Overfeeding Raw?

[Samber]

i feed 100% raw. i give them more than they can eat and there's usually a little bit left over which i just throw out. i couldn't over feed them if i tried.

 

[Trish Allearz]

i feed 100% raw. i give them more than they can eat and there's usually a little bit left over which i just throw out. i couldn't over feed them if i tried.

I'm afraid Rocco would pop if I put any more food down! He's slowed down today- so that's a good thing. LOL.

 

[John Popp]

Our little boy just shy of 3 months old loves his raw and it's definitely his preference. He is backed off of any Kibble now and is about 3-1 raw to canned. He also forages for the other cats raw, often beating them to their food dish, devouring theirs and then makes his way to his own food. Normally I would think it's prudent to stop him but he knows how big his belly is.

For his direct meals he is around 3/4 of a pound a day now but probably eating 4-6 ozs of the other cats food. The other cats will let me know if their hungry, so it's easy to give them a little extra whereas the little guy just wants to play before eating his food. Definitely a far better eater than Chongo was and a way bigger appetite for raw no matter which cats diet he is chomping on.

He's certainly not fat, his stools are firm and without question he can't wait to be done with the transition to a full raw diet.

 

[MattM]

Heck Trish, even my F6 ate like that when he was the same age and his adult weight is only 10 lbs. I suggest giving him some chunks rather than all ground and also giving a chicken or game hen thigh or leg for him to chomp on too. It will slow down his eating and give his brain and tummy time to connect and figure out that food is being eaten. I think that just as it is with us humans, the faster we consume the more we consume because our bodies take a while to understand that we are eating and feeling full.

And those chunks of meat and meat w/bone will help gums and teeth -- especially when they are teething.

Yes! What Deborah said. I think the response is actually something like 30 minutes from the time you swallow a mouth full of food to the time your stomach has communicated with your brain that you have eaten something.

 

[admin]

Trish, you can't really overfeed kittens...i fed zuri's last litter blue ridge beef kitten mix and mixed it with some ground high quality dry kitten food and a bit of canned, but that is because there were seven and i knew many kitten buyers would not feed raw.

This litter will start with blue ridge beef only, since there are only three.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[John Popp]

With infants of any species, they will gravitate to what their body needs. They don't have the mental cognition to sort out what they like and don't like, but will be attracted to the foods and nutrients their bodies needs. For kittens this should hold true for the first 4 to 6 months. Kittens at 4-6 months of age is where you really need to hone what you plan on feeding them. If kibble isn't in the long term plan make sure it's not part of their diet when they start conscious decisions about what they want to eat.

It's definitely a tough time as it comes when they'll eat just about anything put in front of them and are really looking for that on demand food just like a teenager hourly raiding the fridge. Trimming the things that won't keep them healthy in their adult years is pretty important during this period. A 6 month old kitten that has an affinity for kibble is very likely to carry that for the rest of their lives. Also, making dietary changes later can be a huge challenge and as we all know they can get pretty stubborn about what they want to eat in adulthood.

 

[scorpius]

I found that raw beef...either steak or roast meat..in big chunks he could gnaw on for a while...seemed to fill him up more than chicken did.

I echo Pam here. When I got my F1 and F2 SV males at 12-13 weeks, I started them out on ground chicken. Well that lasted only 1-2 months and they refused to eat it. Next I tried chunks of beef...and that's what I'm still feeding them over 6 months later. They've not yet had any aversion to it. They love beef chunks.

So mine are on a 100% raw diet. I've found that I can't just mix say WildTrax into their raw meat...they don't like the taste of it. So I supplement using cat milk and they like that. In addition I give them pumpkin for fiber, which i give via a syringe a few times per week. Anyways, this current diet of raw meet+milk+supplements+pumpkin is working good now and they're very energetic now more than ever. dj

 

[John Popp]

I'm curious about feeding beef but no idea if there is a basic recipe out there. It has definite nutritional holes than rabbit or poultry, so not even sure where to start. What cuts, how much fat to trim and so forth.

On the pumpkin, my older cats are on a reduced protein diet and tolerate it pretty well with their raw. At first I was adding an equal part of unsalted butter and since have backed off at about 3 parts pumpkin to 1 part butter. In all the combo makes up about 20% of their raw recipe and our oldest cat who was at death's door is now a model of health since switching over.

 

[Samber]

I'm afraid Rocco would pop if I put any more food down! He's slowed down today- so that's a good thing. LOL.

Oh ive seen one where it looked like he was gonna pop. i had to snap a pic cause it was hilarious. he like couldnt move cause his belly was so big. this was when i went to pick up my SV from the breeder. hold on let me find that pic. (not my sv)

 

[Trish Allearz]

Oh ive seen one where it looked like he was gonna pop. i had to snap a pic cause it was hilarious. he like couldnt move cause his belly was so big. this was when i went to pick up my SV from the breeder. hold on let me find that pic. (not my sv)

That's the look Rocco had sporting too, except he was still running around and being silly! Nothing stops him apparently.

But now that I've broken up his feedings, less of a huge tummy- LOL.