Author Topic: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding  (Read 27643 times)

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Offline Pookie

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #75 on: December 25, 2017, 09:11:33 AM »
I suspect they probably demand more vaccinations than I am willing to subject him to, as well.  I am not a fan of giving pets every available shot at every possible opportunity.

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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #76 on: December 25, 2017, 02:39:59 PM »
Offered straight home-made this morning for breakfast.  Everyone ate!  Not enough to do away with canned, but they all ate!  Wheeeeee!!!

I like the advice I was given to stop mixing the two together.  That makes it hard to tell how much of the homemade they are actually eating. 
« Last Edit: December 25, 2017, 02:46:42 PM by Catgirl64 »

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #77 on: December 25, 2017, 02:41:19 PM »
multistars multistars multistars
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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #78 on: December 26, 2017, 01:40:47 AM »
Okay, so here is a starting point for everyone, as I weighed them all yesterday before breakfast.  I put the a box on the scale, set for tare, and then got each cat to sit in the box.

Jeoffry - 15 lb., 12.2 oz.

Jennyanydots - 12 lb., about 5 oz. (This is as close a guess as I have, as she HATES being picked up, and would not sit still in the box.  I will have to do the carrier thing with her, I think.)

Truman - 15 lb., 15.4 oz.

Lucy - 7 l., 10 oz.

Violet - 7 lb., 2 oz.

Mouse - 7 lb., 13.2 oz.

Jeoffry and Truman each weighed over 18 lb. last time they were at the vet, and Jenny was close to that.  I attribute most of the weight loss simply to doing away with Science Diet last January.  I don't like any kibble, but some is worse than others, and that stuff is awful.  The boys still have a way to go.  Jenny should probably lose a bit more - I'm not sure how much - as well, but mostly, I would like to see her gain muscle tone.  I think she will - she is moving around a lot more now.  I would love to know what the ideal weight is for these three.  They all have fairly long, fluffy coats, so it's not a matter of just looking at them to see if their bodies seem fit.  If I remember correctly, the vet said something about 12 lb., at least for Truman and Jeoffry, but I'm a little skeptical, particularly about Truman.  He is a big-boned cat, with great big paws, and I think getting him down to 12 would be pushing it.  It might be a little more on-target for Jeoffry.   I'm probably going to just feed the cats good food, the right kind, and trust them to know how much they need to eat.  After all, the weight they have lost so far was not the result of anything I did, other than changing the KIND of food.     

I would actually like to see Lucy gain a bit.  She is the one I was most worried about last week when no one wanted to eat - she seemed a little too thin.  Her appetite is back in full force now, and she seems to really like the homemade diet.  She had actually gotten a little chubby on SD, but was pretty close to normal until the no-eating episode.

Violet could stand to gain a few ounces (actually, I think she has, since going to canned: she's the first one I noticed turning her nose up at kibble), but I'm okay with it if she does not.  She isn't scrawny, just very slim.  She has always been a slender, dainty cat - think Oriental Shorthair-type build.

Mouse, as small as she is, is a plump little thing, even at her current weight.  Not fat, just not svelte.  Mouse got her name because she was such a tiny kitten.   

Jenny will be the most challenging to work with.  She is a shy cat, and would prefer to eat alone, but resents being put in another room.  Plus, she prefers to eat on the floor, which means I must put the dogs up at mealtimes.  As difficult a case as she is, she's come a long way.  She went through a phase a few months ago when she refused to come out from under my chair at all, except to eat and use the litter box, especially if Truman was in the room.  Now, she comes out and relaxes even with him here, and she even defended her little perch on a side chair from Violet the other day.  I am very proud of her.  Still, she doesn't really enjoy the company of other animals, and she is the one cat I would consider parting with if someone I knew was a good pet parent asked to adopt her and let her be an only cat.  :(  She has always been this way.  She is not even attached to Jeoffry, who is her brother and littermate.  When I got her, I had a big white cat called Kimchee, who was nine at the time, and he took her under his wing.  They were quite bonded, but Kimchee died in 2012.  Since most people who have the level of devotion I would expect already have a cat, it looks like we'll have to muddle through together.  Fortunately, she is improving, and I expect to see more improvements as I move to raw.  I wonder sometimes if kibble affects cats the way too much sugar does kids, creating behavioral issues along with obvious physical ones.   

