Starting Raw- A few Questions

[frappe]

I have been poring over the raw forums looking to specific answers to my questions an I know you guys get TONS of the same questions so I am sorry if this has all been asked before. I just really want reassurance and direct answers since it involves my love bug's health.

That being said, we started the dog on raw over the past week an he is doing great. Java (the kitty) showed interest but never really would take a bite, so we did not push it. We figured that if we made it a big deal she would get all worked up. It worked! Lol. Today I was giving a go at cutting up a whole chicken (Yea...) and the heart went flying across the kitchen and she grabbed it and ran. She went to town on that sucker like she had been doing it all her life. She also devoured some white meat, no bone, when I gave it to her as well. So we have passed that hurdle but I am wondering where you guys feed your cats. Our apartment is all carpet and I tried laying a towel down, I tried her bowl, I tried a place mat and I tried blocking her off in the kitchen, all to no avail. If we had hardwood or tile, then no biggie. But carpet is really unsanitary.

Also, I know that a it is important to feed a varied diet but to keep things easy, let's use a chicken. What bones do you feed? Wings and drumettes? Legs seem mighty thick and I would assume backs would be too thick as well?

That being said, I understand the basis of what to feed (proper amount of meat, bones, organs) just having difficulty with the logistics of it all. The dog is so much easier with his big old mouth. Hehe.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. We are enjoying this learning process.

 

[ldg]

Where to feed...... :lol3:

First of all, welcome to raw for your kitty! So glad your dog loves it, I'm sure kitty will too.

For the cats that like to take their food and find a place to eat it, or spend some time "killing" it ( :lol3: ), crate training is the way most people go. :nod: For this kind of feeding, you'll find a lot of great tips on this site: http://www.CatCentric.org


The bottom line? Start with the chicken ribs. :nod: And yes, potentially those two smaller bones on the wing. An alternative is to buy quail, I mean at least for bone crunching training. My understanding is that even with dogs, you don't want to use "structural" bones. :dk: Maybe that's just on larger animals.... Sorry, know nothing about dogs and raw feeding. :lol3: I'm a member of the local Yahoo BARF group because sometimes coop buying offers come up, and 99.9% of the people on there are raw feeding dogs. But I don't really pay attention to the dog chat. aw:

I'll give AC a head's up, and I'll see if I can find stuff she's written on crate training.

 

[ldg]

Found it: My cat keeps running off with the food - HELP! :lol3: http://catcentric.org/2012/01/14/q-help/

 

[goingpostal]

I trained my cat to eat on a towel, just kept taking the food and putting it back on there until she got the hint, some feed in a bathroom or crate though,  Chicken my cat can eat any bone on, but will take awhile to work up jaw strength. She gets legs all the time. 
 

 

[auntie crazy]

I have been poring over the raw forums looking to specific answers to my questions an I know you guys get TONS of the same questions so I am sorry if this has all been asked before. I just really want reassurance and direct answers since it involves my love bug's health.

That being said, we started the dog on raw over the past week an he is doing great. Java (the kitty) showed interest but never really would take a bite, so we did not push it. We figured that if we made it a big deal she would get all worked up. It worked! Lol. Today I was giving a go at cutting up a whole chicken (Yea...) and the heart went flying across the kitchen and she grabbed it and ran. She went to town on that sucker like she had been doing it all her life. She also devoured some white meat, no bone, when I gave it to her as well. So we have passed that hurdle but I am wondering where you guys feed your cats. Our apartment is all carpet and I tried laying a towel down, I tried her bowl, I tried a place mat and I tried blocking her off in the kitchen, all to no avail. If we had hardwood or tile, then no biggie. But carpet is really unsanitary.

Also, I know that a it is important to feed a varied diet but to keep things easy, let's use a chicken. What bones do you feed? Wings and drumettes? Legs seem mighty thick and I would assume backs would be too thick as well?

That being said, I understand the basis of what to feed (proper amount of meat, bones, organs) just having difficulty with the logistics of it all. The dog is so much easier with his big old mouth. Hehe.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. We are enjoying this learning process.

Hi, Frappe! How awesome that you're switching your kitty over to raw. And how very lucky you are that she's so willing to eat it!!!!

