Thread: My raw feeding experiment

Hahah. Raw Kangaroo meat is very common here - sold to humans to eat and sold in all major shopping chains for petfood. I buy it fresh from a pet produce store so it's free of preservatives. It's very good as it has a low fat percent too.

I just tried the lads again with a chicken wing. I took Anna's advice and smashed it with a hammer - urrgh! blood squirted out....yuck yuck yuck! They licked it and chased it around, but didn't really eat it. So I picked it up and chopped it into smaller pieces, but they still didn't eat it. I think they prefer the raw chicken skin or meat - no bones. I guess they are not used to using their teeth in that way and it might take some perseverance. I'm not giving up though, I'm going to have a word with my butcher next week.

Oops... I forgot to mention you first have to tie the wing into a plastic bag before putting the hammer to it.
Sorry.

Originally Posted by Antonia

Oops... I forgot to mention you first have to tie the wing into a plastic bag before putting the hammer to it.
Sorry.

That's OK! OH was appalled so I thought it was funny. Certainly this raw feeding lark is not for the faint-hearted!

Not for the faint-hearted... you can say that again! On the Dutch barf forum there are some people who feed intact prey animals. Dead ones, but still. Mice, one day old chicks, hamsters, gerbils, baby rabbits... and they post pics of their cats devouring them.
Now that is a bridge too far for me... but who knows how desensitized I'll become in time.
BTW, you could try chicken necks for your lads... the bone is much softer.

Originally Posted by Antonia

Not for the faint-hearted... you can say that again! On the Dutch barf forum there are some people who feed intact prey animals. Dead ones, but still. Mice, one day old chicks, hamsters, gerbils, baby rabbits... and they post pics of their cats devouring them.
Now that is a bridge too far for me... but who knows how desensitized I'll become in time.
BTW, you could try chicken necks for your lads... the bone is much softer.

Bleurgh! That is hard core barf!

So the Barf principle is very well-named in more ways than one. When I told the OH about it, he howled with laughter at the name. Did you know Anna that 'barf' in English is a slang term for 'vomit', ie, 'barfed up', etc. Oh yes! It might not make the cats sick, but it might make the owners sick, yerrch!!

Originally Posted by Howlinbob

When I told the OH about it, he howled with laughter at the name.

LOL, so did Ed. We both knew what ‘barf’ meant so were quite bewildered about why anyone would come up with such an acronym.
At least they didn’t call it Promoting Uncooked Kitty-food Everywhere.

Just read through this website:

Raw Fed Cats

and it goes further, saying that minced raw food is not good enough, it has to be in chunks! They have a whole page on this. They also say pork and raw fish are OK, which totally contradicts other advice. They also think vaccinations are evil. This all seems a bit extreme, especially as you've had such good results with minced raw food, but at the same time there is lots of good advice on there. They really emphasise that cats are superb carnivores, their entire physiology is geared up to hunting, killing and eating fresh meat, and if they are allowed to do that, as far as is possible, then they have the best chance of good health. They make the point that feeding a chicken leg or wing is also mentally stimulating for them, as it's not about instant gratification. The cat has to work out how to break it down and tear bits off, it takes time and concentration, and in that time their stomach enzymes are properly released and ready to digest. Fascinating stuff.

Originally Posted by Howlinbob

Just read through this website:

Raw Fed Cats

Yep, I've read through that one as well. You're right in saying they are a bit extreme... but if you read selectively there is a lot of useful stuff.

About the raw fish... there's a lot of confusion about that. I found out that some raw fish contain an enzyme that breaks down vitamin B... because of this, some people now think you should never feed raw fish at all. But there are many kinds of fish that do not contain this enzyme. Mackerel, salmon and cod for example. I found a list the other day... I'll see if I can retrieve it.

Anyway, the whole raw feeding concept is a bit like many other 'schools'... lots of confusing and contradicting ideas. I think it's best to trust your own judgment.