Raw Food diet?

chopperbates

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Hi all! I have 2 Maine Coons: Sophie Lilac 1 yr old & Henry Higgins 5 months old. Both have always had on & off diahrrea. Have been to the vet many times, tested neg for worms, treated for worms even though they were negative. I'm feeding Hill's prescription ID, which is working okay, but I hate the ingredients (corn gluten). I'm seriously considering feeding raw food. I'm taking them to a holistic vet in a few weeks who is a strong beleiver in feeding raw, but I wanted to get opinions of others who've been using this diet. Thanks!
 

beandip

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Are your cats related? Have they been tested for giardia and/or coccidia? I don't think those 2 are tested for as part of a regular stool check.

Yes, it's a good idea to talk to a vet about raw...particularly if you're dealing with an existing health issue.

I will say that my cats who eat raw have nice firm stools...one of them too firm. I have one who gets constipated when I let her eat too much raw. Granted, she has a tendency to overeat, so that causes some issues anyway. I use a pre-made "complete" raw, Nature's Variety Prairie.

The biggest hurdle, other than finding a good vet, is getting your cats to eat the raw food. Some take to it right away, and some don't recognize it as food.
 

sharky

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What else have you tried ???? other than ID ???? Corn gluten is not all that bad it balences chn in the calcium and phos dept .... BUT yes in a very sensitive tummy you may need to cut out all GRAINS and MOST veggies .... Did the holistic vet give you ideas on how to raw feed??? I feed raw / canned to my nearly 19 yr old who has kidney issues BUT I ONLY do it with my vets help ... I use a premade meat base and add other stuff as needed///
 

aussie_dog

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Molly just can't digest the carbs in dry food, so she had a similar problem: she had nonstop diarrhea in the year she was eating dry food. We tried all the premium foods I could find (CA Natural, Innova, EVO, Timberwolf Organics, Felidae, etc.), but nothing worked. So I took the plunge and tried RAW and for the first time since we've had her, her poops have firmed up so they actually look normal, and there's NO smell at all (before, the smell could melt steel). As a bonus, she LOVES her raw meat and gets so excited at meal times.

I don't feel a homemade RAW (don't feel I'm expert enough to do that), so I buy premade RAW from the pet food store. The brands I see (Arusha, Top Hand/Pets Go Raw, Mountain Dog Food, etc.) are Canadian brands, so I doubt you'll see them. The only American brand sold at our pet food store is Nature's Variety Prairie, but I tried that once and the cats didn't really care for it. They prefer bloodier meats, lol

Molly and Willow are on RAW, since they loved meat already, but Buffy doesn't know what to do with raw meat so she's a work in progress. I just let her be, but thanks to this recall fiasco, today I added just a little bit of raw meat to her canned food and she ate it up, even though I was fully expecting her to eat AROUND it, lol. So there may be hope for her yet! If your cats don't agree raw meat is good, just add a little bit to their regular food and gradually increase it until raw meat is the only thing they're eating. I would suggest adding it to canned food, though, not dry food. Dry food and RAW meat digest at different times (dry food digests slowly and raw meat digest fast). If you feed both at the same time, the dry food will be forcing the raw meat to stay in the intestines longer then it should, which will be encouraging bacteria to build up, which will cause problems.
 

catsarebetter

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Well, I have two cats on the raw. The other two, hopefully, will eventually be eating raw. Here's what I've found.

1.) Both cats eating a raw diet have beautiful shiny healthy coats. This has improved since Kahn was on a different diet (and that's a whole other story because he refused to eat anything, and we had issues until we started him on raw).. Joyeux came to us already eating a raw diet. The breeder she came from has absolutely gorgeous, well-muscled, bright eyed kitties.

2.) Overall they have no health issues as of yet. Joyeux did have a bit of constipation, but the introduction of a grass plant fixed that after months of trying to regulate her.. we tried psyllium husks, veggies, and so forth. They refused the veggies, and the psyllium didn't do anything to help.

3.) Both of the raw kitties are extremely well-muscled, which in Kahn developed after he started eating the raw. He's 13 pounds and there's not an ounce of fat on him. He could actually stand to gain another half to one pound..

4.) Actual raw, bought from the store and chopped up actually costs less than pre-made raw and/or most commercial dry foods. Definitely costs less than the recommended dosage of packet or canned food. This is done by finding sale prices though. It ranges about the same if you buy it full price.

5.) Getting some flack from one of our vets, but the other vet is onboard with it (both at the same office.. one hollistic and one traditional).

6.) Kahn's poopy doesn't stink. Joyeux's does. Joyeux is also eating the Evo, though, and I have to say.. the Mau's poop is right up there with the previous post of steel melting.. it's enough to knock you out.

I make my own food, but I try to make it as balanced as possible and there are websites that explain what you need to do. I think there are also books out there. I'm happy to help if you need anything, just PM me.

Oh, and as a side note, mine eat about a pound of raw a day, between the two of them.
 
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chopperbates

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Thanks for all the great info! No, they're not related, so I can't understand why they both have chronic diarrhea. Actually, the 1 yr old is a lot better on the ID & I just switched the 5 mo old to it. They've both been tested for gardia & coccidia, both neg. The vet doesn't give me any answers, just prescribes the ID. This is why I'm switching vets. I'll prob buy the raw food that the holistic vet sells, because to tell you the truth, raw meat grosses me out, but if it helps them, I'm willing to do it. i had no idea they would eat so much, Cats A Day, you say yours eat a lb a day, WOW!! Aussie Dog, my kitten, Henry looks just like your Willow. Again, thanks to all for the great info!
 

catsarebetter

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Yes, but between the two they make up 20 pounds of cat.. over actually, by a little. Probably more like 21 pounds between the two of them and they're beyond extremely active, so.. I think they probably eat more than most cats.

Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention is that they won't have anything to do with premade raws, and it takes me about an hour of chopping to prepare a week or two worth of food.
 
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