Ok, bones. My recommendation is to offer those not much thicker than chicken ribs and the first two joints of chicken wings. I know there are folks who feed their cats thicker bones, but I'm rather leery of doing so. Weight-bearing bones from chickens, such as thigh bones, are denser, making them both harder to break - chancing dental damage - and more difficult to digest - chancing a lower calcium absorption rate as well as constipation as more bone is expelled.

Everything I feed and recommend is rooted in a cat's natural diet, and the bones they normally eat are pretty small. While I strongly recommend feeding whole bone, I think we should stick as close to the natural size as possible. Just my opinion.

That doesn't mean you can't feed anything but chicken bones. I buy rabbit pieces that include bone and all of the bones that are small enough to easily cut with kitchen shears are fed to the cats. They eat three bone-in meals a week, one of chicken wings (the tips and the wingettes only; I strip the meat off the drummettes, throw the bones away and feed the meat as a separate meal), one of chicken ribs (~ half the edible bone and cartilage of a large 'chicken breast with ribs' per cat, with most - but not all - the meat stripped off), and the third of rabbit bones (always with a meat coating).

As for keeping the cats in one place, I've crate-trained four of my cats and table-trained the other two. Crate-training was ridiculously easy. Just throw some treats in the crate a few times and then start feeding the cat in there. If she hesitates, feed her in front of the crate, keep throwing treats in there for a couple of days, then feed her a few steps inside the crate for a couple of days (still throwing treats in there every now and again) and then move the plate (not bowl, as bowls bother feline whiskers) to the back of the crate and shut the door. Table training was even easier - just put the cat's plate on the table and let her eat.

Cats run because they want to eat in a secure environment. The crate helps them feel more secure, as does the table (I use a 4 foot long, 2 foot wide buffet-style table). Which is, possibly, why it was so easy to crate-train them.

Hope this helps!

AC

 

[feralvr]

Hi, Frappe! How awesome that you're switching your kitty over to raw. And how very lucky you are that she's so willing to eat it!!!! :heart2:

:lol3: THAT is practically the whole battle won!!! SO glad, Frappe, that you are going to start offering some raw. My dogs also eat raw and as a matter of fact, I started them first last Fall! I then noticed that four of my six were VERY interested in the raw meat the dogs were getting. And then the transition began in January. A VERY VERY long transition for four of my six. Two of them took to it from day one like the true little carnies they were born to be. So here is hoping that your little Java will be easy and simple to transition!

 

[frappe]

Thanks so much for the help guys! I have been reading, just not posting back (my phone does not let me) but things have finally settled down. Just an update: Raw is going great. The dog has been getting it three days a week, both meals. That is what we are going to do for the cat as well. The other times, they both get canned and then kibble for breakfast on Fridays only (only because it makes Java SO SO happy... And don't we all deserve something special once a week? I know I treat myself

). Anyways, canned the other days just allows me to stock up every couple of months and saves us a little bit of room for ourselves in the freezer. We live in a small apartment. Oh and yes, I am trying to make myself feel better about not making it full time raw... In case you can't tell

.

We bought a crate yesterday to start crate training Java AND because it is much more sanitary for the dog when he eats his raw as well. I think it was a hit. I fed Bruiser his raw in it last night and when I gave Java a piece to munch on, she ran into the crate with him. It all makes since now since whenever she would take her piece from the other night out of the kitchen, she always took it next to his bed to eat it. Thank goodness for that dog. Lol.

So, all is well. I SO appreciate the crate idea. So far it has worked wonders. NOW, we just need to move in to a house so we can have wood floors and a deep freezer! Oh and BTW Java's bit from last night included one rib bone with chicken on it and she crunched through it like a champ. I fell in love with her all over again

.

 

[auntie crazy]

...
So, all is well. I SO appreciate the crate idea. So far it has worked wonders. NOW, we just need to move in to a house so we can have wood floors and a deep freezer! Oh and BTW Java's bit from last night included one rib bone with chicken on it and she crunched through it like a champ. I fell in love with her all over again

.

Yay! Sounds like everything's going great! And I totally know what you mean about the impact of hearing your kitty crunching through bone-in meals; something about it just resonates with us on an unconscious level, makes us more aware and appreciative of the true nature of our cats.

AC