i'm in the process of interviewing new vets. i no longer fully trust my old vet after piglet's tooth issues. she was dx'd with FORL by a veterinary dentist and her kidneys were not functioning well at all prior to surgery. i have not had blood work done since surgery, but she was on iv fluids for 24 hours before surgery and it made a very positive impact on her renal values.
i had all three of my fur babies on what i consider a 'modified raw' diet. i was feeding nature's variety instinct kibble (chicken variety) and stella & chewy's freeze dried raw daily. i was shooting for 220-250 cal per cat and tried to have half from kibble and half from the stella & chewy's mixed with nice, warm water (piglet prefers room-temp or warm food). i had often wondered about going all the way and making my own raw food, but two things stopped me: no grinder and i'm 90% vegetarian.
ultimately, piglet's most recent renal values had her in late stage 2/early stage 3 kidney failure. she has lost all four canine teeth (crown amputation). my old vet would not outright admonish me for feeding modified raw, but said that raw diets are not good for all cats, hinting that it may have had something to do with piglet's kidney failure. i don't know if i understand how. it's not high carb, it's quality protein sources, it's not really high phosphorous (the varieties i was feeding at least)... i've been feeding wellness complete health indoor kibble for their nighttime snack and canned food for breakfast and dinner. the cost is KILLING me! i never realized how much i was saving feeding raw. ugh. i've been feeding numerous canned options: wellness, wellness core, nature's variety instinct and pride, merrick, evo, weruva. we've stopped feeding weruva & pride because the calorie content is so freaking low i'd have to feed like 6 cans a day for all three cats. (possible exaggeration, whatever).
so, here we go. the meat and bones (lol) of my question have to do with special needs kitties and raw feeding. has anyone had any experience feeding cats any sort of raw food when they have kidney failure or something like that? i have a kitchen aid mixer now, which i could get a grinder for, but i don't think i should give piglet bones to chew on anyway with the FORL, so i'd probably get TCfeline or something and go that route if i did homemade raw. i've looked at this from so many different angles i think i've confused the heck out of myself. i'd love other viewpoints and opinions!
i had all three of my fur babies on what i consider a 'modified raw' diet. i was feeding nature's variety instinct kibble (chicken variety) and stella & chewy's freeze dried raw daily. i was shooting for 220-250 cal per cat and tried to have half from kibble and half from the stella & chewy's mixed with nice, warm water (piglet prefers room-temp or warm food). i had often wondered about going all the way and making my own raw food, but two things stopped me: no grinder and i'm 90% vegetarian.
ultimately, piglet's most recent renal values had her in late stage 2/early stage 3 kidney failure. she has lost all four canine teeth (crown amputation). my old vet would not outright admonish me for feeding modified raw, but said that raw diets are not good for all cats, hinting that it may have had something to do with piglet's kidney failure. i don't know if i understand how. it's not high carb, it's quality protein sources, it's not really high phosphorous (the varieties i was feeding at least)... i've been feeding wellness complete health indoor kibble for their nighttime snack and canned food for breakfast and dinner. the cost is KILLING me! i never realized how much i was saving feeding raw. ugh. i've been feeding numerous canned options: wellness, wellness core, nature's variety instinct and pride, merrick, evo, weruva. we've stopped feeding weruva & pride because the calorie content is so freaking low i'd have to feed like 6 cans a day for all three cats. (possible exaggeration, whatever).
so, here we go. the meat and bones (lol) of my question have to do with special needs kitties and raw feeding. has anyone had any experience feeding cats any sort of raw food when they have kidney failure or something like that? i have a kitchen aid mixer now, which i could get a grinder for, but i don't think i should give piglet bones to chew on anyway with the FORL, so i'd probably get TCfeline or something and go that route if i did homemade raw. i've looked at this from so many different angles i think i've confused the heck out of myself. i'd love other viewpoints and opinions!