Raw feeding when not home.

[2crazykittens]

Hi all,

I have a question as it regards raw foods and when the owner is not able to feed while away or out of town. I have 2 one year old males who eat a combination of raw and wet foods. They get both Stella and chewys freeze dried raw and Primal freeze dried raw always hydrated. They will eat the freeze dried raw foods without hydration if I am handing out a little treat, but when I am feeding as a meal I have always provided it to them with water added. Okay now that I have addressed that, my question is to follow.

I have gone for short out of town trips and have boarded both cats at the vets while I am away. During their stay at the vets, they were always given canned foods. But as of late, I have been strongly considering going with a pet sitter as my vets are very pushy when it comes to vaccines and I am really not comfortable with doing them every year as I feel it is not necessary for my boys. They are exclusively indoor cats, and they live in a 12 story apartment building. There is no chance they will be getting out to meet a new cat. So vaccines just seem like too much. I did do their rabies, but I even question that because there are always risks with that shot too.

So in short, I am looking into hiring a cat sitter. She is the type that only comes once a day though. My boys are used to being fed 3 times a day so a once a day visit seems kinda difficult when trying to plan meals. I know I can have the pet sitter leave out more food, but when it comes to raw feeding, can I or should I just leave out the freeze dried raw without hydration and just have a big water bowl available?

What should I do when planning to go away and not be able to have someone feed my boys 3 times a day?

 

[bigperm20]

I would have her put out one and a half times the normal amount of hydrated raw. While the cats are eating have her do whatever else needs done (i.e. the litterbox, rinsing and filling the water bowl, etc). Then ask her to put out a one and a half sized portion of the canned food for that evenings meal.

The canned will keep if sitting a little longer than the raw will.

 

[LTS3]

Get a programmable timed feeder (or two) and show your pet sitter how to use it. The pet sitter can fill each compartment with freeze dried food and/or canned in the morning / evening. I wouldn't put rehdyrated freeze dried food in the feeder, though. Put the freeze dried raw dry into a compartment. A couple of meals of dry stuff won't hurt your cat at all. Or maybe the pet sitter can feed the rehydrated freeze dried while she's at the house doing other things (litter box, etc) and then fill the feeder with canned food for the later meals.

I recommend the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder. It's cat-proof, easy to program to any time of the day, and quiet.

 

[sophie1]

Both those foods are high pressure pasteurized, so it shouldn't be a problem to simply have the sitter put out the entire day's portion in one go.  Unless your apartment is very warm, it won't spoil - and if that's the case you could have the sitter put ice packs under the bowls, or run a window fan to keep the room temperature down.   Will your cats pace themselves or bolt down everything all at once?  If the latter is the case, you will need a couple of those automatic feeders.

If you're only gone for a few days and neither cat is prone to urinary tract conditions, I don't see the problem with putting out un-hydrated food.  The cats will think it's a treat and it's going to be easier on the sitter.

I hear you on the vaccine situation.  Fortunately, your cats are likely to be happier with petsitting than boarding, and it should be cheaper for you anyway even after buying the automated feeders. 

 

[harrylime]

I'd 100% get a sitter who can come 3 times a day. My baby is too important to me, and I hate knowing she'd be without human interaction for blocks of 24 hours.

 

[2crazykittens]

Thanks everyone!

I have decided to try the pet feeder of some kind, also ZIWI Peak has a brand that is air dried raw and fed like a kibble I think I will add into the rotation. I am still looking for a pet sitter that will come at least a minimum 2x a day at the very least.

I just got them their rabies shot the other day, the website manufacturer says its a 3 year shot but my vet said its good for 2 years. I am frustrated with them to say the least.

 

[bigperm20]

Thanks everyone!



I have decided to try the pet feeder of some kind, also ZIWI Peak has a brand that is air dried raw and fed like a kibble I think I will add into the rotation. I am still looking for a pet sitter that will come at least a minimum 2x a day at the very least.



I just got them their rabies shot the other day, the website manufacturer says its a 3 year shot but my vet said its good for 2 years. I am frustrated with them to say the least.

My cats have always been inside, and aside from the initial vaccines, I have never gotten follow ups. I decline them when they are offered as well. My cats don't go outside and even given the option (door held open), they won't go outside.


If they were "escape artists", I might consider updated vaccines but that's not the case.

 

[LTS3]

 
I just got them their rabies shot the other day, the website manufacturer says its a 3 year shot but my vet said its good for 2 years. I am frustrated with them to say the least.

Merial PureVax rabies vaccine is the only one I will let my cats get. It's a non-adjuvant yearly vaccine given in the hind leg. It's thought that vaccines with adjuvants can cause sarcomas in some cats. Here's some info: https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/Pages/rbbroch.aspx

 

[2crazykittens]

Today I confronted the vet about the 2 year vaccine, they back paddled and said that they just give a reminder that the vaccine needs to be updated when the second year rolls around because owners might be late getting the shots otherwise. What a crock! A year early reminder, give me a break! I told them they wont see me for the 3 years.

So I did find out that they received the one that has the adjuvents in them. Now I am paranoid, I am just hoping that nothing bad will happen. I don't want one of my boys to be a statistic. Prayers for my boys!

On a lighter note, a new pet sitter gave me a call. she has no problems if I don't want to vaccine my indoor cats.

That's a relief. She also provides sleep overs if I want and seems very flexible. I am so excited to meet with her on Thursday. Nice to know she will come or stay as often as I want. 

 

[bigperm20]

Today I confronted the vet about the 2 year vaccine, they back paddled and said that they just give a reminder that the vaccine needs to be updated when the second year rolls around because owners might be late getting the shots otherwise. What a crock! A year early reminder, give me a break! I told them they wont see me for the 3 years.

So I did find out that they received the one that has the adjuvents in them. Now I am paranoid, I am just hoping that nothing bad will happen. I don't want one of my boys to be a statistic. Prayers for my boys!



On a lighter note, a new pet sitter gave me a call. she has no problems if I don't want to vaccine my indoor cats.

That's a relief. She also provides sleep overs if I want and seems very flexible. I am so excited to meet with her on Thursday. Nice to know she will come or stay as often as I want. 

Just be sure to check her references. Like I said before, after initial vaccines I refuse boosters. For indoor only cats it's pointless.

 

[2crazykittens]

Oh for sure, references and police clearance will be required. She already said she would provide that upon request. I hope the meet and greet goes well. Fingers crossed!

 

[sophie1]

The new Purevax is supposed to be 3 years - that was good news indeed!  It came out in July, just one month after both my cats got their 1 year shots.  Figures.  I am going to keep their vaccines up to date only because both of them are "escape artists".  They LOVE the backyard at my mother's house where I take them for leash walks, and it's almost comical to watch them appear from nowhere as soon as anyone goes near the door.   Makes it easy to find them to put them back into carriers for the trip back to the city :-) 

For what it's worth, I tried my cats on Ziwipeak and neither of them would touch it.  You might try a sample first.  But, S&C cubes should work fine.  I feed it to my two occasionally as it's my emergency backup food, and it's always a challenge keeping them from eating all the dry cubes before they have a chance to rehydrate.