Raw Feeding Chronicles....

white cat lover

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I decided to switch Dory & Ophelia to a raw diet today.
Dory's spending a lot of time in the box...since I am snowed in & cannot get to a vet, I am starting him on Baytril as per the vets advice & taking in a urine sample as soon as I can.

I decided that I might as well switch him to a raw diet. Gave him some of "Damita's mix"(canned/raw) & it was all gone in like 30 seconds. That was easy, I say. So, I give him a raw medallion(Nature's Variety Prairie). I then watch in horror as he urinates on it!
I then throw it away. I figure as long as I'm switch Dory & Ophelia, I can switch Damita right along with them.

Wish me luck! Ophelia ate a lot of "dead thing" before she came to me, so any raw meat has so far been readily accepted by her. Damita is giving me a lot of trouble. She is just so "into" the texture of canned food that I have to blend all her raw to get her to eat it at all. Dory's my little garbage can.
Tonight I'll try a drop of salmon oil on a raw medallion to see if he will eat it & not pee on it.

Is anybody else in the same boat as me? Currently switching to raw? For those of you who switched your canned addicts or kibble addicts to raw, what did you try that worked? What supplements did you use? How long did it take you to switch to raw?

This whole concept of raw feeding is getting overwhelming. I can't get organ meats anywhere near me, unless I'm willing to pay a fortune. I can't find any bone-in meat near me, either. I can't find a good supplement at the health food store. I can get the local pet store to carry the NVP raw medallions for me...& it's looking like they'll be cheaper than making my own raw.


Lordy....I'm long winded!
I've just got so much info & tried so many things & I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. At least Damita's digestive tract is functioning normally...& her poop is virtually odorless!!!
 

renovia

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i'm currently switching luxor to raw and he loves every minute of it. so i really have no chronicles per se.
 

arlyn

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I'm sorry, but I got a chuckle out of Dory peeing on the meat

Reminds me of my grandfather telling how he shot a bear in defense, he didn't want to waste it, so he dressed it out, offered the dog a piece and the dog peed on it.
He said the dog's opinion was good enough for him and he disposed of all the bear meat.

Good luck on getting your kitties transitioned.
 

panther pride

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snosrap5

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Natalie, I have Takoda on raw and it's always offered to the rest of my crew. Only one will even attempt to eat it. Poohbear will taste it every time and walk away. No one else will even try it.

So I just wanted to wish you the best of luck!
 

whuckleberry

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

So, I give him a raw medallion(Nature's Variety Prairie). I then watch in horror as he urinates on it!


oh my, that is too much!! feeding our little monsters can be quite a challenge sometimes!


i hope your UTI kitty gets better soon!
 

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First of all, I'm sorry but I laughed pretty hard at Dory's exploits...I can't believe he peed on his dinner.
I hope he gets to feeling better soon.


Ok this got long...sorry.


My recent project has been to switch Beandip to raw. He has a history of bladder issues and has always refused canned food. He has always taken one bite and walked away, much to my frustration. So I didn't have a lot of confidence, figuring that he's a kibble junkie.

So I picked up a bag of NVP chicken/turkey medallions last week and set out a few for a trial at bedtime. Beandip ate a whole medallion (plain!), with enthusiasm!! I was shocked. As for everyone else, I only had 2 that refused to try it...and only one (Momma) vomited it back up, but that's par for the course for her. I think she would prefer something 'chunky' that she could gnaw on. She used to eat a lot of 'dead things' too...and never barfed those up.
I'll work on that later.

The second day, I had an equal number of team players (6) and Momma didn't barf.

The third day, Beandip actually 'begged' for a medallion for breakfast. That boy has never begged for any food. I was floored. He loves it! So since then, I have been concentrating on him and not worrying too much about the others eating the raw or not. I will work on that later. Junior and Paisley always want some, or else they'll try to take Beandip's. The rest of them have been eating their canned stuff + some kibble like usual.

