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- Dec 5, 2011
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I currently have three cats, an eight pound 3 year old male named PJ, a 6 pound 2 year old female named midget, and a 2 year old 10 pounder teddy. I have done a lot of research on cat food in the last few months because PJ has some serius health problums. it is all related to his bad teeth. his gums are so swollen that he doesn't chew his kibble, he just swallows it whole and ends up eating so much he pukes most of it back up. he also has skin problums that I know irritates him with all the scraching. I tried switching to a canned diet, and he did gain weight, but his gummes got worse, teeth fell out. worse than that teddys gums started to swell.
anyway after months of research I decided to switch to a raw or mostly raw diet. first I mixed some chicken breast into some canned food and they gobbled it up. next I decided to get a whole chicken boned it and cut the meat into about an inch size pices. at this point PJ is eating about 4oz a day, while midge and teddy get 1oz and 2oz canned. I am still leaving out kibble for them but only about 1/2 cup as apposed to 1 1/2 cup alone. I still leave out the kibble because the only one who needs 100% raw is PJ he wont touch the stuff anyway. as for the others I'm kinda cheap I plan to use up the canned then go to 1oz twice a day.
my next step is to first get some organ meat because I know muscle meat alone is not enough. today I called up some butcher shops, you would be suprised how many are closed on monday. anyway I found a steady supply of liver kidny and heart for $2/lb and scrap meat for $.29/lb combo of beef, pork, lamb, and goat. I can also get chicken, game hen, turky, duck, and goose at my grosery. for now I figure I'll stick with the scrap and chicken, maybe some duck. I will also give them ground chicken wings for bone, until there jaws are stronger then I'll try some whole bones. and a mix of beef kidny and liver once a day, and the occational bit of heart for a treat. is this a good plan?
the only real issue I've had since starting raw is the same as I had with the canned. as it turnes out teddy is a nervous eater, hew will not eat around the other cats and even if he is seperate he is costantly looking up and around. he sumtimes runs off with hunks of meat, bit of an issue with carpet. for now have to bring his bowl to him. the only other solution I can think of is to lock him in the other bathroom so he's alone. any feedback is greatly appriciated.
oh I feel I should mention after only three days of raw feeding the swelling in PJ's gums has gotten a lot better, and he's running around like a kitten again.
anyway after months of research I decided to switch to a raw or mostly raw diet. first I mixed some chicken breast into some canned food and they gobbled it up. next I decided to get a whole chicken boned it and cut the meat into about an inch size pices. at this point PJ is eating about 4oz a day, while midge and teddy get 1oz and 2oz canned. I am still leaving out kibble for them but only about 1/2 cup as apposed to 1 1/2 cup alone. I still leave out the kibble because the only one who needs 100% raw is PJ he wont touch the stuff anyway. as for the others I'm kinda cheap I plan to use up the canned then go to 1oz twice a day.
my next step is to first get some organ meat because I know muscle meat alone is not enough. today I called up some butcher shops, you would be suprised how many are closed on monday. anyway I found a steady supply of liver kidny and heart for $2/lb and scrap meat for $.29/lb combo of beef, pork, lamb, and goat. I can also get chicken, game hen, turky, duck, and goose at my grosery. for now I figure I'll stick with the scrap and chicken, maybe some duck. I will also give them ground chicken wings for bone, until there jaws are stronger then I'll try some whole bones. and a mix of beef kidny and liver once a day, and the occational bit of heart for a treat. is this a good plan?
the only real issue I've had since starting raw is the same as I had with the canned. as it turnes out teddy is a nervous eater, hew will not eat around the other cats and even if he is seperate he is costantly looking up and around. he sumtimes runs off with hunks of meat, bit of an issue with carpet. for now have to bring his bowl to him. the only other solution I can think of is to lock him in the other bathroom so he's alone. any feedback is greatly appriciated.
oh I feel I should mention after only three days of raw feeding the swelling in PJ's gums has gotten a lot better, and he's running around like a kitten again.