Switching to Raw - need advice

[spikesmom]

I am sorry for the new thread but working two jobs makes it hard to find time to research older posts....

I have a 5 year old and a 7 month old sphynx. They have poop issues (surprise surprise LOL). I hear that raw diet will help them with their soft poos and be better overall for them.

Can someone tell me how to get started? I don't have the time to grind my own, etc. I am hoping I can buy prepacked food of some kind, and set it up for bi-weekly delivery. I am hoping someone can tell me a good brand, how much to feed, if I need to add vitamines/etc. and if I need to transistion/wean them off dry in some special way.

Thanks!
Cyndi

 

[MollysMom]

There are basically 3 types of raw:

1. DIY - grind and measure the correct amounts of organ, muscle, and bone.

2. pre-mix - use a powder mixed with water and muscle meat to create a complete food. You can google "better in the raw", several members including myself use this.

3. frozen medallions/ chub - buy from a local pet store or order online. I don't have any experience with these brands, hopefully someone else will chome in.

 

[MollysMom]

As for transitioning, I would try to do it all at once. Hopefully they take to it, keep in mind that some cats can have sensitivities to certain meats (such as beef).

 

[Emily0404]

Hmm I can't remember who it was but someone told me that it's ok to feed 20% raw meat (without any supplements )and 80 % wet cat food. I got pretty excited about this I'm planning to do a full switch eventually but for now , most evenings they get a little snack of whatever raw meat we are eating. They have been sooooo receptive and seem to really like it! The best part that the poop they have after this is firm! I'm excited to get to fully raw stage

 

[kristininn]

I used several of the pre-made varieties that are complete, i.e. you don't have to add in any supplements. I use Primal, RadCat, and Bravo Balance Complete at present, and have used Nature's Variety in the past (felt the bone was too big in this brand). I've also used Alnutrin with calcium/bone which is a complete powder you can add to ground meat (generally chicken or turkey as beef and pork aren't the best protein choice for cats). The Alnutrin worked great and is much cheaper than Better in the Raw which many members use here. With that said, however, I didn't feel 100% confident that my guys were getting everything they needed, so I switched back to premade.

When you transition, you need to do it all at once as kibble is digested at a different rate than raw and feeding both can cause serious tummy upset. If your kitties don't like it at first (one of mine would have nothing to do with it), you can mix in wet canned food (even up to 1/2 and then wean that amount down) or use something like tuna juice or bonito flakes to get him or her interested. Your 5-year-old will eat less than your 7-month-old. Winston, who is 2, eats 6-6.5 ounces daily and Henry who is 15-months-old eats 8-8.5. When Henry was a kitten he ate 10 ounces daily. Each type of food recommends a different amount of feeding, so it's good to feed the kitten/active recommendations of each to your little one and then add more if he or she is not gaining weight. I also feed my guys chicken flippers (the wing without the drumstick) x2 week to help getting some good chewing/jaw movement in. On nights they get their wings, I weigh the wings and then feed premade to reach the full amount - so if the wing weighs one once, I feed Winston 2 ounces of premade as well.

Feel free to pm me if I can help further, and good luck! Raw does amazing things for kitties with poo problems.

 

[Tina]

I feed raw to my dogs and want to start my cat on it .. how do you safely get it to room temp?

 

[MollysMom]

I feed raw to my dogs and want to start my cat on it .. how do you safely get it to room temp?

I just thaw it in the fridge, and they will eat it like that (cold temp). If you really wanted to, you could do the same thing, and when you dish it out, just leave it on the counter for 5 min to warm up a bit. Just make sure that your cat food is different from the dog's - they will each need thier own formula

 

[zoinks]

I feed raw to my dogs and want to start my cat on it .. how do you safely get it to room temp?

What MollysMom said will work too, but personally I put it in a baggie and run this under fairly warm water from the tap (too scared if it's too hot it will cook it) for a little bit, just to take the chill off it. When it is too cold, one of mine acts like his teeth are a little sensitive to it.

 

[zoinks]

Another option for food is freeze dried raw. I am currently giving my boys this, which you store in the cupboard and rehydrate with warm water.

I use Stella & Chewy's brand and they love it more than any other food I tried. Dippy gets chicken and Alfie gets fish (he is allergic to poultry)

Like Kristininn I like to liven it up a bit so they don't get bored and give them fish (tuna or mackerel, fresh or tinned in water only) a few times a week. I also feed them hearts & gizzards as treats for a bit of chewing, and am always looking for other interesting options.

Good luck with the switch, it should be worth it! We have no runny poop and no stinky poop now, so much so you could almost forget to clean out the litter box for a few days

 

[assibassi]

I use BitR , and its poweder mixed with water and meat. Its cold and sometimes i run it just about 20 seconds under warm/hot water .
I tried the Freeze dried Raw I think it was Primalpetfoods.com i think ? One was not too fond of it.

