Ever since I learned that dried cat food have a ton of wheat and stuff that's more beneficial for cows than cats
I've decided to try raw feeding in the form of frankenprey to my two DSH boys Marble and Pebble.
I'm sorry if this is a little lengthy, as I'm intent on giving as much information as I can.
I got some advice from another thread about feeding Frankenprey to them, as this might be a more economically-sound route for me to take. I started yesterday and boy am I already tired and lost. I need ya'll to check my work, as this is literally the first time I'm doing this.
The vet suggested canned wet food as a diet switch that could benefit Marble, and I figured it would also be good for Pebble if he got more moisture and less wheaty stuff in his diet. "Good" dried food that has more meat than wheat in it is simply not in my budget and I want them to be the healthy little carnivores that they could be.
So I decided to give them raw feeding via frankenprey, get them used to the smell and taste of it, and give them canned food with the diet as well. First question: Should there be a schedule for this? Like Monday-Wednesday-Friday canned, Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekends frankenprey? I understand full frankenprey diet is not enough for them but how should I supplement that?
I have a tube of Virbac nutri-plus gel, its got fats, crude protein, carbohydrates, Fiber, minerals, along with the regular vitamin content of supplements. I was told this was not "just" vitamins. I'll post the contents of it again later. The vet (who's a bit of a hack) suggested I give 1/2 teaspoon of it a day, but since they're not vitamins they might be getting too much and turn overweight.
I bought half a kilo of gizzard, half a kilo of pork liver (chicken liver was too expensive) and pig intestines. I couldn't get hearts but I'm gonna try today and mix that in. I also couldn't get anyone to grind it for me and getting a grinder is out of budget so I chopped it up in small, kitty mouth bite sized pieces. It was a real chore but I managed it. Just a bit of pork liver (two or three pieces per serving) and the rest is gizzard and intestines. Second question: is the muscle meat imperative in this mix?
At first serving, my Marble took to it right away. He tried a few bites and he went through a quarter of his dish. Pebble, though, not so much. I was thinking he'd be the first on the stuff, being the little panther of the house, but he sniffs at it and walks away meowing!
My sister suggested I cook some, so I heated the stuff in a pan a bit. When Marble saw it he walked away. When I kinda rubbed some on his mouth he recognized it as his beloved frankenprey and snarfed most of his plate down. Pebble still didn't want any of it! Even after gently sliding a piece into his mouth. He'd drop it, sniff at it, and walk away. I keep a plate of dried kibble close, but he doesn't like the kibble either. He'd inhale a packet of Smartheart Chicken, Mackerel and rice, though. So he's not averse to any food. He just lost his appetite for much kibble and does not want any of the frankenprey.
Third question: Is this normal resistance behavior? Should I insist on the frankenprey? He's still gonna get some canned food, I just thought maybe this would be good for him, too?
I only heated the stuff as a "bribe," I know I cooked the nutrients away with what I did but it's their first day. This morning I cooked some and left the rest raw. Marble still ate some, but not all of it. Pebble didn't have a single bite.
Pebble won't have any frankenprey and he ate very little kibble.
I keep the kibble available to them so as not to "shock" their systems into a suddenly-all-wet diet, since they've been on kibble their whole lives. Both of them still eat a bit of the stuff, although not so much as before anymore. They've developed the preference for wet. I'm thinking this might be the right thing to do, seeing as they manifest no symptoms of shock transition like pudding poopie or less water intake. They still both drink a lot of water.
I read in a site that they're used to smelly food, and cooking it made it extra smelly to be honest. I'm not sure what's setting Pebble off from the frankenprey that Marble happily eats. I observed their excretions and poopie's still formed, nothing weird has happened as of yet, and the frankenprey I put away for the dog to eat cos I'm concerned with meat freshness. It's fresh or it's gone. It didn't last more than 2 hours on the cat dishes last night. Unfinished morsels were given to the dog, which she inhaled.
