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What should I feed my f1?

Kan

Savannah Adult
Hi all,

I got a F1 for one month only. This is my first time to have a Savannah cat and also a cat. So I’m really nervous about everything would happen to my cat.

He is 4 months old and he is very cute. However, he is very strangely-picky on food.

I feed him raw food bought from HareToday website, I was recommended by my breeder about this website. I bought ground chicken with organs and bones and it worked perfectly for him at the very beginning, however after several days, unless he was super hungry, he would go to dry food rather than the raw meat.

I try to feed him canned food as less as possible, because he would have a very smelly poop when he ate canned food. From I know the breeder is also feeding him raw, so I don’t worry about the transaction.

What is worse, recently I found he had loose poop, I worried about it.

Does it have anything with raw diet?

Or what I should do to encourage him to eat more raw meat?

How much should a kitten as old as him eat per day?

What you think about the HareToday raw food?

Any shared info and experience would be extremely helpful! I’m afraid he eat so little raw and too much dry food now, since I stopped canned food. Please I need some advice.

.
ff8fa09a9553faf2263bb7dc57765811.jpg



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Patti

Admin
Staff member
He is a beautiful baby, what is his name?

Dry food is like junk food to cats so it's not surprising that, given the option, he chooses kibble over the raw. First off, make sure you are giving him the same raw as the breeder was - purchasing from the same company is a good start, but changing protein abruptly can lead to stomach upset and diarrhea. If you are already providing the same diet as the breeder was feeding you might want to try mixing some of the kibble in with the raw to see if it will encourage him to eat more raw. Better yet, purchase some freeze dried chicken to mix in with the raw. Most cats go crazy for freeze dried chicken so it will hopefully encourage him to eat the raw if they are mixed together.
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
Totally agree with the dehydrated chicken, it works great for getting them to eat. I get it from Hare Today, crush it up in the bag with a meat tenderizer hammer and then put it in a new bag. I could probably get him to eat anything with it sprinkled over top.

Also adding supplements are important, especially taurine. The easiest way to do it is with Mazuri supplements. There are two kinds, one for whole prey and another for slab meat. Our cats love it enough that we can sprinkle it over their food to entice them to eat.

He’s certainly a beautiful kitten, and a lot of cat for a starter kitten. I’d recommend getting a helmet ahead of the tsunami growth and aptitude cycle, he looks like he’s going to be a load.

Sure we’ll see lots of you here, welcome and again he’s a beautiful kitten.
 

Remi's Mommy

Site Supporter
Hi all,

I got a F1 for one month only. This is my first time to have a Savannah cat and also a cat. So I’m really nervous about everything would happen to my cat.

He is 4 months old and he is very cute. However, he is very strangely-picky on food.

I feed him raw food bought from HareToday website, I was recommended by my breeder about this website. I bought ground chicken with organs and bones and it worked perfectly for him at the very beginning, however after several days, unless he was super hungry, he would go to dry food rather than the raw meat.

I try to feed him canned food as less as possible, because he would have a very smelly poop when he ate canned food. From I know the breeder is also feeding him raw, so I don’t worry about the transaction.

What is worse, recently I found he had loose poop, I worried about it.

Does it have anything with raw diet?

Or what I should do to encourage him to eat more raw meat?

How much should a kitten as old as him eat per day?

What you think about the HareToday raw food?

Any shared info and experience would be extremely helpful! I’m afraid he eat so little raw and too much dry food now, since I stopped canned food. Please I need some advice.

.
ff8fa09a9553faf2263bb7dc57765811.jpg



从我的 iPhone 发送,使用 Tapatalk
I have good luck with answers raw, I also give her about an 1/8 cup of raw fermented goat milk every day.That keeps the good bacteria in her gut in check. As far as canned food goes , I have found Feline Natural is a great choice. Origin dry is probably one of, if not the best dry going. But I would limit even that. Other then that, just keep him busy, put up some shelves, and interact with him with his toys, take him on walks with a leash. Just be his best friend and he will be yours.
 

Kan

Savannah Adult
He is a beautiful baby, what is his name?

Dry food is like junk food to cats so it's not surprising that, given the option, he chooses kibble over the raw. First off, make sure you are giving him the same raw as the breeder was - purchasing from the same company is a good start, but changing protein abruptly can lead to stomach upset and diarrhea. If you are already providing the same diet as the breeder was feeding you might want to try mixing some of the kibble in with the raw to see if it will encourage him to eat more raw. Better yet, purchase some freeze dried chicken to mix in with the raw. Most cats go crazy for freeze dried chicken so it will hopefully encourage him to eat the raw if they are mixed together.

Thank you for your reply. His name is Percy, short for Perseus.

My breeder was feeding him homemade raw, so I guess the HareToday can not compete with handmade.

I will buy some freeze dried chicken to have a try. Is it good to feed him mice at currant stage? I saw there are small whole prey mice on website, but not sure if he is old enough to eat those. Anything I need to pay attention, for switching/ feeding another kind of meat besides chicken?

Is there any cons if I try to stop/limit dry food to push him eat more raw food?

It seems I have so many questions, thank you again!






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Kan

Savannah Adult
Totally agree with the dehydrated chicken, it works great for getting them to eat. I get it from Hare Today, crush it up in the bag with a meat tenderizer hammer and then put it in a new bag. I could probably get him to eat anything with it sprinkled over top.

Also adding supplements are important, especially taurine. The easiest way to do it is with Mazuri supplements. There are two kinds, one for whole prey and another for slab meat. Our cats love it enough that we can sprinkle it over their food to entice them to eat.

He’s certainly a beautiful kitten, and a lot of cat for a starter kitten. I’d recommend getting a helmet ahead of the tsunami growth and aptitude cycle, he looks like he’s going to be a load.