 

[zoinks]

I use BitR , and its poweder mixed with water and meat. Its cold and sometimes i run it just about 20 seconds under warm/hot water .
I tried the Freeze dried Raw I think it was Primalpetfoods.com i think ? One was not too fond of it.

Yeah ours hate primal it even looks and smells really bland. and its so hard to get it to absorb the water. you have to chop it up into tiny bits :grumpy: too bad as it is a decent price.

 

[Calicocious]

I've used Better in the Raw, natures variety frozen bites and I'm currently using Bravo balance and Primal 5 lb chubs. They only cost me around $12 or $13 a piece. Mine have a chicken protein allergy so I stay away from that one but they do fine on turkey ect. I thaw the chub a bit on the counter until I can cut in half. I put half in a large Tupperware container in the fridge and the other half in a ziplock in the freezer. A half lasts me just shy of three days. You wouldn't want it in the fridge any longer than that. I take the other half out and thaw in the fridge just before I use up the other one. I use a kitchen scale to measure out each meal. Saves me money by not over feeding and I'm not under feeding. Its recommended to switch right away, no mixing of dry food and raw to transition. Different digestion times is why. You can wait at least 6 hours after the dry to feed the raw. The morning meal is the easiest way to do this. Like others have said if they don't take to it right away you mix with wet or other tempting treats like the tuna juice. I had two that switched no problem but one was a little slow in coming around. Best of luck with it! You'll love the no litter box smell! And I think they get such a sleek and healthy look to them. They're in better shape than I am that's for sure lol.

 

[lapril]

I use natures variety and primal. My pet food supplier always has sales on them.
One thing to note though- natures variety has one formula for BOTH DOGS AND CATS.
Primal, however, has separate formulas for dogs and cats. Considering the fact that you also have a dog, natures variety might be a better choice.* stay away from the rabbit formula though, it is sourced from china

 

[Taraforweb]

We use Primal freeze dried. It doesn't have to be refrigerated so you can leave it in the bowl for a while- unless you wet it. It's also great for traveling.

 

[momdeeze]

I use Darwin's Pet. They ship it directly to your house in whatever quantity that works for you. One if my adults had bad diarrhea for a year until I tried raw and it fixed him overnight. I've tried many of the freeze dried and frozen raw products and Darwin's is the only one all my cats will eat. It comes frozen in 2 pound squares individually wrapped in four servings (4- 1/2 pound individual packages). I'm lucky since they are a local company, they deliver for free to the Seattle metro area.

 

[Ollie]

I use natures variety and primal. My pet food supplier always has sales on them.
One thing to note though- natures variety has one formula for BOTH DOGS AND CATS.
Primal, however, has separate formulas for dogs and cats. Considering the fact that you also have a dog, natures variety might be a better choice.* stay away from the rabbit formula though, it is sourced from china

Does natures variety meet the nutritional requirements for cats?

 

[lapril]

Natures variety meets all nutritional requirements for cats and dogs. You can look at the ingredients on their website.

 

[Ollie]

I did look, guess I find it strange that one food could meet both animals requirements.... I did buy some to mix in with the primal that I've been using just to switch up the flavours a bit ( lamb...we'll see if he likes it

 

[Embracing-Joyx4]

Sincere seems to not like beef wet does that mean he won't like any beef?

 

[Ollie]

My guy didn't love the rabbit or beef, he ate it but you could tell it was not his favourite....some favs have been chicken and salmon ( primal) and Duck ( natures instinct variety)

Sincere seems to not like beef wet does that mean he won't like any beef?

 

[Calicocious]

Turkey and duck are big favorites in our house. The lamb not so much. I got a dirty look after one sniff lol. They ate it but very reluctantly! Sincere may not be a fan of beef.

 

[Ollie]

Turkey and duck are big favorites in our house. The lamb not so much. I got a dirty look after one sniff lol. They ate it but very reluctantly! Sincere may not be a fan of beef.

Haha yah and I spent lots more on the lamb! I had to crush up one of his raw freeze dried treats to get him to eat lamb. He got used to it. I find I really have to keep his diet varied so he doesn't pick a favourite food. I mix flavours together. So it might be one cube chicken and salmon, one cube duck or one rabbit and one pheasant etc. that way he always has something he likes and has been eating for a bit and I rotate a new one in there.

 

[Calicocious]

Haha yah and I spent lots more on the lamb! I had to crush up one of his raw freeze dried treats to get him to eat lamb. He got used to it. I find I really have to keep his diet varied so he doesn't pick a favourite food. I mix flavours together. So it might be one cube chicken and salmon, one cube duck or one rabbit and one pheasant etc. that way he always has something he likes and has been eating for a bit and I rotate a new one in there.

Good idea I need to think about switching up a bit.