Raw Feeders

[m.e.]

Well, the cats are eating the raw food, albeit somewhat begrudgingly (where is our canned food?! :tantrum:) They haven't quite gotten the hang of chewing the chunks, they seem to prefer the ground food, but we're getting there

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

 

[m.e.]

Well, it's beennearly two weeks since the start of our raw food 'experiment'. And I ampleased to report that it is a success! :bunnydance:

The cats are eating their food, and not just that, but they're actuallyexcited for meals Only one of the cats will eat hearts, though, soI've added extra taurine to supplement. They do love the meaty bonesthat I've begun introducing this week, so that's good.

Oh, and we haven't had any stinky litterbox issues since we switched over. That alone is reason to celebrate :jumpforjoy:

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

m.e. wrote:

Oh, and we haven't hadany stinky litterbox issues since we switched over. That aloneis reason to celebrate :jumpforjoy:

Awesome! I can relate to the feeling of not having a stinkymess...lol... I've got 3 dogs - 2 of which are LARGE... Yet our yarddoes not smell "doggy"...lol.

Congrats on your progress!

 

[m.e.]

Well, it's been over two months now, so I thought I'd give a progress report:

Since transitioning to raw, the cats have never looked healthier.Their coats are softer andshinier, and while they'velost some weight, the vet said they are in ideal condition andwe should keep doing what we're doing

Stinky litterbox? No more! I'm truly shocked :shock: Because the catsare actually utilizing most of what they take in, their poos aresmaller, less frequent, and completely odorless :bunnydance:

Our new boy, PJ, has made the switch from 9 Lives yuck) to raw injust two weeks, and while he's still not sure what to do with thosechunks of chicken (You mean you want me to chew them?

), he really seems tolike his new food. The one thing throwing a wrench in the whole processis that he's used to free-feeding, and doesn't seem to grasp that if hedoesn't eat his food it gets taken away! *sigh* Silly boy...

We still don't have a grinder, so we continue to order our whole groundchicken from Hare Today, and I like that we can support small farms bybuying our the rest of the food, like chicken meat and eggs, locally:thumbup

 

[SunnieBunnie Rabbitry]

I'm so glad to hear everyone is happy and doing fantastic!

That's the thing about switching to RAW though... it's one of those"gotta see it to believe it" things. Everyone is just fed somuch bologna from the commercial pet food industry that the mere ideaof going "al'natural" seems so questionable.

I'mhappy to hearyou made the switch for the betterof your pets and that you're seeing all the great improvements firsthand. Isn't it a great feeling to know your animals arehealthy and in the best condition they've ever seen!

~Sunshine

 

[m.e.]

:bump

Thought this would be a useful resource in light of the ongoing recalls.

I've been feeding my four cats a raw food diet for well over a yearnow. The benefits I've seen since the switch have been so worth it:

- they've all slimmed down and are at their ideal weights.

- they are always alert, active and playful, with energy to spare.

- their fur is shiny and incredibly soft.

- their skin is so healthy that they give off little dander and even my cat-allergic friends can enjoy them without a problem.

- their teeth are clean and their breath doesn't smell (neither does the litterbox )

- they haven't had a single bladder issue since making the diet change.

And best of all? They love their food. And I feel verycomfortable knowing where it came from and what happened to it before Iserve it to them.

In the beginning, in order to transition them from canned food to rawfood, I bought ground meat/bones/organs and mixed it into batches. ThenI bought a grinder and made it all myself. Now that they've gotten thehang of eating the raw meat, I serve them 'whole prey' style: chickenwings, thighs, etc. along with organ meats. They eat the meatand the bones, which gives them those pearly whites

It's very easy and not at all expensive. I know some people aresqueemish about handling raw meat, but sanitary practices are not thatdifficult to maintain. The cats eat behind a gate in our kitchen,containing the mess and allowing for easy clean-up. Many people whohave raw-fed dogs feed them in the backyard or garage.

If you're worried about the 'ethics' of feeding raw, consider the factthat you can excercise a greater level of control over the source ofyour pets' food. It's a lot easier to buy a humanely-raised chickenfrom a market than it is to find a pet food manufacturer with a'humane' label. I buy thecats' chicken from local farmers and butchers:thumbup

Hope this helps!

 

[JadeIcing]

Very intresting. Not sure I could do that without getting sick.

