What's your best newbie advice?

foofy cat lady · Oct 13, 2009

I'm thinking of going raw. We need some dietary changes around here, 'cause five cats on three different foods, two are overweight, two are underweight, one is just fine.

So I come to the experts: What do you wish someone had told you on Day 1 of raw feeding that you had to learn the hard way?

sharky · Oct 13, 2009

Research and have a back up plan and have a vet or like PROFESSIONAL help you...

Oh and NOT ALL will take to it .... Older animals seem to come quicker than young adult animals

furryfriends50 · Oct 13, 2009

1) Most cats (at least this is true for mine) hate goat; don't go buy it since it is a waste of money.

2) Cats love lamb heart. I wish I had tried that as the first not last meat to give to my stubborn cats since they LOVED it.

3) not that I learned this the "hard way" but raw is really quite easy. All you need is a scale and time

I do frankenprey and thought it was going to be hard to put together balanced meals - it isn't.

sharky · Oct 13, 2009

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

1) Most cats (at least this is true for mine) hate goat; don't go buy it since it is a waste of money.

2) Cats love lamb heart. I wish I had tried that as the first not last meat to give to my stubborn cats since they LOVED it.

3) not that I learned this the "hard way" but raw is really quite easy. All you need is a scale and time

I do frankenprey and thought it was going to be hard to put together balanced meals - it isn't.

Lamb and lamb organs are NOT what I would EVER recommend as a first meat since it is a HOT meat ... just a FYI

furryfriends50 · Oct 13, 2009

Originally Posted by sharky

Lamb and lamb organs are NOT what I would EVER recommend as a first meat since it is a HOT meat ... just a FYI

I was just saying what I wish I had known about...hot meat or not lamb heart worked really well for switching to raw. All it took was actually one day of lamb and they would eat whatever I gave them. You shouldn't avoid a certain meat because it is "hot", if that is what works then hey, let the cat eat it

No matter what the type of meat it is, if it is the 'miracle meat' as lamb heart was for mine then what is the point in not feeding it. A few meals of lamb isn't going to hurt a cat that is starting on raw...it is much better to give lamb a try than continuing any commercial food IMO.

So really I'd say start with something like lamb (instead of doing like me and trying all the differant meats first). Cats love it, it worked well for me, and none of mine had a problem with it

chris10 · Oct 14, 2009

Originally Posted by Foofy Cat Lady

What do you wish someone had told you on Day 1 of raw feeding that you had to learn the hard way?

That cats, at least mine, no longer prefer eating out of their bowl in their designated area. Instead they like dragging meat pieces all over the house.

The key thing is knowledge and help (knowledgeable vet). This site has a lot of good info. Don't hesitate to post any questions.
Good luck

sharky · Oct 14, 2009

Originally Posted by chris10

That cats, at least mine, no longer prefer eating out of their bowl in their designated area. Instead they like dragging meat pieces all over the house.

The key thing is knowledge and help (knowledgeable vet). This site has a lot of good info. Don't hesitate to post any questions.
Good luck

lol.. I didnt want to say that

... Raw food hunting

As for the Lamb come back with the results in a few yrs

.. I speak from experience of MANY yrs and lots of research

In very small amounts it is likely okay for about 50% of cats

jack31 · Oct 14, 2009

Expect the unexpected. Jack and Harley ate about 75% raw for 3-4 months and then I stopped d/t household changes. Took in a pregnant stray who then had 5 babies and life got chaotic. It was too much trying to prepare raw for the boys and care for momma and babies, and way to much work to try and do all raw for everyone. I also went back to work fulltime. So I went back to mostly wet and alittle dry. I regretted it and then when mommas kittens were gone--minus the one we kept, and momma stayed I decided the cats lives improved so much on raw I needed to go back. But I learned a lot in those first 3-4 months. I needed to make the process easier on myself. So I opted to prepare their meals completely balanced daily, minus the bone--although the days I feed bone are completely balanced as well. 4-5 weeks in and life is much easier this time even feeding three instead of two.

Leslie

furryfriends50 · Oct 15, 2009

Look, all I said is that feeding lamb heart helped mine transition to raw. I didn't ask to be told that is horrible....That was my advice which I wish I had known instead of trying chicken, beef, turkey, pork, and rabbit before being able to try lamb heart. It worked for me, mine all are great with lamb and they get it once a week. All the organs that I use are lamb because that is what I can get for kidneys and I know where/how the lamb was raised.

