Questions about raw food! :)

[eck1kaylie]

Hello, everyone! I've been doing lots of research on raw feeding, and I've made the decision to attempt transitioning Ruby. I'm not ready to take the plunge just yet (I want to be 100% certain I know what I'm doing, and I just bought a bag of her Nature's Variety kibble), but I've got a rough plan, which I'll probably refine as I learn more.
So! Question time! I'm mostly just looking for your personal opinions/experiences, but there are a couple of things I'm still fuzzy on, and a couple of non-essential questions I'm just curious about. ^-^ I tried to only ask questions I couldn't find an answer to somewhere else, but feel free to redirect me if some of them have been asked before!

*Why do you prefer commercial/ground/frankenprey/whatever method you use? Do you use just one method, or a combination?

*How long will meat typically last in the freezer or the fridge?

*If you feed frankenprey/whole prey, do you still supplement? Is it necessary to supplement frankenprey, or just ground food? (And if it is necessary, how do you add supplements? Just sprinkle them on top?)

*Where do you generally get your meat? (Online/butcher/grocery store/etc.?) Be as specific as you'd like, especially if you happen to live in the Twin Cities! ^-^

*Which meats do your cats prefer? Do they prefer certain organs from specific animals? (Like, beef liver vs. chicken liver)

*Where/how do you feed your cats? (And how do you prevent them running away with chunks? I'll clean up after Ruby if I have to, but I'd really rather not!)

*If you do bone-in meals, how often?

*How did you transition? Kibble>canned>raw? Kibble>raw? Something else?

*How long did your cat(s) take to fully transition?

*I read something somewhere about "toppers" for transitioning finicky pets. I'm not real worried about Ruby being picky, but just in case, what toppers do you recommend?

*This might be a silly question, but are meats from places like Hare Today okay for people to eat too? I don't want to be stuck with a freezer full of food that Ruby won't eat!

*Just for future reference, how do you transition a new cat if you already have one on raw food?

*and last! Does going raw affect their prey drive at all? Ruby's usually good about being nice to the rat when we let him roam, but she's been playing kinda rough since she became exclusively indoor and I don't want her to decide that he's food. o.o


Recipes and feeding schedules are also welcome, if you'd like to share. every bit of info helps!

 

[LTS3]

*Why do you prefer commercial/ground/frankenprey/whatever method you use? Do you use just one method, or a combination?

I mainly feed NV raw because it's just the easiest method of feeding raw to my cats. I also do raw with a pre-mix so I can add in novel meats like turkey and goat to the diet. The NV medallions only come in chicken and rabbit varieties. A spponful of the raw with pre mix is added to each meal of NV.

*How long will meat typically last in the freezer or the fridge?

Commerical raw has a "best by" date. I tend to use up a bag well before that date.The HT chubs I have only  have a date of packaging printed on the label. I try to use the chubs within 6 months of that date.

*If you feed frankenprey/whole prey, do you still supplement? Is it necessary to supplement frankenprey, or just ground food? (And if it is necessary, how do you add supplements? Just sprinkle them on top?)

Frankenprey and whole prey diets in theory don't need supplementation since you're feeding about 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other organs. Some people do add supplements, though, depending on the the type of meat used.

Ground meat, both the bonless organ less type and with bone and organ type, does need to be supplemented. The method I use is adding a pre mix (either Alnutrin for meat and bone or Better In The Raw) to the meat along with some water. Mix it all together and then freeze in small containers. You can also use the ground meat as the meat part of a recipie such as the one at Catinfo.org and all in the individual supplements listed in the recipe.

*Where do you generally get your meat? (Online/butcher/grocery store/etc.?) Be as specific as you'd like, especially if you happen to live in the Twin Cities! ^-^

I buy chubs of raw meat from the independent pet store. I buy either hare Today (note: I am not aware of any other pet store that sells Hare Today. Most peple buy from the Hare Today web site) or Bravo, sometimes Blue Ridge.

Buying whole cuts of meat (never pre ground) from the supermarket or butcher shop are options. Just make sure the meat hasn't been enchanced with broth or flavorings or brine solution or anything else. Read the tiny print on the package to be sure.

