This is going to be one for the books! Transitioning Lucky, Bugsy and Hope to Raw.... Challenges Gal

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carolina

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Wow!  Wow! Wow!  And I mean Wow!  This is just too exciting!!!!!!!!! :woohoo: .

I'm getting closer and closer to trying to make the switch, even though I have two extremely finicky eaters.
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
:woohoo: Let me tell you Sally..... If I can do it with allllllllll my troubles here and these finicky guys...... then anybody can :nod:
I am SO SO SO excited I am making this change too!!
And happy happy that you might follow that step - YEAH! :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Carolina

........

Thank you so much AC, for never giving up on us

(in spite of the tremendous hard time I have given you in the past
)
Water under the bridge, my friend. I'm just happy we are where we are now.


Go Bugsy, go Hope, go Lucky!!!!!! 


AC
 
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carolina

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Let me hear you Beg

:lol3::lol3::lol3: So I went to Petco in search of some appetizing treats for my bag of treats and came back with this:

Halo Freeze Dry Beef - HUGE hit for Both Lucky and Bugsy - :clap::clap::clap: Lucky was begging desperately for one more piece, pleeeease :lol3::lol3::lol3:
Hope ate her treat - this either might be a coincidence, or a problem - but she regurgitate soon after........ The treat was whole. Everytime I have fed her beef in the past, she has thrown up..... It can just be that she ate too fast though.... I am not sure that intolerance would happen like this, right away?

Fish Flakes - HUGE HUGE hit for Bugsy and hit for Lucky too!! Bugsy almost ate my fingers - DO NOT finger feed these :lol3::lol3::lol3:
One thing: Be careful when buying Fish flakes - read the ingredients, as I noticed most brands use Ethoxyquin as preservatives, and I personally would stay away from that - EVEN to be used as a treat :nod:
I bought a natural brand today, because of that.

Stewart Freeze dry Liver treats - Bugsy of course LOVED it :lol3:, Hope ate it, Lucky attempted, but didn't like it so much.

I also bought Hikari something something Freeze Dry shrimp - from which even Bugsy turned his head :dash: That one won't be used, I guess :lol3:

So, tonight, Beef is in the menu for everyone! :clap::clap::clap: (just as a sprinkle, of course..... )
 
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auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Carolina
...
Halo Freeze Dry Beef - HUGE hit for Both Lucky and Bugsy -
Lucky was begging desperately for one more piece, pleeeease

Hope ate her treat - this either might be a coincidence, or a problem - but she regurgitate soon after........ The treat was whole. Everytime I have fed her beef in the past, she has thrown up..... It can just be that she ate too fast though.... I am not sure that intolerance would happen like this, right away?

Fish Flakes - HUGE HUGE hit for Bugsy and hit for Lucky too!! Bugsy almost ate my fingers - DO NOT finger feed these

One thing: Be careful when buying Fish flakes - read the ingredients, as I noticed most brands use Ethoxyquin as preservatives, and I personally would stay away from that - EVEN to be used as a treat

I bought a natural brand today, because of that.

Stewart Freeze dry Liver treats - Bugsy of course LOVED it
, Hope ate it, Lucky attempted, but didn't like it so much.

...
So, tonight, Beef is in the menu for everyone!
(just as a sprinkle, of course..... )
Yay!!! So now you have several irresistible enticements in your arsenal of weapons. Whoot!!

And Bugsy has still not shown any softness in his stool from eating the Halo chicken?

AC
 
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carolina

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Yay!!! So now you have several irresistible enticements in your arsenal of weapons. Whoot!!

And Bugsy has still not shown any softness in his stool from eating the Halo chicken?

AC
So far the only "case of the runs" he has..... is running like mad all over the house :lol3::lol3::lol3:
Boy is playing catch with Lucky like he hasn't done in ages! :clap::clap::clap:
 

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My cats (and dogs) LOVE "Whole Life Freeze Dried Salmon Treats."  I buy them from www.felineinstincts.com where I also buy liver powder and salmon oil for mixing my raw food.  I really like the woman who owns this company, and she is in Arlington, so you know anything she sends will be fresh!  She is also incredibly helpful if you need to talk to someone about any aspect of raw feeding specifically and cat health in general.