I try to feed the most variety as I can. Just because I am in school doesn't mean I am stupid and shouldn't give advice since I am "unexperienced". I have experience thank you...one doesn't feed 29 (I'm counting the three strays) cats raw and not know what they are doing. I know what works for mine and I said what worked for mine.

kody's mom · Oct 15, 2009

What does "HOT" meat mean?

Anne

sharky · Oct 15, 2009

Hot means takes and gives off heat to digest... It in Rare occations is helpful if a cat has a cold issue( ie sits on the heater vent ) but in most it CAN and often DOES cause inflamatory issues ....

example

Rabbit takes little to no heat to digest and give s off NO heat

Chicken takes a little to digest yet gives off little to none/.

PM me with questions as I will be meeting with the expert vet on this again next week

foofy cat lady · Oct 15, 2009

This has been super informative! Thanks all, for chiming in!

I'm going to need some help with teaching Meepy that food comes in other forms aside from cardboardy Xs. I offered her some tuna and she looked at me like I just asked her to eat her own paw. She just doesn't understand. She'll be a tough cookie to break.

Can someone direct me to some info on these hot meats? I haven't seen -anything- about them in any of my reading, so I'm curious. This may be an incredibly dumb question - Is it something that's okay to give to a cat on a cold day? We have wood heat in our home, so it tends to be a little colder towards one end of the house.. So if it's a bit nippier, would that make it a beneficial meat for them?

sharky · Oct 15, 2009

Originally Posted by Foofy Cat Lady

This has been super informative! Thanks all, for chiming in!

I'm going to need some help with teaching Meepy that food comes in other forms aside from cardboardy Xs. I offered her some tuna and she looked at me like I just asked her to eat her own paw. She just doesn't understand. She'll be a tough cookie to break.

Can someone direct me to some info on these hot meats? I haven't seen -anything- about them in any of my reading, so I'm curious. This may be an incredibly dumb question - Is it something that's okay to give to a cat on a cold day? We have wood heat in our home, so it tends to be a little colder towards one end of the house.. So if it's a bit nippier, would that make it a beneficial meat for them?

Hot and cold refer to oriental medicine .. PM me for some solid sites and books ...

Seasons do play into the cold vs hot... I prefer cool to neutral to warm meats routinely for this ... as cold and hot seem to cause issues in many animals ...

auntie crazy · Oct 18, 2009

"Oriental medicine?"

Sharky, how about posting a link or two to your favorite sites so everyone can review them? I'm always up for new info.

Foofy Cat Lady, there are two things I learned through my feline nutrition research and raw food transition that would have been helpful had I understood them up front.

1. Feeding raw truly is easy. It's not mysterious and it doesn't take a degree in medicine to understand it. As long as you start close to the accepted guideline (80% meat, etc., 10% edible bone, 5% liver, and 5% other secreting organ per week), adjusting if and as necessary for your kitty, you can pretty much use any pattern or feeding method that fits into your schedule.

2. It's NOT dangerous. Cats evolved to eat this diet and are admirably suited to do so. (Even lamb and goat! There are historical accounts of the African Black-Footed cat taking down both, and these cats are proven genetic ancestors to our own.)

If you like to read, the Feline Nutrition Education Society has some raw food articles that you might find interesting.

sharky · Oct 18, 2009

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

"Oriental medicine?"

Sharky, how about posting a link or two to your favorite sites so everyone can review them? I'm always up for new info.

Foofy Cat Lady, there are two things I learned through my feline nutrition research and raw food transition that would have been helpful had I understood them up front.

1. Feeding raw truly is easy. It's not mysterious and it doesn't take a degree in medicine to understand it. As long as you start close to the accepted guideline (80% meat, etc., 10% edible bone, 5% liver, and 5% other secreting organ per week), adjusting if and as necessary for your kitty, you can pretty much use any pattern or feeding method that fits into your schedule.

2. It's NOT dangerous. Cats evolved to eat this diet and are admirably suited to do so. (Even lamb and goat! There are historical accounts of the African Black-Footed cat taking down both, and these cats are proven genetic ancestors to our own.)

If you like to read, the Feline Nutrition Education Society has some raw food articles that you might find interesting.

If you TRULY research you can figure it out

As to the statements above .. as there are MANY accepted patterns of raw feeding ie some add veg matter in a very small % ... Lamb is NOT ideal for most , it is like fish some do well many don't , again research... Is it hard , only in respect to making sure it is right for your cat and that is something to THOROUGHLY discuss with a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL ... Just like humans are supposed to before any true change to diet

What's your best newbie advice?

foofy cat lady

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sharky

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furryfriends50

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sharky

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furryfriends50

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chris10

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sharky

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jack31

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furryfriends50

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kody's mom

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foofy cat lady

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auntie crazy

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