Thread: My raw feeding experiment

Thanks Bob, she's called Siobhradh (pronounced sheevra). I give her young rabbits so that she eats the whole lot, as has been said on here previously, there's better nutrition in a whole carcass than just one part of an animal. I don't give her the guts though because they carry worms & I always freeze them for 3 weeks before using to help kill any worm remnants. The skin helps to contain the mess too, it acts like a furry plate :0) It takes her longer to eat too & so keeps her entertained. I'm not sure though, I think it's probably not 100% balanced & that's why I give her the dried food too. I don't buy the meat (I've never seen it for sale in Ireland) so she doesn't get the variety of species that some of you are able to buy. I'm thinking about reducing her meat to every second day now because she's bigger & able to fast herself for longer & I think she's not eating enough dried food. She seems to just wait for the meat. I don't know if it's a good idea or not...
She didn't eat the mouse she caught. I read somewhere that the taste doesn't appeal to them. Pity!

Hi Siobhradh, welcome to you & your lovely furry girl.

She obviously knows what’s good for her, eating whole rabbits! I haven’t still persuaded our cats to accept food that ‘still has its clothes on’. I offered them feeder mice (dead ones), but they weren’t interested at all. The only tiny succes I had was with our youngest, little Minnie, who, after a lot of pawing and sniffing, finally got the message that day old chicks are actually good. I will attach some pics of the feast.

If you want to find out more about raw feeding cats, below are some websites with very useful information.
Making Cat Food by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: homemade cat food, cat food recipes
Feline Nutrition
And on Facebook: RawFedKitty.org | Facebook

There are also some Yahoo groups… I myself am not on any of them but I am sure Howlinbob can point you towards them.

Why do you think Siobhradh should eat more dried food… if any at all? If you are able to offer her a varied and balanced diet of raw meat she certainly won’t need the Hills stuff. Our three cats haven’t had a single piece of kibble for many months now. They get a meal of raw meat/organ/bone twice a day, plus a late night snack of things like raw egg yolk, prawn, beef heart, chicken gizzards, deer tongue, etc. For treats I give them dried meat or fish which I prepare in the food dryer.

So, if you can get your hands on it, feed a variety of ‘prey’ beside the rabbits and chicken. Muscle meat, (soft) bones and organs (liver, heart, kidney, gizzard) from duck, turkey, hare, quail, pigeon, partridge, guinea fowl, etc. are all very appropriate. Stay away from weight-carrying bones likes legs (except quail, she should be able to eat those whole) and rabbit heads. But wings and ribs are fine.

I loved you videos btw… that goat certainly isn’t impressed, lol. And your dogs look fantastic!

Good luck!
Anna

Barf etc has its logical angles... but I think some people think they are feeding tigers not PET cats... there seems to be a certain sickness in this delight of watching your pets eat what to a hell of a lot of other people are their pets!! We have had pet rabbits, ginuea pigs, rats and now hamsters AND my children love thier pet aninmals... if I caught anyone even thinking of feeding them to their cats I would... well fill in the gaps. What next netting sparrows for your cats to kill and eat? And yeah feral cats whole... blah, blah, blah is to kill and eat, oh and have sex (neutered your cat have you?) but the cats in my life are PETS I do not want to return them to the wild any more than I would want to turn my beloved and extremely vicious GSD out on the streets to see how many stray cats/children he could eat in one sitting!

I guess only time will tell if Barf fed cats live longer, healthier lives.

"...some people think they are feeding tigers not PET cats"

Funny you should say that, Tivicoons, because, nutritionally speaking, the only difference between feeding a tiger and a domestic cat is the size of the prey.
It does not make them wild; it is not about returning them to the wild. It is just about giving them the best possible nutrition, even if it is distasteful to us as owners.

I agree that it is upsetting to see small creatures being farmed and consumed as food, especially when we are fond of those creatures. But a chick or a mouse, farmed and fed to a cat, is no different in principle to any farmed animal, which ends up being consumed as food. It's just that larger farmed creatures are cut up and processed, so it's not so 'in your face' that it's an animal being eaten. If you are feeding wet or dry cat food, don't forget it contains farmed animal meat and its derivatives. Whole, minced, chunked, or processed into cat food, it's all farmed meat.

Personally I think it is honest and dignified to feed a cat, or any animal in fact, as closely as possible the diet it is geared up to eating, instead of some commercial compromise for the owner's, and food giant's, convenience, and I would admire and encourage anyone who gives it a go.

I must admit I felt uneasy when I first gave them the chicks. But then I realised these chicks had been the lucky ones. They were gassed and then frozen. Whereas most of their brothers were put alive in the shredder, and ended up as the ‘chicken meal’ which goes into pet food.

@ Louisa, how’s the mouse problem in your cellar?

Originally Posted by Antonia

@ Louisa, how’s the mouse problem in your cellar?

Not seen a mouse for weeks, so the lads must be doing a good job! It's not that they're eating loads of mice - rather, I think their presence is a deterrent to any mice thinking of setting up home down there. Anyway, they prefer the mice I give them out of the freezer to any mice they might come across in the cellar or the garden - only the best, eh?!

Hi Antonia, thanks for your kind comments & also for the tips on what to feed for variety. I'll have a look at those links at the weekend. Your cats look gorgeous, I love his eyes in that 2nd last pic!
The reason why I think she might need more dried food is because she doesn't get much variety of meat types. I can't get day old chicks, I've enquired but I hadn't thought of beef heart, liver & prawns. But I can't get any of the rest of it.
I should've made it clear in my last post that the rabbits that I feed are wild rabbits (they destroy my garden!) & the chicken carcasses are butcher's waste that I have always got for the dogs. I have used day old chicks for years when living in England for feeding birds of prey & dogs & would just like to mention that you should de-yolk the majority of them because the yolk is so high in cholesterol.
Thanks :0)

Yes, I agree, the above mentioned thread makes fascinating reading.

I would also recommend you check out this website:

Feline Nutrition

I wish I had found it earlier. It would have saved me a lot of worry.

Larry and Monty's turkey drumstick.
They ate all the leg meat (I cut it off for them in strips). Then they had a good old chew on the meaty bone. Keeps their teeth bright white, LA-style!



They also have whole minced rabbit, beef trim, beef heart, ox tongue, pork, chicken wings, legs, ribs, breast meat, whole poussin when I can get it, chicken necks, lamb or pig's liver and kidney, and a mix called 'choice chunks' which is beef and lamb meat and organs. Occasionally, they have cooked white fish, and drained tinned fish (sardine, tuna, pilchard) as a treat, and whole small mice.

My vet gave me some free samples of RC 'veterinary' kibble. The primary ingredient was 'wheat gluten'. Primary ingredient! For an obligate carnivore? How can that ever be right? Then it goes: dehydrated poultry meat, maize flour, vegetable fibres, maize gluten, rice, barley, maize (again!) animal fats (that's the stuff they spray on to make it palatable - what a joke!) hydrolysed animal protein, chicory pulp, minerals, fish oil, and then all the other stuff they have to replace having cooked it to death, including taurine. This 'food' is only 36% protein - for an obligate carnivore, remember?

This stuff has the word 'veterinary' on the packet in big letters. If I were a vet, I'd be ashamed and embarrassed to be anywhere near it.