So, fastforward a week or so, and I've been increasing Beandip's raw daily...he's eating about 3.25 oz /day now. I *think* he's completely ignoring the dry food bowl. I've seen him sniff it a few times and he just walks away, like the kibble is poisoned! 1 medallion in a sitting is the exact amount he wants, no more than that. So that means I'm feeding him 4 times a day. It's a good thing I don't have anything else to do.


On that note, 3.25 oz doesn't seem like quite enough for a 12lb cat. I'd say his activity level is medium-low. On the NVP site, it says if feeding raw only, to feed 1.5%-2% of body weight. For him that would be 2.9-3.4 medallions/day...so based on that his 3.25 is just right...but the directions on the bag don't quite agree.
How much are your cats eating?

With better than expected results, I got overconfident and decided (incorrectly) that variety was the spice of life. I picked up a bag of lamb medallions. They all picked at it, reluctantly. And Momma promptly barfed hers up. I took the leftovers out to the outside cats...one of them looked at the lamb and just swatted at it. ?? Whatever.


Since I hadn't learned my lesson yet, we tried rabbit yesterday, and they wouldn't even try it till I mixed it with some A/D. On the upside, Pumpkin ate that even though she had refused all the other raw. The A/D + Rabbit trick only worked once, though.

That's about the extent of my chronicles so far...but I think that was probably more than you wanted.
 
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white cat lover

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Originally Posted by beandip

That's about the extent of my chronicles so far...but I think that was probably more than you wanted.
Nope....that was perfect!


Nobody feel bad for laughing at Dory peeing on his food....I just stood there with my jaw on the ground...we'll see how he likes his medallion tonight...peed on or not peed on!


Damita eats a lot...always has. Like twice the amount its recommended. Yet she still looses weight. I feed her whatever she can eat in a day, whenever she asks for it. I'm not much help there, huh?


I wish Damita was like Beandip....she has to eat this. This is our last option. I tried feeding her sliced up steak last night...in little tiny cubes. I put it on top of her canned food/raw medallion mix, coated it with Pro Pac Beef(her addiction...that coated on anything & she'll eat it) & she refused to raw meat. So, I either need to work with her on that or else not bother with "real raw".

....sigh.... I just get so discouraged so fast! It's hard doing this....she is fighting tooth & nail with me. Even switching Twitch, my dry food addict, to canned food was easier than this.
 

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I'm a recent RAW-convert, I've been buying the Arusha patties for only a month now. Molly and Willow LOVE raw meat, so I knew they wouldn't be a problem, but Buffy has never had the thought cross her mind that raw meat can be eaten. But since I'm still new to this, I'm compromising: all the cats were previously on kibble-only, so while Molly and Willow pig out on Bison (their favorite flavour, it seems), Buffy is eating canned. I'm still not sure what brand to use, but right now I've bought a few weeks' worth of Wellness. I'm wanting to put her on the Organic formulas of Evangers, since that'll be the closest I can get her to RAW (she tried a can already and liked it), but it's more convenient for me to buy her many cans of Wellness at the same time that I buy the patties of Arusha for Molly and Willow.

The only "saga" I can share is that when I first started, I had two brands: Arusha and Top Hand. I preferred the Top Hand because it was bloodier (hehe), which I know the cats prefer (blood, gravy, whatever, it's all the same!). They both devoured the Top Hand, then devoured the Arusha, then devoured the last of the Top Hand. I go out to buy more of both, and they spend a week on Top Hand. Then the next week on Arusha. Then I get out the last package of Top Hand and believe it or not, the piggie, Molly, actually picks at it. I'm so wound around her little pinkie that I haven't bought Top Hand since, only the Arusha, even though Molly DID eat the Top Hand. She just didn't seem as interested in it. Oh well
. It probably would have been for the better if I'd stayed with Top Hand, though, because as soon as Molly finishes inhaling her Arusha, she heads right on over to Willow's bowl, which has barely gotten started on. Willow's a slow eater, takes a bite, chews, looks up in terror at the horrible washcloth that she SWEARS has moved a little closer, takes another bite, OMG, I JUST SAW AN ANT!! Another bite, mmmm, I wonder just what ingredients are in this.... Another bite, OMG, the washcloth moved even closer!! And so on and so forth
. Therefore Molly has plenty of time to finish her own meal (which she does at a fast pace) and then try to help herself to Willow's meal. Unfortunately I can't let her do that because Molly's a pudgy girl already, while Willow's a skinny little thing, a twig hidden under so much fur. So I have to constantly think up new areas to feed Willow, like on top of the TV, where fat little Molly can't jump high enough. Of course, piggies always find a way... lol
 

