Deworming/ Raw question

[karenlynn79]

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this question: Feeding my cats mostly raw (Darwins), do I need to have them dewormed periodically?
Also, is it ok for them to eat nearly 100% of the same brand, same type (Darwins, turkey)? They won't touch the chicken and I've had only moderate success with duck. The other option I was thinking of doing to mix it up was using two brands of raw. I can get Small Batch near me (it's made in San Francisco and seems good). It's quite a bit more $$ than Darwins, my 2 yo F5 was really into it but I wanted to switch to Darwins because it's cheaper and it's delivered. Any thoughts?? The Small Batch comes in different meats, so I'd have more options to mix it up, but I don't want to use 2 brands if it poses a potential problem.
thanks
Karen

 

[WitchyWoman]

I feed a whole prey diet and used to deworm 3x yr but I stopped. Felt there wasn't any need to use a drug when I wasn't even sure there was a problem. Haven't dewormed for 3 years and everyone is fine.

It's not good for a cat to become addicted to one type of food. There is a risk of developing an allergy to that food, the food being recalled, the recipe changing -- any number of things can happen and then you risk a health issue if the cat is slow to warm up to new foods or refuses to eat altogether.

My 4 are treat addicts. They love freeze-dried duck and chicken hearts and Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried Duck Duck Goose. When I want them to try a new food, I use a fine grater to shave one of the hearts over the food or sprinkle it with the Stella & Chewy's. You can also try parmesan cheese.

 

[SavannahLuv]

Shango is the same way... he will only eat the Darwin's turkey. When I first got the trial shipment he never liked the chicken, but he'd eat the turkey and the duck. Then he decided the turkey was oh so much better and refused to eat the duck. Next month I'm going to get 1 lb of duck with his turkey shipment to try introducing to him again. I also still have some Primal Rabbit nuggets left (his original favorite that he won't eat anymore) that I will try giving him again in the near future. Ideally I was hoping to feed him both Darwin's & Primal raw, but Shango has decided for now he will simply just have Darwin's turkey as his main food.

Other than that, every night I give him 1 3oz pouch of Weruva's pumpkin lickin chicken. I also give him chicken & duck fresh is best treats to try to give some variety (even though it's not much).

As for worming, Shango's monthly heartworm pill takes care of some worms (not all). Since he will be 1 year old on the 20th, I'm going to take him to the vet this Friday for a checkup... just to make sure there's still no health issues since the breeder's contract only guarantees him free of health issues until he is 1 year old. While he's there, I'm going to have him wormed and his claws trimmed. The last time I had him wormed was maybe 4-5 months ago. I agree with Witchy and don't necessarily see the need. I'll probably just have it done going forward once a year during his yearly checkups.

 

[Rafiki]

My cats were fed Darwin chicken and turkey for the first year. Then Darwin changed the recipe and did not give me a heads up. All of a sudden, my cats would not eat. I figured it out when I found a packet of the old food and gave it to them and they devoured it. The company did not have any of the old formula left so I had to find someone (thankfully my sis-in-law that lives 70 miles away) that had some of the old to transition them to the new formula. Lesson learned: make sure the cats have a variety of foods that they will eat!