*Which meats do your cats prefer? Do they prefer certain organs from specific animals? (Like, beef liver vs. chicken liver)

My cats aren't too picky. They eat chicken, rabbit, turkey, quail, goat, duck, bison. Vension gives my Aby horribly stinky poop so I don't feed that anymore.

*Where/how do you feed your cats? (And how do you prevent them running away with chunks? I'll clean up after Ruby if I have to, but I'd really rather not!)

I smuh the NV medallion with the raw /pre-mix for easier eating. My Aby likes to grab a glob out of the bowl and plop it on the floor to eat sometimes

*How did you transition? Kibble>canned>raw? Kibble>raw? Something else?

My Aby was weaned onto raw food by the breeder. My rescue ate canned food for awhile before I started transitioning her over to raw. I started with freeze dried raw mixed into her canned food and then slowly added little pieces of NV in.

*How long did your cat(s) take to fully transition?

My rescue took about a week to fully transition to raw food.

*I read something somewhere about "toppers" for transitioning finicky pets. I'm not real worried about Ruby being picky, but just in case, what toppers do you recommend?

Toppers are anything put on top of food to make it more appealing. Freeze dried raw, crushed up freeze dried meat or seafood treats, Parmesean cheese, FortiFlora, commerical pet food enchancers like Halo Dinner Party Sprinkles and Stewart Flavor Enhancer and Whole Life Easy Additions. Many people use crushed up freeze dried raw or freeze dried meat / seafood treats on top of frozen or homemade raw.

*This might be a silly question, but are meats from places like Hare Today okay for people to eat too? I don't want to be stuck with a freezer full of food that Ruby won't eat!

From the Hare Today FAQs:

Can I eat your food?

A lot of our products are USDA inspected, human grade but we are licensed for pet food manufacturing and all product that leaves here has to be labeled as such. I legally can't sell this to you to eat. Have I ate it, yes. Can I tell you to eat it, no.

*Just for future reference, how do you transition a new cat if you already have one on raw food?
 

Answered this one above

*and last! Does going raw affect their prey drive at all? Ruby's usually good about being nice to the rat when we let him roam, but she's been playing kinda rough since she became exclusively indoor and I don't want her to decide that he's food. o.o
 

I don't think it does. I had gerbils way back when the cats were kittens and the cats did the typical sit next to the tank and stare and occasionally whack the tank side but they viewed the gerbils as live action toys than prey to catch and eat. After 5 years without any small furries, I just added some new "roommates" (rescued mice) and my cats were intrigued for a while but now mostly leave the cage alone. I still keep the cats out of the bedroom whenever I'm not at home just to be safe.

Recipes and feeding schedules are also welcome, if you'd like to share.

every bit of info helps!

There are good recipies here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

http://www.catnutrition.org/

http://feline-nutrition.org/index.php

Feeding schedules vary so what works for one person may not work for another. My Aby eats 4 times a day while my rescue eats twice a day with a bedtime snack of canned food.

 

[eck1kaylie]

That was more thorough than I was expecting, thank you!

Anyone else? ^-^

 

[missmimz]

 

[eck1kaylie]

I haven't 100% decided which method to use yet. Just exploring all of my options.

 

[kittyluv387]

I use primal frozen nuggets because i dont have the space to make large batches of food and to store it in a freezer. Its convenient since its broken into 1 oz pieces. If you make your own you can freeze them for about 2-3 months and after that the nutrients might degrade a bit.

 

[LTS3]

I want to also add that my cats eat NV because they won't eat any other commerical brand of raw. My Aby ate Primal for awhile before he decided he didn't like it anymore

I tried Stella and Chewy's but neither cat would eat it plus the patties were frozen together and hard to unstick (this was the dog formula and before the cat formulas came out). Neither would touch Rad Cat.

Commerical raw is a good place to start to see if your cat will even eat raw.  You may have to try a few different brands to see what your cat likes.Freeze dried raw is usually the best place to start but air dried raw may be acceptable to some cats since it's hard just like regualr dry food. Or offer a little piece of raw meat or organ as a treat. coated with a topper optional.

Some independent pet stores may have free sampes of raw food available. I've gotten freeze dried raw samples and frozen raw samples before.

If you don't have a lot of freezer space (or want to make up small batches of food frequently) or room for a second freezer, shelf stable raw options like freeze dried and air dried and dehydrated raw are probably the way to go.

