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Raw Cat Food Information

Xandria

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It's done! Until a revision is necessary :p I'll always place a date in the footer to hopefully avoid confusion.

Any way... here it is:


Thank you, everyone, who helped make this document possible. You are all so very inspirational. As always, I welcome further feedback.

I wanted to include some photos in the final document so I made some cat food last night. As you can see from the photos below, I had excellent supervision:

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Xandria

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Thank you so much. I hope it helps others. It really helped me to get it all straight and write down all the resources I will need in future.
 

lealea

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This is great. I've been wanting to look into raw food for my girls for a while. I'm a raw vegan and reap the benefits of raw foods myself, so trying raw meats for my babies feels natural for me, but it's seemed so overwhelming in the past.

One question, if you are adding in your organ meats, is it necessary to add taurine still, or do the supplements you've mentioned cover their needs completely? Sorry if you already mentioned it.
 

Xandria

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I added taurine with organ meats when I made without a supplemental add in (Max has a poultry intolerance so I reluctant to go back to chicken organs).
 

captain_tinky

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He is so precious! I can't believe I missed his gotcha date! Such great info though! I took Pip off of raw for a few months and in those few months she got fat, dehydrated, and was having stomach issues! Never again, raw all the way!
 

Jacks153

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@Xandria Hi, this is absolutely INCREDIBLE ! I am so completely intimidated to make this !!! Im in NorCal and I have no clue where to begin OR even if some of the meats are available ....Anyone in California know of places to purchase certain meats, cuts, or additives? THANKS FOR ALL THE HEADS UP IN ADVANCE!:barefoot:
 

JenFid

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@Xandria Hi, this is absolutely INCREDIBLE ! I am so completely intimidated to make this !!! Im in NorCal and I have no clue where to begin OR even if some of the meats are available ....Anyone in California know of places to purchase certain meats, cuts, or additives? THANKS FOR ALL THE HEADS UP IN ADVANCE!:barefoot:
A good place to start would be to just Google something like "raw pet food (insert your city)" and see what comes up. That's actually how I found our local store here, they do everything, all I have to do is show up and pick out which 5lb tubs of protein I want :)

Otherwise a lot of people order from Hare Today, Gone Tommorow (this is where I would order from if I didn't have the local option)
 

Jacks153

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@JenFid thats great info !! Thank you!! I will google today & also check out that website! Its so incredibly intimidating, Im afraid to mess up or create something disgusting for her lol
 

JenFid

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Looks like they carry Primal - that's good stuff. The only difference is you'll likely end up spending more than if you self prepare since they are commercially made, although if the store is local you'll save on the shipping cost. All depends on how you want to prepare it I guess! I wasn't up for purchasing a grinder and doing it all myself, so stuff like Primal is a good option if you want to avoid that. A step up from self grinding is buying the ground meat online (like Hare Today) and just mixing in a supplement. Easiest obviously is the commercial like Primal, but the convenience comes with a higher price tag.
 

Jacks153

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@JenFid There are so many options on Hare today...which do you get? I want to avoid chicken since most have reactions to it. and already ground or in chunks is great. I don't have a grinder. This might work out better !! And what website did you get the supplements from?
 

JenFid

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@Jacks153 if you don't want to go chicken, you could try turkey, or rabbit. Any of the other meats on there, really, I think. Ours like rabbit, the downside being it's about 3x as expensive as the chicken :/ but if you have the funds, go for it! Everything is going to be pricier than the chicken sadly. Whatever you get, I would buy the ground/bones/organs mix. You could also just get the ground meat with no bones/organs, but that tends to be more expensive.
You can buy the supplement right from them too. Under their "nutritional supplements" you'd want to get the Alnutrin for meat/bones/organs (this is what we use). Or the one for boneless if that's what you go with.

Hope that helps!
 

Rapunzel2010

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Thank you so much for posting. One of my furless babies can eat anything (she is a velvet princess) and the other has rashes and diarrhoea regardless of what sensitive stomach food I try (she is a sticky coated mess). So I have been looking at home made cat food and have been absolutely overwhelmed. You've made things so much easier and I am hoping the extra effort will have positive results!
 

Annika Laybourn

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Im still a bit overwhelmed - because it seems like the possibilities are limited in Denmark. But Im still working up a nerve to switching once my normal cat food runs low.
 

Xandria

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Im still a bit overwhelmed - because it seems like the possibilities are limited in Denmark. But Im still working up a nerve to switching once my normal cat food runs low.

Do you have a butcher that might be able to grind all the ingredients together for you in the appropriate ratios? Some butchers will actually do that.

In other words, find a butcher that will grind together the appropriate quantity of chicken (with bones), organs, and liver. Then all you need to do is add the remaining supplements, freeze into portions and you are good to go.
 

Annika Laybourn

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Do you have a butcher that might be able to grind all the ingredients together for you in the appropriate ratios? Some butchers will actually do that.

In other words, find a butcher that will grind together the appropriate quantity of chicken (with bones), organs, and liver. Then all you need to do is add the remaining supplements, freeze into portions and you are good to go.
Its actually a great point you are making. So simple but true - I will ask around for this. Because it feels kind of weird to buy smaller frozen bags of meat - defrost and add supplements - and then freeze again. Makes no sense - and not good for the meat!
 

Zoya

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This looks awesome!! I was just on here searching about because we are picking up our new kitty Jan 3rd!! So excited! I haven't fed raw to kittens before just adult kitties. I've also never grinded, looking at grinders now also.
 
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