But IF you want to give it a go, you can consider scaling it back to a smaller portion, and then increase more slowly.
I'll answer the poop question first. Yes, on raw they tend to poop less. Actually MUCH less. And usually with no smell
. That's a huge benefit right there.
Now, as to how people feed different proteins on different days, yes, once you have fully introduced a protein, then you should be able to feed it to them without any difficulty, not needing to reintroduce it again. But, it does sound like perhaps Naku isn't going to be able to tolerate rabbit, for some reason. I haven't heard of anyone not tolerating it before, but you just never know. I will tell you that NONE of my 3 will touch rabbit, and maybe that's why. Maybe they KNOW it will make them sick?? I've tried 3 different brands of rabbit, and they will actually run from it. It's kind of funny. But I've been told that rabbit is a favorite amongst most cats.
Now Laurie has one or two cats that cannot eat too much red meat at once (I think that's the case), so she has to mix some white meat with some red meat in the same meal. Hopefully she'll come on here and explain that situation.
If you found a canned that Esme loves and were able to sneak in some raw, that's the way to go.Slowly you can start sneaking in a bit more raw.
When I ordered my Primal rabbit, I ordered the Beef & Salmon as well. He liked it when I fed it from the sample package, so hopefully he still does.
Thank you for all of the tips and what you do with your guys! I think I may need to scale back to 10% if I do try again. The first time I tried 25% he was ok. The second time I tried 25%, last night, he vomited. I don't think I will try rabbit again though until get my Rad Cat order which has Chicken and Turkey. Once I get comfortable with this, I really would like to switch to home made, because Esme especially, it must look like the meat and not be in pate or ground forms, for her to typically try a food.What Sally said.
Basically, it's best to introduce the proteins slowly. It sounds like he MAY not tolerate it - but it also sounds like you're trying to introduce it to quickly. If it makes them sick or gives them diarrhea, you scale back the amount, and then you "stabilize" at that level as part of several meals for a day or two, and then SLOWLY increase the amount.
I found that Sheldon has a threshold of 50% for any red meat, period. And I noticed last week that after some meals he would just "meatloaf," rather than sit there and clean. I remembered from Lazlo being on cancer, that the meatloaf thing can mean nausea. I was wondering if it was raw in general, but Carolina suggested I keep an eye on if it happens only at specific meals. And it does - only when it is 100% pork. I always though of pork as "the other white meat"- and it happens with rabbit too.
That's why my menu has all of the "red" proteins split into 50/50 meals. Rather than feed lamb for breakfast, chicken with organs at dinner, and Turkey breast for the late night meal, I feed 50/50 turkey breast and lamb at both breakfast and the late night meal.
And now I've had to make Sheldon's rabbit and pork meals 50/50 too - and not in the same day.I have to mix rabbit, pork, lamb, and venison (he can't tolerate beef at ALL) into 50/50 meals with chicken breast or thigh or turkey breast or thigh.
I used commercial to transition to raw, and fed them that for over a month before slowly moving to frankenprey. And I would introduce new proteins at about 25%. If someone threw up, I scaled it back. But once it was at a place where no one threw up, I'd feed at that level for a day or so, and then bump it just a little. Some meats, I could start at 25% and be at 100% within 3-5 days. Some meats I would start at 25%, had to scale back to like 10%, and then take a week or more to get to 100%.
So whether you just want to take a pass on the rabbit is up to you.But IF you want to give it a go, you can consider scaling it back to a smaller portion, and then increase more slowly.
Are you using digestive enzymes? Because looking back, I'd have to say it took the cats about 2 - 3 months to completely adjust to raw. It requires their whole digestive system to adapt to a more acidic state - and I have no idea what else, really. But for a while there, if I was late with a meal, they'd throw up bile, or immediately throw up the meal afterwards. Now I can be late with a meal, and that doesn't happen. Digestive enzymes can help.
Thank you! I will look into it at least for Naku since he is our resident vomiter, to help his tummy.Proviable is the probiotic, and that's a good thing to use, too. I have mine on a probiotic daily, and will keep them on it for life (hubby and I take it too.).
Lauren, Carolina, and I think Sally all used digestive enzymes as well, initially. They're not something that needs to be used long term (though they can be of benefit in older kitties, who naturally - just like people - do not digest their food as well, just due to the impact of time on their systems.). But short term - like through the first two months or so of the transition, I think they can really help things go easier on kitties' systems. The one everyone used was the original Prozyme for cats.
I don't know if it's necessary, since overall they're doing so well. It's just something to consider. I'd still use the same method for introducing new proteins, even with the digestive enzymes.
!!!!
So, I did something similar this evening to what you did with just meat, to test the waters a bit, and got some organic fresh chicken breast. I cut up a small piece and put a few bits into two tiny bowls (no Call of the Wild yet) and put it down. Naku ate the chicken about 45 minutes ago and no pukes! (Just to note, all the other nights, he was vomiting within 30min of eating his NV Lamb -- and prior to that the Primal Rabbit that kind of started the vomiting) All of the other meals, he wasn't even interested in eating I had to bribe him to eat with freeze dried beef, but then he would vomit. Tonight, while I was cutting up the chicken bits, I had two paws on my leg begging. Even Esme was squeaking for some, while I prepped it.Oh poor Naku!
