I just started doing th is yesterday.

[STICKYFINGAHZ]

I don't know alot about it, just from reading and it making sense to me. I guess if humans wernt around cats would have to eat raw. So I decided to give it a try and I went to the butcher and got some salmon and some steak, I got it cubed up so it would be easier.ButI took th emeat home and diced it up and she LOVED it! I used to feed her the cereal cat food and she wouldnt eat it all,but this she ate EVERYTHING! Even the salmon, she loved that, as soon as I opened the wrapper she was next to me,lol checking me out and what I got.Does anyone here feed any particular meat? I have just been using steak and salmon and heard people use chicken wings are they okay with bones?

[Carol ann]

Hi , I feed my cats on raw chick wings and drumsticks, as a treat they also like turkey legs.
I also give them tinned Tuna and some tinned meat aswell. Personally I think give them a try on different foods and let them tell you what they do and dont like.

[STICKYFINGAHZ]

Thanks Carol ann, Do the cats have to be a certain age before I give them chicken wings or turkey drumsticks? Do you leave the skin on and just put it in the bowl?
I wasnt sure about the skin and I took the skin off the salmon I fed. But for the chicken and turkey, do you leave it on? Probably a stupid question, but I dunno.lol

[Howlinbob]

Hi there, well done you for listening to your cat, and yes it does make sense.
You have made a great start and your cat seems to appreciate it! Isn't it wonderful to see your baby enjoying her food so much?

Yes it's OK to feed small raw chicken bones - start off with wings, the bones are soft enough to cut with scissors. You don't need to take the skin off - they will eat the lot. You can feed as wide a variety of meat as you can manage: I feed beef heart and tongue, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey and rabbit (and offals). Some ground, some in chunks, some on the bone. See what your cat likes. Check out the raw feeding section of the forum for ideas and links. There's also a lot of advice on facebook groups.

You do have to be careful to balance the diet. If you are feeding a good quality complete wet food with occasional raw meals, then fine. But if you are going for 100% raw, make sure you are achieving balance if not with every meal, over a week. Also be very careful about hygiene, and freshness of the meat.

[catslave]

Agree with everything Howlinbob has said, she has also posted some really good links re raw feeding. I've just finished typing up Buddy's weekly menu's and will post them in a separate thread over the weekend so you can see the kind of diet a fully raw fed cat has - mine may not be perfect and I'm always willing to discuss how to improve it.

Re the salmon - leave the skin on next time; but do be careful with raw fish. Personally I would say not to offer a full chicken wing straight away, your cat needs time to adjust to eating raw meat and their jaw needs to get used to working for food. I started with just chicken breast, beef, duck breast in mince form, then cubed, then in strips .... now as it comes. Try some organ meat as well - kidney, liver etc which are softer for your cat to eat (sorry don't know his / her name); then you could try chicken necks, turkey giblets etc. Heart is also a great food for cats. My Buddy loves mice. I buy them from exotic pet food supplier (I have snakes as well); he has "pinks" day old baby mice as a daily treat and full large mice / baby rats as a meal once or twice a week - whole including fur and he loves them. I'd fully advise trying a couple of pinks as a starting point, they only cost about £1.00 for 8 / 10 depending on size and you just keep them in freezer and defrost to room temperature in about an hour.

Please be aware that some people may be put off by your decision to try to feed this natural diet to your cat, don't be put off, people who make these kind of comments normally haven't looked into the benefits etc. Personally I will never feed a commercial food again, but appreciate that this is not for everyone. Even if you only give raw meat a couple of times a week your cats teeth and health will benefit.

Have a look at this website for loads of info on raw / part raw feeding Feline Nutrition

[Antonia]

How wonderful your kitty so quickly takes to raw! And yes, it is the most sensible way of feeding, provided you get the meat/bone/organ balance right. Plus feed a variety of meats – at least 5 different species of animal.

You already got a lot of useful advice by the other members, and I’d like to add some more tips.

Re bones – I only feed the ones I can easily cut with pruning scissors. The lower half of chicken wings, chicken backs, rabbit ribs, chicken and duck necks. Quails can be fed entirely, just as mice and day-old chicks.

Keep the fish to a minimum, like only once a week. And make sure it has been frozen for at least three days to kill off parasites. Prawns are OK, as they are not fish and come closer to what cats would catch in the wild (shrimps and insects) but also need to have been frozen. I usually remove some of the shell because it’s rather high in carbs.

Good luck!

PS: As catslave already asked... what's your kitty's name?

Edit: Sorry – just found your introduction post. Krysto looks lovely. And yes, Maine Coons are Most Awesome.

[STICKYFINGAHZ]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I Love watching her eat, She LOVES It, Everytime i go to the kitchen and open the fridge she is there, I have been tempted to feed her more, but I heard over feeding is bad. I feed her twice a day, I dont know if its good or not, but I noticed she gets the midnight crazies and she is all over the place running at top speeds and pouncing around. So I figured I would feed her at that time,since thats probably when they hunt,lol I dunno, I just tried it out and I feed her twice a day, once at noon and another at midnight. I'm up at those times so its no problem for me.But those are the times she is most active.
I will try and give her some chicken breast next week and get some liver for her. I have told another friend about the raw feeding and he told me its not good and bacteria and ecoli and it needs to be cooked, but "Krysto"(our kitty) LOVES it raw, she's always pawing at me when I am dicing up her meat trying to hurry me up. But I had another friend who told me how he started raw feeding and his cat never got any more urinary tract problems and was healthier and stuff.But I dunno, for me, I like it, I enjoy watching her eat and so do my kids. I will pick up a variety of things to give her, I am still scared about the bones. I dont want her to choke. But i will keep the skin on the salmon next time.Thank you again for your help. I appreciate it alot.

[catslave]

I have to agree with you about loving watching them eat raw. I know some people will think this is disgusting, but personally I think there is no better site than watching Buddy cleaning blood off his paws after a good meal

Before I started raw feeding him, he used to only wee about once a week and he would cry and cry and cry while going. He had crystals in his bladder and tubes. Since going raw, no problems at all and his teeth, gums and fur are in much better health.

Today Buddy had:-

Breakfast - 4oz mixed sheep liver, kidney and heart
Lunch - 6oz Haddock, skin on but deboned
Dinner - 4oz steak cut into strips
Treats - 2 Pinks (day old baby mice) and handful of grated cheese

I tend to feed at times to suit me; breakfast after morning play before I go to work, lunch on my break (again after some play; I get 2 hour lunch break), dinner after we've had a cuddle and played after I finish work. Treat at bedtime. I find Buddy settles down to sleep after eating so this suits us but others will be different.

Good luck xx

[STICKYFINGAHZ]

Those pinks that you said, those day old baby mice, I have a reptile store about 2 miles from my house and I'm thinking about going and seeing if they have any of those there.How old is buddy? Can you give pinks to kittens?

[catslave]

Buddy is 7 and a half years old. You can happily give pinks to kittens, to give you an idea of size you feed them to baby snakes who are about the size of a pencil. Once Krysto has got the taste and idea of eating a mouse you can gradually move up the sizes. Next is fuzzies which are slightly bigger and have very fine short fur, then on to baby mice and on from their. Don't try baby rats until Krysto is eating whole large mice.

Make sure pinks are fully defrosted before offering them. At first I gave them 15 - 20 seconds in the microwave so they were a little warm.