 

[Krissa]

I did some research on the raw diet and came tothe conclusion not to use it on my dog. I'm sorry but eventually youare going to run into some nasty bacteria in uncooked meat and havesome really sick animals on your hands. Also the bones, for dogs atleast, have been shown to ruin the enamel on their teeth. The tarter isgone but their teeth are ruined by the the hard surface.

Domestic pets do not have the ability to avoid bacterial problems, theyare not wild animals that are exposed to small amountsof thecontaminates each day. Even wild animals are known to succum to badmeat. Wild cats and wolves normally eat freshly killed meat which doesnot have the levels of bacteria that will harm them. As the animalages, the chance they could die due to the bacteria. Domestics caneasily be taken out by Salamanella. I read several books for andagainst the raw diet and decided it was a big no.

Yes, human meat can be contaminated, but thats why we cook it. My vetreccomendednot to attempt the raw food diet. I'm consideringswitching to table scraps, now that I am eating healthy, and talking tomy vet about that.

 

[m.e.]

Krissa wrote:

Domestic pets do not have the ability to avoid bacterialproblems, they are not wild animals that are exposed to smallamountsof the contaminates each day.

That is a generalization, and is simplynot true. Most healthy animals will not succumb to any harmfulbacteria. Some will. Then again, some animals will succumb to a dietwith grains or one that's been contaminated. There is NO risk-freesolution :dunno

By the way, salmonella has been found in commercial foods as well.

Carnivores have a higher acidic level in their bodies than omni's do,it's a by-product of an all-meat diet. Which means that bacteria has amuch harder time surviving in the gut of a carnivore, a gut which isalso significantly shorter than an omni's, meaning there is little timefor a bacterial overgrowth to develop. Dogs are not humans. Cats arenot humans. They cannot be compared nutritionally or pathogenically.

My vet doesn't support a raw diet either. Fine by me, because frankly,most vets have an appalling lack of nutritional training and what theydo have is often sponsored by pet food manufacturers. The AmericanCollege of Veterinary Nutrition? Has a grant from Purina :whatevah

I really respect that you've researched this and have come to adifferent conclusion. I don't think raw is right for all. For mostmaybe , but not all. But please don't make broad sweeping statementsthat cannot be supported by the evidence. It's not conducive to abalanced discussion.

 

[Michaela]

Very interesting....onder:

I think this would really be good for my cat Moppet, I don't know ifhe'd eat it though. He won't eat canned food, has to be out of apouch:rollseyes...somehow he knows the difference.:?

But we'd never do it, my mum wouldn't want to prepare it for him (he'sher cat), and I can't touch raw meat, even looking at it makes me sick.

 

[jil101ca]

I've done some research on this a while ago andalthough it sounds good I'm far to lazy to take the time. I have verylittle time for me and I'm not giving it to the dog and cat.My dog eats kibble and does great but my cat can not have dry food, heeats canned meat.I changed him over to wet food over a yearago because he had alot of urinary trouble and it broke our heart tosee him suffer in such a way. He has been trouble free nowforthat timeand has saved me over $3000 in vet bills in 1 year.There are some really informative web sites out there about this diet.

 

[naturestee]

There are some pre-made raw diets availabletoo. I've seen them sold in a few pet stores, and you canorder them online.

Eve refuses to chew food unless it's dry. If it's wet food ormeat and it can't be licked up and swallowed, she won't touchit. She'll get really upset about not being able to eat it,especially if it's a piece of chicken or venison, but she won't chewit. So... no raw here.

Krissa, as long as raw food is handled properly it's not likely tocause bacterial issues. The biggest problems are usuallyfound in restaurants where the hygiene isn't what it should be, plusground meats are more likely to be contaminated because of the extraprocessing and larger surface-to-volume ration. That's whyburgers have to be cooked at least medium-well now. But eventhere, problems are rare. Raw ground beef sandwiches arepopular in this area, especially at holidays, and nobody even in mygrandparent's memory ever got sick from it.

 

[Krissa]

I'm just saying, you can never be sure how thebutcher handled the raw meat, I have no problem with feeding the meat,I just cook it first. I never eat meat any way but well done myself -just too many chances. Also you may not know your animal has an illnessat the time of eating the bad meat, and they may get sick.

I know you all love your babies, and are taking all the percautions.I'm jst adding my opinion to the mix. I am really enjoying reading thisdiscussion.