommendations on other raw food brands? We tried a prescription kibble that the vet gave us and it gave him awful diarrhea so I am trying to stick to raw food only.

I am going to try a 4nuggets/4nuggets/4nuggets meal plan tomorrow when I am working from home and add some extra water to it as well and see if he's still a meowing mess.

 

[Condo commando]

If you wanted to buy raw food that's ready to eat, you can check pet stores and grocery stores in your area. Primal used to sell some frozen nuggets....don't know if they still do.

Nowadays I buy the meat and make the food at home. It's not hard; there are companies that sell the meat already ground with bones and organs included. In order to feed it, you dethaw it and add water and a supplement powder. It's actually very easy, but it does require freezer space. I bought a small freezer for cat food.

Let me explain the savings now. The cost of rabbit from Hare Today including shipping is roughly $7 per pound. But it's even better than that.....the raw food you buy in stores ready to serve has had water added to it. If you buy just the meat and add water at home, 1 pound of meat becomes 1.25 pounds of food. Since water is free, let's say you bought that rabbit for $7, you now have 1.25 pounds of food that cost you only $7. That drops the price per pound to $5.60.

Then you do have to add the supplement powder but I've done the math and the supplement only costs 42 cents per pound of food.

I buy rabbit from Hare Today. The other place I recommend is Raw Feeding Miami; they are more expensive for rabbit but usually cheaper on everything else. Those are 2 places that ship their food. You might also be able to find a place that's local so you can pick up. The supplement is Alnutrin for meat with bone.

 

[Condo commando]

One more thing, I also add some raw fish to the food when I make it. That's cheaper, so it drives down the average price. Because I add a good bit of water, my rabbit food only costs me $5 per pound. Food for thought.....

 

[Condo commando]

Here's an article on raw pet food that mentions some options.

Forget kibbles: US sales of fresh pet food are soaring

DETROIT (AP) — Kibbles for Fido? Nope. These days he's getting diced chicken with sweet potatoes and spinach.

apnews.com

 

[Sheldon13]

I personally made my own using hare-today rabbit, chicken, turkey etc with Alnutrin supplement and sardine oil added. But, if you are needing something already made Darwin is a good brand. I can’t remember the cost but it wasn’t much more then making my own last time I checked. They just didn’t have as much variety as making my own so I switched because of that. I mean, hare-today even sells rats/mice and guinea pig!


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need