Convincing Damita to eat her raw...

since she has probabl allergies the cheese aint something I would try ... Do you have bonito??? wildside salmon???

The trick I used to convince my picky eater was to get some (egads) FANCY FEAST, the kind with gravy. And i would put about 50/50 with the raw and really mix it with the gravy.

Then i slowly decreased the amount of FF...but the whole transition took at least a few weeks, and i've heard from others it taking a month or two.

it did take my quite some time to convince miss princess Nya to eat her raw like a good little girl. I tried pretty much everything, tuna juice, mixing with tasty canned food, mushing treats into it, you name it and I tried it. She'd no more than nibble at it before turning her nose up and walking away.

What I ended up having to do was put her on minced turkey for two or three days. Just minced raw turkey (the bone and organs were in). Since I knew she'd eat any slice of raw meat I cut off my own food as I was cooking, I knew she would eat that no problem, which she did. From that point it was MUCH easier to convince her that the stuff with veggies in it was okay too.

She loves it now! Good luck!

TUNA juice or clam juice

I started with cooked meat and then mixed in the raw

technically no .. could it yes do to protein s floating in... I was suggesting earlier are actually dried treats that crumble

clams are less likely to cause issue... you could use beef or chn broth also

Don't blame her - I won't eat venison either

But seriously, unless the cat has been used to raw from a kitten or a little at a time, giving them totally raw for their only food will cause them to throw up - its too "rich" for them.

Try putting only a spoonful of raw mixed with canned and gradually change over. Its like feeding someone cooked hamburger for awhile and then serving them RAW hamburger and expecting them to eat it or not throw up

Did you try warming it up?

I completley disagree. I've known many cats who transitioned to raw "cold turkey" if you will, without any digestive upset or puking. One of mine is included, and I would include Nya, once I convinced her to eat that turkey, but I won't since there was so much fiddling and eating bits and peices before that.

And I disagree with your analogy, but only because most people will throw up if fed raw meat no matter what, since we're not designed to process it.

Off topic but from what i understand and what I have personally seen Vanilla is correct... on the kitty and raw

You can warm it up in a zip lock baggie in hot water, or with a bit of hot water mixed in. I wouldn't warm it up in the microwave or the stove, as you don't want to risk cooking any bone ground up in it.

I just thought of another way you might be able to entice her to eat! If you have access to Benny Bully treats in your area, they make a liver powder which is supposed to be REALLY tasty! If you mix the liver powder with some hot water, it would make a sort of gravy, and you'd be killing two birds with one stone. Warming the food, and making it taste/smell really good, so she'd be encouraged to eat. Even if you can't get the powder, you can grind up the treats pretty easily (But I wouldn't reccomend trying to re-hydrate them... we did a "bobbing for treats" game for dogs at my store at halloween, and man do Benny Bullies look disgusting when they're wet! Ick!)

Hi.

The following sometimes works for my finicky cat:
layer some fish flakes under a thin layer of the raw food, mix in the baby food (specifically Beechnut Stage 1 baby food, turkey flavor) on top, and sprinkle some freeze dried chicken on top.

As for the vomiting:
-- would definitely see if there is a medical problem causing it.
-- I do use some probiotics/enzymes when starting my cats on raw food
-- my cats have vomited after eating raw meat (it was lamb if I recall correctly). The meat appeared to somehow be physiologically offensive to them (versus the usual finickiness. I was watching them try to eat it). After the experience, I watch the cats more carefully at meal times; and if they do not like the food, I just discard and try something else.

Hope this helps.

Hmm, well, I know my two really love the smell or taste of Salmon oil. There are also some great tips on how to switch your cat over on catnutrition.org. It's been my mainstay since the kitten came to live here and I started workign with the raw diet (she was raised on it). Khan, however, has been a horribly finicky eater since he got here, and we've had nothing but trouble getting him to eat *anything* ...until he found raw.

That being said.. we've been trying some mixtures, and the only thing he consistently doesn't have trouble with (unless he just eats it way too fast, and I think I've only seen this once) is the chicken. I haven't tried him on venison, but if I remember correctly, the lamb is difficult for them to digest. He is about 50/50 with the beef, but often we mix that in with the chicken.. usually when we're getting low. He's really had no issues with the chicken at all, though.

