Anyone ever transitioned their cat out of raw?

[nat_urge]

Hey everyone. Let me start by saying Skype, the cat in question, and I both love feeding raw. I love it because he's had no vet issues in a year, chopping day is fun for the both of us, no smelly stools or digestive issues. Due to freezer space from a new living situation, a few rainstorms causing power outages, the freezer not staying at temperature, and hurricane season come in soon to south FL I am considering switching to a high quality wet food and feeding some raw meat with bone in for the crunches and teeth maintenance. Ive bought some dry food for him to try (he def likes dry food) and some wet food, which he seemed to like at first and went for as a snack. At meal times though, he definitely isn't going for the wet food. I know this will take time to adjust to, especially since he is into things for a few minutes and then loses interest. Im trying to switch him to Orijen since it is high protein and that's what he is used to, and has no fillers. The wet food is also better at vitamin sourcing that I am. Have any of you ever had to make that switch? and was there anything that made that transition easier?

If you have any other food/brand recommendations I'm open to it

 

[nat_urge]

correction: no vet issues this year, not 'in a year'. Skypes been eating raw for about 8 months now

 

[maggie101]

I do not feed raw but my guess is wet food with chunks,shreds,or minced he would like. Orijen canned duck chicken and weruva I feed the most

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Mine voluntarily transitioned themselves from raw to canned. I once tried to give them kibble just in case there was an emergency and someone needed to care for them and they wouldn't have anything to do with it! They just looked at me as if I were trying to feed them cardboard. But they've been on raw for many, many years now and apparently have gotten bored with it, so I often feed them canned foods when they leave their raw in the bowl .

I would keep a big variety of canned food so you can switch it up to keep him interested. Different textures and flavors. Also, have you considered freeze dried? You can feed that UNrehydrated if you want, and that way it's more like kibble, but doesn't have the carbs that most kibble has. Or you can hydrate it and it like feeding juicy raw, already 100% nutritionally complete, and you can keep it in chunks or squish it up like pate. There are small bones in it, but it's not the same as them chewing on bones to keep their teeth clean. but you can still feed him a neck once in awhile, or gizzard or something for that.

 

[nat_urge]

I do not feed raw but my guess is wet food with chunks,shreds,or minced he would like. Orijen canned duck chicken and weruva I feed the most

yeah I really like their ingredients, and so does he when fed raw chunks of the same proteins! even their kibble doesn't seem bad. I think my lil guy might be gearing more towards kibble because he liked to steal my dogs' and he likes the crunch after chewing through bones for a while. he obvi doesn't care that id rather him eat wet food, but as long as they eat I guess. Thanks for the suggestion and brands!

 

[nat_urge]

Omg I totally forgot freeze dried existed! thank you! ill have to pick up a few things and see what else gravitates to. or at least let him get a little hungrier before giving him options. Skype seems to really like chewing now that he's gotten used to it. I definitely want to give him some chicken necks every so often to make him work a little and brush his own teeth ill keep playing around with options.

PS the name Stinkpot has made my day

 

[maggie101]

I sometimes have to mix in pure bites freeze dried treats. I also give them instinct original venison and feline natural lamb because they have more fiber. Unless your cat has health issues, do not feed that every day.

 

[misterginja]

Hi, my cat was on a raw diet for 5 years, but Drs had me change him to canned food after he got sick from acute pancreatitis/severe gastroenteritis, they suspect it was caused by contamination in the raw food (but no way to fully know). I had a hard time finding a canned food that could match the limited ingredients of his raw diet, but tried Feline Natural canned, he did really good on this food for a few years. Stool was even same consistency as when on raw diet, and his blood tests were in healthy range.

After his raw diet, it took a week of gradual transition from the prescription wet food the hospital put him on (which caused much stomach upset), to Feline Natural canned, and his digestive issues cleared up once fully on the new food. The only reason I’ve transitioned him off it now is because he has kidney disease, and needs a lower-phosphorus diet. Am bummed because FN is a good quality food without strange fillers and for us, it was a good alternative to raw feeding.

 

[lisahe]

I would keep a big variety of canned food so you can switch it up to keep him interested. Different textures and flavors. Also, have you considered freeze dried? You can feed that UNrehydrated if you want, and that way it's more like kibble, but doesn't have the carbs that most kibble has. Or you can hydrate it and it like feeding juicy raw, already 100% nutritionally complete, and you can keep it in chunks or squish it up like pate. There are small bones in it, but it's not the same as them chewing on bones to keep their teeth clean. but you can still feed him a neck once in awhile, or gizzard or something for that.

This is all great advice, particularly the part about a variety of foods on hand. We took our cats off (commercial, mostly freeze-dried) raw food almost a year ago and the hardest part was finding decent canned foods to feed. Thickeners and carby fillers are a big problem!

We now feed more homemade cooked food than before. That does need to stay frozen or refrigerated but there's less urgency than with frozen raw food.

As maggie101 mentioned, it's probably best not to feed a lot of freeze-dried food that hasn't been rehydrated, though it's great to mix into or crumble on top of canned food.

Good luck!