I tried setting a piece down on the floor for Pebble, cos frankenprey in a kitty dish might be setting him off because of how it looks to him. Still nothing. He'd walk away from the food, come back, sniff, walk away, rub my leg a few times then sniff at the food again. Is there something I'm missing?
Help would be so very much appreciated from the experienced frankenprey/raw feeders. Please bear with me (and my ignorance) as this is something all brand new to me.
I'm sorry if this is a little lengthy, as I'm intent on giving as much information as I can.
I got some advice from another thread about feeding Frankenprey to them, as this might be a more economically-sound route for me to take. I started yesterday and boy am I already tired and lost. I need ya'll to check my work, as this is literally the first time I'm doing this.
The vet suggested canned wet food as a diet switch that could benefit Marble, and I figured it would also be good for Pebble if he got more moisture and less wheaty stuff in his diet. "Good" dried food that has more meat than wheat in it is simply not in my budget and I want them to be the healthy little carnivores that they could be.
So I decided to give them raw feeding via frankenprey, get them used to the smell and taste of it, and give them canned food with the diet as well. First question: Should there be a schedule for this? Like Monday-Wednesday-Friday canned, Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekends frankenprey? I understand full frankenprey diet is not enough for them but how should I supplement that?
I have a tube of Virbac nutri-plus gel, its got fats, crude protein, carbohydrates, Fiber, minerals, along with the regular vitamin content of supplements. I was told this was not "just" vitamins. I'll post the contents of it again later. The vet (who's a bit of a hack) suggested I give 1/2 teaspoon of it a day, but since they're not vitamins they might be getting too much and turn overweight.
I bought half a kilo of gizzard, half a kilo of pork liver (chicken liver was too expensive) and pig intestines. I couldn't get hearts but I'm gonna try today and mix that in. I also couldn't get anyone to grind it for me and getting a grinder is out of budget so I chopped it up in small, kitty mouth bite sized pieces. It was a real chore but I managed it. Just a bit of pork liver (two or three pieces per serving) and the rest is gizzard and intestines. Second question: is the muscle meat imperative in this mix?
At first serving, my Marble took to it right away. He tried a few bites and he went through a quarter of his dish. Pebble, though, not so much. I was thinking he'd be the first on the stuff, being the little panther of the house, but he sniffs at it and walks away meowing!
Third question: Is this normal resistance behavior? Should I insist on the frankenprey? He's still gonna get some canned food, I just thought maybe this would be good for him, too?
I only heated the stuff as a "bribe," I know I cooked the nutrients away with what I did but it's their first day. This morning I cooked some and left the rest raw. Marble still ate some, but not all of it. Pebble didn't have a single bite.
I keep the kibble available to them so as not to "shock" their systems into a suddenly-all-wet diet, since they've been on kibble their whole lives. Both of them still eat a bit of the stuff, although not so much as before anymore. They've developed the preference for wet. I'm thinking this might be the right thing to do, seeing as they manifest no symptoms of shock transition like pudding poopie or less water intake. They still both drink a lot of water.
I read in a site that they're used to smelly food, and cooking it made it extra smelly to be honest. I'm not sure what's setting Pebble off from the frankenprey that Marble happily eats. I observed their excretions and poopie's still formed, nothing weird has happened as of yet, and the frankenprey I put away for the dog to eat cos I'm concerned with meat freshness. It's fresh or it's gone. It didn't last more than 2 hours on the cat dishes last night. Unfinished morsels were given to the dog, which she inhaled.
I tried setting a piece down on the floor for Pebble, cos frankenprey in a kitty dish might be setting him off because of how it looks to him. Still nothing. He'd walk away from the food, come back, sniff, walk away, rub my leg a few times then sniff at the food again. Is there something I'm missing?
Help would be so very much appreciated from the experienced frankenprey/raw feeders. Please bear with me (and my ignorance) as this is something all brand new to me.