Would Kitten Food Be Better For Ferals?

[schwarzekatz]

Originally Posted by jcat

That's great news for those in the U.S., but I live in Germany, where such progress hasn't been made, "Black Cat". I'm still sceptical about raw feeding, as Jamie, in particular, and the two "half-cats", ZsaZsa and Miezi, most of the time refuse to eat anything that's not cooked, unless we're talking insects.

I am aware that not everybody on this board is in the U.S., that's why I said that you may be interested in that article (I didn't know where you were from), and some people in the U.S. may have read it and found it helpful since they may have only read the body of your post which does not say where pseudorabies is more of a risk factor. I wonder what the odds of a pet contracting pseudorabies from a piece of raw pork actually is and I wonder if cooking kills the virus?

It appears to me that a lot of people on this forum are skeptical (and scared) about feeding raw but they don't mind feeding all kinds of other processed garbage with chemicals and additives. Oh well, whatever works eh?

In what general area of Germany do you live? I spent 3 1/2 years there and my brother has lived there since 1981.

 

[jcat]

I live in southwestern Germany (Baden-Württemberg), and have been here since 1982, though I lived in Bavaria (Augsburg) for a year before moving here. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. As far as I understand, cooked pork/boiled ham present no danger whatsoever. IME, many cats love boiled ham. Jamie (in my siggy) has major allergy problems, as well as tooth (plaque) trouble, so raw feeding was something I looked into. He won't eat raw. Period. Actually, I'm rather relieved, because I fear salmonella and vitamin/mineral deficiencies with a raw diet.

 

[schwarzekatz]

Originally Posted by jcat

I live in southwestern Germany (Baden-Württemberg), and have been here since 1982, though I lived in Bavaria (Augsburg) for a year before moving here. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. As far as I understand, cooked pork/boiled ham present no danger whatsoever. IME, many cats love boiled ham. Jamie (in my siggy) has major allergy problems, as well as tooth (plaque) trouble, so raw feeding was something I looked into. He won't eat raw. Period. Actually, I'm rather relieved, because I fear salmonella and vitamin/mineral deficiencies with a raw diet.

I was stationed in Augsburg for almost two years and spent the rest of the time in Bad Aibling. I loved it over there.

Not all of my cats will eat raw w/bones. All of them will eat raw chunks of meat though. I don't feed them an entirely raw diet. I give them chicken wings once or twice a week and chunks of raw chicken for the three that aren't interested in bones. I really don't worry about salmonella, you're more likely to get that from ground meat than from whole pieces anyway. No pet food is entirely safe, your cat can get salmonella from canned food too and there are some toxins (such as mycotoxin or aflatoxin) that survive the cooking process to make kibble. Cats are obligate carnivores but we feed them all kinds of grains and vegetables (carbs) which lead many cats to obesity and diabetes and who knows what other diseases. Kibble is suspected in contributing to things like FLUTD. So anyway, I don't mean to drone on and I'm not trying to convince you to try to feed your cats raw meat; I'm just saying that there's a certain risk in any food you feed.

 

[trixtersmomma]

Originally Posted by SchwarzeKatz

I was stationed in Augsburg for almost two years and spent the rest of the time in Bad Aibling. I loved it over there.

Not all of my cats will eat raw w/bones. All of them will eat raw chunks of meat though. I don't feed them an entirely raw diet. I give them chicken wings once or twice a week and chunks of raw chicken for the three that aren't interested in bones. I really don't worry about salmonella, you're more likely to get that from ground meat than from whole pieces anyway. No pet food is entirely safe, your cat can get salmonella from canned food too and there are some toxins (such as mycotoxin or aflatoxin) that survive the cooking process to make kibble. Cats are obligate carnivores but we feed them all kinds of grains and vegetables (carbs) which lead many cats to obesity and diabetes and who knows what other diseases. Kibble is suspected in contributing to things like FLUTD. So anyway, I don't mean to drone on and I'm not trying to convince you to try to feed your cats raw meat; I'm just saying that there's a certain risk in any food you feed.

I couldnt agree more! I believe 100% that dry food was the culprit in my Trixters years of obesity, and eventual diagnosis of diabetes. Now that he is on an all wet food diet, he doesnt need insulin anymore and is doing REALLY well! Also, my Smeagol has lost ALL of his excess weight and looks and feels like he should now! Dry food is a TERRIBLE diet for cats, IMO. Even the expensive stuff.