Author Topic: Jennie will soon be all raw  (Read 3072 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Jennie will soon be all raw
« on: September 04, 2016, 08:31:14 AM »
Jennie is the last one to be completely transitioned.  This is because I had so much of that Tiki Cat left and I just couldn't afford to give it away. Well that was part of the reason. Another was I needed a lot of time to work out the routine of how she would be fed.  But thanks to EZcomplete that's not going to be a problem. The third reason was because Jennie doesn't "need" raw in the same way that Mazy cat and Queen Eva do.

The finial issue, which never goes away is lack of freezer space.

Last Saturday I took a load of Tiki Cat to the shelter.  I kept just a few cans to finish out the transition. 

Jennie has been 50% raw for a long time. All raw on Sundays.  One week ago I started replacing her morning Tiki cat meals with raw and EZcomplete.  I thought her coat was soft.  With this one single change, in one week, her coat is INCREDIBLE!

Imagine what it will be when the transition is complete!

How it will work is this:

Jennie can count and knows she gets two servings at breakfast and supper, and one serving at lunch and bed time.  Since she prefers her raw meats in one big chunk still partially frozen, at first I couldn't think how to turn that into two servings without cutting down the chunk.

Her prey model meal is easy.  Her first serving consists of her liver, lamb pancreas glandular powder, calcium, taurine and probiotic.  She licks the plate clean.  Her second meal is her solid chunk of meat (1.2 oz)

Her EZcomplete meals, which are replacing the canned meals now will be served like this:

Breakfast will be 1.2 oz of meat and the appropriate amount of EZc. She gets the EZc with water added into a gravy.  She laps up the gravy, that is serving one.

Then she gets her still partially frozen chunk of meat. That is serving two.

Lunch time she will have to settle for smaller chunks.  I will cut the 1.2 oz of meat up and mix it with the EZc.  She will get half that for lunch (one serving) and the other half for bed time (one serving)

Supper will remain the prey model meals rotated with Stella&Chewy's until I run out of the old formula of S&C. (February 2017). I don't know what is going to replace the S&C.  There really isn't any other freeze dried product that meets my criteria.  S&C was the only one and of course, they no longer do.

Her total intake for the day, is going to be 3.6 ounces.  We will see if that needs adjusting.  That total count is just the meat weights.  I realize the EZc has to be taken into consideration too, but I am not sure how to do that so I am aiming for 3.6 in total meat/liver.

Currently with her raw and Tiki rotation she maintains her healthy weight with 3.9 ounces a day, a bit higher on Sunday because Sunday is her Wing Day and her Yolk Day. :)

Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2016, 05:11:47 PM »
Lacy dog was the last one to transition to all raw for kinda the same reasons... she wasn't in "need" as much as the cats were.  So, I get where you are coming from.  :)

I'm sure you have mentioned it but.... what is the reason you divide one meal into two servings? 




Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2016, 05:30:11 PM »
Lacy dog was the last one to transition to all raw for kinda the same reasons... she wasn't in "need" as much as the cats were.  So, I get where you are coming from.  :)

I'm sure you have mentioned it but.... what is the reason you divide one meal into two servings? 


For Jennie? Because Jennie can count and she expects two meals.  It doesn't matter the quantity, what matters is the number.

I tried recently to reduce my work load by putting her entire breakfast in one meal.  She ate it all and then hollered and moaned and cried and fussed and looked about as pitiful as you can ever imagine.  I held out for three days before returning to two servings for her.  She deserves to have it the way she wants it.

Remember, she lived on her own for along time and raised at least one family of four all by herself.  If she feels better with two meals instead of one, she shall have them. HeadButt


Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2016, 02:33:55 AM »
Quote
If she feels better with two meals instead of one, she shall have them.

:)
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2016, 10:09:37 AM »
Jennie is gaining weight on 100% raw.  Darn!  I had it figured that she would maintain on 3.6 oz a day.  But she gained on that, 2 ounces a week!

