Convincing Damita to eat her raw...

Now that I've got the raw food, I just have to convince Damita to eat it! She turned her nose up at it tonight. It's Natures' Variety Prairie Venison medallions. I tired putting some of her normal canned food on top of it, to no avail. I snuck a bite into her food, & she ate it. I was thrilled, only to watch her walk away & vomit it up moments later! Why did she do that? With how often she vomits, it is entirely possible it was a coincidence. I am calling the vet tomorrow about the vomiting, they wanted an update anyways.

So...any more advice? A friend of mine put parmesan cheese on top of the raw food when she was transitioning her dog to raw, is that a good idea or unsafe?

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

Originally Posted by sharky

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

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I have nothing like that! I bought tons of canned food-Merricks & Evangers. Maybe I'll try mixing some of those in with it. You never know what she'll like.

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.

Hmmm...because of her food allergies, I hate to feed her Fancy Feast. It'll make her even more miserable than she already is. I might try it if she still won't touch the raw a week from now, though. The one canned food she's thrilled about is SD d/d Duck...which she vomits like crazy! I've got some Duck Evangers, I think that is what I will try mixing with the raw next...

Although, I bet she'd love the FF Medleys.....OK, I'll buy some soon! Thanks for the idea!

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!

Damita hardly ever turns her nose up at anything....but it has to be something she can easily smell. She has a hard time determining how close her face is to the bowl & if she can't smell the food, she is less likely to eat it.

Is there anything I can add to the raw to make it smell stronger?

TUNA juice or clam juice

I started with cooked meat and then mixed in the raw

Duh! You already said that! Ummm...if she's allergic to fish, will adding tuna juice make things worse?

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?

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

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

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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

Originally Posted by Callista

Did you try warming it up?

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Can I warm the raw food up? If I can, how? Microwave? On the stove?

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.

I have just been busier than normal, so I gave up for a few days on the raw. No sesne wasting good meat! I've got quite a few resources, now hopefully today I'll have the time to read them. Then, once I figure out a "gmae plan", I'm gonna try again!

I most definately want to find some tuna flakes around here! They sound like a great way to try to get her to eat the raw...

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

Thanks Heather! Salmon oil capsules, can you just get them at a store like GNC? That would be great if you'd let me know what the vet says....

I don't even know the extent of her fish allergies...she got sick off some canned food with fish in it, so I just avoided all fish.