How should I start my 15 week old kitten off on raw?

[mooncat89]

I’ve read the recipe on feline-nutrition.com but I’m of the opinion that cats need to chew on bones and also, the last time I checked, their ancestors didn’t take their prey to the local meat grinder after every hunt.   I wanted to introduce her to some chicken wings while I’m looking for a freezer to start the transition.   I checked out Whole Foods for when I do get a freezer for prices and seen that they had whole young organic chickens and turkeys with gizzards, game hens, and of course other common chicken pieces.   How can I go about using whole chicken and getting her other things she needs like supplements like this?   Also, should I just chop up a few pieces of the end of the wing’s and see how she likes that, or maybe try a different part?   I really want to start her off on raw asap, she’s been eating wellness core for kittens because that’s the best canned I can find in Fresno for three weeks with me, and blue buffalo kitten kibble before I got her at the shelter.

 

[ritz]

Welcome to The Cat Site.
Yes, you can simply give your cat some small bones from a chicken (Cornish hen even better). It's a test to see how easy/difficult it may be to transition her to raw. As long as the total amount of raw you fed your kitten (any cat really) is less than 15% of her weekly/daily intake, you don't have to worry about balancing with secreting/non secreting organs or supplements. And some raw feeders don't supplement at all, it's a personal decision, also based on what exactly they feed their cat(s).
Another source of organic meat is your local farmer's market. You can also talk to one/more of the vendors to see if they will sell/save organs for you, especially if they butcher their own animals. One vendor at my local farmer's market saves chicken hearts for me. Depending on the laws where you live, you might also be able to buy unusual organs (not sold in any grocery stores). I can't buy such organs (against the law) but the vendor can give them to me.
Regarding supplements like probiotics and krill oil: it may not be a problem, depends on your cat. I fed prey model raw. Ritz likes any and all food, including supplements. I sprinkle powder supplements onto her food. Other posters put the powder/fish oil under the meat.

 

[mooncat89]

Ok so she loves the chicken wings and now I'm ready to start adding other parts and organs. If you don't mind could you please tell me what next I should get to continue the transition? It's really hard for me to sit at the computer for too long and research anything because of my pain. Should I get organs to go with the wings and when that's finished get the whole chicken? Most of the farmers markets around here just sell fruit but I think one has a vendor who sells grass fed beef so maybe he can get other stuff as well as organs.  I'll look into the prey model raw. 

 

[silverpersian]

Chicken hearts are especially good. They have taurine and if you feed them sporadically, are small enough to prevent imbalance of the diet. Where I live, all supermarkets carry packages of gizzards, with a few hearts mixed in. The gizzards are good for the cat's dental health. You can also try chicken necks. You might want to smash them with a mallet first.
Just remember to keep all of these to less than 15% of her diet, unless you are ready for the next stage, where you balance the raw meat so it is a complete meal. I wouldn't be surprised if your kitten takes to the raw food right away, so you might not need a long transition. My kitten was around 9 weeks when I transitioned him to raw. He took to it right away.

 

[mooncat89]

She does, she loves it.  Yesterday and the day before I gave her some chicken wing, she loves it way more than the wellness core for kittens.  I keep it at 15% but I would like to completely switch over now, wellness isn't cheap. It cost less to feed her organic chicken than that stuff. Whole foods has whole young chicken with gizzards (some missing) and I'm going by there Tuesday. I'm thinking it would best to get the gizzards she needs and get the meat so I'm sure everything is there as opposed to getting a chicken and not having gizzards I need but I don't even know what makes it balanced.

 

[abby2932]

A balanced meal for a cat is as follows:

APPROXIMATELY

~80% Meat

• Meat includes: meat, skin, hearts, gizzards, etc. Hearts and gizzards are not considered organ meat in a Prey Model Raw diet.

~10% Bone

~5% Liver

• The liver is a very important part of the diet. Too much/too little can be harmful. You will want a small kitchen scale that measures ounces to make sure kitty is getting the right amount.

~5% Other secreting organ besides liver

• Kidney, spleen, pancreas

= 100%

If you are using chicken bone as your bone-in meat, here is an approximation of some of the percentages of bone in each piece:

Back  ~44% Bone

Breast  ~20% Bone

Neck with skin  ~36% Bone & ~39% Skin and Separable Fat

Neck without skin  ~59% Bone

Thigh  ~15% Bone & Cartilage

Wing  ~46% Bone

**Please note that I am a novice raw feeder myself and I certainly do not claim to know everything about raw feeding. I still recommend that you take a look at the stickies on top of the Raw and Homecooked Forum page and do lots of research before you feed your cat a 100% home-made diet.**

Hopefully others come along and give more helpful information for you!

 

[mooncat89]

She won't eat the bigger pieces of the wing but she did eat some of it and the end piece. Can I pick and choose what bones I give her?

 

[abby2932]

Of course, as long as she eats approximately 10% bone (I think 8-10%) it can be any kind of bone that is small enough for her to tackle

 

[mooncat89]

Well I checked a few stores and all I found was chicken livers and a whole chicken with some giblets, this is what was in there. Do you know what parts they are?

DSCN7811.JPG

• mooncat89
• Aug 31, 2014

 

[mooncat89]

I don't think I'll be able to find all natural chicken insides in fresno, there's aren't very many stores to begin with. I think I'm going to have to call around some more and find a farmers market that sells meat.

 

[peaches08]

Bottom is gizzard, top left is neck (without skin), the piece on the right is liver and so is the middle piece I think.  If the middle piece feels like the same thing as the right, then yeah, liver.  Here in the south this is standard stuff in a turkey for "giblets" but we usually have heart in a giblets package too. 

 

[mooncat89]

Thanks