 

[lisamarie12]

I use commercial raw primarily because freezer space is an issue and ordering from Hare Today requires a 10 lb minimum.

My Mikey eats Rad Cat which I prefer for him primarily because eggshell powder is the source of calcium vs ground bone. His sister was diagnosed with IBD and also possibly beginning CKD and since Mikey may have a predisposition to CKD as well, I'm mostly avoiding ground bone other than an occasional treat with bone.

Which brings me to the topic of toppers...Mikey took to frozen thawed raw immediately, his sister only freeze dried (which I've removed from her diet due to the ground bone). He usually expects a topper or two to get him going with RC but once he's started eating, no toppers required.

The cats have had raw in their diet for about two years although Molly less so these days.

Molly is the difficult, picky eater. I still keep trying to get Molly to eat Rad Cat, each day for the past couple of weeks I add a little tablespoon next to her regular canned food along with a topper. We use Whole Life Turkey toppers or Vital Essentials rabbit, occasionally we'll use Orijen freeze dried raw treats and Bravo FD turkey breast.

When I was feeding freeze dried raw, the cats preferred Primal over S&C, mostly.

I go through Rad Cat weekly, however, once thawed in the refrigerator I don't leave it for more than two days although RC indicates the food is fine up to three days in the refrigerator.

Our cats eat on the kitchen table, the humans eat elsewhere.

 

[mschauer]

*Why do you prefer commercial/ground/frankenprey/whatever method you use? Do you use just one method, or a combination?

 

I feed ground because :

1) I have a couple of cats missing enough teeth that eating bone-in pieces (as in frankenprey) or whole prey would be difficult.
2) I'm not really sure how I would handle the hygiene issues with feeding bone-in pieces or whole prey because cats tend to drag them all over the house. Confining them to a carrier or something while they eat as     some people do just wouldn't work for me.
3) I'm pretty certain not all of my cats will eat all organs if feed seperately. Some cats won't eat liver or kidney for instance. With ground the organs are all mixed in with muscle meat so they don't have to eat a whole chunk of something they might not like.
4) I'm not one who believes that supplementation isn't necessary with frankenprey. It many not be needed when feeding whole prey if it is truely whole with only the entrails removed. Making sure they get the supplements is easier if you can just mix it into ground.

 *How long will meat typically last in the freezer or the fridge?

I don't like to leave it for more than 2 days in the fridge.  It will keep in the freezer for months but longer storage times mean more nutrient loss.

*Where do you generally get your meat? (Online/butcher/grocery store/etc.?) Be as specific as you'd like, especially if you happen to live in the Twin Cities! ^-^

Mostly from the grocery store where I normally shop. Some organ meats come from a local store that caters to pet raw food feeders.

*Which meats do your cats prefer? Do they prefer certain organs from specific animals? (Like, beef liver vs. chicken liver)

They love pork above all else. As I said above they don't get to pick and choose their organs. 

*I read something somewhere about "toppers" for transitioning finicky pets. I'm not real worried about Ruby being picky, but just in case, what toppers do you recommend?
 

Chicken liver powder, Forti Flora, brewers yeast. 

 *This might be a silly question, but are meats from places like Hare Today okay for people to eat too? I don't want to be stuck with a freezer full of food that Ruby won't eat!

Generally no, they aren't processed at a USDA inspected facility and so aren't considered fit for human consumption.

You can find ground recipes here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272287/raw-recipe-thread

 

[eck1kaylie]

Thank you very much for your responses!

Is they anyone out there who feeds homemade raw, particularly frankenprey? Commercial seems to be the easiest for me to find info on, with homemade ground coming in at a close second.

 

[eck1kaylie]

Toppers are anything put on top of food to make it more appealing. Freeze dried raw, crushed up freeze dried meat or seafood treats, Parmesean cheese, FortiFlora, commerical pet food enchancers like Halo Dinner Party Sprinkles and Stewart Flavor Enhancer and Whole Life Easy Additions. Many people use crushed up freeze dried raw or freeze dried meat / seafood treats on top of frozen or homemade raw.

I just remembered the parmesan cheese out of the blue, and I was wondering if you meant the shredded refrigerated kind, or the powdery stuff in the plastic shakers?
I'd guess probably refrigerated, but I thought I'd ask ^-^