Raw Cat Food Information

[Ailin]

I have another question please. How much do I give her a day? My local butcher will pre-grind the chicken for me. Also, what about using primal or instinct by natures variety?

 

[Xandria]

@Ailin kittens should be given as much as they can eat in about 20 minutes. 3 to 4 times a day. Adults anywhere from 60 g to 120 g, 3 times a day, based on weight of cat.

 

[Ailin]

I noticed there's no fruits or vegetables in the recipe listed above. Cats don't need those like dogs do? I make raw for my dog and his recipe is a lot different!

 

[Xandria]

@Ailin. That is correct. Cats are obligate carnivores. Fruits and vegetables offer no nutritional value whatsoever for cats.

 

[Ailin]

I bought two whole chickens ground up from my local butcher and it's not ground up like ground beef and there are still bone chunks in it. Did I ask for them to do the wrong thing? I thought it would be like ground beef.

 

[Xandria]

@Ailin -- did the recipe you are using call for whole chicken to be ground up?

There will always be bits of bone from grinding. While cats will eat bone, and it's good for them, as long as it's not cooked it should be okay. Having said that, I am personally a little leery about serving small bits of bone in their food. I'd rather see them eat larger pieces of bone (like chicken wings) and chew it down themselves -- I did this with Max until I learned he was allergic to chicken.

Just follow the recipe you have. And if you need to, contact the creator of the recipe or the website where the recipe is found.

 

[Ailin]

I'm using the raw diet recipe that was posted on page 2 of this thread on April 14, 2017 by Marissa 17a. It says to grind the whole chicken bones and all. What I got back from my butcher does not look like anything you have posted pictures of on your thread from making your raw.

 

[celsei]

I'm using the raw diet recipe that was posted on page 2 of this thread on April 14, 2017 by Marissa 17a. It says to grind the whole chicken bones and all. What I got back from my butcher does not look like anything you have posted pictures of on your thread from making your raw.

Whole chicken does NOT work, chicken has 32% of bone while cats need 10% at most, any more and they'll get constipated. Also big bones are not safe for cats, they're built to eat mice and small birds not farm chicken, chicken wings and ribs and anything you can cut with poultry scissors is thin enough the rest is too big/thick for them and shouldn't be fed in shards either they're sharp and can injure their mouth/digestive system or get caught. If bones are ground they need to be pretty fine.

 

[celsei]

Here are some simple guides to balanced meals with either prey model or supplements. The general guideline is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 10% organ (at least half of this has to be kidney, and heart counts as muscle meat not organ just so you know):

A Prey Model Raw (PMR) / Whole Prey Feeding Guide – CatCentric

Balanced Raw Recipe for Cats + Supplements

If you want ready grinds many order from haretoday Category | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow, Raw Food for Cats | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

mice, pinkie/small rats, extra small guinea pigs, day old quail and pinkie rabbits are appropriate for cats

 

[celsei]

There are also premixes like EZ Balanced & Complete Raw or Cooked Pet Food! , Better in the Raw for Cats where you just mix the powder with ground or chunked plain muscle meal with bone and it has all the other nutrients they need.

 

[celsei]

Oops I linked to the whole prey not the ground section, here are the grinds with correct bone/organ/muscle ratio

Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow
Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow
Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow
Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow


Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow - a little bit high on bone, best to add some muscle meat as treats
Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow - a little bit high on bone, best to add some muscle meat as treats

 

[Xandria]

@Ailin cc @celsei -- this is a my bad situation. When I read that recipe originally, I did not see the "whole chicken" reference. Leg quarters are good, yes, but not the whole chicken.

I would definitely follow up with @celsei 's links -- those are great.

To learn more about raw, consider reading the newly updated pdf referenced in the first post of this thread: http://www.xandria.ca/Max/RawCatFoodInformation-v2.4.pdf

 

[bila]

@bila -- that's great news. They should be going about twice a day on a raw diet. There's no need to add psyllium unless the poop isn't firm, so I don't think you need to go there. Give it a little more time to sort out in his system

looks like he goes for number 2 every other day

 

[Xandria]

@bila -- is he straining when he goes that you know of? How often is he peeing? How long has he been on raw now?

