New Kitten, Whole Prey and Questions

Hello, I've got a question.

We'll be getting a kitten soon and I plan on feeding this kitten a diet of all raw whole prey. Now, I know that when I get the kitten it's probably going to be best if I keep him on the food he's eating currently, but for how long? Would it be a bad idea to keep feeding whatever dry they had him on and upgrade the canned to a different brand?

Now, my plan is to start him off on some Nature's variety once he's settled in and I'm ready to switch him onto raw (how long should I wait for that? And can I give a little to him sooner to start the switchover process?). While he's on NV my plan was to introduce different whole prey each day. A mouse one day, rat another, chick and so on. Not whole meals mind you, just so that he becomes fermilair with them and sees them as food.

Does that sound doable? Is there too young of age to start a kitten on whole prey if they haven't been on it their whole life? Is there anything else I should be doing?

Around how many calories will this kitten need a day (and yes, I understand they should pretty much get as much as they want multiple times a day)? When I get him transitioned over to raw about how many ounces would you say in a day he would need, just so I can get an idea how many f/t feeders I will need per day?

And is there anything I should supplement if I'm feeding a large variety of whole prey?

Thanks for any help anyone can give!

Originally Posted by Inzey

Hello, I've got a question.

We'll be getting a kitten soon and I plan on feeding this kitten a diet of all raw whole prey. Now, I know that when I get the kitten it's probably going to be best if I keep him on the food he's eating currently, but for how long? Would it be a bad idea to keep feeding whatever dry they had him on and upgrade the canned to a different brand?

Now, my plan is to start him off on some Nature's variety once he's settled in and I'm ready to switch him onto raw (how long should I wait for that? And can I give a little to him sooner to start the switchover process?). While he's on NV my plan was to introduce different whole prey each day. A mouse one day, rat another, chick and so on. Not whole meals mind you, just so that he becomes fermilair with them and sees them as food.

Does that sound doable? Is there too young of age to start a kitten on whole prey if they haven't been on it their whole life? Is there anything else I should be doing?

Around how many calories will this kitten need a day (and yes, I understand they should pretty much get as much as they want multiple times a day)? When I get him transitioned over to raw about how many ounces would you say in a day he would need, just so I can get an idea how many f/t feeders I will need per day?

And is there anything I should supplement if I'm feeding a large variety of whole prey?

Thanks for any help anyone can give!

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First, hurray for choosing to feed your new kitty raw!

I adopted my adult cat at 4 years old from a shelter who had been fed low-quality kibble and and canned his whole life. I switched him over to 100% raw. This is how I did it:


When I got him, I kept him on his regular food for the first week, slowly adding more high quality canned - and changed his kibble to high quality kibble. By the 2nd week he was eating high quality canned & kibble. The third week, I took the kibble away and began adding bits of chopped up raw meat (chicken heart, gizzard, and thigh) in with his high quality canned and slowly began reducing the amount of canned, adding bones and organ, too. By the 4th week, he was eating 100% raw.

I have heard others say elsewhere that they switched their cat to raw in 1 day, but *I* don't recommend sudden changes like that because raw is SO different than kibble & cooked canned food... sudden changes can cause vomiting, diarrhea, etc. (Even when I slowly switched, my cat vomited once on the 4th day of all raw :/... but in my defense, I think that was because I served the food too cold.)

It is possible your kitten will not take to eating whole prey right away. My cat was kind of picky with raw at first - it took him awhile to realize raw was FOOD. I'd say try the whole, and if it doesn't work, start off with chunks of raw meat/organ/bone first, or whole animal parts - then leave more skin/fur/feathers on until she's comfortable eating 100% whole.

Kittens should be fed often (3-4+ meals a day) and be given as much as they want, as long as they aren't gorging themselves. Never let a kitten go for more than 12 hours without eating (24 hours for adult cats). For this reason, I suggest having some cans of commercial cat food in stock to feed "just in case" your kitten goes on a hunger strike against the raw food.

Every cat has its own preferences and comfort levels. How fast your kitty transitions to a raw diet is wholly up to your kitty. : )

As soon as you feel the kitten is comfortable and confident in its new home, I would begin offering raw foods.

Here's the story of my five making the transition: Taking the plunge...