beandip

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Yeah, I guess I'm not a lot of help since Beandip has been such an easy subject to work with. I was real discouraged about his distaste for canned food. Here I am fretting about his past peeing problems...medicating him daily...and he was eating a 95% dry diet. No matter how the dry food is 'formulated' that just can't be the right recipe for long term success. Knock wood, it's been 4 months since he's had any trouble, so that was my motivation to try something new with his diet.

I think you're dong real well with Damita, considering that she doesn't really like the raw. It is discouraging that she's losing weight, though. I'll send some *weight gain vibes* for Damita.

The buffet line here is driving me batty...thinking, calculating...keeping track of how much kibble they're going through, how much raw to thaw, and how many half eaten cans are in the fridge.
I have a cupboard full of 13oz cans and now those are "too big" for one meal, with the raw figured in. But a 5.5oz can is too small.
I have one that refuses anything but "fresh out of the can".


So with all that in mind, the thought of 'real raw' is overwhelming for me right now, but I want to try that later. As long as I'm just experimenting, I prefer to work with what I can get locally. So far I haven't found any supplements locally, but I'll keep looking.

Could I bother you for the revised recipe for the "Damita Mix"? I may want to try that out, with the lamb and rabbit I have in the freezer.
 

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LOL I can't believe he PEED on it! What a bugger!!!

Buddy is my little vaccume, so he took to raw pretty easily. Nya on the other hand resisted like you would not believe! I tried pretty much EVERY trick in the book to get her to eat with no avail. What I ended up doing was just getting turkey mince (mine was made by the same company that makes the raw I feed, so it had organ and bone in it) since I knew she'd eat MEAT, just not the mixed with veggies stuff, and she ate that mince on it's own for almost a week, then I started mixing THAT in with the complete (with veggies) stuff, (slowly!) and before she realised it, she was eating what I wanted her to! lol

I know you said it's hard to find things near you, but what about ordering online? I know some people use www.hare-today.com for their minces, and add their own veggies and suppliments to it. You might want to look!
 

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Mine raw eaters prefer beef and rabbit, theyll eat turkey and guniea hen ... chicken didnt fly then found out one was allergic( smart girl) .... the girls have tried buffalo, elk, venison and lightly cooked fish all were no goes here ... Veggies dont fly at all anymore .... Vet said not an issue just make sure to have meat bone and organs
 
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white cat lover

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Beandip, my "Damita mix" isn't very exact. I plan on starting to record exact amounts when I make meals tomorrow. I've even got a "Damita mix" notebook started.


Damita Mix:
(X) Spoonful(s) Canned(I essentially just glob some in-sometimes 3oz, sometimes 1 oz)
(3) TBSP cooked oatmeal(added to meals when she's eating a lot that day)
(1) Raw Medallion
(1) Glop Hairball meds
(1) 500 mg Lysine tablet(i've got herpes flare ups in a couple of kits)

I've changed that recipe about 80 billion times. Tonight I was shocked. I had mixed a can of Fancy Feast with 3 medallions last night. I've been feeding her that all day & tonight she chooses to eat it, untainted, of her own free will!
Normally, I add one spoonful Pro Pac Beef(I mix in a little water to make "gravy").

ETA: My brilliant idea of just blending a raw medallion into tiny chunks in my Magic Bullet went over OK. She ate most of it, but then realized what she was eating & hissed at it. My cats are nuts.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Beandip, my "Damita mix" isn't very exact. I plan on starting to record exact amounts when I make meals tomorrow. I've even got a "Damita mix" notebook started.


