I need raw food help with kitten

[Lola'sMom]

I have a new kitten, Lola - she is just over 3 1/2 months old and she came to me one week ago. She is a British longhaired adorable girl. The previous owner told me she had been feeding her kibble and wet food. When she arrived the owner confessed the kitty refused to eat kibble and only ate wet food, Fine, I knew I had wanted to transition her to raw food anyway. I bought Vital Essentials Rabbit and Natural Selections Chicken and Salmon. Lola inhaled the raw food like she had never eaten before. We were doing fine until day three of the raw food when she got diarrhea. I had suspected I may be overfeeding her. I give small portions, multiple meals but she always begs for more and I am a sucker. Day four and five we dialed it back and all was good, but I still didn't really know what I was doing. Day six was fine until dinner when looked at me like I was depriving her of a decent end to the day so I gave seconds and that night the diarrhea returned. I need to get this figured out so I know she is getting enough nutrition but I am not stuffing her.

I know growing kitty's need twice the amount as cats. But please tell me how much food am I to feed her in a day. I read 3% of her body weight, she weighs 2 lbs 10 ounces. But then they also say to eat twice as much as a cat so do I double her weight? Double the portion size? Do people weigh out the food? Should I get some regular wet food in her diet too or go all raw?

Please help me do right by my new baby kitten.

Thank you.

 

[maggie101]

What was she eating before she had diarrhea? It could she is allergic to something. She would throw up if she ate too much. My cats always ate wet.

 

[Lola'sMom]

Hi maggie101!
Thank you for replying!
The first time, day 3 I was feeding her both raw and wet food. But the second time, day 6, it was all the raw food. And on all the other days it was same flavor, same brand of raw food and she was fine. I thought I read someplace if you overfeed a kitten sometimes they will have diarrhea. I really need to learn how to portion out the raw food. How much should she eat in a day at this age? And should it be all raw or mix it up?

 

[Maurey]

She may be having diarrhoea because you’re transitioning her a bit too quickly. Perfectly Rawsome has a good guide on transitioning cats to raw Raw Feeding Transition Guide For Cats

 

[maggie101]

How to Prepare and Feed EZcomplete fur Cats

this is what I feed my cats except morning is canned chicken or turkey. Last 2 meals are pork. They do not all eat the same amount. Plus some canned in a timed feeder late night for wet food so it comes with ice packs
Until she is adult,feed as much as she wants though some cats don't know when to stop

 

[daftcat75]

I would skip the fish. It's not an ideal protein for cats. It can be addictive. A lot of cats will hold out for only fish. And finally, if you feed fish on the regular, you lose that nuclear option when you need something highly appealing to restart her eating or disguise medicine. I would make fish an exception for exceptional times rather than a regular protein.

I would also add a canned food to her diet. Raw food can have supply and quality issues from one batch to the next. By keeping a canned food in her diet, it will help you more easily weather interruptions like these. It will also make her gut more robust to have more than a single food. And it makes it easier to keep feeding her if you have to take a break from one food or the other. Finally, if you need to put food in a timed feeder for daytime or overnight, you can put a canned food in a feeder or leave it out for hours. You cannot do the same with raw.

 

[Lola'sMom]

She may be having diarrhoea because you’re transitioning her a bit too quickly. Perfectly Rawsome has a good guide on transitioning cats to raw Raw Feeding Transition Guide For Cats

Maurey,
Thank you so much for sharing that link. I feel a little foolish because I did do some research before I got her, and every blog, article, website said to transition your cat or dog into the raw diet. But once I got this little kitten and heard she wasn't eating part of the food that was being given to her (the kibble) I sort of panicked that she wasn't getting enough nutrition and while I did feed her wet still too, I went heavy on raw and didn't comply with the recommended transitioning. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[She's a witch]

You could also rule out pathogens causing it, not uncommon among kittens. I’d do PCR diarrhea panel if it persists.

 

[Lola'sMom]

You could also rule out pathogens causing it, not uncommon among kittens. I’d do PCR diarrhea panel if it persists.

Yes, I thought about that also on the first day but then it went away and her stools where normal for two days until I (think) I overfed the raw again.

I just gave her a mix of wet food and raw chicken. Work on the transition instead of being all in on the raw too quickly. See how tonight goes. Thank you!

 

[Lola'sMom]

I would skip the fish. It's not an ideal protein for cats. It can be addictive. A lot of cats will hold out for only fish. And finally, if you feed fish on the regular, you lose that nuclear option when you need something highly appealing to restart her eating or disguise medicine. I would make fish an exception for exceptional times rather than a regular protein.

I would also add a canned food to her diet. Raw food can have supply and quality issues from one batch to the next. By keeping a canned food in her diet, it will help you more easily weather interruptions like these. It will also make her gut more robust to have more than a single food. And it makes it easier to keep feeding her if you have to take a break from one food or the other. Finally, if you need to put food in a timed feeder for daytime or overnight, you can put a canned food in a feeder or leave it out for hours. You cannot do the same with raw.

daftcat75, Excellent points! I did not know this about fish. And I see the logic in keeping wet food around to incorporate especially since I will have to return to work with some longer hours on certain days and was planning on a timed feeder for those days. I appreciate the feedback. Thank you!