Raw Diet......

i do! sometimes i feed my cats a pre-made raw but recently i have been making my own.. them a mixture of ground meat and organs and bones and suppliments. i believe that there are several people here who feed raw... i am new to raw cat feeding myself so i am still in the transitional stage of raw breakfast and canned commercial catfood for dinner. but i have been feeding my dogs raw for quite some time. my dogs have benefited so much that it just seemed natural (ha-ha) to switch the cats.

I don't, and won't. I feel like feeding them raw meat puts more opportunities for bacteria like salmonella and e. coli to be around my house. I know they won't get sick from it, but I feel like that would make it present in my house in more places than just the kitchen counter, not to mention, actually in thier mouths. Aside from that, raw meat is how cats get toxoplasmosis (don't know if I spelled that right, the thing you can get from handling dirty litter, anyways). The heat from cooking kills it, but it definitley can be present in raw meat.
I think feeding a high quality dry cat food is the safest route. I don't feed raw to my dogs, either. Not to mention my vet is very much against raw feeding.

Amber

I have a feeling that vets are on the same side with the cat food companies. I am totally against feeding dry or wet cat food to my babies, although sometimes I do give them dry food. I'm planning on feeding raw diet starting at the age of 1 to my babies. Right now I cook the food for them myself. The way the cat food smells just disgusts me. I cannot imagine putting it in my babies plate. I think raw diet is the best way to go. I don't know if you have noticed that cats become adicted to dry and wet cat food. I understand that it's easier to open a can or a jar than take the time and prepare the food but in my eyes it has to be done. Also try reading the ingridients that go into it. Would you eat it. Sorry to take so much of your time. If you type in "raw diet cats" in google or any other search engine you'll get tons of articles on how to do it.

As for bacteria it does not effect animals the way it effects humans. Cats' mouths and stomachs are made to process raw meat.

Right now what I do is buy chicken, turkey, beef and fish meat. I boil it for 20 minutes for meat and 10 minutes for fish. Then I top it with a veggie soup and they love it. I also include baby food for the taste. Don't forget to buy organ meat as well as muscle meat. I also boil liver, gizzards, hearts etc. and mix it with their meal. Slowly after they are 6 month old I'll start introducing raw diet. I'll buy organic meat and start feeding it to them once a week and then slowly progress to all raw diet by the age they're one. But keep reading. If I see an interesting article I'll let you know. It makes me very happy to see that people are feeding raw diet to their babies.

I do and I love it! I just started about 3 weeks ago and it has done wonders! It cleared up my persians problem with diahrrea immediately. It also leaves no smell in the litter box and the kitties use the litterbox less. Both of my kittens LOVE it. I use the premade raw diet Natures Variety. I also switched my dog to it and she loves it too! At this point in time I have nothing negative to say about it at all. I"m just amazed at how fast it made a difference. I say give it a try!!

I would, but I'm squeamish around meat (I'm a vegetarian) and I'd be worried about whether or not I'm properly giving them the proper nutrition. Too much meat, too little everything else, and vice versa. Plus, I tried it for my dog once, didn't get past 2 days. It was just too time-consuming.

I have started researching on raw diets and the more I read and hear from others, the more I am convinced that this is a very healthy and natural diet for our furry friends.

It's funny, during the very cold & hard winter months here, I fed my feral colony faw chop meat & chicken to insure they were getting enough protein & moisture in such harsh elements. Well...they look great. If it's good enough for my outside crew then it's good enough for my inside crew.

I have fed my 2 adult Persians raw chop meat and slightly boiled chicken...they love it and look beautiful. My 2 little one's (5-months old) have started to get some of the boiled chicken with no ill effects.

I am definitely leaning towards raw diet vs. canned food & this is coming from a strict vegetarian over here

Fatkitties is 100% correct!! I am a vet tech, and I see problems with raw diets all the time. Illnesses that could have been prevented!!

