Food of course!

hello there!!

i emailed my bengal breeder lady. but i thought i might be able to get a quick answer on here if any bengal breeders are on. i kind of hope a bengal person could answer this since i have a bengal and its a specific feeding question - but here i go, lol-

right now i feed my bengal just canned cat food. its not the best but its friskies. i went to pet smart and found a really good pro plan cat canned food where the first 3 ingredients are chick,liver,fish (i want to steer clear of by products, broth, water, and rice as the main ingredient- and i realize im using friskies right now but i want to change it) the new girl kitten im getting (bengal girl) is on the raw diet. if i had the resources/time i would love to do that. but i was wondering if the canned food i found might be better than average canned food. i would put both cats on it of course..i emailed my lady to see what she said..of course i cant be FORCED to feed a certain meal to my cats - but i dont have any meat grinder and i went to my grocery store and couldnt even find heart/liver to put in for the raw food diet. i just want to get my other cat off the friskies and on to this pro planned, and for the new girl im hoping going from raw diet to the canned food wont affect her too much...any thoughts are appreciated, but i dont know if any other breeds of cats do raw diet..?? or just bengals..
either way im thinking i might go with that certain canned food stuff..but like i said any opinions or thoughts would be great. thanks!


p.s. another thing i'd like to ask..if there are variations of the raw diet or is there only ONE way? my lady had a page of ingredients for it on her page..but i was wondering if there are different ingredients one can use..

I talked with this person on the phone but I thoght i'd post the answers here too =0)
I prefer for my bengels to be on a BARF diet although I know not everyone can feed thier cats this way due to time and other circumstances. I'd say if you must feed your cats a commercial diet feed them canned and not dry and feed them a high quality canned. High quality does not nessacerily mean a high price. Look at the ingrediants (like you did) Try to stay away from by-products and grains. Maybe feed some raw muscle meat with the canned food so she's at least getting some raw in her diet. And don't forget to switch her over slowly. There are probably hundreds of recipies for raw diet. The one I recommened is one that I use and it works for me. The thing you have to remember with raw is you have to feed the whole animal. Bones, muscle meat,liver and heart. If you feed a whole chicken with the giblets you'll have the perfect balance of nutrients. This is the most simple too. If you have a meat grinder, just buy a whole chicken with the giblets. Cut up the chicken in peices small enough to fit into a grinder. Gind the whole thing and the giblets (or chop the giblets) and viola- you've got a perfectly balanced meal!

Originally Posted by bengalbabe

I talked with this person on the phone but I thoght i'd post the answers here too =0)
I prefer for my bengels to be on a BARF diet although I know not everyone can feed thier cats this way due to time and other circumstances. I'd say if you must feed your cats a commercial diet feed them canned and not dry and feed them a high quality canned. High quality does not nessacerily mean a high price. Look at the ingrediants (like you did) Try to stay away from by-products and grains. Maybe feed some raw muscle meat with the canned food so she's at least getting some raw in her diet. And don't forget to switch her over slowly. There are probably hundreds of recipies for raw diet. The one I recommened is one that I use and it works for me. The thing you have to remember with raw is you have to feed the whole animal. Bones, muscle meat,liver and heart. If you feed a whole chicken with the giblets you'll have the perfect balance of nutrients. This is the most simple too. If you have a meat grinder, just buy a whole chicken with the giblets. Cut up the chicken in peices small enough to fit into a grinder. Gind the whole thing and the giblets (or chop the giblets) and viola- you've got a perfectly balanced meal!

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Read the labels... canned food should have broth near the front otherwise it is likely semi moist( unless it is flaked like some pouches that have little gravey..)... to figure protein and fat on a can multiple by 3-4 times the posted..
example if labels says 9 % protein and moisture 75% the can is 75% mositure broth or water likely... so the dry matter is 25 % the protein is 33-36%

there are many high end no by product food that are reasonable price wise... but do it carefully very slow... Have you looked at raw pre packaged??? I dont like them but that was upon finding out that many get to stores less than 100 frozen... this would be a way to transition easier ... also watch the magnesium and phos levals of the "cheaper" foods///

Congrates on your little lady

raw prepackaged is certainly easier but more expensive then doing it yourself. Another possibility is butchers in your area. Most sell already frozen, ground whole chicken (bones, offel and all) for very inexpensive. I like knowing exactly what goes into my cats food but I have the time to do it myself. I think the next best thing to doing it myself is to buy from the butcher. I know other breeders who feed this way (premade from butcher)

Originally Posted by bengalbabe

raw prepackaged is certainly easier but more expensive then doing it yourself. Another possibility is butchers in your area. Most sell already frozen, ground whole chicken (bones, offel and all) for very inexpensive. I like knowing exactly what goes into my cats food but I have the time to do it myself. I think the next best thing to doing it myself is to buy from the butcher. I know other breeders who feed this way (premade from butcher)

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If only I could find a butcher to do that for me... I am using bone meal with organs and meat on raw days...

ah yes!! thanks to everyone who replied!! i am going to serach for some butchers in my area..but also check out other grocery stores!! thanks again!!

If you are in WA state as I surmise you are, though it is more expensive to purchase a raw diet versus making it, you are lucky to live in a state that is home to an excellent company called Raw Advantage. click here - this is the store locator page listing all the stores in WA that carry their products, but you can use the menu bar at the top of the page to go to their company info, product description page etc.

Good sites to read up on raw and cat nutrition in general are: www.catinfo.org and www.catnutrition.org

hth!

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

If you are in WA state as I surmise you are, though it is more expensive to purchase a raw diet versus making it, you are lucky to live in a state that is home to an excellent company called Raw Advantage. click here - this is the store locator page listing all the stores in WA that carry their products, but you can use the menu bar at the top of the page to go to their company info, product description page etc.

Good sites to read up on raw and cat nutrition in general are: www.catinfo.org and www.catnutrition.org

hth!

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No, she's not in Washington~ her new kitty is named Seattle She's in Cali.

Originally Posted by bengalbabe

No, she's not in Washington~ her new kitty is named Seattle

She's in Cali.

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Ah well...the company still sells in CA too

See what I get for assuming/presuming??