Everyone got homemade for breakfast, canned for lunch, which was their largest meal, and homemade again for dinner.  Will repeat this schedule tomorrow, and start making another batch of raw.   
« Last Edit: December 26, 2017, 02:53:08 AM by Catgirl64 »

Offline Middle Child

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #79 on: December 26, 2017, 04:58:16 AM »
Great updates, thanks! bananamiddlechild

Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #80 on: December 28, 2017, 07:29:41 AM »
Well, my first batch of homemade is gone.  It was only 2lbs. of chicken's worth, and I relied on canned more than I intended to, not because of the cats, but because getting over the flu has been more of a battle than expected.  The worst symptoms are gone, the lethargy is a gift that keeps on giving.  All of the cats are accepting the new food, and I'm ready to start increasing the amount they get, relative to canned. 

Last night I chopped up some lean beef roast I had thawed out for them, and will be mixing the food shortly.  I've also taken out more chicken to thaw to surface bake and cut up today, and a pork roast in the refrigerator that will take at least a couple of days to thaw out.  The first batch of chicken I cut off the bone is still in the freezer.  Still not quite up to dealing with that.  I have a feeling I will end up using it for the dogs, as I think they will be more accepting of both chunks and skin.  Their base mixes are supposed to arrive today.

I am still impressed and delighted by how much less they are pooping!

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #81 on: December 28, 2017, 03:30:54 PM »
Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job! 
I get the impression you "beat yourself up" when you feed canned.  If you are.... STOP!  :)
Go at a pace that is good for you, your circumstances, and the furkids. 
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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #82 on: December 28, 2017, 04:39:56 PM »
Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job! 
I get the impression you "beat yourself up" when you feed canned.  If you are.... STOP!  :)
Go at a pace that is good for you, your circumstances, and the furkids.

I'm not really beating myself up so much as irritated that the flu was such a setback, in terms of my own role in this process, and yeah, maybe feeling bad that I have probably pampered myself more than I really needed to.  The canned doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that I feel like I just got lazy, and that every time I dip into my stash of good canned food, I'm wasting money that could be better spent on healthy meats.  I will probably always keep a bit of canned around for emergencies, times I know I won't be able to take up leftover raw quickly enough to feel comfortable about it, and plain old user error, like forgetting to take food out of the freezer.

Offline Middle Child

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #83 on: December 28, 2017, 04:40:18 PM »
Well, my first batch of homemade is gone.  It was only 2lbs. of chicken's worth, and I relied on canned more than I intended to, not because of the cats, but because getting over the flu has been more of a battle than expected.  The worst symptoms are gone, the lethargy is a gift that keeps on giving.  All of the cats are accepting the new food, and I'm ready to start increasing the amount they get, relative to canned. 

Last night I chopped up some lean beef roast I had thawed out for them, and will be mixing the food shortly.  I've also taken out more chicken to thaw to surface bake and cut up today, and a pork roast in the refrigerator that will take at least a couple of days to thaw out.  The first batch of chicken I cut off the bone is still in the freezer.  Still not quite up to dealing with that.  I have a feeling I will end up using it for the dogs, as I think they will be more accepting of both chunks and skin.  Their base mixes are supposed to arrive today.

I am still impressed and delighted by how much less they are pooping!


 BanWooHoo bananamiddlechild multistars tootgif  DrLisaPiersonWorthy

Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job! 
I get the impression you "beat yourself up" when you feed canned.  If you are.... STOP!  :)
Go at a pace that is good for you, your circumstances, and the furkids. 



What she said


Offline Middle Child

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #84 on: December 28, 2017, 04:41:47 PM »
I'm not really beating myself up so much as irritated that the flu was such a setback, in terms of my own role in this process, and yeah, maybe feeling bad that I have probably pampered myself more than I really needed to.


Not possible.  Flu will relapse if you don't take care and allow the lethargy to go away naturally.  Do not ever push yourself, when you feel like that.

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #85 on: December 28, 2017, 05:37:06 PM »
I will probably always keep a bit of canned around for emergencies, times I know I won't be able to take up leftover raw quickly enough to feel comfortable about it, and plain old user error, like forgetting to take food out of the freezer.

