Raw food question - serving it on the bone?

[Dr Schrodinger]

Hi All,

I've been doing a bit more reading about feeding The Beasties a bit of raw food. I suspect they have never even sniffed it before, since they are confined indoors, can't catch prey anyway (no front claws :cry: ) & live with vegetarian humans.

Linda Zurich advocates feeding meat that hasn't been ground up & is its more natural dismembered sate, and letting the cats shear it off with their lovely gnashers themselves: http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm

We have a fantastic traditional butcher in our little town who gets his meat from local suppliers, and we are surrounded by farms that raise pheasants, so we can source good quality meat, bone & organs quite easily.

Does anybody have experience of feeding non-ground meat & organs to their little carnivores? Is it worth trying them on tiny little pieces to see if they'll take it?

Any info on your experience is appreciated.

Juliet, Milo & Lola.

 

[Denise & Honey]

I know a few people use the uncooked wing tips from chicken (the very end bits) as treats - I tried with mine and they sniffed and walked away :sad:

I do give them raw a few times a week using a premix. I take the meat off the turkey thigh bones first and grind it in a food processor.
I'd like to try chopping it next time to see if they will go for that.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

If you are feeding raw without bones you need extra calcium. Also y have to watch the calcium/phosphorous ratio.

 

[Denise & Honey]

The premix I use is the one recommended on Dr Lisa's site - http://tcfeline.com/cat-food-premix/.
No bones needed as it already has the bone meal in.

I would like to do the food from scratch but haven't splurged on a meat/bone grinder yet - maybe I'll get that for Mother's Day

 

[Dr Schrodinger]

Presumably, if cats are fed meat on small bones from smaller animals, like rabbit or game birds, they will naturally crunch them up too? Like a 'proper' cat does with mouse & sparrow skulls? (see, Milo? I said 'proper' cat... :lol: )

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Generally, bones are OK as long as they are not cooked (which can make them dangerous - 'splintery').

I know people who give their cats chicken wings to knaw on, and who buy chickens and quails and chop them into bits for the cats to eat. This is apparently really good to help with teeth-cleaning, but mine won't touch raw in that chunky state (except for my feral girl). They don't seem to recognise it as 'food'...

Juliet, do Milo and Lola like raw meat? If you're not sure (and being a veggie you won't have much in your fridge to tempt them with) I'll gladly let you have some frozen minced whole wild rabbit (skinned and gutted then finely minced, from a lovely company called 'Woldsway') for them to try if you're able to stop by some time and pick that up... You can convert cats to raw by just adding a little of that to their canned food....

If they like raw, then you can certainly invest in a food processer/meat grinder and use the cuts that you can get from your nice butcher to make minced cat food, or just chop it up by hand into little pieces.

The virtue of finely ground meat is that the cats can access the calcium in the bone. The virtue of chunkier meat with bone is that it has teeth-cleaning properties.

In terms of the food needing to be 'balanced' nutritionally, that only matters if (as I understand this) it makes up more than 20% of the diet. If you are feeding decent quality canned food (which you are) and then supplementing with raw meat then the 'balance' isn't so crucial. If you start to feed more than 20% of the diet as raw meat then you'll need to think about maybe adding supplements to that.

If you want some frozen raw minced wild wabbit to try just let me know. :smile:

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

I've made raw food for Tess using Dr Lisa's recipe and doing the bonemeal instead of bones. I use thighs and just cut the meat into 1/4" chunks that Tess needs to chew on, good for the teeth. But if you are just giving it as a treat no need to worry about balanced food. I also give her fresh chicken hearts as a treat.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Both of my kitties get raw chicken necks as teeth cleaners. The last vet visit, my vet said Neko has beautiful teeth. I give about 1 inch sections. The civie needs them 1/2 inch, but he is missing one of his canine teeth. I have also given Neko the chicken wing tips. They are harder and supposed to be even better for teeth. The civie walked away from them. The end bits of animals are softer bones to chew one. ie. wing tips and necks vs. thigh bones which are weight bearing. They don't get bone every day, but every other day. Too much bone can cause constipation. Another treat they get is freeze dried quail necks - they adore them! There is cartilage in the necks, so also a good source of glucosamine. Make sure you supervise the cats when you give them raw bones. The best bit about wing tips and necks is that they are mostly waste from the butcher so you should get them at a good price.

 

[Dr Schrodinger]

Thanks People!

Elizabeth & Bertie - You, lady, are far too kind hearted! Thank you! I will like to take advantage of that offer. I had a look at their website & it looks good. You have been so good to me & the kitties over the past few months, Eliz. You've given us loads of kit, food, advice, hugs & support. You're my mentor. Although we don't live far away, it might actually be easier if we moved in with you. Actually, Andy would get lonely without the rest of us, so he'll have to move in too. Get the kettle on, I'm packing our bags... :lol:

Ann & Tess - Can you buy chicken hearts at a regular butcher or store? They're supposed to be good chewing & nutrition, aren't they?

Wendy & Neko - I like the idea of flinging some birdie necks their way to clean their teeth. They do have a bit of tartar build-up & I don't want them anaesthetised for cleaning. Good tip! thank you.

To be honest, I have no idea if the beasts will like raw meat or not. I will pick up some chicken from the butchers this weekend. I'll offer a bit of flesh (without bone) raw & see if they like it. If not, I'll boil it up & they can have a treat for their tea.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Elizabeth & Bertie , Thank you!

Aw, shucks, Juliet. 'Just doing my job, Ma'am...'
And thank you for your wonderful and quirky sense of humour. You've brought a smile to many a grey day for me. :smile:

On the subject of meat, as well as wabbit I also have chicken hearts (AKA 'taurine bombs') if you'd like some. They're frozen in a bit of block though, cos I didn't have the sense to freeze them separately...(Duh!). I got these from human butcher shop (sounds macabre, eh? :lol: ) but they are available from Woldsway pet meat suppliers too - but I didn't realise that when I bought these ones...