Cally
 

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I have to tell you - it warms my heart to watch Bugsy go from 18 solid months of diarrhea to an ever-increasingly normal poop.... I can't even imagine how it must make you feel. :heart3:

AC

YES - I feel the same way. Too have to watch your baby with chronic diarrhea and soft stool's to now - starting to have solid poop!!!!!! :flail: IS INCREDIBLE!!! :clap::clap::clap:

Love the Emoticon's also :bigthumb: GO BUGSY GO :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
 
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carolina

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No Poop is Good Poop

:hyper: No poop can be found in the poop-o-meter as of yet :hyper:
Ok, Let me just say this:

I don't even know what I am going to think if Bugsy doesn't have soft poop tomorrow - I totally expected....... and will be shocked to-the-max if he doesn't......
Lil' boy was pushed today....
1- Increased raw to 75%
2- Had Halo Chicken treats...... which chicken are a NO NO
3- Had Freeze dry beef treats.......
4- Had a Beef liver treat
:thud::thud::thud::thud::thud::thud::thud::thud::thud:

I will start thinking this so called raw diet is really frozen cement if she wakes up all fine tomorrow morning :scratch:

Now..... if that happens........ you all know what is coming....... :woohoo:
:woohoo: it's 100% RAW DAY :woohoo:

Now, what I can say is this:
He has been running around the house and playing like I have not seen him play in a LONG time. He hasn't played catch with Lucky since Hope got in the house for you to have an idea....... an today it was Bugsy and Lucky all over the place :hyper: :clap::clap::clap:
He was also grooming her, which is cute cute..... :heart3:
So, this playing has not only been good for him physically, but socially/emotionally too...... especially since Gracie's passing - this has just been a blessing :heart3:

There are three moods for Bugsy now - passed out on the floor in contentment - like now :lol3:, Running around like mad, and watching me closely/waiting for dinner time!!! :lol3::lol3::lol3:

Anyways - talking about dinner:
Here is what we, as a family (right, you all got that, right? :rolleyes:) decided:

We will make this deal very simple until we start our rotation:
1- Start with the Beef treats sprinkled for everyone, so they start eating right away....... and then.......
2 - Finish it up with Fortiflora

There is simply no match for Animal digest, really :lol3::lol3::lol3:

Plus, I think what we are running into here, is the lack of rotation - for example:
The first couple of meals I offered rabbit they ate like there was no tomorrow - with nothing.......... But they are tired of the same thing over and over again......

I did the beef today, and when they stopped I tried fish flakes - it was a joke..... NO WAY :rasp:
Then more beef.... they ate some...... But they stopped....... So... fortiflora is really the most effective unfortunately.

In a couple of days I will be buying the next protein to add to their rotation - It will be either Venison, Bison, Lamb of Beef - I am not sure which one is the most easily accepted both as far as digestion, and taste. I am a little afraid of Beef right now, because of Hope - I rather do that later.....

So what do you think?

Bison, Venison or Lamb?
Fancy kitties, aren't they? :lol3::clap:

Here are the ingredients, BTW:
Beef:
Ingredients
Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Raw Ground Beef Bone, Beef Kidney, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Lamb:
Ingredients
Lamb, Lamb Liver, Raw Ground Lamb Bone, Lamb Heart, Lamb Kidney, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Venison:
Ingredients
Venison, Lamb Heart, Lamb Liver, Raw Ground Lamb Bone, Apples, Carrots, Pumpkinseeds, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Bison
Ingredients
Bison, Bison Liver, Beef Kidney, Raw Ground Bison Bone, Bison Kidney, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Salmon Oil, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Mixed Tocopherols with Citric Acid (a natural preservative), Rosemary Extract, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.
 
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carolina

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Bugsy BETTER have a good poop tonight :lol3::lol3::lol3:

Him and Hope are getting tired of the same food, and I need to get a move onto a rotation here really quickly! :nod:
So peeps.... start your purr-poop-vibes and send them all our ways :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:

Lucky got quite the master in licking the outside of the treat and spitting it off - tonight she didn't eat any of them :sigh: I think tomorrow I will have to mix them with the treat......

