So I realize that I have promised many people links to the raw diet we are now successfully feeding our cats and haven’t delivered! So, I am just going to post the links that I referenced while researching this. I’m not an expert on it by any means, and don’t feel confident enough to answer questions, but these links should answer any questions, or put you in touch with people who can.
For those who don’t know, we fed our cats “high quality” dry food and canned food for years, and thought we were doing right by them. They have had numerous health problems over the years, and when Dakota was diagnosed diabetic last year, I did some major research. I found that many people with diabetic cats, had switched to an all-natural raw diet, and were having great success with it. So I immediately switched, and within a week, the change was noticeable. Dakota had more energy most certainly, as did the other 2. When I brought him back to the vet, for his first insulin shot, it was found that his levels had stabilized, and he didn’t need it. The only thing we had changed was the food. They have all lost weight (a good thing for them!) they are all spunkier than they have been in years. And they are all as soft as minks, with no dandruff, and they are just incredibly glossy. I was skeptical, but wanted to try something else before insulin, and now I’m a total convert, they seem to like it better too. And honestly, we’re spending way less per month than we were buying them the premium dry food.
So here are the links I referenced. There are many more out there too. Good luck!
It all started at this page
http://www.felinediabetes.com/
There are wonderful resources here, even if you don’t have a diabetic cat. Lots and lots of information and very nice people on the message boards.
Probably the most helpful page. Very informative and easy to understand.
Another good page
http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php
And the recipe we’re currently making for our kitties
http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.php
The food we started off feeding them before we started making our own. They give it 4 paws up!
Tuxedo
Jasper
Dakota
Paula, you forgot http://www.rawfedcats.org! Great site with real info on real food, how to switch cats safely, etc. Cats imprint on kibble, and the form of the food is so different from the real stuff that they often won’t recognize meat as “food”. It can take loads of patience and persistence to switch cats to raw… and some cats switch easily. You can’t starve cats into it like you can with dogs (not that you *should*, but you *can*) because they can get hepatic lipidosis – fatty liver disease – which is often fatal. Knowing how to switch cats the right way is critical, but it’s not difficult to learn. The cool thing about switching cats is that you can – and should – give them variety right away; whereas with dogs you want to introduce one protein source at a time.
Whole prey is the greatest thing! What could be easier than thawing out a quail or a mouse and handing it to your cat? No measuring, no calculating ratios, no worries about whether the meat:bone ratio is right or whether Kitty is getting enough organ meat. It’s all in there, in Nature’s perfect proportions! Your job is to get as much variety of whole prey as you can find. It’s a web hunting expedition! Flesh out your varietal offerings with prey-model foods, pieces and parts of larger animals such as pork, beef, turkey, fish, lamb, goat, and even exotic stuff such as ostrich, water buffalo, alligator and kangaroo!
You don’t need a “recipe”, you don’t need supplements or additives, you don’t need a grinder. If your cat has teeth, she needs to USE them. Cats and other carnivores just need raw whole prey and raw meaty bones; make sure they get some edible bone (small prey, chicken ribs, rabbit parts, etc.) and a side order of liver and other organs. Easy peasy. And cheap, if you’re resourceful about it! Not to mention you’ll be missing out on all those vet bills, futilely treating chronic diseases that are caused by the expensive fake food your vet sells you or recommends.
Thank you!
Nicole
http://www.prey4pets.com
Thank you for your opinion…but my cats DON’T have teeth..well they have very few. One came to us after some kind of accident and had many broken teeth that had to be pulled. The other 2 seem to have crappy genetics all around, and have had to have many teeth pulled over the years. There is NO way they could eat whole animals..none.
Your website looks very interesting, alas it is not one I encountered on my journey into raw food. Thank you for sharing it, but I’m thrilled with the results I’ve had with what I’m feeding now, and will be sticking with it and wholly endorsing it. I realize that there are many opinions out there concerning raw foods, and I’m sharing what I’ve found to be helpful.
And honestly? How practical is it to give a housecat a whole quail? Sure it might be good for them, but really? It’s not going to happen in 99 out of 100 cases. I’m pretty lenient with my cats, but am not going to be thrilled to find quail remains in the middle of my living room.