 

[nat_urge]

This is all great advice, particularly the part about a variety of foods on hand. We took our cats off (commercial, mostly freeze-dried) raw food almost a year ago and the hardest part was finding decent canned foods to feed. Thickeners and carby fillers are a big problem!

We now feed more homemade cooked food than before. That does need to stay frozen or refrigerated but there's less urgency than with frozen raw food.

As maggie101 mentioned, it's probably best not to feed a lot of freeze-dried food that hasn't been rehydrated, though it's great to mix into or crumble on top of canned food.

Good luck!

Thanks! I've found some pretty decent canned foods, and have bought a few different kinds for the Creature to try. Looking back, he really wasn't all too crazy about canned food in general. He was definitely under eating. It wasn't great quality because I had him on a digestive diet after a blockage at the time, and had lots of fillers. He took to Raw very quickly and didn't like the in between switch to higher quality canned. I must have blocked this whole frustrating couple of week out of my mind. Maybe trying cooked won't be a bad idea! If not, there's nothing wrong with some good quality kibble and raw or freeze dried snacks.

 

[nat_urge]

Thank you guys for jogging my memory a bit and for all the helpful info and tips!

 

[lisahe]

Thanks! I've found some pretty decent canned foods, and have bought a few different kinds for the Creature to try. Looking back, he really wasn't all too crazy about canned food in general. He was definitely under eating. It wasn't great quality because I had him on a digestive diet after a blockage at the time, and had lots of fillers. He took to Raw very quickly and didn't like the in between switch to higher quality canned. I must have blocked this whole frustrating couple of week out of my mind. Maybe trying cooked won't be a bad idea! If not, there's nothing wrong with some good quality kibble and raw or freeze dried snacks.

I know what you mean about blocking frustrating feeding times!

Cooked (I use the Alnutrin supplement with egg shell calcium) works really well for our cat who will consistently eat wet food. The cat who won't consistently eat wet food (she, too, was undereating) eats mostly Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken, which has no fillers, very low carbs, and low phosphorus. Thank goodness she washes it down with a good drink of water after she eats!

One wet food that both our cats like and will eat is Nulo's chicken/duck "mousse" in pouches. It's expensive but nothing gets thrown out. Two other brands that have been known to work for us: Rawz and Mouser. I order those (by the can) from Incredible Pets since they're not consistently available locally. Everything I've mentioned here is low on thickeners and fillers.

Again, good luck!

 

[nat_urge]

Hi, my cat was on a raw diet for 5 years, but Drs had me change him to canned food after he got sick from acute pancreatitis/severe gastroenteritis, they suspect it was caused by contamination in the raw food (but no way to fully know). I had a hard time finding a canned food that could match the limited ingredients of his raw diet, but tried Feline Natural canned, he did really good on this food for a few years. Stool was even same consistency as when on raw diet, and his blood tests were in healthy range.

After his raw diet, it took a week of gradual transition from the prescription wet food the hospital put him on (which caused much stomach upset), to Feline Natural canned, and his digestive issues cleared up once fully on the new food. The only reason I’ve transitioned him off it now is because he has kidney disease, and needs a lower-phosphorus diet. Am bummed because FN is a good quality food without strange fillers and for us, it was a good alternative to raw feeding.

oh wow that must been pretty scary overall! thank you for sharing and the brand suggestion! I hope the Cutie is doing better now

 

[misterginja]

Thank you, it was a terrifying experience, but he’s doing good right now : ) Good luck with Skype's food transition, it’s a challenging process but then such a relief once it's figured out!

 

[maggie101]

One more thin my cat peaches is now intolerant to chicken which is why I feed a variety of proteins

 

[nat_urge]

Update!
Skype is now eating Orijen dry food 2x a day, tolerating little wet-food snacks (he is loving Regional Red), drinking a bunch of water (thank the gods!), crazy over freeze dried treats and the occasional slip of raw chicken.
Im keeping the snacks in between since he was eating 4x a day and is used to a schedule, and figured that's quite a bit of change in a short time. His poops are normal, not stinky, and no gut gurgles.Hopefully it stays that way. Thanks again for the tips and support!

 

[maggie101]

Be weary of kibble. Once fed that's all they will eat. It's good your mixing in wet so it should be ok

 

[nat_urge]

Be weary of kibble. Once fed that's all they will eat. It's good your mixing in wet so it should be ok

yeah I still plan on keeping some wet and some raw with bones for the stimulation/teeth. I definitely don't want him to reject variety

 

[lisahe]

yeah I still plan on keeping some wet and some raw with bones for the stimulation/teeth. I definitely don't want him to reject variety

Yes, definitely keep offering wet food! That's what I do for our cat who'd decided she wants to eat mostly Dr. Elsey's dry food... there are days (like today) when she'll eat more than one small meal of wet food. I sprinkled a pinch of probiotic/herb powder (Adored Beast's Feline Gut Soothe, which has a little liver powder in it) on her wet meals today and she lapped it right up. I'd love to get her on Feline Gut Soothe so am crossing my fingers that she'll keep eating it.

I guess my real point here is that it's worth doing whatever it takes!

 

[nat_urge]

good point! Im happy to keep experimenting