Hope ate her meal a lot faster than Bugsy...... But both gave me trouble. I think they are getting tired of having the same thing all the time :nono:

Another thing that I was thinking about...... is that I am STARTING the meal with something pretty awesome, that they go nuts for - the treats - I might be shooting myself on the foot there........ because after that, everything is kind of blend.
I remember a post by otto, where she had a trick for Tolly :rbheart: to eat - she puts down something that he hates in from of him :nausea: - then pulls that and immediately puts down the food they have to eat. In comparison, that food is now delicious! :yummy: Well...... I realize I am doing precisely the reverse :doh3:
But then...... how in the heck do I solve Lucky's problem? :scratch:
Because it is a matter of opening the can and they go NUTS for it! They are right there on my foot..... Lucky actually stands up and Walks - yep the girl WALKS :lol3:
Ideas?
Well.... Something else: this IS too much food for Bugsy. He left 0.5oz on lunch and 0.6oz at dinner; I saw on my report that he left some at breakfast too.... I am guessing about the same - and no matter WHAT i tried, he would not eat.....
So, we started at 8.25 oz......... -1.5oz that he left = 6.75oz a day, which is more in line with the guidelines from NV. He did not seem hungry today - he was begging for food at meal times, but then that's a good thing. He does run to the kitchen when I go in, but he knows well where the treats are hidden :lol3::lol3::lol3:
I am thinking tomorrow I am going to reduce his QTY to 6.75oz, and hopefully move onto a 100% raw serving for him :cross:
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Carolina

....
Now, what I can say is this:
He has been running around the house and playing like I have not seen him play in a LONG time. He hasn't played catch with Lucky since Hope got in the house for you to have an idea....... an today it was Bugsy and Lucky all over the place

He was also grooming her, which is cute cute.....

So, this playing has not only been good for him physically, but socially/emotionally too...... especially since Gracie's passing - this has just been a blessing


There are three moods for Bugsy now - passed out on the floor in contentment - like now
, Running around like mad, and watching me closely/waiting for dinner time!!!

...
How heartwarming!!!!! 


Did I tell you this before? After all the dust settled from transitioning my kitties from canned to raw, it was their shocking leap in energy and vitality that conclusively cinched for me the nutritional benefits of raw feeding. At the time, two of my cats were typically crazy five month old kittens and the older three were classic examples of adult "couch potato" house cats, lazily sleeping their lives away; after, I had five extraordinarily active, almost kittenish cats. My youngest two are now three years old, and they are all just as active as they were back then (if not quite as crazy, thank heavens! *grin*).

Can't wait to see what today brings you, Carolina!!!!! 


AC
 

ritz

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To all readers with very fussy eaters:  that was Ritz.  The only food she would eat was fish flavored, first high quality fish flavored food like AvoDerm then MaxCat then Fancy Feast Classic.  I tried them all; my ferals did too....

Then in desperation I switched to raw/commercial raw:  Ritz will eat any kind of meat/poultry.  Venison, beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, pork (lamb is a bit too fatty).  Loves kidney, suffers in silence when eating her liver; loves bones.

One hint/tip:  The first raw food I fed Ritz was Primal Quail, but she grew tired of it and wouldn't eat it unless I sprinkled fish flakes on it.  So I quit feeding her that flavor.  Then about a month later, I fed her raw (frankenprey) Quail, and she loved it.  So if your cat doesn't like a commercial raw flavor, she/he might like the 'real deal'.

And, yes, within two days after starting to fed Ritz commercial raw, I noticed a dramatic increase in energy.
 

ldg

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Carolina, I think you can safely try the venison. :nod: I realize it has a lot of lamb in it - but they've had lamb before, right? And venison is what they get in ziwipeak. :nod:

:vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: for solid poop! :lol3:

And with all those treats (including the chicken!!!) ... it's going to be extra amazing if he's poop is formed, even if soft. :nod:

As to the food trick... if they don't like the z/d anymore, but you have some.... I know it's expensive, but why not put that down first? And maybe try not putting any Fortiflora or treats on the raw - and see what happens? :dk: Give them some time to think about it... :dk: (because you can leave it out for half an hour. :nod: ). ????????????????
 
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carolina

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Day 8 Report

Good news bad news again :lol3: That's the theme of my life lately, isn't it?

Good news for Lucky: She is on Schedule, ate a great meal.... I decided to only feed the treats after their meals, as a reward - at least for Lucky and Hope (Bugsy hadn't finished his meal yet). This time, I mixed some of the treat powder with the raw meat, then dusted the outside..... She ate the 3 of them :hyper:
Bad news: She threw up her meal, treats and all. There was no hairballs. The food was already mashed - so it was not necessarily regurgitation due to eating too fast....... But it was immediately eating the treats - so..... Either she ate the treats too fast, or she gagged, or this is too new for her :dk: But there wasn't hair in it.
Good news - she went back and ate some more, and has held in since then - her tummy is fine....... I am inclined to think the treats caused it..... she ate them too fast they hit like ping pong!

Bugsy and Hope:
Bugsy and Hope were both 100% raw today - They started with the pure meat - nothing added to it...... They both ate about 1/2 of their meals that way.........
Hope took some fortiflora to finish the other 1/2.....
And Bugsy...... Good Lord! :thud: This one frustrated me to no end! It took Fortiflora, beef flakes, fish flakes, more fortiflora...... then he finally finished :thud:

Here is the deal - momma says we are having Bison for dinner - I don't have all day to wait for you to finish your meal :nono:

So........ On the 6pm menu............... 75% Rabbit, 25% Bison, and NO additives - and you better finish that fancy meal - as my mom used to say (an analogy anyways):

There are a lot of starving feral kitties out there who would give anything to have that!
 
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carolina

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Poop-o-meter report

:hyper::hyper:
Extra extra!!!
:hyper::hyper:

:thud:


Bugsy had 100% PERFECT - SOLID - DIVIDED - IN PIECES - NORMAL POOP
:thud:

As I said............ cement :thud:
 
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ritz

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At the suggestion of another poster on another thread, I cooked chicken gizzards that Ritz would not eat raw, even cut up.  The ferals in the colony I take care would I'm sure thank her but they were too busy eating.

I'm gone for ten to 11 hours at a time during the work week.  Ritz is starvin' marvin by the time I get home.  So today I left out a frozen chicken heart.  Of course she tried eating it right away.

I'll see if it makes any difference today.
 
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carolina

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At the suggestion of another poster on another thread, I cooked chicken gizzards that Ritz would not eat raw, even cut up.  The ferals in the colony I take care would I'm sure thank her but they were too busy eating.
I'm gone for ten to 11 hours at a time during the work week.  Ritz is starvin' marvin by the time I get home.  So today I left out a frozen chicken heart.  Of course she tried eating it right away.
I'll see if it makes any difference today.
:yeah:
I read somewhere for people who rely on petsitters or who are gone long hours, that a good solution is to leave out a frozen meal - it is going to be defrosted by the next meal's time :nod:

Problem is, with more than one cat, how do you know which cat ate the food? :nod:
 

ldg

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Poop-o-meter report
:hyper::hyper:
Extra extra!!!
:hyper::hyper:
:thud:


Bugsy had 100% PERFECT - SOLID - DIVIDED - IN PIECES - NORMAL POOP
:thud:
As I said............ cement :thud:
:woohoo:
:hobbes:
:banana1: :banana2: :banana1:
:woohoo:


:hobbes:

I am sorry about Lucky.... but you're probably right. I seriously could not help laughing at the "ping pong" description! :flail:
 
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Poop-o-meter report


Extra extra!!!



Bugsy had 100% PERFECT - SOLID - DIVIDED - IN PIECES - NORMAL POOP


As I said............ cement
I'm doing the Solid - Divided-in Pieces - Normal Poop Dance


Ok, now that the dancing is done, I have one question.  What's with all the vegies and fruit in the raw food?  Cats are carnivores!  I don't get it!  When I read the list of ingredients in each type of "meat" I was shocked.  I figured it would be meat, organs and bones and that would be it. 
 
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carolina

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:woohoo: :woohoo: I'm doing the Solid - Divided-in Pieces - Normal Poop Dance :dance: :dance:


Ok, now that the dancing is done, I have one question.  What's with all the vegies and fruit in the raw food?  Cats are carnivores!  I don't get it!  When I read the list of ingredients in each type of "meat" I was shocked.  I figured it would be meat, organs and bones and that would be it. 
Keep in mind, that the veggies, fruits, combined with the eggs, vitamins and minerals, is LESS than 5% of the product..... So even if they are in there..... and you see them listed......... On Natures' Variety for Example, Meat, Organs and Bone still constitute at least 95% of the product - I am VERY ok with that :nod:
 
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auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Carolina

Poop-o-meter report
Bugsy had 100% PERFECT - SOLID - DIVIDED - IN PIECES - NORMAL POOP

As I said............ cement
This just gets better and better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
 
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