Sure we’ll see lots of you here, welcome and again he’s a beautiful kitten.

Thank you! I still have a lot to learn, it seems I finally find the right place!

I have bought some supplements, still trying to figure out how much I should add every meal though.

Btw, Do you feed your cat based on a strict schedule or whenever he is hungry?

Thank you again!



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WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
I have bought some supplements, still trying to figure out how much I should add every meal though.

Btw, Do you feed your cat based on a strict schedule or whenever he is hungry?
If you are feeding a commercially prepared diet, you don't need to add additional supplements although with a growing kitten, it certainly won't hurt. If you are making a homemade diet for him, then definitely add supplements.

Feed the kitten at least 4x a day -- breakfast, mid-day, dinner, and before bed time --and as much food as he wants each meal. You'll know when he's full if he leaves food in the dish. My F1 was eating 3-4 lbs of food a day by the time he was 6 months old and kept up that rate of consumption through his 2nd year. He's now 4 yrs old and eats approximately 1 to 1.5 pounds per day. When he was a kitten, I used Mazuri supplement but put it on his food only once per week. He did fine and grew up to be a very large and healthy cat which indicates that he got all of his essential vitamins and amino acids from his diet.

Have you considered a whole prey diet? It can be cost effective, depending on where you live, and is easier than worrying about proportions of meat/bone/organs when preparing a home-made diet. Hare-Today has whole prey options as well as rodentpro.com.
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
Btw, Do you feed your cat based on a strict schedule or whenever he is hungry?

As kittens, we were feeding our boys 3-4 times a day, and keeping track of the quantity. Raw food, whatever they ate in 15 minutes. Weighing the portions before feeding and weighing the leftovers. We didn't want to limit the food but also didn't want to be throwing a bunch out. Now that they are both adults, it's very predictable what they will eat each day.
 
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Kan

Savannah Adult
I have bought some supplements, still trying to figure out how much I should add every meal though.

Btw, Do you feed your cat based on a strict schedule or whenever he is hungry?
If you are feeding a commercially prepared diet, you don't need to add additional supplements although with a growing kitten, it certainly won't hurt. If you are making a homemade diet for him, then definitely add supplements.

Feed the kitten at least 4x a day -- breakfast, mid-day, dinner, and before bed time --and as much food as he wants each meal. You'll know when he's full if he leaves food in the dish. My F1 was eating 3-4 lbs of food a day by the time he was 6 months old and kept up that rate of consumption through his 2nd year. He's now 4 yrs old and eats approximately 1 to 1.5 pounds per day. When he was a kitten, I used Mazuri supplement but put it on his food only once per week. He did fine and grew up to be a very large and healthy cat which indicates that he got all of his essential vitamins and amino acids from his diet.

Have you considered a whole prey diet? It can be cost effective, depending on where you live, and is easier than worrying about proportions of meat/bone/organs when preparing a home-made diet. Hare-Today has whole prey options as well as rodentpro.com.

Thank you! This is super helpful! I am very confused how much he can eat and how often I should feed him.

How to start the whole prey diet? I saw some whole prey mice and chicks on the website, not so sure if they are right start for him at current stage.

BTW, 3-4 lbs food = raw food only or raw+dry food? I just want to get a accurate idea about how much I should feed.

When you feed raw, did you limit him to have other type of food, like dry food?

Sorry for so many basic questions and thank you so much for your time.



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WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
How to start the whole prey diet? I saw some whole prey mice and chicks on the website, not so sure if they are right start for him at current stage. I started feeding day old chicks and pinkie mice and rats. As his jaws got stronger I added in small quail (3 oz from rodentpro) and then graduated to whole quail, small chickens, rabbits. He won't eat rats or mice anymore so I also feed rich red meat (buffalo and venison) that I get from Hare-Today. If you change to whole prey, you'll still need to feed him whatever he's currently eating and the whole prey until he catches on that the whole prey is actually food. Some cats don't get it right away. You can also buy adult or semi adult prey and cut it up for him until he can chew the bones himself.

BTW, 3-4 lbs food = raw food only or raw+dry food? I just want to get a accurate idea about how much I should feed. I put him on whole prey after he was home for 2 weeks so that was 3-4 pounds of chicken, quail, mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs as well as red meats such as buffalo and venison.
A guideline for feeding: weight of cat x 16 x (estimated energy output between 2% for lazy cats to +10% for active kittens). So for example, for a 6 lb active kitten
6 x 16 x .12 = 11 ounces per day. Kitten should be eating at least 11 ounces of food per day and it's not an issue if the cat eats more than that or less than that. The best indication of kitten health is if he is putting on weight at approx. 1 lb per month.


When you feed raw, did you limit him to have other type of food, like dry food? No. The only way I'd feed dry food is if the cat had some sort of medical condition that required it.

Sorry for so many basic questions and thank you so much for your time. We're here to help. Here are a couple excellent sources about cat nutrition and feeding raw:
https://catinfo.org/
https://feline-nutrition.org/nutrition/how-to-transition-your-cat-to-a-raw-diet
http://www.rawfedcats.org/


And if you want to go with a prey model diet where you feed meat/organ/bone that you buy locally, this Facebook group has excellent info and support https://www.facebook.com/groups/rawcats/ The more you read about different diet choices, the better prepared you'll be to decide which one will work for you and the cat. Prey model diets can be quite inexpensive if you live in an area where there are a lot of butcher shops/grocery stores selling a variety of meats and organs. That type of diet takes time to prepare whether you feed the stuff in chunks or grind it. I chose the whole prey diet because that's what cats eat in the wild but I'm also lazy, lol, and didn't want to have to figure out proportions of all the required ingredients.
 
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