C
Coolcat
Guest
I was thinking of trying some on Triton.Tips,venders and stories please.
Savannah Cat Chat - THE Place for Savannah Cat Talk
Welcome to the Savannah Cat Chat Forum! Our forum has been in existence since 2012 and is the only one of its kind. We were here, serving the savannah cat community before Facebook and Instagram! Register for a free account today to become a member! Please use an email program other than Hotmail, since Hotmail accounts are blacklisted by many servers and ISP's. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site in some of the forums by adding your own topics and posts. But in order to take advantage of the full features, such as a private inbox as well as connect with other members ad access some of the larger topics, a donation of $2.99/mo or $25/yr is requested. This will allow us to continue running this forum!
Nutshell answer:
Vendors -- rodentpro; hare today; mice direct (ask for non irradiated prey); quailandmice.com. There may be commercial interests near you. Quailandmice.com is 30 minutes from me. I get my quail from them and rats, etc. from rodentpro. Shipping can be very expensive depending on your location.
Tips -- start with small critters -- fuzzie mice, chicks, and work your way up to larger prey depending on your cat's ability and until its jaw muscles get strong. My F6 is 11lbs and eats adult quail without a problem. If your cat will eat only the smaller, immature prey, you should supplement with vitamins. Once the cat gets used to eating whole prey, the cat's appetite may increase a whole lot for the first month or so and then levels off. Your cat will probably need to be taught that the prey is food. One trick often used is to tie a mouse or chick to a string and play with the cat like you would with a feather wand. It normally doesn't take long for the cat to get the picture. Sometimes a cat will get diarrhea as its body gets rid of stored toxins and cleans itself of stored fillers present in commercial food. Doesn't last too long and before you know it, the cat is pooping less and its nearly odor free.
Stories -- I transitioned 2 DSH kibble addicts (12 & 14 yrs old) from kibble to canned to raw to whole prey. In the 2 months it took, their coats and energy level improved, dandruff disappeared and they acted like kittens again. The 12 yr old also had Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the beginning of chronic kidney disease and the vet told me a raw diet would kill her. She was 18 when she died 4 mos ago due to kidney failure. I'm convinced she would have died much sooner had I kept her on a commercial diet. It really is amazing to watch the change.
Also, check out http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm for a bit more detail.
Vendors -- rodentpro; hare today; mice direct (ask for non irradiated prey); quailandmice.com. There may be commercial interests near you. Quailandmice.com is 30 minutes from me. I get my quail from them and rats, etc. from rodentpro. Shipping can be very expensive depending on your location.
Tips -- start with small critters -- fuzzie mice, chicks, and work your way up to larger prey depending on your cat's ability and until its jaw muscles get strong. My F6 is 11lbs and eats adult quail without a problem. If your cat will eat only the smaller, immature prey, you should supplement with vitamins. Once the cat gets used to eating whole prey, the cat's appetite may increase a whole lot for the first month or so and then levels off. Your cat will probably need to be taught that the prey is food. One trick often used is to tie a mouse or chick to a string and play with the cat like you would with a feather wand. It normally doesn't take long for the cat to get the picture. Sometimes a cat will get diarrhea as its body gets rid of stored toxins and cleans itself of stored fillers present in commercial food. Doesn't last too long and before you know it, the cat is pooping less and its nearly odor free.
Stories -- I transitioned 2 DSH kibble addicts (12 & 14 yrs old) from kibble to canned to raw to whole prey. In the 2 months it took, their coats and energy level improved, dandruff disappeared and they acted like kittens again. The 12 yr old also had Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the beginning of chronic kidney disease and the vet told me a raw diet would kill her. She was 18 when she died 4 mos ago due to kidney failure. I'm convinced she would have died much sooner had I kept her on a commercial diet. It really is amazing to watch the change.
Also, check out http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm for a bit more detail.
C
Coolcat
Guest
Thank you much.
Deborah, I would like to get cisco off of kibble so will ask for some help when I am ready...he has lesions on his teeth and goes to the vet for dental surgery next week...
Zuri will NOT eat anything larger than fuzzies and one day old quail...and she is addicted to the small quail, giving her virtually no nutrition, so she only gets them once a day now. And then she will eat rabbit from hare-today or ground chicken I make. But...they really prefer rabbit with no supplements, so I am still working on that...I like to get the rabbit pieces from hare-today and grind it myself...then I can add whatever I have to add...
Shipping coats all depend on where you live...
Zuri will NOT eat anything larger than fuzzies and one day old quail...and she is addicted to the small quail, giving her virtually no nutrition, so she only gets them once a day now. And then she will eat rabbit from hare-today or ground chicken I make. But...they really prefer rabbit with no supplements, so I am still working on that...I like to get the rabbit pieces from hare-today and grind it myself...then I can add whatever I have to add...
Shipping coats all depend on where you live...
You're welcome. Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it. All 3 of my SVs came from breeders who fed mainly kibble and a bit of canned and raw. I gave the kittens their recommended kibble for 1 week before adding in baby mice & chicks and they never chose the kibble after that. It didn't take too long for them to transition to larger prey, especially after they lost their baby teeth.
Rabbit meat is naturally low in taurine so if it is a primary part of a diet, supplementing with taurine is necessary.