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What to feed my F2?

whitekickboxing

Savannah Super Cat
I have been doing a ton 'o research on feeding my kitty a raw diet. I understand it is really the best food for them, from a nutritional and water perpective. When I went to the holistic pet food store, all they did was confuse me - there were SOOOO many choices. I left with nothing. I also don't want to buy frozen baby carcesses to feed to her. Someone told me that you can also buy dehydrated and add water if you don't want to deal with the whole defrosting/raw thing. Can you provide suggestions to me please? I hate to continue with canned food & kibbles. Thanks.
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
Hi,

There are many ways to feed raw. I am no expert but just like you, starting researching, asking questions and finally experimenting on my own. So, I started out with a dehydrated food called Prowl, by Honest Kitchen (have to put it on list). My boy loved it but it, but he was a kitten and needed supplementation with it. The good thing is that the company is great - you can call and speak with them. I have also tried Nature's Variety Dehydrated raw and both cats love it.

I then began ordering raw rabbit chunks or ground rabbit when I got my second Savannah from Hare-Today, as well as ground turkey and chicken. This has to be supplemented with taurine and perhaps salmon oil, etc. Hare-Today sold a supplement called Simply Raw and I love it - mixed it in with the ground and had 8 pounds of raw from 5 pound ground raw chicken.

Then I started grinding my own chicken (legs and thighs or combo leg/thigh) with skin and adding Simply Raw. I have used many different forms of supplements to find what my cats will eat from TC Feline to Mazuri - all are different but very good and all have wonderful customer service who will take the time to talk to you and help you.

Taj (my boy) decided he no longer wants to eat raw and I am not going to force him. Zuri, my F4 SBT, now eats whole prey...and I get that frozen from Rodent Pro.

I know I probably have confused you more, but perhaps I gave you something to think about? You have to do what you feel comfortable with.

I'm sure others will chime in here.
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
When I first start raw I was so confused too, but once you read and understand it it is easy. I started out by buying raw already made. I used Natural pet pantry product which all my cats loved. I then started researching meat grinders, best place to get meat(I get mine from Costco) and supplement. I make chicken and turkey for them. I follow a raw cat recipe and their is one listed in the links here under raw feeding. I buy all the supplements from the health food store or you can order on line as well. You can also use the pre mix supplement instead as Paige has mention. My Savannah only likes when I use the recipes to a "T"...I tried the other stuff and he wont eat it, the other two cats don't care. Also, make sure you buy a nice grinder don't go cheap, I tried, urggg. I ended up buying a really nice one and can grind 20-30 pounds in about 10-15mins, done in about 45. So, yes it can be time consuming, but worth it for the cat and I find it cheaper. I have this grinder. http://www.onestopjerkyshop.com/tasin-ts108-electric-meat-grinder-p-47.html

It's probably all seems confusing, but just read and there is a video too on this link; http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

this is the recipe I use. Make sure you scroll down, it's easy recipe and it also tells you how to make the rabbit. http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Raw_Cat_Food_Recipes


Here's a video that is easy to follow as well as the other one;


If you need more help let me know!:)
 

whitekickboxing

Savannah Super Cat
You have both been great in your answers, thank you! However, I am not sure that I want to get into the whole grinding thing. Is it less expensive than buying the pre-made patties at the pet food store, is that why you do it? Is it possible to use dehydrated always (less mess)? How do I know what exact and how much supplements to add? Thank you!
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
Yes, I do it because the cost is A LOT less expensive. It costs me about .99cent a pound. Purchasing it it's about $6.00 a pound. You can use the dehydrated if you would like, I think Paige did that for a while too. It is messy when making it yourself...I have a system now tho. I sanitize everything before hand counters and all. I use plastic cutting sheets and I put paper under the containers I fill. It pretty easy clean up now!

What do you mean by exact supplements? If you are following the recipe you add the amount they have told you to the meat and mix it in to the meat WELL before storing it in the container to freeze...

I know a lot of people that have a lot of success with feeding rodentpro.com too, that another option.
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
The problem with buying pre-made patties or ground at the store is you do not know how long it has been sitting there.

What you can do is maybe try some ground raw chicken or rabbit from hare-today - I think their minimum is 10 lb and see if that works for you. This way you do not have to grind it if you don't want to. Not sure where you live, but there is another source for raw ground in the links section here - it is http://www.wholefoods4pets.com


As for supplements, as I said Mazuri is very good or you can add you own as MK pointed out - adding your own is easy, since it is all in the recipe MK posted. For Mazuri, they give an indication on the canister as to how much to add. For 15 lbs. of whole meat, first convert lbs. to grams which will be a total of 6810 grams. 0.5% = 34 grams. According to the chart, this is 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon. I believe several breeders and owners here use Mazuri.

Then there is also Rad Cat Raw Diet with all the supplements included. You might want to take a look at that site though because they may have a store near you where you can buy it instead of having it delivered. I just found out there are several stores within 10 miles of me that carry it :)
 

Per Lausund

Moderator
Staff member
Raw is fine if the quality is high, the only worries would be the bacteria in the food that are normally killed by cooking. You also need to be aware of the potential parasite problems you might get and keep up to date with deworming etc. I generally feed cooked food, or at least food that has been frozen (freezing does not kill the bacteria, and some chickens may carry a lot!, but it does reduce the parasite load).
We often feed the kittens minced, cooked chicken, but will do raw ground beef as well. And some like fish!
Whatever you do, hygiene is important!
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
Okay, First I wanted to say, yes, you need to get meat from a trusted butcher or market. If the meat is rinses off with water very well, kitchen is sanitized(like it said) EVERYTHING. you will not have any problems with bactiria AND YES the freezer with kill bactira...Leave it in the freeze for 3days to kill bactira. Dr. Lisa A. Pierson says; While cats' stomachs are said to be more acidic than ours, and while cats often eat day-old carcasses in the wild with no ill effects, human-induced bacterial contaminants in processed meats can be problematical. However, thousands of people are successfully feeding their cats and dogs raw food diets, by taking certain precautions:(Freezing also destroys many bacteria.) Add priobiotics to the mix(I do this too), for enhanced intestinal tract health (available in health food stores and online pet stores).

I have NERVER had a problem and I'm not worried about it in the least. I know so many people that do the same as I do!
 
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