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Raw Feeding Question

post #1 of 18
3/4/07 at 4:10am
Thread Starter 
My kitties are both 6 years old and have been grazers their entire lives, I have always "free fed" them. I want to switch to raw, have any of you guys had experience with that....do you think it will be a problem??
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post #2 of 18
3/4/07 at 5:39am
Good for you on making this decision! You're doing a great thing for your cats

It may take you longer to switch than for those who's cats are not free-fed dry food, but it's not impossible! Start slowly, don't rush things, and be patient. Start out by feeding them only in meals. Measure out the food they should get at a mealtime, put it down for half an hour or so, then pick it back up. I'd do this several times a day at first, then wean it back to two meals a day. Then I would try incorporating raw as one of the meals, eventually eliminating the kibble entirely. If they do not take to it right away, you may need an extra step. Change one of the meals to canned food, then switch them entirely to canned food, THEN gradually introduce the raw.

Do you have a formula or recipie you'll be using?
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post #3 of 18
3/4/07 at 9:37pm
I've been having a real problem with this with one of my cats. Spotty is such a nibbler that he can take 2 or 3 hours to eat just 1 and a half ounces of wet food and often doesn't even finish it. he licks the wet food and walks away leaving a whole bunch left. He acts as if his tongue is handicapped and he can't clean the bowl like my other cat Rosie does very well and she's been eating raw very well too. I don't know why I can't get my cat Spotty to eat like a normal cat.

I've been wasting so much wet food and I'm trying to play the "either you eat or you go hungry game" to make him eat the way I want him to but I'm not sure it's working and I find myself giving in and putting down the dry kibble becase it's as if he'll starve if I don't do it.

Good luck with this. By the way Feline Instincts has a real easy supplement mix and formula and their liver powder is very effective at getting many new cats to eat raw. That's how I got Rosie eating it. Just wish I could convince Spotty to at least eat all his canned food within a half hour.
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post #4 of 18
3/4/07 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie&Cyclopes View Post
My kitties are both 6 years old and have been grazers their entire lives, I have always "free fed" them. I want to switch to raw, have any of you guys had experience with that....do you think it will be a problem??
It really just depends on the cat, and your patience and creativity.

FWIW, I have met resistance from some of mine on this same issue, BUT I have one die hard kibble junkie who hates ALL canned food, but loves the raw. I never would have guessed. He only eats the kibble now if he's desperate.
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post #5 of 18
3/4/07 at 10:24pm
Like beandip said, it depends on your kitties. I'm switching a few of mine to raw & it's an uphill battle all the way for one, but for another(provided it isn't a whole medallion) he's great about eating it!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about switching to raw!
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post #6 of 18
3/5/07 at 2:45am
Thread Starter 
Thank you guys so much...great info!! I introduced them to a medallion (little bit) today and they both ate it or should I say gobbled. I will work on intergrating it slowly. The kitty I most worry about is Minnie...I really hope he likes it!!
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post #7 of 18
3/5/07 at 5:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie&Cyclopes View Post
Thank you guys so much...great info!! I introduced them to a medallion (little bit) today and they both ate it or should I say gobbled. I will work on intergrating it slowly. The kitty I most worry about is Minnie...I really hope he likes it!!
That's great! The first battle is getting them to try it, so if that went well you may have some easy subjects to work with.

Just curious, which type of meat did you get?
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post #8 of 18
3/6/07 at 1:18am
Thread Starter 
Right now I am using Natures Variety the organic chicken..Bad news I am having a hard time getting Minnie to eat it. Cyclopes is doing great, he loves it. Tommorrow I am going to take their kibble away(we have slowly worked up to this point)...so we will see how Minnie does. I have heard about some other brands specifically for kitties but I am having a hard time finding it..You mentioned you have some kitties who eat it and some who don't...Do you free feed your kibble eaters??
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post #9 of 18
3/6/07 at 6:01am
I think you have the right idea to try with Minnie again with the kibble gone. Just have to see how it goes. Is Minnie willing to eat canned food? If so, you might have to try a transition to canned, then maybe try some of the things white cat lover has done with Damita (canned/raw 'mix)...I personally haven't succeeded much with that, but to be fair - I haven't tried that hard either. With 8 cats, it's hard to organize the buffet line here.

To answer your question about the free feed, yes, but - I've been slowly working my way away from free feeding also. I've been upping the canned amount for the ones who don't care for the raw. With the extra canned to eat, they're leaving more and more kibble in the bowl...I just have one pig who's not doing a very good job @ self-regulating his intake . So we're on to Plan B. I took the kibble up last night to see how it goes.
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post #10 of 18
3/6/07 at 12:28pm
You can try a whole bunch of things to convince Minnie to eat the raw. Check out this thread:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...damita+eat+raw

I was given a lot of good ideas on how to get a kitty to eat raw! The one thing that I found that works easily if putting a spoonful tuna juice, 1 TSP tuna, & one raw medallion in my Magic BUllter(blender). The kitties gobble the raw very quickly! You can even skip putting in the tuna just to see if they'll eat it that way...
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post #11 of 18
3/6/07 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the thread, I will try the tuna thing...That is Minnie's weakness(I don't give tuna often) Why didn't I think of that...Thank you thank you!!!
Can food will be another option b/c again another weakness...He is my glutant, I am shocked he didn't take to it.. Cyclopes on the other hand is eating raw completely...He hasn't had kibble for 1&1/2 days...bye bye kibble for him..
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post #12 of 18
3/7/07 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Guys I think we may have a succes story...keep your fingers crossed...Minnie was refusing the Natures Variety so then I went and got him the Crazy Kitty and he loves it!!! He finally ate his whole plate....I am so excited!!
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post #13 of 18
3/7/07 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie&Cyclopes View Post
Guys I think we may have a succes story...keep your fingers crossed...Minnie was refusing the Natures Variety so then I went and got him the Crazy Kitty and he loves it!!! He finally ate his whole plate....I am so excited!!
Congrats on the success!

What is Crazy Kitty? I'm intrigued.
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post #14 of 18
3/7/07 at 8:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by beandip View Post
Congrats on the success!

What is Crazy Kitty? I'm intrigued.

it is a brand of raw I beleive
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post #15 of 18
3/7/07 at 9:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
it is a brand of raw I beleive
Hmmm I couldn't find a website or any info. Do you have a link? I'm just curious.
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post #16 of 18
3/7/07 at 9:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by beandip View Post
Hmmm I couldn't find a website or any info. Do you have a link? I'm just curious.
no I looked too .. i wonder if she didnt mean wild kitty??
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post #17 of 18
3/8/07 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Okay I am crazy and my cats eat Wild Kitty!!! So sorry about that
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post #18 of 18
3/8/07 at 5:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie&Cyclopes View Post
Okay I am crazy and my cats eat Wild Kitty!!! So sorry about that
No problem, I'm crazy too. Thanks for the clarification.
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