Raw diet advice

sadie jane · May 25, 2016

I have two (possibly three, now) cats- a 5yo, long hair (n) tom named Tux and a 3 mo, short hair tom kitten Colt (possibly a 3 week old tortie girl I'm trying to keep alive called Cora).

My lh, Tux, is terrible about throwing up. Regardless of how much I bathe and brush him, wet or dry food, meals or free fed, he loses his lunch at least once a week. I'm at my wit's end. Ive even tried adding olive oil and water to wet food thinking maybe that would help his constant hairballs (he also eats way too fast and that compounds the problem). He's, also, over weight.

Does anyone know if a raw diet would even alleviate this problem?

Is raw food a good general diet for these two? (Three?)

Approximately what does it cost to make your own catfood? To buy raw (if that's an option)?

Will it get his weight down?

Any further advice/suggestions?

mrsgreenjeens · May 26, 2016

Did you see this thread? http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263955/helpful-resources-raw-home-cooked-cat-food-forum It's long, but it's full of information and probably answers most of your questions. Some people swear that feeding raw can be done less expensively than feeding wet. Personally, that wasn't true for me, but I had my meats shipped in across the country because I wanted to know the source.

Is raw food a good diet for your cats....you bet! It's really what they are made to eat

How much it costs really depends on where you live, and where you source your meats.

Typically you CAN buy commercially prepared raw meals (100% nutritionally complete), but again I guess that depends on where you live. Some countries might not have them available for purchase, even via the internet, I suppose)

No cat will lose weight if overfed, if you feed them too much raw, they can still get fat, or stay fat. You have to portion it out just like any food.

I raw diet would probably help with the hairball issue, but there are no guarantees. You said he eats fast...do you do things to slow him down? More frequent, smaller meals would help with that. Plus putting an obstacle in his bowl, like a clean golf ball. Plus daily brushing. I give my cats Egg yolk lecithin daily to prevent hairballs, plus Vet's Best Hairball Relief,.

missmimz · May 26, 2016

Raw food helps a lot with hairball issues, but you want make sure you've had your cat checked by a vet to rule out medical issues causing the vomiting. You also might want to look into buying Vet's best hairball relief, they help a lot with hairballs too and is a supplement a lot of raw feeders use during the high shedding season.

http://www.chewy.com/vets-best-hairball-relief-digestive/dp/45141

sadie jane · May 26, 2016

mrsgreenjeens said:
Did you see this thread? http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263955/helpful-resources-raw-home-cooked-cat-food-forum It's long, but it's full of information and probably answers most of your questions. Some people swear that feeding raw can be done less expensively than feeding wet. Personally, that wasn't true for me, but I had my meats shipped in across the country because I wanted to know the source.

Is raw food a good diet for your cats....you bet! It's really what they are made to eat

How much it costs really depends on where you live, and where you source your meats.

Typically you CAN buy commercially prepared raw meals (100% nutritionally complete), but again I guess that depends on where you live. Some countries might not have them available for purchase, even via the internet, I suppose)

No cat will lose weight if overfed, if you feed them too much raw, they can still get fat, or stay fat. You have to portion it out just like any food.

I raw diet would probably help with the hairball issue, but there are no guarantees. You said he eats fast...do you do things to slow him down? More frequent, smaller meals would help with that. Plus putting an obstacle in his bowl, like a clean golf ball. Plus daily brushing. I give my cats Egg yolk lecithin daily to prevent hairballs, plus Vet's Best Hairball Relief,.

Thank you for the link.

I've tried putting things in his bowl. The turd has figured out he can either remove the obstacle or just dump his bowl (we feed him on a high spot so the dog doesn't bother him).

I'm about to start slowly integrating raw into his diet, and I'll probably start with egg.

Ive thought about the meat sourcing. I've decided I'll likely just raise my own rabbits, ducks, and chickens. I garden as well, so scraps = the food's food, I'd have better soil for the garden, and the best food I can provide my kitties. Win/win/win

sophie1 · May 29, 2016

Cat barfing is really frustrating, and a smart cat to top it off!

I would try slowing down his eating first. There are slow-feeding dishes you can buy that might work better for you. Or, when you feed him, divide meals into two and feed them about half an hour apart. Another idea: find a nice heavy, smooth rock, put it in the middle of a pie plate, and then put his food around the edge of the plate.

It took me quite a while to figure out how to fix my own little barfing machine. I found esophagus-shaped presents on the floor as often as twice a week. Free feeding raw food in a chilled bowl helped a lot, but I think I've finally found the worst problem: treats. My mother always buys crappy treats from the grocery store, like Temptations, because he loves them. I stopped them a few weeks ago, and I haven't seen any vomit since. Treats are now limited to freeze dried raw, like Whole Life, Fresh is Best, Stewart's chicken liver, or Nature Variety mini-bites.

Raw diet advice

sadie jane

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mrsgreenjeens

Every Life Should Have Nine Cats

missmimz

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sadie jane

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sophie1

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