Raw and tummy issues?

[Anita Eccleston]

It's best to stick to a single ingredient; that way if there is a problem you can narrow down what it could be. So chicken alone is better than chicken mixed with other stuff.

Then also, pork is one of the meats that some cats can be allergic to. It's not really a natural diet for them....picture a cat chasing after a pig. Poultry and rabbit are more their style. That being said, I'm only saying avoid pork and beef in the beginning, and eventually you can test it to see if your cat tolerates it. It's usually recommended to rotate the proteins so if your cat tolerates pork or beef, then an occasional meal is fine.

I've read the thing with chicken allergies but I think it is probably often not the chicken but other things about the food. Some cats are allergic just like anyone of us can be allergic to chicken, but it should be few. I wouldn't avoid chicken completely; you should at least try it.

The guy at the store...I agree with him. Kibble is the most processed. Cans not so much but still it's processed. The more a food is processed, the more it becomes a mutant version of its original self. Usually the processing removes the stuff you wanted to be in the food, so then the manufacturers add other things to compensate. So for example the processing wipes out the vitamins and minerals from the meat source and the manufacturers add in plant-based vitamins and minerals. It's not the same; cats don't metabolize them the same way.

Another problem is that cats can have allergies towards certain things like corn or wheat gluten, but these are common fillers in commercial pet foods. And manufacturers practice "ingredient splitting" so for example peas become peas, pea flour and pea fiber. They do it in such away that the % of each thing is lower so the first ingredient in the food is what the consumer wants to see.

Raw food by its nature is hard to "fake"

The final thing to consider is that sometimes the cat's gut isn't healthy. You can add some probiotics to the food to see if it helps heal the gut. If it is damaged, then anything that goes in is going to get a poor reaction.

This is my suggestion which you are of course free to take or leave, get a single protein source if you can. If you can't, then try the chicken and pork because at least it's raw but don't buy a lot at first just in case.

Loads of great advice thanks I have noted it down for future reference
Hugs Anita & Cleo xx

 

[Izzy17]

YAY!!!! She started eating only raw last night!!!! (I was cleaning my spoon and about to add wet to the mix and when i turned around she was on the island eating what was in her bowl!!) Can’t wait to see the changes it’s gonna make! :smuggrin:

 

[Xandria]

CONGRATULATIONS. That's fantastic. Remember to give it a good few weeks before her body has acclimated to the new food. Way to go, mom.

 

[Izzy17]

@Xandria thanks!! I’m pretty pumped!! Will give it a month before incorporating a new protein!! Do I have to do it with a transition or can i just randomly give her different proteins after a month?

 

[Xandria]

With the new protein, you can just give it to her. No need to transition with a different protein. Keep us posted.

 

[Izzy17]

Mini update..! Shes loving the raw and her poop is getting firmer everyday!!! 2/3 firm and last 1/3 still mushy.. pretty pumped about that! Barely smells and only poops once a day!!! Loving it!!!

Her ears also seem to stay clean longer!!

And OMG!!!! She’s sooooo soft now!! She had some fur on her back and tail and it was rough ish.. now its all gone and she’s sooooo soft!!! :cat:

 

[Condo commando]

Great! Now that you know it works, shop around near you. I found a local (to me) supplier - I buy meat from them already ground and premixed in the right percentage of meat+bone+organs. All I have to add is the Alnutrin, fish oil and water. It's not as economical as buying whole meats and grinding it myself and but it is much cheaper than buying commercially sold raw foods plus I don't have to worry about what they put in it. The key is getting a BALANCED RECIPE.

 

[Loveme]

Loads of great advice thanks I have noted it down for future reference
Hugs Anita & Cleo xx

Question do you boil the chicken? I have given Loveme boiled, and baked chicken from the oven being roasted. I hope they are good and Loveme is happiest girl . I didnt realize I dont have to mix it with dry food I read somewhere else they need to add dry foods for nurtients and for their teeth... I hope I do it right. SHe is crazy with cauliflower on the side and cheese as well.

 

[Condo commando]

I feed raw (not cooked). But last week one of my cats regurgitated food a couple of times and then she wasn't interested in eating. She is usually VERY interested in eating so I figured she wasn't feeling well and I decided to make chicken broth.

How I did it is I simmered a whole chicken for about 5 hours in water with a little bit of vinegar. I guess it's like boiling it except you use very low heat. It's hot enough to see some little bubbles in the water but you don't want it to be a rolling boil.

Stir periodically.....the meat starts to fall off the bone after about 2 hours but keep going until the bones are bare and all the cartilage and tendons are dissolved in the water. Be sure to take out the bones when it's finished; don't ever give the cooked bones to your cats (or dogs).

I think depending on the heat, you can simmer a chicken for longer....for me, I don't like to leave home and leave anything turned on and there's nobody else so I just do the 5 hours.

By the way, chicken broth isn't a balanced meal. I give it to them for about 2 days, and then I freeze the rest in ice cube trays and use it as snacks.

 

[Anita Eccleston]

Question do you boil the chicken? I have given Loveme boiled, and baked chicken from the oven being roasted. I hope they are good and Loveme is happiest girl . I didnt realize I dont have to mix it with dry food I read somewhere else they need to add dry foods for nurtients and for their teeth... I hope I do it right. SHe is crazy with cauliflower on the side and cheese as well.

Hi there , I give Cleo a little taste of everything raw chicken raw beef only tiny amount but I give her cooked meats more
I feed Cleo a wet and dry diet , her dry food bowl is never empty as I top it up constantly ,
So I am not an authority on raw diet but I have friends who have a grinder and they grind whole chickens bones as well as there is something in the bone that the naked babies need , I’ve also heard supplements are added to the raw diet
I am sure the more knowledgable members will give you the 100% facts on raw feeding
But I do like Cleo to have plenty variety to nibble on
Hugs
Anita & Cleo xxx

 

[Loveme]

I feed raw (not cooked). But last week one of my cats regurgitated food a couple of times and then she wasn't interested in eating. She is usually VERY interested in eating so I figured she wasn't feeling well and I decided to make chicken broth.

How I did it is I simmered a whole chicken for about 5 hours in water with a little bit of vinegar. I guess it's like boiling it except you use very low heat. It's hot enough to see some little bubbles in the water but you don't want it to be a rolling boil.

Stir periodically.....the meat starts to fall off the bone after about 2 hours but keep going until the bones are bare and all the cartilage and tendons are dissolved in the water. Be sure to take out the bones when it's finished; don't ever give the cooked bones to your cats (or dogs).

I think depending on the heat, you can simmer a chicken for longer....for me, I don't like to leave home and leave anything turned on and there's nobody else so I just do the 5 hours.

By the way, chicken broth isn't a balanced meal. I give it to them for about 2 days, and then I freeze the rest in ice cube trays and use it as snacks.

wow thats so good idea I would do that put in ice cubes for snacks!! so cute ok Ill try that and yes you are so right loveme didnt like the cauliflower in refig too long and good thing you didnt cook veggies because i will be upset if i should have and she loves it raw and even zuuchini i was surprised too