Damita Mix:
(X) Spoonful(s) Canned(I essentially just glob some in-sometimes 3oz, sometimes 1 oz)
(3) TBSP cooked oatmeal(added to meals when she's eating a lot that day)
(1) Raw Medallion
(1) Glop Hairball meds
(1) 500 mg Lysine tablet(i've got herpes flare ups in a couple of kits)

I've changed that recipe about 80 billion times. Tonight I was shocked. I had mixed a can of Fancy Feast with 3 medallions last night. I've been feeding her that all day & tonight she chooses to eat it, untainted, of her own free will!
Normally, I add one spoonful Pro Pac Beef(I mix in a little water to make "gravy").

ETA: My brilliant idea of just blending a raw medallion into tiny chunks in my Magic Bullet went over OK. She ate most of it, but then realized what she was eating & hissed at it. My cats are nuts.
Thanks for the "recipe"!

Umm, don't feel bad I have a notebook too.


That's great that she ate the untainted mix


I went out looking for Solid Gold Tuna to mix with the rabbit...didn't find any. Do any of the big chains sell that normally? I'm trying to stick with local stuff until I know what works. I thought I saw it somewhere but no luck today.

I ended up picking 2 kinds of flaked fishy Fancy Feast that didn't have by products. I mixed the whole can with one rabbit medallion and they picked at it.
Nobody even attacked the empty can. They actually dissed the kitty crack.


She hissed at it? Wow.
That's a new one for me.
 
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white cat lover

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Try buying a can of clams(people clams). I bought one, but haven't tried it yet. IMO, the Solid Gold Blended Tuna isn't all that great. Nobody here gets all whopped up on it anymore. It was great the first time & after that....blah. IMO, it doesn't smell any stronger than people tuna, either. I don't know of any big chains that sell it mostly cuz I've been in a Petco once & a Petsmart once.
 

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solid gold is at most petcos ... mine still go nuts ....lol they are all individuals
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Try buying a can of clams(people clams). I bought one, but haven't tried it yet. IMO, the Solid Gold Blended Tuna isn't all that great. Nobody here gets all whopped up on it anymore. It was great the first time & after that....blah. IMO, it doesn't smell any stronger than people tuna, either. I don't know of any big chains that sell it mostly cuz I've been in a Petco once & a Petsmart once.
I may have to try both!
My crazy cats turned down Fancy Feast so who knows?

Originally Posted by sharky

solid gold is at most petcos ... mine still go nuts ....lol they are all individuals
I may have to try the other Petco here...this one I went to today is kind of unpredictable. I thought it was there before. Thanks!
 

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Ok, a little update.

It seems that I can count on Beandip, Paisley, and Junior to polish off 3 medallions at 'major' mealtimes (breakfast and dinner). This morning, Beandip did go ahead and take a bit more than usual, maybe an extra quarter. I did stash their dry food overnight so maybe he has been eating the dry. He didn't eat that much more though, so maybe not.

Ugggh that Fancy Feast/Rabbit trick not only didn't work, but it gave Pixel the squirts.
She was pretty miserable this morning. I felt bad. She didn't eat THAT much of it.

With this raw, I'm going to have to exert some self control on Beandip's behalf. This morning he wanted some attention, just a couple hours after breakfast. Of course he usually likes to nibble on some food after he gets his scritches
. So he went in the kitchen and sniffed the leftover nasty Turkey/Barley food that everyone refused. I could tell he wanted something to eat...and at the same time that I don't want him to be hungry, I also want to get him used to eating small 'meals', i.e. not 19 snacks. I have no problem fixing him 4 meals a day but I can't do 19.
 
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white cat lover

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I blended one medallion nin my Magic Bullet this am for Damita. She wouldn't touch it. So I belended that medallion, one spoonful "Kitty crack", 2 drops salmon oil, & a spponful tuna juice. Then she ate it.

Dory peed on a plain medallion again.
So I drizzled an unpeed on one with tuna juice & he licked all the juice of. Mixed the medallion up with tuna juice & he ate some.

Poor baby Pixel...have you tried giving her some plain canned pumpkin for the squirts?

ETA: With ground meats, what are the drawbacks? The only thing I can remember hearing about ground meat is that you have to use it within one day of thawing...are there any other issues?
 
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