What do you feed your ferals?

[minka]

Minka, what about a food like this one http://www.amazon.com/Instinct-Grain-Free-Chicken-Natures-12-1-Pound/dp/B000GLON6U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357911013&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+food+instinct+chicken+meal

    I've heard it's a good brand but has chicken meal as the first ingredient and in the title!  

You have to remember that 99% of pet food is made from the *waste* of human production, so nothing is going to be perfect.
Chicken meal will only contain chicken, but it will be rendered, which means it can contain 4D chickens, but not any another kind of animal. It may also contain pieces of packaging from the food. This applies to *Any and All* foods that say chicken meal on them though.

Out of the brands, Nature's Variety is in the top ones, and I highly recommend it.

 

[jtbo]

I wonder if a rat would be a health risk for cats? Those are plenty around this time of year, seeking warm places, at least one of mine does hunt them out, but I'm not sure if I should let them eat what they will caught.

 

[minka]

I wonder if a rat would be a health risk for cats? Those are plenty around this time of year, seeking warm places, at least one of mine does hunt them out, but I'm not sure if I should let them eat what they will caught.

The only risk is internal parasites, I think; but remember, there are thousands upon thousands of ferals that may never be fed by a human in their lifetime, and they surely love eating rats for dinner. :-)

 

[jtbo]

The only risk is internal parasites, I think; but remember, there are thousands upon thousands of ferals that may never be fed by a human in their lifetime, and they surely love eating rats for dinner. :-)

When rat is making holes to my walls, they go too far and face consequences from going too far

There is always that injury risk too, so shooting could be better in that sense, but it would be handy if some other of mine cats would learn how to hunt those.

There has been big increase in number of rats as they took down one forest near me, I need to take some action to protect my house and to prevent their numbers increasing too large, at area filled with farms there are always food for them so impossible to really get rid of all of those.

 

[kittymom88]

Hi all, so I bought some Taste of the Wild Venison & Salmon and did a taste taste with my indoor cats against Purina One Beyond Chicken & Oat.   They strongly preferred the Purina.   Then I did a test on Hercules, put one corner of the bowl with TotW and he ate the Purina far more.    So kinda worried...I had thought TotW was supposed to be a very tasty food?   Should I just go with another brand?  

Carb addiction! Once you can get your kitties to kick the carb habit, they'll love the grain free food. We had cats literally SPIT grain free food at us for the first week that we did GF food, so we ended up having to suppliment with a few canned foods to avoid any famine issues, but they are ALL so much healthier now. 

 

[socksy]

So, I was thinking about this, then I read about people giving feeder mice to their cats (as part of a raw food diet) and then I remembered reading about a diy live mouse trap.  Then I wondered if you couldn't set up one of these which would give the ferals access to mice that they wouldn't have to expend energy to catch.  I assume they're eating wild mice already, so you already have to deal with any risk involved in having this as part of their diet.  It wouldn't replace feeding them altogether, but it would be a healthy, free way to supplement their food intake.  

The idea behind the trap is quite simple.  It's a big bin with some grains in there that the mice can get into but not out of.  Link to an example.   You use a container big enough for a cat to hop in and collect some mice.  You could use a plastic storage bin, or the bottom cut off a 50 gallon barrel.  

 

[sevenwonders]

Wet: (Twice daily) Friskies Poultry Platter or Grreat Choice Poultry Platter. Occasionally mixed with Innova Cat & Kitten,

or misc Premium cans when there are leftovers or when the Indoor Kitties grow tired of them.

Often mix in a little Brewer's Yeast or Spirulina and some probiotics.

Dry: (Once or twice a day as a small snack) Evolve (No corn, wheat or soy), Authority Turkey (only one I found with no corn), or 4Health.

 

[revenwyn]

I feel bad now because we are donated food and we feed whatever we can to indoor and out. 2 people living on $700 a month, here.

 

[socksy]

I feel bad now because we are donated food and we feed whatever we can to indoor and out. 2 people living on $700 a month, here.

I don't see what's to feel bad for.  Most ferals don't get anything.  Plus, they eat enough wild rodents that their diet is better than the majority of cats fed kibble.  

 

[whaler]

I feel bad now because we are donated food and we feed whatever we can to indoor and out. 2 people living on $700 a month, here.

I don't see what's to feel bad for.  Most ferals don't get anything.  Plus, they eat enough wild rodents that their diet is better than the majority of cats fed kibble.  

i agree with socksy 100%.

please do not "feel bad" as you are helping the cats in a big way. the world needs a whole lot more people like you.

 

[sevenwonders]

I feel bad now because we are donated food and we feed whatever we can to indoor and out. 2 people living on $700 a month, here.

Please do not feel bad - speaking for the vast majority of us,

we (and the Kitties) appreciate that you managed to arrange to get the food!

(I wish someone would donate food to my tribe!)  

 

[sevenwonders]

So, I was thinking about this, then I read about people giving feeder mice to their cats (as part of a raw food diet) and then I remembered reading about a diy live mouse trap.  Then I wondered if you couldn't set up one of these which would give the ferals access to mice that they wouldn't have to expend energy to catch.  I assume they're eating wild mice already, so you already have to deal with any risk involved in having this as part of their diet.  It wouldn't replace feeding them altogether, but it would be a healthy, free way to supplement their food intake.  

The idea behind the trap is quite simple.  It's a big bin with some grains in there that the mice can get into but not out of.  Link to an example.   You use a container big enough for a cat to hop in and collect some mice.  You could use a plastic storage bin, or the bottom cut off a 50 gallon barrel.  

That is a great idea! But, I fear the mice could chew through a plastic bin... thoughts?

None of my Ferals are anything resembling "slim" but I might give it a shot...

if it works, I can cut back on the supplemental food  

 

[bastfriend]

I feel bad now because we are donated food and we feed whatever we can to indoor and out. 2 people living on $700 a month, here.

Please don't feel bad you are still giving love and care to cats!   There are so many cats starving and dying living hard lives in this world - any cat with a regular caregiver is ahead of the game even if they are eating non-holistic food with grains.   Sometimes they say the perfect is the enemy of the good - don't let food perfectionism get you down.

 

[babywantsbling]

I have been feeding both indoor and outdoor cats Halo's Spots Stew Grain Free canned, BFF (Best Friends Feline) Grain Free Canned, and Tiki Cat canned.

For dry they get Fromm Four Star Surf & Turf. This cat food is hard to find except online. It's made in America and never had a recall.

The cats love this stuff. The kibble is small too. A little pricey at 40.00 for a 15lb bag but they don't eat as much because it is grain free too so no

empty carbs to make them hungry more often. Love the ingrediants in that food.  I get it all from Chewy.com for the free shipping with all orders over 50.00

Get cat litter there too. Love that free shipping.

 

[socksy]

That is a great idea! But, I fear the mice could chew through a plastic bin... thoughts?

None of my Ferals are anything resembling "slim" but I might give it a shot...

if it works, I can cut back on the supplemental food  

I've heard of people using thick plastic totes as permanent mouse homes for pet mice, so I think that probably would't be an issue.  You could use a metal tub if you're worried about it, though.