So I cut her back to 3.45 oz a day.  She's stopped gaining, but isn't losing.  I am going to have to cut her back even more, but my gosh she's already acting like she is being starved, with the reduction in quantity. This time of year she goes berserk (more berserk I mean) over food anyway. She is absolutely relentless, watching for chances to steal, and screaming in the kitchen anytime I walk in there.

 bangshead

Offline DeeDee

  • P-F's Twitter-er
  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 6013
  • Country: us
  • Barkly & Vlad
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2016, 11:01:09 AM »
Most animals will have that extra-hunger urge this time of year. They're trying to fatten up for the winter. It's still a genetic urge built into them that doesn't disappear just because they become indoor-only animals.
"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 Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2016, 08:34:55 AM »
Yes, Jennie always does. :)  The others do not. I do though hahaha!

Anyway poor Jennie is still maintaining those extra ounces and is down to 3.3 ounces of raw a day.  I feel terrible for her, but she's not losing so I know she is getting enough to eat and adequate nutrition, her coat is incredible, no skin flakes at all, shiny white teeth, sweet breath, small raw poops, her usual big pees.

More active than she's ever been before, playing new Games she never showed interest in before.

I would like her to be back down to 8 lbs 8 ounces but she is stuck at 8 pounds 12 1/2 ounces.

Offline Pookie

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5441
  • Country: us
  • Proud member of the Wet Food Club
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2016, 09:34:06 PM »
I would like her to be back down to 8 lbs 8 ounces but she is stuck at 8 pounds 12 1/2 ounces.

Is it possible that's her "new norm?"  At least for this time of year?   :-\

Glad she's doing so well!
2-4-6-8  Please don't over-vaccinate!
"Pass on what you have learned."  -- Yoda, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi

Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2016, 03:23:42 PM »
Jennie is gaining weight on 100% raw.  Darn!  I had it figured that she would maintain on 3.6 oz a day.  But she gained on that, 2 ounces a week!


When feeding a variety of proteins and such... wouldn't the ounces of daily requirement vary?  At least to some extent? 
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2016, 03:55:06 PM »
Is it possible that's her "new norm?"  At least for this time of year?   :-\

Glad she's doing so well!

I will not have a fat cat!  :)

When feeding a variety of proteins and such... wouldn't the ounces of daily requirement vary?  At least to some extent? 

I would think it would even itself out.  I am not going to start counting calories on top of everything else LOL!

She doesn't get the same exact ounces every day, it depends on what she is getting.  The 3.6 oz was the average. But her average, which she is now maintaining the 8 pounds 12 ounces on, is 3.35 ounces a week.  Some days it is less than that, some days it is more than that and Sundays is usually about 4.5.

I'm not going to cut her back any more since she has stopped gaining.  I'll wait to see if increased muscle mass (which weighs more anyway) will start to increase her metabolism.  She may drop those extra 4 ounces on her own.

But I can't stand fat cats, and she is too fat at 8 pounds 12 ounces.

Offline Lola

  • Global Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 11790
  • Country: us
  • Spay or Neuter
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2016, 06:51:18 PM »
I'm kinda surprised you don't already count calories.  ;)

I can't imagine an adult cat being fat at 8 lbs 12 oz.  Is she a small build?  Roxy is our smallest and she stays around 9 1/2 pounds.  BUT I also know that I lean towards feeding the higher recommended amounts.  Since they can't tell me if they are still hungry, and I don't know (for example) if rabbit is more filling then say... turkey.   :-\
 
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline Middle Child

  • Moderator
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: Jennie will soon be all raw
« Reply #11 on: October 31, 2016, 08:30:49 PM »
I counted calories when they were canned fed.  ;D

I don't know what's small any more.  People talk about their "small" cats that "only weigh 10 pounds".

Jennie looks like a big cat to me but she has a round tummy from too many pregnancies (before she found me) and she weighs a pound less than Mazy cat.  Well she used to.  She's a couple ounces heavier and Mazy cat is about a half pound less than she used to be, at 9 pounds 5 1/2 ounces, but Mazy cat looks smaller than Jennie.

Tags: