Author Topic: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw  (Read 4576 times)

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Offline ThreeStep

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What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« on: February 23, 2018, 10:45:06 AM »
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What can you still feed when you are not ready for raw?
« Last Edit: February 24, 2018, 11:53:59 AM by Lola »

Offline DeeDee

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2018, 10:55:52 AM »
Well a lot of them like things that are coated in freeze-dried raw like Nature's Variety Instinct or Wellness Core Raw Rev (more out there), but no matter what they would have you believe, after it's been processed (even freeze dried), it's not raw. But dogs like the stuff.
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Offline ThreeStep

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2018, 12:52:07 PM »
I know - I am supposed to do my research and I will. Catgirl64 made me promise and two 18 pounders a growing 8 pounder are eating us out of house and home. It looks more and more like it that Izzi has a lot of Maine Coon. At least she has the chatter and the appetite:>) Her ear tips are coming in and the fuzzies on the front of her ears have reached curb feeler length. All over the long fur is coming in. She was 2 1/2 pounds 11/11/2017 when she showed up. Saturday is weigh day. My guess is around 8 pounds and still skinny as a rail.

Offline Pookie

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2018, 01:28:46 PM »
I know - I am supposed to do my research and I will. Catgirl64 made me promise and two 18 pounders a growing 8 pounder are eating us out of house and home. It looks more and more like it that Izzi has a lot of Maine Coon. At least she has the chatter and the appetite:>) Her ear tips are coming in and the fuzzies on the front of her ears have reached curb feeler length. All over the long fur is coming in. She was 2 1/2 pounds 11/11/2017 when she showed up. Saturday is weigh day. My guess is around 8 pounds and still skinny as a rail.

 withoutpictures


Ok, maybe not this thread, but if you have a chance, we'd love to see your furkids!

As for what to feed when not ready for raw . . . grain-free canned, rotating brands and proteins as much as possible and affordable.  Rotating helps reduce the chance of deficiencies/excesses in vitamin/minerals that are added to the food that may result in a recall down the road.  It also helps that, if there is a recall, you're not scrambling to find something else.  Another bonus is that by rotating proteins, it helps reduce the chance of the furkid developing an allergy to a specific protein, because they're not exposed to it as often.

Remember, we do the best we can.  If the best you can do is canned 9 Lives or Friskies, maybe with the occasional Fancy Feast can thrown it, then so be it.  The worst canned is still better than kibble because of the higher protein and moisture content.  And I suspect it's easier to transition a cat from canned to raw than from kibble to raw -- canned and raw are at least a little closer in texture, for one thing.

General Mills Purchases Blue Buffalo Pet Food

Not that BB's already anywhere near good, but now it just got worse.

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Offline DeeDee

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2018, 03:37:08 PM »
I know - I am supposed to do my research and I will. Catgirl64 made me promise and two 18 pounders a growing 8 pounder are eating us out of house and home. It looks more and more like it that Izzi has a lot of Maine Coon. At least she has the chatter and the appetite:>) Her ear tips are coming in and the fuzzies on the front of her ears have reached curb feeler length. All over the long fur is coming in. She was 2 1/2 pounds 11/11/2017 when she showed up. Saturday is weigh day. My guess is around 8 pounds and still skinny as a rail.


Oops. I thought we were talking dogs, or else I wouldn't have told you those at all.

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2018, 06:13:49 PM »
What can you still feed when you are not ready for raw?

Feed the best you can.  :)
When I started out with canned food, Friskies was one brand in our rotation (due to cost)... and I DETEST Purina.  I'm not recommending it, but you do what you have to do. 
I did learn pretty early to rotate brands and proteins. 
No fish.  I only fed fish if I needed to entice someone to eat wet.
We have a thread here that lists carrageenan free can foods.  I tried to feed as many brands that were free of that ingredient, as much as possible.  But that was later down the road.
For me... it was one step at a time. 
Later, I did feed some of the dehydrated foods.  Cats and dogs LOVED it.

If you are currently feeding kibble... some cats have a tough time breaking the free feeding habit.  Some cats have a tough time with the texture change. 
I THINK I started with feeding them several small meals a day... so the stopping of free feeding was less of a shock.
But our Leonard was NOT happy.  He acted like I was starving him to death.  I actually left the house once, between feedings. 

Not to scare you, with the above.  Some cats were a piece of cake to transition to wet! 

Two things that are very important.... rotation of brands and proteins, AND never allow a cat not to eat! 

I have transitioned a total of 8 cats, over the years.  It gets easier with each one.  :)
 
« Last Edit: February 23, 2018, 06:15:58 PM by Lola »
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Offline ThreeStep

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2018, 11:22:32 AM »
It is Fancy Fest classic pate and medley, Blue Buffalo kibbles mixed in for Izzi. We tried who knows how many wet foods and that is what they accepted. No more kibble for the aunties for about a year now. I keep on trying tiny portions of fresh cooked chicken but with mixed result. SO wants to move to Blue Buffalo salmon and will pick some up. There are about ten cases of food in the girls' pantry.


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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2018, 11:31:21 AM »
It is Fancy Fest classic pate and medley, Blue Buffalo kibbles mixed in for Izzi. We tried who knows how many wet foods and that is what they accepted. No more kibble for the aunties for about a year now. I keep on trying tiny portions of fresh cooked chicken but with mixed result. SO wants to move to Blue Buffalo salmon and will pick some up. There are about ten cases of food in the girls' pantry.



The reason Lola said very little or no fish is because you risk poisons that come from a lot of fish.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/


Quote
Salmon is a popular cat food ingredient, but today nearly all of it comes from factory-farmed fish. These unfortunate animals are kept by the thousands in overcrowded net pens—essentially, fish feedlots—in polluted coastal waters. They’re injected and fed antibiotics to keep them alive in the face of rampant disease; and fed dyes to make their flesh “salmon colored”—otherwise it would be gray. Common water pollutants such as PCBs, pesticides, and other chemicals are present in farmed salmon at 10 times the amount found in wild fish. These contaminants will also be present in any product made with farmed fish, including cat and dog food.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2018, 11:33:18 AM by DeeDee »
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline DeeDee

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2018, 11:38:03 AM »
You especially can't feed cats raw fish because it risks thiamine deficiency:

https://www.animalbliss.com/fish-harmful-to-cats/

Quote
Cats usually love fish, but they should either avoid it or only eat it in small amounts. Fish is not a natural food for cats and cat owners should know that.  Is fish harmful to cats?  Raw fish is a risk and cats may be in danger of developing thiamine deficiency.

If this was the case, your cat could experience loss of appetite, seizures, and also some gastrointestinal problems. A regular consumption of raw fish in your cat’s diet may also lead to death. You should avoid feeding your cat predatory fish, such as salmon, as this fish may contain a high level of heavy metals and other toxins.

Tilefish, mackerel, and shark are the worst contaminated, so you should not use them in your cat’s diet.  There are also other reasons why cats should not eat fish. Most cats are sensitive or even allergic to fish. Fish-based foods are usually high in histamine, a protein which may lead to allergic reactions.

https://www.animalbliss.com/fish-harmful-to-cats/
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2018, 11:43:50 AM »
As far as canned fish... health issues aside...cats tend to get a STRONG liking to fish, and then it is VERY difficult to get them off of it. 
Fish was a last resort... for us.

Izzie is PRECIOUS!!!
« Last Edit: February 24, 2018, 11:45:43 AM by Lola »
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Offline Pookie

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2018, 09:59:41 PM »
As far as canned fish... health issues aside...cats tend to get a STRONG liking to fish, and then it is VERY difficult to get them off of it. 

Ditto on the other reasons (besides the toxins) to not feed fish -- they get addicted to the flavor and they really need variety.

What a pretty girl Izzy is! 
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Offline ThreeStep

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2018, 07:58:58 AM »
Point taken. I will get some chicken cans today and try my luck. After Friday's mishap when SO found a can of cat food in his lunch bag he may be an option if the furries do not like it.


Offline DeeDee

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2018, 10:41:26 AM »
Quote
After Friday's mishap when SO found a can of cat food in his lunch bag he may be an option if the furries do not like it.


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Priceless! Someone else that practically sleepwalks in the morning when doing things for everyone else!
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2018, 11:10:22 AM »

After Friday's mishap when SO found a can of cat food in his lunch bag he may be an option if the furries do not like it.



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Offline ThreeStep

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Re: What To Feed When Not Ready For Raw
« Reply #14 on: March 28, 2018, 10:59:57 AM »
It is working - SO's mustache rivals the one of Sam Elliot and the furries accepted Fancy Feast Classic chicken Pate. The Aunties started nibbling on plain poached chicken. Izzi turns up her nose at it. It is hilarious to watch when she does not like food. A couple of very decisive strokes around the plate as if burying it. Her chatter tshack-tshack means not that, not that, She actually rolled a full plate into a small area rug. Stinker!

They are drinking less since they have been on canned only. Time to add a bit of warm water to their food? I am open to suggestions.

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