Long term experiences with feeding raw food

Hi everyone,

I've been reading into feeding BARF/RAW food lately and I love the idea of home made cat food.
It can be very healthy for your cat, or so I believe, but there is a lot you have to keep in mind if you want your kitty to benefit from it and not get sick because valuable vitamins and such are missing. Of course there are also readily made raw foods available and I've been looking into those as well. However, I'd love to make them myself if I manage to get myself enough education on the subject. I'd rather be save than sorry in this case.

I see a lot of positive experiences in the short run, but I haven't spoken to people yet who have been feeding raw food for a couple of years. Anyone here done so? And what are your experiences?
Any tips on websites, info, etc. that I can read as well?

Thanks in advance!

 

My cats love raw food, but some cats wont touch it. My friend has two cats and they will not go near raw meat of any kind!

I considered switching to completely raw for my guys upset tum, but really I decided I didnt have the time.

To make sure you get all the correct nutrients, especially things like Taurine, you can buy mixes that you add to raw meat. I got this one http://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/cat_food_better_in_the_raw

 

My cats wont touch raw food. My friend tried to get her two dogs on a raw diet and they had tons of digestion problems. They were one year old and 14 years old. I'm afraid to even try to give my cats raw food, but I have read about the many benefits and wonder how to help them transition between the two.

 

The strays I bring home are fine with raw food. Probably because they have been used to eating the raw food they found in the fish market. However, my cats which have been brought up at home do not go for raw food much. Some would vomit out the raw food if they try any. My cats which hunt outside find raw food simply delicious. That's probably because they eat what they hunt.

 

I actually don't have experience with this on the cat side. I do on the dog side, though, and can rave about it to no end. I would love to get into making my own cat food, too, but just haven't yet. I've never tried any mixes. I do recommend doing a lot of your own research online, though, and comparing resources so that you can teach yourself about the specific nutrients they need and how to get it for them.

 

I might not be ready for that for a while... Feeding raw food to my Bob sounds like a huge step Plus I'm sure some cats tolerate better than others. Not sure a cat with such a delicate GI tract as my Bob would tolerate a raw food diet so well, heck not even sure I would!

 

ok,
So I am not an enthusiast of raw food diets. It's a serious pro/con argument with the Malamute Rescue people I work with on the other side of my rescue work. Here's my problem with it. If you have a pet tiger, a wild, non-domesticated animal, they are used to acquiring fresh raw food themselves. Most raw food enthusiasts quote "biology" for why they want to feed raw. But the problem with that argument is that we are caring for animals that have been selectively bred away from wild animals. And over the course of our selective breeding, they have adapted to a different diet. In the case of our carnivore cat companions, they absolutely NEED meat, more than our domesticated canine friends, who are sort of more, well, scavengers, and opportunistic feeders.
So the short story is, if you are going to feed your feline friends meat, why not take the time to steam or cook it, just a bit to kill any harmful bacteria, and please debone it. Oh, dear, I've gone off on one of my rants, just the consequence of living in a feline/canine mixed household. Feeding our feline companions the best food possible--that is our obligation as responsible, caring "owners."

 

I agree with you, Kay... I have seen what raw meat can do to cats! My in laws have a cat that is allowed outdoors, he had been eating a lot mice last year, as a result he got worms sticking out his rear end. They forgot to deworm it... I was there when we noticed he had those worms, it wasn't a pleasant sight! Our cat companions need to be cared for... I'd never eat raw meat, why feed it to my Bob?