Update on Zino and Raw

[kellyannallen]

Updates are good things....

Zino and I have started the raw journey. and started is the correct word. I have the beef hearts chopped up, the tuna flakes. I bought BARF/RAW canned or pouch food, frozen chicken liver portioned and frozen turkey complete food. And poultry cream (like Ice cream for the cats)

SIgh, well Zino will eat some of the canned, some of the tuna flakes but the turkey frozen menu and the liver NO WAY. I give small portions, and yes I do have the canned (Which comes in HUGE cans and Zino almost always refuses to eat a second portion of it.) He will leave it not eat it at all, not even with tuna flakes. the next problem becomes that he then will not eat his normal food, and if I try to keep him on small portions of the raw, then all he does is eat his dry. nibble by nibble.

I will keep trying, and I am upgrading the dry food but pure meat canned or pouch food, he's not touching.... And when he does eat its too much wet and then dry and then he will puke, because he wants to eat. He learned to gobble because Lio (our Fur cat) had hyperthyroidism and he would eat ALL the food available including pushing Zino away from his. I make sure the portions are small so he can't gobble TOO much.

I don't want to give up (He LOVED the tiny bit of regular canned Tuna which is only ever a treat!) but Zino needs to eat, and I am willing to work on RAW but I think at 10 years old he's not going to be more than supplimental feedings.

Kelly

 

[Yoda mom]

@kellyannallen , hugs. sharing my boy refused all raw when I adopted him at 2 yrs old. I commend your efforts Team Zino.
Batman now 13 1/2 yrs old doing great on his dry kibble. no skin or poo issues or urinary issues. been to the vet once for a sore on his pawpad.

Batman is a dry food addict I even tried commercial wet food, high end lower end. he just refused.

He would meow back at me complain and tail twitch and run away lol

I caved when he was 2 yrs old and fed what he would eat.

I discovered putting a large shallower bowl of water above 5 feet from his dry food he would go to it and drink a good amount of water compared to a double bowl feeder that had one side for food, one side for water.
I use a corningware low profile dish for his water.


hugs n head smooches
surely raw food feeders will chime in.

 

[babymeow]

I just started mixing in raw chicken liver to Nabi's wet food. I cook just the outside to make me feel better and cut it and mix it in. At first she sniffed it and was like mommy what are you feeding me? Then she eventually ate it all. Maybe the food you feed are too cold? Or maybe introduce 1 item at a time? Or it could be the texture? I didn't know until I got Nabi that pets can be sensitive to something that was shredded vs the pate and she likes pate and would not eat the shredded meat canned food.

 

[babymeow]

@Yoda mom I have 2 water bowls for Nabi and they are shaped differently and she definitely prefers one over the other and will drink more out of that one lol!

 

[kellyannallen]

I have a medium dog stainless steel water dish and separate bowls for dry and wet, Zino has his own specific corner (Our cats always did in the kitchen) that is his and its quiet and not underfoot (When he was little, he used to eat up on our microwave cart, we had no microwave any more and Lio couldn't eat his food). He neverminded sharing with Lio and we tried to separate them (New Apartment in 2013 the microwave cart was 2010-2013 in the rental apartment), and that simply didn't work, so they ate side by side wet and shared a dry food bowl and water. never a fight at all.

 

[Yoda mom]

@kellyannallen , checking in for updates. hugs n head smooches.

 

[kellyannallen]

Okay.... An update to everyone!

Team Zino is still trying, but Yoda Mom I think that he's more like your boy.... He was fed wet and Dry food as a kitten (Royal Canin) by his breeder and well since then his diet HAD to fit Lio until this past year after Lio crossed the bridge.

I am going to keep trying. But I am quiet sure that he's quite set in his ways. However, I can NOW get him to come back to bed when he decides 3 am is time to wake up and eat, and he cuddles in with us... He also allows us to carry him to bed with us at other non feeding times and he just tucks himself in and goes to sleep now where before he would demand food and tear up the house doing it....

So, I am researching better wet food, also better dry food (Can't help it he does like it and was/is used to it) and keeping it to smaller portions and not refilling anything until he eats, which works unless its the BARF/RAW food... then you could let it sit there until it rots and our couch is suffering enough as it is (He learned to scratch to drive us to feed him, Lio taught him that and Lio learned from our Thai Cat Nym when Lio was a kitten)....

I will continue to try, Team Zino hasn't totally given up, just not sure if success is in the cards.