Cats and Raw

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby SpiritFngrz » May 24th, 2006, 10:17 am

Does anyone think these ideas may be good to help cats lose weight??
I like the salmon idea
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Postby mnp13 » May 24th, 2006, 10:58 am

SpiritFngrz wrote:Does anyone think these ideas may be good to help cats lose weight??
I like the salmon idea


Cats are one of the only TRUE carnivores on the planet. they are made to eat meat and nothing but meat. I want to switch mine to raw, but I am out of town on weekends a lot and would have to get someone to come in to feed them which is not really practicle.

I would hazard a guess that the difference between kibble and raw for cats would be night and day. hopefully I'll be able to figure out something to test this theory.

I'd have to switch from raw to kibble every time I'm gone for the weekend will that make them sick? gas and smelly poop would be ok, because I wouldn't be there anyway!!!
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Postby concreterose » May 24th, 2006, 11:01 am

mnp13 wrote:
SpiritFngrz wrote:Does anyone think these ideas may be good to help cats lose weight??
I like the salmon idea


Cats are one of the only TRUE carnivores on the planet. they are made to eat meat and nothing but meat. I want to switch mine to raw, but I am out of town on weekends a lot and would have to get someone to come in to feed them which is not really practicle.

I would hazard a guess that the difference between kibble and raw for cats would be night and day. hopefully I'll be able to figure out something to test this theory.

I'd have to switch from raw to kibble every time I'm gone for the weekend will that make them sick? gas and smelly poop would be ok, because I wouldn't be there anyway!!!


I switched from kibble to raw with one of my cats, you are right...the difference IS like night and day. He is a totally different cat in looks and attitude. All he'll eat is chicken and pork, though. I feed my other cat canned (he won't touch raw) and I feed my raw feed cat canned when I know someone else will have to come feed him. Canned also imakes a HUGE difference than kibble!
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Postby katiek0417 » May 24th, 2006, 11:21 am

mnp13 wrote:
SpiritFngrz wrote:Does anyone think these ideas may be good to help cats lose weight??
I like the salmon idea


Cats are one of the only TRUE carnivores on the planet. they are made to eat meat and nothing but meat. I want to switch mine to raw, but I am out of town on weekends a lot and would have to get someone to come in to feed them which is not really practicle.

I would hazard a guess that the difference between kibble and raw for cats would be night and day. hopefully I'll be able to figure out something to test this theory.

I'd have to switch from raw to kibble every time I'm gone for the weekend will that make them sick? gas and smelly poop would be ok, because I wouldn't be there anyway!!!


I started doing raw with my cats....I do the same with them as I do with Sacha and Nisha....I give raw for one meal...kibble for the other....that way if I have to be away, I can just leave the kibble and they'll still eat it
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Postby SpiritFngrz » May 24th, 2006, 11:46 am

Yah that's what I was thinking, like what you do. Raw for one meal and kibble for the other, that way if someone else has to feed her she'll still eat the kibble.
Is it ground up? I guess I should offer it gradually....what kind though? Maybe the fish. My girl needs to lose about 2 lbs.

Also, concreterose, what do you mean by the difference between canned and kibble for cats? Are you saying canned is better? If so, which kind?

Sorry all if I threw this thread to the cats.... :cat:
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Postby katiek0417 » May 24th, 2006, 11:55 am

Depending on how lazy I am (and I can get very lazy) sometimes I buy the prepackaged raw for cats....Because you're not feeding as much it lasts longer (so it works out to be fairly close in price to making it yourself, but it takes less time)....

Usually I do ground turkey and salmon. That is easiest to find...I hammer them to grind the bones a little (I have kittens, and they're still kinda small)...If I can find mackerel on sale, I'll also do that...as well as tilapia (and that's usually fairly cheap)....

I live in DC, so once a week, I go down to SE DC to get myself a whole fish from the fish market....I "clean" it myself, and give the cats some of that, along with the head....I crush the head for them...
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Postby concreterose » May 24th, 2006, 11:58 am

SpiritFngrz wrote:Yah that's what I was thinking, like what you do. Raw for one meal and kibble for the other, that way if someone else has to feed her she'll still eat the kibble.
Is it ground up? I guess I should offer it gradually....what kind though? Maybe the fish. My girl needs to lose about 2 lbs.

Also, concreterose, what do you mean by the difference between canned and kibble for cats? Are you saying canned is better? If so, which kind?

