Those of you who know Tim's story are familiar with his issues - extremely sensitive stomach, intolerance to certain ingredients in food. Tim has done marvelously well on his current diet of approximately 75% commercial raw and 25% canned. Even Abby is eating more raw.
I want to keep Tim on rabbit as one of his primary proteins, as he has done so well on that. But he does not care for any of the frozen commercial varieties and I have to mix it with a bit of canned rabbit to get him to eat. But he loves smallbatch rabbit, which is meat, bones, and organs, and nothing else. I've been adding supplements gradually to get it completely balanced, and he is still eating it with major enthusiasm. Our next batch will be fully-supplemented, and I hope to transition him off (or reduce) the amount of commercial raw rabbit he eats. We are using the recipe from catinfo.org, of which our vet approves. Additionally, I am looking into other rabbit sources to get the cost of cat food down.
In other news, Abby and Tim had their annual exams last week and their vet said they are perfect. After reviewing their lab results, she said they are "healthy on the inside, beautiful on the outside." So changing Tim's diet has definitely resolved most of his problems, though I think we will have to carefully manage his diet forever. That's okay; it's better than having a drugged cat with frequent vet visits. We spoke with her about Tim's tail-chasing episodes, and she agreed that we might try adding a bit more vitamin B complex to his raw mix, and to give him lots of stimulation and play time. She said he is a very intelligent cat, and the intelligent ones sometimes act out like that when bored. This is such a huge change for us, as previously Tim lived under the bed. It's fantastic having such an energetic and playful boy; we are enjoying this side of him.
I am excited to take the step to making Tim's food. The control over ingredients will be nice, as that really impacts how he feels. And maybe I can get him to eat 100% raw if he loves his raw rabbit. Finally, I am hoping to reduce our costs a bit. I am not seeing this as a big time sink, as I spend time portioning Rad Cat and smallbatch now. The only change would be mixing in the slurry of supplements.
This is a big change for me, as two years ago we were kibble-feeders with a daily "snack" of canned food. After Tim had two serious constipation episodes, we transitioned to canned, which caused more problems. I was resistant to raw at first, but many of you on this forum educated me. Additionally, our new vet felt Tim would be a perfect candidate for raw, based on his issues, but we had to wean him off cisapride first. So it's been a journey and I've learned a lot along the way - thank you all.
I want to keep Tim on rabbit as one of his primary proteins, as he has done so well on that. But he does not care for any of the frozen commercial varieties and I have to mix it with a bit of canned rabbit to get him to eat. But he loves smallbatch rabbit, which is meat, bones, and organs, and nothing else. I've been adding supplements gradually to get it completely balanced, and he is still eating it with major enthusiasm. Our next batch will be fully-supplemented, and I hope to transition him off (or reduce) the amount of commercial raw rabbit he eats. We are using the recipe from catinfo.org, of which our vet approves. Additionally, I am looking into other rabbit sources to get the cost of cat food down.
In other news, Abby and Tim had their annual exams last week and their vet said they are perfect. After reviewing their lab results, she said they are "healthy on the inside, beautiful on the outside." So changing Tim's diet has definitely resolved most of his problems, though I think we will have to carefully manage his diet forever. That's okay; it's better than having a drugged cat with frequent vet visits. We spoke with her about Tim's tail-chasing episodes, and she agreed that we might try adding a bit more vitamin B complex to his raw mix, and to give him lots of stimulation and play time. She said he is a very intelligent cat, and the intelligent ones sometimes act out like that when bored. This is such a huge change for us, as previously Tim lived under the bed. It's fantastic having such an energetic and playful boy; we are enjoying this side of him.
I am excited to take the step to making Tim's food. The control over ingredients will be nice, as that really impacts how he feels. And maybe I can get him to eat 100% raw if he loves his raw rabbit. Finally, I am hoping to reduce our costs a bit. I am not seeing this as a big time sink, as I spend time portioning Rad Cat and smallbatch now. The only change would be mixing in the slurry of supplements.
This is a big change for me, as two years ago we were kibble-feeders with a daily "snack" of canned food. After Tim had two serious constipation episodes, we transitioned to canned, which caused more problems. I was resistant to raw at first, but many of you on this forum educated me. Additionally, our new vet felt Tim would be a perfect candidate for raw, based on his issues, but we had to wean him off cisapride first. So it's been a journey and I've learned a lot along the way - thank you all.
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