Where to Start!

Hi!

So I just found out that my poor British short hair Furgus is pretty much allergic to everything apart from meat. The vet has suggested using Natures Menu complete frozen food ( the kind in cubes ) and I have bought a few boxes for the time being.

I would like to try and make some food myself to ensure he's getting everything he needs and to keep costs down but was looking for some advise on where to start ?

He's allergic to pretty much all sources of carbohydrates so it's pretty much a full meat diet needed

Thanks in advance. !!

I'd probably recommend to try commercial raw first to make sure that you see results before you dive into making your own, since that requires more knowledge. Try and find Rad Cat near you.

http://www.radfood.com/where_to_buy

Are you in the UK? Nature's Menu is a UK / European brand.

Hi, yes I am in the U.K.


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@Columbine lives in the UK and likely knows more about Nature's Menu and other brands of raw foods you could feed.

Hi C charliep91 , and welcome to TCS

I'm sorry to hear that Furgus has so many allergies. It sounds like raw feeding is a great way to go for him

This is my list of UK raw feeding suppliers:-

Nature’s Menu - www.naturesmenu.co.uk (Also available from Pets at Home stores and from Amazon UK)
Most widely available. Complete raw meals, pre ground meats (bone in), raw meaty bones,
freeze dried complete food sold as ‘Freeze Dried Snacks” (I have spoken to the
company, and they confirmed that these are a complete diet once rehydrated). These treats are NOT cheap, but handy for emergencies

Natural Instinct - www.naturalinstinct.com
Complete meals, plain ground meats, raw meaty bones

Kiezebrink - www.kiezebrink.co.uk
Huge range of pre ground meats and supplies for PMR feeding. Also have their own range of
complete meals.

Purrform - www.purrform.co.uk
Complete meals (100% meat) and PMR supplies. Another good starter brand, as the
meal are available in 70g pouches as well as 450g tubs.

Nutriment - www.nutriment.co.uk
Complete meals and plain ground meats (listed under dog food)

Raw to go - www.rawtogo.co.uk
Huge range of plain minces, chunks and PMR supplies.

Barf-Rawfood - www.barf-rawfood.co.uk
Plain minces, complete meals and raw meaty bones.

Zooplus - http://www.zooplus.com
Fellini Complete } Supplement premixes for
Fortan Catfortan } balancing a raw diet.
Also pure ground meat in the Raw Dog Food Section.


It's also worth mentioning that Zooplus stock a brand called Catz Finefood Purrrr, which is a limited ingredient, pure meat food that is specifically designed for cats with allergies. I'm not trying to put you off raw feeding or making your own food at all - it's just handy to at least know of backup options There are a few other pure (or near pure) wet foods available from Zooplus too, so it's well worth having a good look at their site. If carbs are the main issue, then you should have no trouble finding at least a few 'safe' wet foods

Do bear in mind that, in the UK, almost all raw feeding is dog oriented. Any plain meat (as opposed to complete raw food) that's sold for dogs is perfectly fine to use for cats

Lastly, do check out our [thread="272287"]​[/thread] for recipe ideas. The following articles have a ton of useful information too:- [article="22501"][/article][article="22434"][/article][article="32321"][/article][article="31714"][/article][article="32194"][/article][article="31997"][/article][article="31796"][/article][article="32339"][/article][article="31138"][/article][article="31801"][/article]

Wow thanks so much for such a detailed response ! I will check out all of those ! I have started feeding them just some raw chicken/turkey just to try get them used to it a bit. So far not impressed. I had some luck sprinkling some cooked ham over it to try trick them into eating it. Thanks again!


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I should mention I have two cats Furgus and Florence. They will both be on a raw food diet as it's easier to feed them the same !


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Many cats are resistant to making the switch to raw food. Mine were so awkward over it that I eventually gave up altogether (though I might have stuck it longer if family members hasn't been so resistant ).

The Nature's Menu freeze dried treats crumble wonderfully, and make a fantastic topper for the transition. Other freeze dried meat treats work very well too - Thrive freeze dried treats are the most widely available, but my guys prefer Cosma and Cosma Thai Snackies from Zooplus...and they're cheaper :bigwink: The article on transitioning to new food types has a ton of other ideas too. Just stick with it and be patient. Good luck!

That's great thank you! That Barf-rawfood site is looking great ! I will also try the other stuff too ! Thank you again!


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Since your cat is allergic and resistant to switching, you could try using an appetite stimulant prescribed by the vet called "periactin". It is used to treat cats with allergies but also increases their appetites.