Sorry all if I threw this thread to the cats.... :cat:


Cats (especially males) that eat kibble are more suspectable to urinary tract infections, especially if they don't drink a lot of water. Canned food has a higher moisture content, and more meat than kibble. Some people say that eating all canned rots their teeth, but both my cats teeth look that same as they did when they ate kibble :|
Here's a link (just one of many on this topic) http://www.newmanveterinary.com/flutd.html

Maybe the mods or admin could split the cat posts so we can have a seperate thread?
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Postby katiek0417 » May 24th, 2006, 12:35 pm

concreterose wrote:Cats (especially males) that eat kibble are more suspectable to urinary tract infections, especially if they don't drink a lot of water.


there are acctually cranberry treats you can get for cats....great for their urinary tracts
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Postby SpiritFngrz » May 24th, 2006, 1:52 pm

Thanks admins/mods who made this a new thread.

Yes I really do want to do some research on changing my Siamese cat's diet. She is definitely not overeating on kibble, but it is just not doing anything for her weight. She needs more meat/less carbs.
I've been given weight loss foods by vets (Science Diet R/D or M/D-whatever that crap was) and she's hated them-she still is so hungry

She is about 12 lbs. She should lose 2 lbs. ideally

This thread has been helpful
Thanks all!
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Postby SpiritFngrz » May 24th, 2006, 2:23 pm

Here's a good link I just found that gives a lot of helpful info on what to feed and not to feed

http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/atkins-cats.html

Hey Cheeky maybe I am becoming not a naysayer! I do at least want to try this for the cat because I think she needs a better diet without all the carbs. Cats definitely don't need carbs. I don't want her to be overweight (leads to arthritis!!) and I want her to live long
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Postby cheekymunkee » May 24th, 2006, 2:49 pm

SpiritFngrz wrote:Here's a good link I just found that gives a lot of helpful info on what to feed and not to feed

http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/atkins-cats.html

Hey Cheeky maybe I am becoming not a naysayer! I do at least want to try this for the cat because I think she needs a better diet without all the carbs. Cats definitely don't need carbs. I don't want her to be overweight (leads to arthritis!!) and I want her to live long


:)

My cats don't eat a raw diet exclusivly, but they will snag a chicken leg or two every once in a while. Not all of them eat it though. They DO eat prey model though. I cannot count the amount of 1/2 eaten baby snakes, birds, frogs, lizards & other things they bring in to snack on. They have access to my back yard ONLY & love catching their dinner.
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Postby SpiritFngrz » May 24th, 2006, 2:52 pm

cheekymunkee wrote:
SpiritFngrz wrote:Here's a good link I just found that gives a lot of helpful info on what to feed and not to feed

http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/atkins-cats.html

Hey Cheeky maybe I am becoming not a naysayer! I do at least want to try this for the cat because I think she needs a better diet without all the carbs. Cats definitely don't need carbs. I don't want her to be overweight (leads to arthritis!!) and I want her to live long


:)

My cats don't eat a raw diet exclusivly, but they will snag a chicken leg or two every once in a while. Not all of them eat it though. They DO eat prey model though. I cannot count the amount of 1/2 eaten baby snakes, birds, frogs, lizards & other things they bring in to snack on. They have access to my back yard ONLY & love catching their dinner.


OMG that's gross! But yes if Cleo went outdoors I think she would bring back mice and birds. Gross I would never want to see a baby snake though :o
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Postby Magnolia618 » May 24th, 2006, 3:09 pm

My cats are awesome hunters. Noah caught a squirrel the other day and Hannah caught a chipmunk. They were CHOWING DOWN on them. Viva is the ultimate hunter.

Raw has been AMAZING for my cats. Noah was such a fatass and he looks great now. Ok, maybe he still looks a little tubby, but its just loose skin, and he is a big cat.

I wrote this up a couple months ago. Now that it is warmer out, they really dont eat as much. Its very normal for them to skip meals. In the winter, they would have eaten a whole cow if I let them. They went absolutely INSANE when it got cold. I had to triple their food. :shock:

My cats have learned that they like almost everything. Noah was sitting on my lap eating pasta last night and he looooooves black beans. :|

What I have been doing lately is chopping up a piece of chicken with a hatchet, putting some kelp, eggs, organ meat, beef, etc... in with it and freeze it in baggies. They are perfectly capable of eating the chicken whole, but since its gotten warmer, they have gotten lazy about chewing and I find bones left behind.