 

[bila]

he does not strain(when he needs to go he will go fast and the poop is the #2 on the POOP chart/picture consistently ),peeing is at least few times a day(as he drinks water often during the day)
he's been on raw meat for almost 2 mths now.

 

[Xandria]

You could just check with your vet if that frequency is okay. I would think so if all else is right! Mine are piggies, so likely poop a bit more than normal LOL.

 

[Tasha2511]

Hi All,
I just wanted to run something by you - as there is lack of information for novices like me... Egg Shells and Bones.
So I recently purchased a supplement with NO CALCIUM (they didnt have complete in stock).
And then I found this.... How to Make Your Own Ground Eggshell Calcium Supplement for Dogs and Cats
In short...according to them
Cats need about 128 mg per kilogram, and kittens 400.
To find your pet's weight in kilograms, divide his weight in pounds by 2.2.
One average-size eggshell has 750 to 800 mg of calcium, along with trace elements like boron, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and more. Eggshells have a total of 27 trace elements and a composition similar to bones and teeth. They're porous, so they are vulnerable to contaminants, chemicals and bacteria in their environment. Therefore, buy organic when possible. Cooking eggshells will help destroy bacteria, but it won't remove chemicals

So am I right to assume...that if my cat, aged 13 months, weighs 3.86kg she will require 494 mg of calcium which is approximately 2/3 of an egg shell?
If I give her that daily....can I still give her a duck neck as a treat once per week or twice per week?
Duck Necks Analysis
Crude Protein (min) 18%
Crude Fat (min) 6%
Ash (max): 4%
Moisture (max) 76%
Calcium: 1.7%
Phosphorous: 0.9%

I apologise now in advance if anyone gets frustrated with seeing this post, but I genuinely do not understand. I have read CatCentric and looked at all other links in the document. But I have an issue understanding economics, so this is way above my mental capacity. Just need a simplified version...just for me and my nakid, where she still gets enough calcium.

 

[Xandria]

Hi there. Please do not ever hesitate to ask questions. I'm sorry that it's been a while since I've been off the layer (about two weeks), but hopefully my response is not too late.

Absolutely,, you perform the calculation correctly – 494 mg of calcium per day. This is much easier to manage if you pre-prepare food ahead of time and can wash and grind up as many egg shells as you can, splitting them up proportionally into individual meals. I tend to make about a month's worth of food at a time which is far more efficient for me. In fact, I'm making cat food tonight.

And absolutely you can continue giving necks as a treat a couple of times a week. Additional calcium should not cause any difficulty. However, it too much calcium will cause constipation. If there is no constipation, then there is no need to worry!

Again, ask questions any time. Hugs.

 

[Toa and Ross]

@Sahar this thread has very good information about raw food. Thanks to @Xandria

 

[Sahar]

@Sahar this thread has very good information about raw food. Thanks to @Xandria

Thank you so much honey

 

[Crystalc801]

I feed my baby raw and a grain free dry food. Merricks dry and primal nuggets. He is !!!

 

[MCLetter]

Hi all! We tried a pre-made raw food last year that completely stopped up my girl to the point that she was vomiting because she hadn't pooed in days . Definitely too much calcium in that one, but I want to try raw again for her by making my own so I can control the calcium percentage. My question is: what would I use in place of fish oil and in place of chicken hearts/livers? She is allergic to fish and chicken!

 

[karla9895]

Amazing information
thank you

 

[SpookySphynxGuy]

A really interesting topic. I raw feed the dogs the prepare frozen stuff from a brand in the UK known as nature's menu. Now I've started to put the whippets on a complete frozen meal they do but they also make free flow mince. That has no veg etc in it in a variety of meats beef. Chicken and tripe. Tripe on its own and if you're lucky you occasionally find a few bags of lamb would that be suitable do you think?

 

[Cydney]

Omg omg I finally did it!! I made my 10 year old sphynx raw meals for the first time and he LOVES IT!! I am such a happy mama !!

But now I need to double check.. I guess I just expected him to not take to it.. but is it okay for him to just automatically transition?? Or should I slowly make this change? I am so surprised!