I'm all for raw feeding. I'm currently trying to work raw into the diet of my two, hoping to switch eventually. The thing is, you have to be prepared to do it RIGHT! I think the problems that we see that are "caused by raw diets" are caused by those feeding raw improperly. Who don't take the time to ensure their pets are getting everything they need (the right balance of meat, organ, etc.)

Raw food is like health food for pets. It has everything they need and nothing they don't need or that is bad for them. Only unlike human health food, it tastes good!

I'm glad to see more & more people looking past the myths and doing for their pets what mother nature has been doing since...well, forever. I definately won't argue that one diet is better than another, because I searched for months and formed my own opinion and I think everyone should do what they feel comfortable with as long as their cats are healthy & happy.

Cupid's never gotten sick from raw food and he's been on it for almost 2 years. He has a healthier immune system and his vet (who feeds and recommends canned/dry) says it has made his immune system stronger, thereby making his allergies more tolerable for him.

Here are some resources that I found helpful.
http://catnutrition.org/MainLettertoVets.htm
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/bybrawdiets.htm
http://cats.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/rawfooddiet.htm

There are sooo many more online, but these articles had everything I wanted to know all in one place.

The food I feed my cat was formulated by vets. (There are also many resources linked on her website: http://www.felineinstincts.com/veter...rians-idx.html ) It contains:
1. Dried Egg Yolk
2. Steamed Bone Meal
3. Gelatin
4. Kelp
5. Psyllium Husks Powder
6. Taurine
7. Vitamin E
8. Complex B Vitamin
9. Adrenal Glands
10 Kidney Glands
11. Enzymes
12. Probiotics

You mix it with raw liver and raw meat. It's great and she has a bunch of testimonials claiming it made their cats healthier. She has one for dogs too.

Good luck!

Maybe raw works if you have time to make sure it's absolutely balanced, but there's a lot more to it than feeding raw chicken and gizzards. And I'm going to venture a guess that most people just plain don't have the time to both properly research it, and properly do it all of the time. And then there's still the issue of having bacteria from the meat around the house. I'm not worried about it in the cat's system, they handle that stuff. But it's on the whiskers, and fur, and in their mouths. It's not worth the chance, however small, of my family coming down with something potentially dangerous, like e.coli, because the bacteria were on my cat, and my cat rubbed them off on one of us. That's why I wash my hands so frequently when I handle raw meat.
As long as there are high quality commercial cat foods out there, that's what I will be feeding. My cats are doing exceptional on Nutro Complete Care and they will not be eating any raw meat in this lifetime.
And if the smell of the cat food puts you off, you're feeding the wrong kind! My cat food smells like meat. And from what I've been told, the Nutro canned smells good too (my cats won't eat canned food). I know the canned dog food smells really good. I was warming some up one night, and my husband asked what I was cooking that smelled so good. Good quality cat food should smell GOOD, and fresh.

Amber

That was my point exactly. I fully advocate that if you can't do raw properly, don't do it at all, as you may be putting your pets health at risk. BUT I do believe that a raw diet that has been carefully prepared and researched is a wonderful thing for pets.

I'm always careful when handling meat, wether it be for myself or my cats, but I'm not the kind of person that freaks out over germs. Over cleaning IMO leads to the weakening of our immune systems, as we never have to fight off certian germs. And then when we DO contact them, it's more likley to harm us. So I'm not going to sweat about a little raw meat touching my kitties paws. They're pretty zealous groomers anyways, so things would get cleaned up pretty quick

i work from home but i sure know i couldnt do raw..nope not for this brood.

I know the wet dog food i feed to me smells horrid. but i think its just the way it is in the can...cause no one else thinks it smells that bad it had good ingridents...

not the BEST but..they wont eat the other stuff i have tried.....

