We did it! Feeding only raw!

I'm so excited! After a few months of planning and researching, Ricky bobby is now eating exclusively raw food. And he is loving every bit of it! It's only the 3rd day of all raw, but he is taking to it so well. I found a reliable source where I can get a ground beef mix especially for raw feeders, it contains muscle meat, liver, heart and kidneys. I can also get a ground chicken mix, turkey mix, and venison mix from the same supplier. But i don't want to feed too much ground, so right now he is getting chicken thighs cut up in chunks, turkey legs cut up in chunks, chicken livers gizzards and hearts. To make sure he is getting proper calcium and other vitamins I am mixing the meat with Alnutrin, a supplement kind of like feline future. I am so glad I'm finally able to feed him all raw, I know it's whats best for him. Wish us luck!

Good job

Well done

Fantastic!

Are you planning on working whole bones into his diet?

What part of Texas are you in? I'm in Houston and am always looking for good suppliers for raw feeding. Bones 2 Go is the only place I know in Houston that specializes in raw feeding supplies.

I'm definitely planning on doing whole bones eventually. I just want to get a good foundation on that and really know what I'm doing before. I do plan on doing it though, and cutting out the supplements and going the frankennprey route. That's probably a year or 2 down the road. But at this time, I do plan on giving his chicken necks and game hen meat w/ bone for dental health. That's why I opted to give him chunks instead of ground chicken and turkey, I don't want all of his food to be ground.

I'm in the DFW area, well closer to the Oklahoma border, but my suppliers are from the DFW area. The way I found them was through a yahoo group specifically made to help you find local suppliers. You join and post your location and what type of meat you're looking for, and suppliers in your area email you and let you know what they have available and how to order from them. Feel free to PM me and I'll get you the link.

Good work! I have three kitties on raw who took to it immediately and one hold out (sigh). He just has to assert his independence!

That's awesome, LayItDown, totally awesome.

Thanks everyone! I don't know why I'm so happy about it. I guess it's cuz he took to it right away, no fuss at all. There is one problem, I'm adding wild salmon oil to his food 2-3x a week, for heart, eye, and skin health. But He does not like it. He won't touch the food or will eat around it and be very picky about which pieces of meat he eats. The only time he does that is when there has been salmon oil added to it. Any suggestions? I would really like to get him those omega 3's. Any thing that can replace it? Any tips on how to get him to like it? Thanks everyone!

My five furfaces share a 3.75 ounce can of sardines (no salt, packed in fresh water only) once a week. Four of my five like salmon oil, but Rachel, the one I have trouble keeping weight on, doesn't.

To accommodate her preference, and because I like natural over packaged/bottled as often as I can get it, I switched to sardines. Everyone in my clowder likes those.

I don't normally recommend fish, but Sardines are among the safest fish to feed, since they are wild-caught, often in a sustainable manner, and are not likely to contain antibiotics. They grow to their adult size quickly, live only a half dozen or so years, and eat mostly plants, all of which limits their exposure to PCBs, mercury and other heavy metals and toxins. Since I offer such a small amount each week, the potential for UTI or other digestive issues is limited.

Another thing you might try is sprinkling Whole Life's Freeze-dried 100% meat treats on the food along with the salmon oil. Before switching to sardines, this is what I used to tempt Rachel into eating her salmon-oil-smeared dinners. It's expensive, but it NEVER fails to work for me.

Let us know how it goes!

Thanks AuntieCrazy. I think I'll try the sardines. So if you 5 cats share 1 3.75 can a week, then 1 can should last me 5 weeks. Cool! I'll portion it out and freeze it it 5 different servings. I'll let you know how he does with that.

I've looked for Whole Life's Freeze-dried 100% meat treats online, can't find them locally, and you're right they are kind of expensive. I think i'll try the sardines first. Thanks!