Im interested in raw feeding for my Cats....

[and-justice-for-all]

Is there a good reliable source as to what I am supposed to do? Do you just buy the meat at the store and feed it to them and what about the stuff that is in that, like the dye that is injected in and the antibiotics and possible hormones used in that raising of that meat??

[AirmensMom]

1. No, don't just buy meat from the store.

You need a reliable source that doesn't use antibiotics and hormones. I get mine from www.hare-today.com. A good website is www.catinfo.org. They direct you to another one that I can't remember off the top of my head.

We've been feeding raw for several years and the kitties are thriving, even the IBD ones.

Edit: Forgot to say also that it's not just meat. They need the correct meat to bone ration as well, which you get from whole animals.

[elleng]

2. Sorry to giggle,

but that struck me as funny, and THEN as perfectly rational: think of what they eat/ate in nature!

[and-justice-for-all]

3. I realize what they do/did eat in nature...

but how do you give that to them since they are not living wild?

[elleng]

4. Well, giving them raw 'meat,' and bone of some sort,

seems to be an approximation.

[and-justice-for-all]

6. Just get it from the store and give them the same thing we eat?

stop being an ass.

[elleng]

8. Excuse me?

.

[InvisibleTouch]

5. You can grind raw chicken complete with bone...

...if you get a good-quality meat grinder. That way you have the meat plus the necessary calcium from the bones, which is very close to the whole-prey model that a cat would get in nature. Never ever give cooked poultry bones, which can splinter dangerously.

[and-justice-for-all]

7. So using the meat from the store is ok? or is there a better way..

something with out all the antibiotics and hormones.

[AirmensMom]

10. It's better to get it from someone who raises it for that purpose.

It's fresher that way and you won't get the antibiotics and hormones.

In an emergency, you can go to the store and buy a whole chicken and grind it up. My kitties actually prefer game hens (la-di-da, I tell them). If you can get organic, that's preferable.

[elleng]

12. Why do you think they prefer game hens?

.

[AirmensMom]

16. They just like the flavor better ...

I suppose. :shrug:

[and-justice-for-all]

18. That is what I wanted confirmation on...

Getting the meat from the store or if there was an alternative to that and a source to get it from.

There are some raw feed meats at the local pet store that I have been looking at, but was unsure of it. It is kept in a freezer at the pet store but I can not recall the name of it. It is prepackaged, does that make it necessarily bad?

I was also concerned about salmonella and other bacteria.

[AirmensMom]

19. It's not a problem that it's prepackaged.

But it often contains vegetables, which my IBD kitties can't tolerate.

Cats can handle bacteria better than people. We've had our kitties on raw since 2005 and have only had good results.

[and-justice-for-all]

20. Ill start with small pieces of chicken or turkey then..

make sure no one becomes deathly ill from eating it. It makes me nerves none the less..

[AirmensMom]

21. They won't.

But don't give them the stuff that is basted in all sorts of salty water. THAT will make them sick. Mine puke up grocery store chicken and turkey every time, but the hare-today turkey and rabbit goes down fine and stays put.

Here's something to think about: Salmonella has been found in dry pet food. Anyone scared to feed that? :shrug:

[and-justice-for-all]

22. Ok, will do...

I worry about what I am feeding them as I also worry about what I am eating too..

[hippywife]

25. We don't raw feed our dog as a rule but

we do occasionally give her raw as a treat. The producers in our coop have certified organic or certified natural "soup bones" that we get her. I have soup bones in quotations because they have a whole lotta meat on them. And they are very reasonably priced.

You can check this website for a coop or farm near you who might have something similar:
www.localharvest.org

And please don't call elleng and ass anymore. She's very nice and would never snark at a soul. Thanx! :hi:

[ginnyinWI]

13. Cats in the wild

when they make a kill (talking tigers and lions here), will eat the organ meats first. If you are going to get something from the grocery store, get liver. You can feed it raw or slightly cooked. One of my cats will puke it up if she eats it totally raw. Talk about carpet stains.

No expert here--just someone who watches nature shows on TV and reads books on cats.

I personally have gone back to feeding canned food, because it's such a bother to buy and chop raw chicken liver. But it's an occasional treat. I fed a lot of it to my elderly and dying cat and I think it gave him a few extra months.

[InvisibleTouch]

15. I get meat from the store for my dogs, it's fine.

Beef, chicken, and turkey (not pork - too many parasites in pork, though some raw feeders claim it's fine as well, as long as it's been frozen for a while first). Of course I'd prefer to get organically raised meat, but it becomes a cost issue too. I figure the meat source that goes into most commercial kibble is a worse quality than even non-organic fresh meat at the store, so you're still doing better.

For cats (and I don't have cats at the moment, but this is what I would do if I did), I would also consider giving whole mice, which can be ordered frozen from reptile food suppliers, and thawed out as needed. If the cat recognizes it as food, and I know some are picky, that's about as close to the natural prey model as you can get. :)

[elleng]

9. Sounds right to me!

(And you're not accused of being an a**!)

[AirmensMom]

11. I admit that when I first heard about raw feeding,

I thought I'd have to buy little mice and let them run around the house. :rofl:

[Kookaburra]

14. Yikes

My cats would tear the place apart trying to catch them.

[AirmensMom]

17. Mine actually catch little mice and moles in the yard.

They don't always eat them, though. Sometimes they bring them home for me and then I tell them what good kitties they are.

[Critters2]

24. I feed Wysong TNT raw food diets.

That way, I don't have to worry about getting the nutrients right. It's healthier than dry food, but just as easy.

[ginnyinWI]

23. something fairly cheap

ground turkey that comes frozen in a tube. It was $1.50 for a pound package and I picked some up for a treat for our three cats.

My philosophy is not to sweat it about dyes and stuff. The worst thing, in my opinion, is a constant diet of dry kibble, no matter what the quality or price. It's just not natural. And for cats especially, who can't process carbs very well, it may lead to weakness and disease. Changing to an all-wet diet helped my cats slim down and have more energy, cleaner teeth and less shedding.

Anyway, in Wisconsin there is a law against antibiotics in poultry, so I have no worries on that. And dyes in meat? I haven't heard of it, except maybe for processed meats like ham, which cats shouldn't get anyway.