Personally, I observe that my cats do exceptionally well on commercial dry food. I feed them the super-duper-premium-natural stuff (CA Natural), and everything checks out. I would never in a million years give them Iams or Purina, but I have my reasons and that's just me. Just to make sure any urge for meat is satiated, I give the older guy 2 small meals a day of plain old cooked chicken and the younger lady 3 small meals. They're both doing great-other than Leo's little cold, which Lola apparently brought home from the shelter (and I feel like I'm a pretty competent pet mommy) and so I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I feed raw and it is the best thing I ever did for my cats. They have had no health problems since I started. They are so healthy is amazing!
I prepaire about 5-7 days worth at one time, & keep it in the fridge. It is not really very time consuming if you do it that way.

I have researched raw and am not yet totally cofortable .. I am thinking of having a consultation with a local vet that sees it ... All the kids have raw veggies and hambuger a time or two a week...

I just tried this old school type meat grinder (the hand crank kind) that my husband found at a yard sale for about $2.00. I took one look at the thing and thought that it was a hunk of junk. But you would not believe how quickly and easily it goes through chicken thigh bones! Im hooked. I'll be grinding my chicken bones Kramer and Newman style from now on!-LOL

Negs, I have seen many cats (and dogs) have a wonderful improvement on allergies when put on a raw diet (I work at a natural pet care store). I've seen some come back looking like completley different animals! (Dogs with raw "elephant leather" skin growing a healthy coat again). Your cats allergies may not be that bad, but raw is definatley, IMO, the way to go.

About the prepared diets, I find these are a great way for someone who doesn't have time to do it properly themselves, or doesn't trust themselves to do it right, to feed raw. There are many brands available, and I find at least with my store, it's the animals preferance that usually makes the decision. Sometimes you can get veggies mixed in, sometimes they're seperate and you have to mix them.

Here's the brand I've used, it's pretty much only available in Ontario, so it many not be of help to you, but there are some excellent articles in the interesting reading section of the website, especially the one about allergies
http://www.healthy-paws.ca/index.htm

Lavender,
what would you say the cost comparison is between a raw meat diet and a premium cat food (wet and dry) diet is?

For cats? Hard to say... if you're preparing the meals yourself, then it cuts costs substantially. That's the disadvantage of prepared diets in stores, they're rather pricey. Buying meat and organs and suppliments in bulk, and freezing makes it less expensive.

But I can't give any numbers or anything... sorry

I dont do all raw by far... but my raw and homemade equals only a 50 of the total yet only costs about 10%... dry foods and canned is far more expensive

Silly me this is easy comparison

3lbs of raw pre mixed is 12 bucks... 36 oz=12.00 or about 90 cents for a 3 ounzes serving

3 oz of premium canned range .25 - 1.45

3lbs fresh hambuger/chn 7.50 + supplement s at about $7 for a months supply

1lb hambuger + vitamins + oatmeal + veggies/fruit= about 4 bucks and serves three for about 4 days ... broke down 1.25 a day ... or about 42 cents per kid per day( this is for a homade cooked diet)

Wow, I'm impressed! Good homework! I'm able to purchase the 3lb. Nature's Variety Prairie medallians at $10.00 a bag. I prefer to buy premixed so I can't mess it up. Besides, it's convenient. I also feed the Natures Variety kibble as well. The kitties LOVE both the raw meat and kibble! I really don't want to know what I spend on pet food - I know its WAY too much But they are worth it!!!

mine so far get a mix of all .. kibble (Zoey get s Nutro ) canned( see other posts) homemade and a bit of strait meat raw... nice to see some still keeping the kibble to much on..lol..

with pre made makle sure the stuff came in a refrigerd truck and has not been left out at all ...

I haven't had any problems with bacteria at all. My cats have not gotten sick and my family has not gotten sick. I think that some people just make way to much out of feeding cats and dog raw and the bacteria issues. It sounds gross to us because it would kill us to eat raw meat. But dogs can eat some very discusting things like dirty diapers and cat poo and not get sick. And cats lick thier bums and clean thier kittens waste with thier tounges so I doubt a little bacteria on raw meat will hurt them!