? I did it! I'm transitioning to a raw diet!

[CassWTribby]

Hi everyone,

I went first thing and picked up a 1/2 lb of Raw Wilderness Chicken cat food. It's balanced and complete and not too pricey!
I also got a few Natural Balance cans of food which were $$$ but simple ingredients.
I'm planning on slowly mixing the raw with Tribby's Fancy Feast food over the next few days and on to the others with in a week or so. Her BGL has been good eating the FF classics but her IBS has not. She's had Diarhhea since last October!
Raw diet comes highly recommended by those who's cats are in remission so here goes! Hopefully she will eat it. :s
For those of you who switched to a raw diet- how long did it take to transition and how long before you noticed a difference in your cat?
Any tips would be great.

In other good news Tribby jumped on to the bed and slept with me last night. She hasn't been able to do that since her neurological reaction to flagyl.
I'm really glad I started the sub q fluids. It has really helped her!
Would any of you believe I had a horrible phobia of needles before this?! LOL
Over the past few years I've received so many myself and GIVEN so many lately I'm pretty much over it!

 

[Squalliesmom]

She's had Diarhhea since last October!

I have a cat with IBD and she had diarrhea for all of the first year I owned her, and then some! Two things that helped her greatly, besides a strict diet, were s.boulardii and Slippery Elm Bark. She stays on a maintenance dose of s.boulardii and I increase it, and start the SEB, if she has a flare. They worked wonders for her. Just know that, if you try it, SEB should not be given within two hours of any other oral meds as it inhibits the absorption of them.

 

[Marlena]

Cass,
I did not have any problems with switching Rocky to all raw diet which I make myself but I have to admit that Rocky is the easiest cat you can imagine to feed as he likes absolutely everything including green vegetables and even mashed potatoes! Of course I don't give him potatoes (he used to jump up on the counter tops in the kitchen to steal our food) but I regularly give him broccoli and asparagus with his meat which I think is rather good for his digestion and diabetes. Unfortunately feeding Rocky raw did not put him in remission as I think I always overfed him and he used to hunt rodents and was always overweight but I believe that it helps keeping him healthy on a tiny dose of insulin.
I would like to congratulate you on your decision to feed Tribby raw food. I really don't like commercial pet food (dry or wet) as this kind of food is not biologically active and lack enzymes and nutrient cats need from raw meat and bone. I would like to warn you though with regards to feeding chicken as it is one of the most allergenic protein sources and your cat might not thrive on it. Since you mentioned digestive problems an allergy to food is a serious consideration. A full blood count test would indicate if there is an allergy problem and where. Did your vet run this test? You might want to look for a different source of protein in your cat's diet like duck or deer or even turkey. Beef, lamb and chicken are most allergy giving.

You're doing such a great job considering you had a needle phobia! If somebody told me few years ago that I would be sticking needles in my cat many times a day every day I would find difficult to believe such a thing! Now I'm pretty good at that.
Again so lucky to have such an easy cat to treat, we never had any problems with that and Rocky purrs loudly when I inject him!

I wish you best of luck in treating Tribby.
Sending hugs to both of you,
Marlena and Rocky