I don't know if having a fish allergy will keep your kitty from being able to use the Salmon oil or not, but it really does have a strong smell, and it makes it easier with my crew to sneak in the extra vitamins and fiber that they're usually finicky about. From what catnutrition says, though.. you should only use a few drops a week. I do occasionally soft boil an egg (although this is really just my preference..supposedly they don't get samonella (sp?) poisoning so the eggs don't need to be cooked). I just like the texture better.. it doesn't make the mixture quite so soupy. He loves the yolk, and again, it has a strong enough flavor/smell to mask any extras..

Those two might work for you. I got the salmon oil capsules, and just poke a hole in it and squirt a drop or five on it. They do have a *really* strong smell, so you may not need more than a drop.

I'm having an issue with my kitten, and sneaking some other stuff into her food (she doesn't notice it with the Salmon oil), so I've got to call my vet today and see what he says about too much salmon oil, since they're only supposed to be getting a few drops a week.

I'll let you know what I find out.

~Heather

I got mine at whole foods, they're a wee bit pricey as opposed to some of the other stuff, but basically they seem to be around at most places that have an extensive vitamins/minerals section. Particularly any natural store. I can't imagine that GNC wouldn't carry it. But you may want to shop around and see what price you can find at a local grocery store. GNC has it on their website, for probably about what I paid for it at WholeFoods..actually, it's cheaper there. I paid about that price for 90 softgels, 130 mg each, and theirs was more capsules @ 1000mg each. Just as a note, I did see another fish oil product on their site.. but catnutrition.org (which has been a lot like a bible through this whole new raw thing for me).. says only to get the salmon, and not the other fish, since the properties are different. For your purposes though, I don't know if it'd make a difference. But the salmon is definitely... hmm, we'll call it fragrant. The Bengals love it, though.

And I'm calling the vet shortly, so I'll update when I get off the phone.

Grizzley salmon oil is found in pet stores ... capsules are hard to pucture and then u have little idea of how much, IMHO I found capsule anything to be a waste of money

Ahh, I don't know about those ones. They're actually "gel capsules" and not the normal kind that you can slide apart... at least the ones I have. I've not had any real issues puncturing them. I've been using one of those little things you use for pulling the nuts out of shells, or the crab meat out of crabs. It's just got a sharp little point on the end. That being said, I did use the scissors last week..which was a little more iffy.

I bought the Solaray Salmon Oil..they're in gelatin softgels. Once I pierce it, it comes out in drops (it did come out faster when I used the scissors). I just put about five drops on each plate, but one or two is definitely enough to smell it.

I find the kelp capsules to be a much bigger pain. I have to find some way to deal with them yet. ::

There are many pet stores that carry organic kelp by like 8 ozs or a lb.. and it was really reasonable( my cat turned up allergic to kelp so I dont use it )

your piercer is a great idea lol I was using a knife

Hehe, well, it was one of those things that.. I opened the silverware drawer and was like... what the heck am I going to poke a hole in this with.. when I spotted that. I definitely lucked out!

I never thought to look at our pet store for kelp. I got it along with the salmon oil and psyllium husks at whole foods. I had to special order the dulse..

Anyway, off track... sorry!

Ohh, btw, I did check with my vet about the Salmon Oil. He said... he doesn't see any reason that it can't be used for the short term, but he would add only one or two drops per meal. He said it can cause a few issues with the pancreas, and cause diarheea and vomiting, but that the problems are definitely not permanent and can easily be solved by no longer adminstering it every meal. He did say that they should be getting at least some of this, and he said for my kitty at least, that this was a good idea to get her eating the psyllium, but simply keep an eye on her.

I probably have to use slightly more with mine, but you can probably get away with one drop per meal with yours, or even two. It's very very fragrant! You might even be able to get away with "scenting the plate" if you're using a paper plate.

Let me know if you try it and how it works!

He said it can, if you are administering it a lot. For instance, he said he thinks that one or two drops per meal would be fine, and for the short term he said he doesn't see any problems with it. He was more worried about it when he thought it was a higher dosage than one or two drops. He seemed to think that one or two drops wouldn't cause a problem for them.

Again though, I don'ot think that what I was putting hers could have possibly flavored her entire three ounces of food this morning.. so I'm thinking it's more the smell. And if it's the smell.. it might simply work to put it on a paper plate, let it absorb, and then put his food on it. Anyway, I don't know. I've got a kitty that's a bit constipated so.. I'm in the opposite boat. Don't know if I'd try it or not in your situation. He seemed to think that it would only happen after you used it for awhile, if they were getting too much of it.

I don't know... but let me know what you decide to do. Have you tried egg yolk?