So.... is he throwing up every meal now?
Was he eating only raw - and if so, for how long? Detail would help. I know a few of mine got constipated eating only NV, though it took about a month. And Spooky went off raw for a while when she got constipated. I had to put her back on wet food for a while, and start over.
Flowerbelle just recently got constipated, and was throwing up. I used some miralax and fed her a few meals without any calcium, and that got her cleared up. She didn't eat well for about a week after that, but is back to her usual now. So there CAN be a relationship between the vomiting and constipation. But I'm not sure if there's a relationship to the vomiting now or not - after having had the issue with the rabbit.
But if you could let us know more specifically what you've been feeding him for the last number of meals a little before and since the rabbit might help.
I use Call of the Wild with Lazlo. He really likes it.
When I started feeding mine just meat, because they were eating the NV, I fed a few pieces of just meat to see if they liked it. When they did, I cut up the meat into bite sized pieces and fed that as a meal with no supplements at first. They gobbled that up, so then I added the eggshell (for calcium), and just began adapting from there. They were fine with chicken and turkey, and I had to intro lamb and the red meats more slowly.
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GREAT news!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so glad he's keeping that down - and wanted it! 
Yep, it sure does help to find the "style" they like, if it isn't the protein itself. Well, what you're describing is in its essence what happened to me. I was using NV, and a couple of the kitties got constipated. We don't know that's an issue for Naku or not - but either way, I ended up giving them just plain meat, whatever the reason. And they loved it. Now - I hope this doesn't happen to you with Rad Cat on the way, but at least three of my cats decided they didn't want to eat ground food at all anymore. :lol3: So I pretty much had no choice but to go whole prey model raw.
they like the Rad Cat!!!!
Thanks! I still have the lamb in the freezer as well as the rabbit and what not, just in case Esme likes it down the road and/or Naku has a change of heart with the last few medallions of NV lamb. Those will be great in a pinch if I forget something from the store.GREAT news!!!!!!!!!!!I'm so glad he's keeping that down - and wanted it!
Yeah, it sucks when they don't feel well. I've found that for the vomiting-as-a-reaction to a protein that didn't agree with them, it was a one-time thing, and it didn't affect behavior or their attitude to the next meal. But I can imagine that if it happened a few times in a row, it might.
BUT... I hope he did keep it down, and is feeling back to normal!
Yep, it sure does help to find the "style" they like, if it isn't the protein itself.
Well, what you're describing is in its essence what happened to me. I was using NV, and a couple of the kitties got constipated. We don't know that's an issue for Naku or not - but either way, I ended up giving them just plain meat, whatever the reason. And they loved it. Now - I hope this doesn't happen to you with Rad Cat on the way, but at least three of my cats decided they didn't want to eat ground food at all anymore.So I pretty much had no choice but to go whole prey model raw.
NOW they'll eat some ground, and I do like to incorporate it several times a week. I use the whole ground animals from Hare Today, and I just like the different protein sources and that it's the whole animal ground up....
they like the Rad Cat!!!!
Thank you! This is a great thing to keep note of. I have never heard of slippery elm, but I know Naku and Esme will eat pumpkin. With fall coming, I will have an abundance of real canned pumpkin in the house, so I can always dose them as needed.Oh - and for your future reference, the only reason I use miralax for some of the cats if there's a constipation issue is because the only one that will eat slippery elm in food is Chumley. That would be my "laxative" of choice (though it's not really a laxative - it's a fiber that both coats and soothes). After that, I'd go with pumpkin... but again, even Billy won't eat it. My crew just doesn't like it.Well - Ming Loy and Sheldon like it, so I'd use it for them.
So if Lazlo, Tuxie, Spook or Flowerbelle (knock wood, Billy never has) has an issue with constipation, I use the miralax.
For slippery elm powder, I use 1/4 teaspoon mixed with 1/4 teaspoon aloe vera juice (George's). It gels up, and I just mix it in with the food. (Yep, chunks OR ground). Either they like it or they don't - it has a flavor, so there's no "hiding" it.
For pumpkin, I use two tablespoons a day. Some cats just eat it, some would need it mixed into ground food.
For the miralax, I use 1/4 teaspoon mixed with a tablespoon of water. I haven't tried it with chunks of raw yet, I do use a ground food to give it to whoever needs it. It's another twice a day thing, "as needed.,"
Thank you!
I usually have 2 weeks to a month (sometimes more) of raw frozen food for the cats on hand. As so many others have, we bought a small chest freezer that's used (mostly) for the cats' food. I buy meat from the supermarket whenever it's on sale, and stock up. The stuff I personally look for are pork (usually boneless loin), chicken breasts (boneless), boneless thighs, boneless turkey breast, and turkey thigh (I never see it boneless :lol3: ). Most of these things I can buy on sale for $1.99 (including the cage-free, vegetarian fed poultry, etc.). If your two like beef, I'm sure it can be purchased on sale for an inexpensive price too. :nod:
