Convincing Damita to eat her raw...

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Panther pride

I don't mean to sound mean or cruel, but Dr Pitcairn recemends in his book if cats dont eat raw you starve your cat for three for four days no food at all, so they thing they're experencing a famine. Their primal survival instincts kick in and they eat everything. Cats can go awhile without food.http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...lies/smile.gif

I think most on here would REALLY DIFFER from the good dr on this as a few have lost cats from them not eating for a day or two ....

 

[panther pride]

I didn't Know about that, It didnt sound very humane to me anyway.http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima.../angryfire.gif. Just supposed to show you cannort trust everyones advise/opinion

 

[catsarebetter]

I'd heard that before and have used it to get cats to eat their dry food, but then recently I'd heard that if you do that then it starts some sort of process of breakdown in the liver or something... it was something to do with the liver and toxins..especially in overweight cats. That being said, I saw one place that it was 24 hours, and one place that they shouldn't go more than 12. So, now I worry to death that if Noel runs out of food in the 12 hours that I'm at work that she's going to have problems, lol! See what being informed gets you?

Also, on that note, though... (and this is before I'd read that)..we did try that with Khan, and he simply went on a hunger strike. After four days, we gave up and fed him...but he's basically not liked any food for two years..and has been *hungry* for that long because he hasn't liked any thing well enough to eat the amount he should be eating, and hasn't once touched a morsel of dry, or for that matter, a can of wet that he didn't like. It had always worked in the past with other kitties, but that one.. not a chance.

 

[panther pride]

There's a saying, The more you know the less you believe, and I think its true. I disagree with Dr pitchairn's way to interduce cats to raw/ think its cruel and unnesscary. If your feeling frustrated by your cats stubberness, just rember its a big change for them. Its like a person going from canned soups,bread,pop and candy- to fresh organic veggies,grains, meat and candy without refined surger and all natural ingredeants. It will take time and patence unklike us, cats dont know that fancy feast,meow mix,ect, is bad for them, they eat whatever tastes good.http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...s/rolleyes.gif.

I'm going to try aiding tuna water/clam juice/gravy to the raw to see if I can get Bindi interested- if not i'll either save it for catfish bait/or give it back to the store.http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...laughing02.gif

 

[white cat lover]

I will not starve Damita. Period. She eats every 12 hours. Or more often if she's hungry. It's my opinion cats need to eat every 12 hours, regardless of what Dr. Pitcairn's book says. I like that book to some extent, but my personal knowledge & beliefs tell me different that what he says.

 

[panther pride]

Good idea... I agree with you. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...lies/agree.gif. Just keep trying differnt brands to see which one your cat likes best. Take away all her old but keep giving her good new brands everytimes shes hungry might be the best way to help her switch. What brands have you tryed and which ones are working well? http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...s/confused.gif

 

[white cat lover]

Well, I broke down & bought 4 cans of Beef Kitty Crack(Fancy Feast).

The cuts type mixed with one raw medallion & she ate at least 1 oz of the raw!

This morning, it was the basic ground type & she ate around the raw.

I think I'll stock up on FF Beef cuts to get Damita through this...

Of course, I'm kicking myself in the bum...she's less than thrilled with her Pro Pac Beff now that she's know the crack's there!

 

[catsarebetter]

Woohoo! progress!

 

[sharky]

mixing is fine ... remember shell only need 3-4 ounces a day when all raw

 

[mzjazz2u]

Originally Posted by sharky

I think most on here would REALLY DIFFER from the good dr on this as a few have lost cats from them not eating for a day or two ....

I agree... starving a cat is dangerous. Especially for that many days as they can develop fatty liver disease. You'd have to be giving some kins of IV nutrition or something. The more cats don't eat, the more chance of it turning into anorexia and then you've got a problem. I was lucky Jake didn't die when he got it a few months ago. $800 later and a lot of hard work and finally he's almost back to normal. Nope... I wouldn't chance starving a cat.

 

[white cat lover]

Originally Posted by sharky

mixing is fine ... remember shell only need 3-4 ounces a day when all raw

Yep! She normally eats 6-10 oz of wet a day. Once I get her switched over to the raw...that will mean a lot less food! Right now, she eats like 4x a day just to keep her weight up...she dropped like 6 oz in 2 weeks so I bumped her up to 4 meals a day.....

 

[white cat lover]

Today I got smart! I fed Damita 2 oz wet for breakfast. Then, when I got back from class at noon I mixed the following in my Magic Bullet:
(1) 3 oz. raw medallion
(1) spoonful canned Pro Pac Beef
(1) blade cat grass(she wanted to eat some so bad, but couldn't "catch" it)
(2) TBSP Spring Water
(2) Drops Salmon oil from capsule

Man did it reek! But, boy did she gobble it down fast! I gonna cut out the salmon oil & cat grass for her supper tonight, but otherwise do the same. I hope to slowly add in more & more of the regular raw medallion!

One question though...she's eaten 2 oz canned, plus spoonful canned/3oz raw, then I'm gonna feed her supper tonight....is this too much? She has always eaten more than the reccomended amount & actually lost weight when I fed her the reccomended amount....

 

[renovia]

that sounds promising.

i'm going to start luxor/stoli on just a taste to see what happens. then i'll try mixing it in with some sheba tubs.......let's hope i have two cats who just LOVE raw! LOL

 

[mzjazz2u]

That's great news! And it doesn't sound like too much food to me. I'd just go with it until she is fully adjusted to the raw. Then you can monitor the amount a little closer maybe.

 

[catsarebetter]

Originally Posted by white cat lover

One question though...she's eaten 2 oz canned, plus spoonful canned/3oz raw, then I'm gonna feed her supper tonight....is this too much? She has always eaten more than the reccomended amount & actually lost weight when I fed her the reccomended amount....

I would say as long as she's not gaining weight it's not too much, especially if she's lost weight in the past. On catnutrition.org they recommend between 3/4 to 1 ounce of raw per pound (of cat) per day. Kittens, in theory, could eat more..or highly active cats..

I also saw someone on one of the cat food threads say that they eat until they get enough protein..so, if that's the case, I guess they stop when they're no longer hungry. In any case...I don't think it's going to do any harm if she's eating more than she should be for a short time. If she starts gaining too much weight, you can adjust her portions.

 

[renovia]

i wish stoli and luxor would stop eating when they get enough protein......but this is not the case with 'hoover I' and 'hoover II'

 

[sharky]

Feed her what shell eat .... she may and I stress only MAY have a deficiency that the raw will help with .... Gigi ate 8 oz a day for a month or so ... she still eats 6 oz instead of 4.5 for her wt ...

 

[catsarebetter]

I'm hoping when I get the dry "raw" food, that my Noel loses weight. She doesn't seem to eat a lot, but she's really heavy. I get a lecture from the vet every time I take her.

 

[white cat lover]

I tired mixing a can of Beef Fancy feast with her raw...it was a no go! I put a spoonful of Pro Pac Beef on top of the "mixture" & the dove right in.

I think she's addicted to that Pro Pac!

 

[renovia]

is pro pac the pro biotic?