You're forgetting the zombie apocalypse.  :D I keep stuff around just because we're a tornado magnet here.
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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #86 on: December 28, 2017, 09:36:41 PM »
Well, my first batch of homemade is gone.  It was only 2lbs. of chicken's worth, and I relied on canned more than I intended to, not because of the cats, but because getting over the flu has been more of a battle than expected.  The worst symptoms are gone, the lethargy is a gift that keeps on giving.  All of the cats are accepting the new food, and I'm ready to start increasing the amount they get, relative to canned. 

If you can, meaning if your financial situation permits . . . take a vitamin B complex, and if you are already, take one in the morning and one at noon/with lunch.  B's are good for energy.  It's going to take time, and like MC said, you have to be careful.  There's no such thing as "pampering oneself too much."  Esp. when it comes to the flu.  And keep taking vitamin C and zinc, if you can.

Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job! 
I get the impression you "beat yourself up" when you feed canned.  If you are.... STOP!  :)
Go at a pace that is good for you, your circumstances, and the furkids. 

 DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy

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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #87 on: December 29, 2017, 07:58:51 AM »
Well, it appears that lean beef is a less popular menu item than chicken thigh.  Most tasted it, Mouse likes it okay, Violet seems to as well, Jenny won't touch it.  Nobody seems to love it.  Taking up leftovers to mix into the dogs' food so it gets eaten while it is still reasonably fresh.  I will probably try offering it again in small amounts later. 

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement.  It means a lot. 

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #88 on: December 29, 2017, 08:31:24 AM »
Well, it appears that lean beef is a less popular menu item than chicken thigh.  Most tasted it, Mouse likes it okay, Violet seems to as well, Jenny won't touch it.  Nobody seems to love it.  Taking up leftovers to mix into the dogs' food so it gets eaten while it is still reasonably fresh.  I will probably try offering it again in small amounts later. 

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement.  It means a lot. 

Was the lean beef ground beef?  Just asking because.... I don't buy anything from the grocery store that is already ground.  Although I was tempted to buy some ground bison yesterday, for Lacy dog.  It was 10.99 a pound though.  I could take her to a nice restaurant for that amount of money!   Silly7
My Roxy barfs all beef, so none of the cats get it.  Just keeps things simple for me.  Although I haven't tried it in a while... maybe I should give it another try one of these days. 
Having a dog that eats and tolerates everything, definitely made the transition to raw MUCH easier... no waste.   Silly7

PS  I also have a few cats that don't do well eating grocery store chicken... thighs, breasts, whole... nothing.  Kinda weird.  So it has also been removed from the menu. 

At one time, I belonged to a raw feeding group in another country.  They feed EVERYTHING... roadkill comes to mind.  Their furkids all seem to do fine.   :-\ 

Just throwing out some of my experiences... that may or may not help you.   ;D
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 08:40:07 AM by Lola »
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Offline Catgirl64

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Re: Catgirl64's Journey To Raw Feeding
« Reply #89 on: December 29, 2017, 03:35:20 PM »
Was the lean beef ground beef?  Just asking because.... I don't buy anything from the grocery store that is already ground.  Although I was tempted to buy some ground bison yesterday, for Lacy dog.  It was 10.99 a pound though.  I could take her to a nice restaurant for that amount of money!   Silly7
My Roxy barfs all beef, so none of the cats get it.  Just keeps things simple for me.  Although I haven't tried it in a while... maybe I should give it another try one of these days. 
Having a dog that eats and tolerates everything, definitely made the transition to raw MUCH easier... no waste.   Silly7

PS  I also have a few cats that don't do well eating grocery store chicken... thighs, breasts, whole... nothing.  Kinda weird.  So it has also been removed from the menu. 

At one time, I belonged to a raw feeding group in another country.  They feed EVERYTHING... roadkill comes to mind.  Their furkids all seem to do fine.   :-\ 

Just throwing out some of my experiences... that may or may not help you.   ;D

Not ground.  It was a small roast that I diced by hand.  I'm taking the advice I've seen almost everywhere, and avoiding ground anything from the grocery store. 

Tried my food processor to prepare the chicken thighs.  It worked, what a relief!  I HATE dicing that stuff by hand, and I think it will mix better with the Alnutrin, too.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 04:57:28 PM by Catgirl64 »

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