Hi all. New here. Read some of the posts and thought I'd jump in. I got my cat last year as the owner was moving so I ended up with her. Her name is K.C. she is a partially inside cat but she has all access to the outside except on really cold or windy days. She just turned one in December. She's had her two main shots and will have a booster and rabies next month...she has medium long hair. Would like to feed her only wet food but we go back and forth on the dry food. I'd like to add some raw food in as well tho doubt I'll try it full time as the supplements and grinder sound like a lot...what do you feed her when your gone during the day? She has a fish filter, no fish of course haha for water and she loves it. She likes pate and friskies as well as Iams. I prefer Iams as there is less waste but too expensive so I just bring some home for a week or so. Also how often can I switch or try new food? What about different flavors within the same brand or even kinds she's had for a while? Thinking of getting dry food and switching brands ocassionally to certain kinds like rotating them and using them for the day when I'm gone or at night too. She came with a huge bag but I prefer a smaller one to be fresh.I'm a new cat owner but I read a lot online and have a cat book as well. Any and all tips welcome. Thanks!!
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Tuxedo DMH
- Thread starter abbidixon98
- Start Date
Welcome! I'm relatively new to cat ownership too, but I prefer to change up the food they get - brands and flavours. I do the same for all my pets so they don't get bored of the same thing day in and day out. Our cats are eating two brands, three different recipes of dry right now, which is free fed, but I do meal feedings of wet food (I'm switching between different maybe five flavours within three canned brands) twice a day. How often you can change things up like that depends on the cat, really. If you make everything a slow transition, like introducing new food with the old food and slowly changing the proportions, chances are she'll accept the change more readily than a cold turkey switch.
If you're concerned about freshness but want to save money buying larger quantities, you could get air tight containers to store the different foods in too.
If you're concerned about freshness but want to save money buying larger quantities, you could get air tight containers to store the different foods in too.
Wet food in general is much healthier for cats. You can also switch up wet food without issues, but switching up dry foods usually needs a slow transition in order to prevent digestive upset.
You can feed raw without a grinder and supplements. The method is called Prey Model Raw or frankenprey. You can also feed raw meat as a healthy supplement to her regular diet. You can feed up to 15% of her total diet as raw without worrying about it being balanced or complete.
You can feed raw without a grinder and supplements. The method is called Prey Model Raw or frankenprey. You can also feed raw meat as a healthy supplement to her regular diet. You can feed up to 15% of her total diet as raw without worrying about it being balanced or complete.
Adult cats don't really need access to food all day long. Two or three meals per day is perfectly fine, so you should be able to feed all canned/raw without ever needing to give her dry food. As mentioned above, switching between brands and flavors of canned food shouldn't cause any tummy issues, and is actually a good idea, because you never know when a manufacturer may change their formula or have a recall or whatever and the food may not be available, or your cat may decide they don't like it anymore, or she could develop a sensitivity to it....so many reasons to have backup foods available.
I don't know if you've seen our articles on Nutrition or not, but here are some of them:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food
For more, just click on the "articles" tab at the top of the page, then select "cat health", then "nutrition". There's all kinds of good stuff in there
I don't know if you've seen our articles on Nutrition or not, but here are some of them:
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food
For more, just click on the "articles" tab at the top of the page, then select "cat health", then "nutrition". There's all kinds of good stuff in there
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- #5
Thank for the answers! I know cats eat off and on and mine surprises me by eating some of the older wet food even when she has dry. I'm thinking of giving her a little dry and half a can of wet half in the am and half in the evening. Thanks for the link as well.
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- #6
K.C.'s a beautiful cat!
I feed our cats a combination of canned foods and commercial raw foods so just wanted to add that you could also try buying raw foods that are almost ready to serve. I usually get frozen and freeze-dried Primal foods (turkey and beef/salmon), though I occasionally give the cats Stella & Chewy's or a small serving of Rad Cat, which they love. (They don't seem to like Nature's Variety Instinct that much...) They really like Primal, which I mix up in various combinations for them; I usually mix up enough for a few days, store it in the refrigerator, and serve a little at a time.
I feed our cats a combination of canned foods and commercial raw foods so just wanted to add that you could also try buying raw foods that are almost ready to serve. I usually get frozen and freeze-dried Primal foods (turkey and beef/salmon), though I occasionally give the cats Stella & Chewy's or a small serving of Rad Cat, which they love. (They don't seem to like Nature's Variety Instinct that much...) They really like Primal, which I mix up in various combinations for them; I usually mix up enough for a few days, store it in the refrigerator, and serve a little at a time.
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- #8
How long can you leave their food unrefrigerated but covered?
I don't honestly know! I usually feed them only as much as they'll eat in one go... I work at home so that's been easy. That said, I'll be going away for a few days soon and my husband will be feeding the cats, which can be challenging because they're fickle but don't like change.
At any rate, Primal and Stella & Chewy's don't seem to have much (easily findable) information about that aspect of food safety though Nature's Variety says to throw away anything not eaten within a half-hour. I may just call the companies.
If you're asking about raw, I wouldn't go more than 30 minutes. If you're talking about canned, I would say it depends on the ambient temperature. If it's 60 degrees, then I would think you could keep it out all day, but on the other hand, if it's 120 degrees, it might go bad. But some people leave canned food out, uncovered, all day long while they are at work and have no idea at what point during the day it gets eaten.
Why would you want to leave it out COVERED. Is it that they don't like it cold, and if you don't finish a can you can't re-serve it if it's been in the fridge? What I do in that case is take the can out of the fridge about an hour before the next meal. That let's it get to room temp before meal time
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- #11
Taking it out early an hour ahead sounds good. I don't really want to feed her dry food and I'd like to give her some raw food but will stick with mostly wet and higher quality dry. I'd like to slowly introduce her to some raw now and then too. I'm on a budget so read some good tips online as well as here. Will look into coupons as well as around town. Someone watched my cat and used up the samples I was saving..that won't happen again..
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- #12
I gave her a tiny bit of raw chicken and she loved it! Also bough livers and hearts today and will cook them up for ocassional treats. She has rabbit treats. I got her some treats, which are basically the same as dry food but slightly better..and more expensive.. When she's hungry and won't eat what I give her she gets a mouse to gobble up. Ate twice in one day. Also curious about what to use for mopping liquid. I use hot water, distilled vinegar and a bit of bleach..can't keep her out before it dries.. Is that bad for her as the rodents are wild? She gets her rabies shot tomorrow, a few weeks early.
A couple of thoughts.
Assuming no one is trying to poison rodents, including gophers or moles/voles, rodents she catches on her own should be okay.
Personally, for me only though, it's a bit outside my comfort zone. I'd be afraid the mice had something toxic/disease/parasite/worms. (Other posters, please feel free to contradict me!) Were I ever to fed whole prey, I'd buy it from a company like HareToday or RodentPro. (I have been feeding Ritz frankenprey/prey model for well over two years.)
Also, I don't believe mice are known vectors for rabies (is that why you mentioned she is getting a rabies shot). And I'm unaware of any prophylactic shot/vaccination you can give a cat to prevent cross-animal diseases (mice to cat--if any exist).
For mopping liquid, your solution seems okay: but I'd insist on keeping the cat out until the solution dries. Some cats like the taste of bleach.
Assuming no one is trying to poison rodents, including gophers or moles/voles, rodents she catches on her own should be okay.
Personally, for me only though, it's a bit outside my comfort zone. I'd be afraid the mice had something toxic/disease/parasite/worms. (Other posters, please feel free to contradict me!) Were I ever to fed whole prey, I'd buy it from a company like HareToday or RodentPro. (I have been feeding Ritz frankenprey/prey model for well over two years.)
Also, I don't believe mice are known vectors for rabies (is that why you mentioned she is getting a rabies shot). And I'm unaware of any prophylactic shot/vaccination you can give a cat to prevent cross-animal diseases (mice to cat--if any exist).
For mopping liquid, your solution seems okay: but I'd insist on keeping the cat out until the solution dries. Some cats like the taste of bleach.
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- #14
Never thought of the mice being poisoned but that's a good point. I realize that's in her blood and was taught by her mother to catch animals as well. I'd like her to not get birds tho..short of keeping her inside..I want to put a leash or harness on her permanatly but heard one can get caught on things, which is safer?
