Feeding raw...questions!

monaxlisa

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Hello,
Ive been reading about raw for dogs and cats for quite a while now but I havent felt comfortable with the idea of including the bones of an entire chicken in my cats food. I mean, if my cat did happen to catch and eat a chicken Im pretty sure he wouldnt be chomping down thigh bones. So I was looking for info on it last night and found this site http://www.felinefuture.com and I like what they have to say. They dont suggest using bones because chicken or rabbit bones dont compare to mice or bird bones. I totally agree. Has anyone heard of this product, what are your thoughts?
Thanks!
 

sharky

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some use that supplement ...

If your thinking about raw PLEASE find a VET who either know s about raw and how to do it CORRECTLY or one willing to help you or learn...

Many cats actually do eat the raw bones ... it is preferred to bone meal or calcium carbonate IMHO .... Rabbit needs added taurine otherwise can be a base meat
 

sober_drunkenes

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Hello

I raw feed my dogs but my kittens haven't taken on to it. Cats basically do better with whole prey such as mice and birds and rabbits. They must be given a variety and an organ 2 to 3 times a week (due to their need for taurine).

That sounds like a great food link you sent but beware....it tends to cost more to buy raw than to prepare at home.
 

sober_drunkenes

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I was afraid to feed bones too but think of it this way. If your cat was wandering around what would it eat? Surely it would catch a bird or mouse and eat it whole (including bones). If your cat was in the wild right now (s)he wouldn't have the time or machines to grind up meats. Raw food is to simulate what your animal would eat in the wild. If you are afraid of feeding whole bones you could try the BARF method. Honestly I prefer prey model.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by sober_drunkenes

Hello

I raw feed my dogs but my kittens haven't taken on to it. Cats basically do better with whole prey such as mice and birds and rabbits. They must be given a variety and an organ 2 to 3 times a week (due to their need for taurine).

That sounds like a great food link you sent but beware....it tends to cost more to buy raw than to prepare at home.
CATs DONT need variety that is a DOG thing ...
...

Premade can run about 30-50% more than home done but in some cases is better ( I got meat organ bone and veggies mixes from my vet for 8 $ for 5lbs .. try buying 3-4lbs of meat for that) ..... I used premade meat with organ bases and added the other stuff per animal needs ... WHOLE prey vs grd is a good debate topic for IMO


Where are my manners .. WELCOME TO TCS both of YOU
 
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monaxlisa

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Its not exactly the bones that I am worried about, its just that chicken bones arent the kind of bones they would be eating in the wild. If I was grinding a whole chicken I would grind it very fine so I wouldnt have to stress over it every time I fed my cat. Ive found two recipes for completely home made - http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm & http://www.holisticat.com/rawrecipe.html which are basically the same and look pretty easy. I also cant decide if I should grind a whole chicken or just thighs? Any info that anyone has to share would be appreciated! Ive read so much about it that I feel almost confident about it, it wouldnt be a big deal at all if I didnt have supplements to deal with, Im a little worried about choosing the right ones.
 

sharky

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Whole is best as you get all the right balence ... THE supplement issue is why I URGE anyone wanting to do raw to consult a QUALIFIED vet
 

sharky

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May I ask what part of WA you are I am in North Idaho and have at least vets within 20 miles that are holistic or holistic minded
 

beandip

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Sharky made a valid point about a whole chicken vs. thighs.
From a practical standpoint, I prefer thighs though...for a couple of reasons.

I wasn't happy with the meat/bone ratio when doing a whole chicken. Granted, I took the breasts off but not very gracefully so I didn't really take that much meat away from the cat food by doing that. With the catinfo/catnutrition recipe, once the liquid is added, the final product is darn close to 10% bone when using thighs.

On the same note, when I do this I make a pile of meat and a pile of bones....so I can grind the bones very fine. I do grind the meat, but w/a different plate that leaves it slightly chunky at least. I don't have it in me to chunk up 15 lbs of meat by hand (yeah, I have quite a few cats) and besides, the cats eat the coarsely ground meat with no fussing. Chunks, ehhh - they're not sure about them...other than the ones they are happy to steal while I'm working on the food.

The point I was trying to make there is that the thighs have the added bonus of being super easy for me to debone. Snip, snip, snip - done. The whole chicken was a major pain for me to do that with.
 

goldenkitty45

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Both the dog and the cats get tomato - they are NOT poisoneous - maybe the green part is, but not the part you do eat
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by MonaxLisa

I live near the Canadian border, Spokane is about 2 hours away.
There is a holistic minded vet in the Sanpt Bonners area ... is that too far to go>>???
 

panther pride

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I'm not sure, depends on how much you want to spend on gas, ect. I dont live over there,but have close acess to an all natural pet food store on 1752 grand.


I don't drive, cannot because I'm legally blind in my right eye from underdelvoped opic nurves..
No gas/car issues for me
 
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monaxlisa

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I dont want to order pre made, I think its way too expensive plus I love to cook and even though its not exactly cooking I would still enjoy fixing up food for my cats. Im weird, I cant help it! : )
 

sharky

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PM me and I will send some VET basic recipes
 
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