My cats werent put on the raw diet untill long after my dogs were on it. I tried, but they just didnt like chicken. My youngest cat would nibble on it, and my male would pick, but my female wouldnt even sniff it. It wasnt food to her.

So, a couple months went by and I am chopping up a whole turkey for the dogs. Who jumps up on the counter and starts to pester me? Viva. My oldest female cat. She LOVED the turkey. Same with the other two. They couldnt get enough of it.

So, they basically made their own decision to switch to raw. For the first week or two, I just fed them turkey. I cut some of the rib bones and other small bones into pieces and also cut up the meat. I would just put it all in one bowl, and they knew how to share it.

After a week or two, I decided to trick them and give them chicken instead. Twisted They gobbled it right up!

They can handle the chicken bones pretty well, but sometimes leave pieces of the bigger bones behind. Just to make it easier on them, I usually take a hammer and smash it up a bit. I have had no problems with the bone. They know how to chew it, and if it is too big, they chew as much as they can and leave the rest.

I still put all of their food in the same bowl. I have done it for months and they know how to share. LOL

As for stuff besides meat, I mix kelp, sometimes eggs and organ meat into their food. The most important thing that cats need, is heart. The only heart that I am able to find is pork heart. I can get tons of it for pretty cheap. Some people don't feed pork, but I havent had a problem with it. You may want to keep it frozen for a long time if you are worried about it. Cats NEED heart. It has taurine in it which is essential for their diet.

Meats that I feed are: Mostly chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and certain kinds of fish.


If you start on the raw diet and the cats arent into it, dont give up. If they dont like chicken, try turkey. If they dont like turkey, try beef. Your cats will not starve themselves. Dont try to baby them or force them into eating anything. My cats HATED chicken, but suddenly realized that turkey was good. After they got used to eating the raw turkey, I switched and gave them chicken. They loved it.
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Postby mnp13 » May 24th, 2006, 3:37 pm

Chea, you can usually get chicken and cow hearts at the butcher. If not, call a local farm or two or a slaughter house.
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Postby cheekymunkee » May 24th, 2006, 4:08 pm

If you buy a package of chicken "giblets" in the meat market, they usually have heart mixed in with the whateverthosethingsare.
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Postby Magnolia618 » May 24th, 2006, 4:13 pm

cheekymunkee wrote:If you buy a package of chicken "giblets" in the meat market, they usually have heart mixed in with the whateverthosethingsare.


yeah, but its like 80% gizzards, or something like that. There is a meat place near where I work. I dont think its an actual butcher, but they should have some stuff. I while ago I went in there asking if they had scraps for my dogs, but they gave me a weird look and said no. :|
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Postby ellie@ny » May 24th, 2006, 5:21 pm

My cat is on raw&kibble...When she's outside,always catches something,that's her raw time,when she decide to come in,she's on kibble...The best diet ever :D

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Postby Magnolia618 » May 24th, 2006, 6:13 pm

Speak of the devil...

Noah just ate an entire mouse. :D
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Postby cheekymunkee » May 24th, 2006, 6:38 pm

SpiritFngrz wrote:
cheekymunkee wrote:
SpiritFngrz wrote:Here's a good link I just found that gives a lot of helpful info on what to feed and not to feed

http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/atkins-cats.html

Hey Cheeky maybe I am becoming not a naysayer! I do at least want to try this for the cat because I think she needs a better diet without all the carbs. Cats definitely don't need carbs. I don't want her to be overweight (leads to arthritis!!) and I want her to live long


:)

My cats don't eat a raw diet exclusivly, but they will snag a chicken leg or two every once in a while. Not all of them eat it though. They DO eat prey model though. I cannot count the amount of 1/2 eaten baby snakes, birds, frogs, lizards & other things they bring in to snack on. They have access to my back yard ONLY & love catching their dinner.


OMG that's gross! But yes if Cleo went outdoors I think she would bring back mice and birds. Gross I would never want to see a baby snake though :o


yes it's gross. Try stumbling around the hosue barefoot, half asleep & step on a dead lizard. THAT'LL wake you up!
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Postby SpiritFngrz » May 25th, 2006, 10:36 am

OMG!

Anywho....I gave Cleo a little raw turkey last night. She licked it a bit, then turned her nose up at it. I put some salmon oil and bone meal in it. It smells really good actually.

She probably would be a huntress, but she is declawed and doesn't go outside.

Like you guys said she won't starve herself. Do you think she'll eventually just eat it? Should I try the beef?

I should just be persistent, huh?

I am trying this for her because she is overweight
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