cost of f9eeding raw for dogs and cats

[horseyliz]

i currently have two cats and a pug who i am thinking about swiching to rawonce i have more frezer space. I was wonder ing how much meat they would need to eat as well. one cat is 8 weeks old and a lb in weight the other is 6 years old 18 lbs and a couch p[otato.

[sherrylynne]

Most cats and dogs will eat about 3-5% of their body weight. Obviously, kittens will eat a lot more than that til they are about 8 months to a year. A good forum for raw feeding cats and dogs are Catster and Dogster.
www.catster.com/forums/home.php
www.dogster.com/forums/home.php
They both have raw feeding sections on the forums. Here's another good one for both cats and dogs: pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawcat/
pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

[Chelsea]

3-5%? I think its 1-3% for a dog, unless they are running the iditarod or something like that . I dont really weigh his food anymore but when i did, Bailey ate around 1-2% of his body weight on average, when im in school and he only gets a couple walks and runs a day, and 3% in the summer when we are really active. Any higher than that and he would start to gain weight. Cats would probably eat a little closer to 4 or 5% of their body weight, and the kitten should be given as much food as he will eat because he is still growing.

Price all depends on now you buy. In my opinion, raw diet is MUCH cheaper than even the best kibbles. Becuase, i buy in bulk alot, i get things on sale, and the store near me has a lot of "leftover" meat and bones that not many people buy that they sell really cheap. If you dont get things on sale, or if meat is expencive around you, raw diet will be more expencive.

[ferretdroogies]

Here's the chart I found to follow a while back when I first started researching raw diets (I think it's from the Bravo! raw food site):

Feeding Percentages (% of body weight to fed)
2% = For weight loss or sedentary dogs/cats
2.5% = Maintain weight
3% = For slight weight gain
3.5% = For significant weight gain
4% = Growing puppies/kittens
4.5 - 10% = For very young puppies/kittens

Here's the calculator to make it easier! (I know it's for bravo! raw food, but it comes out with the same amount on other calculators)
www.bravorawdiet.com/howmuch.html

Puppies and kitties should be fed several times a day until they get older, then start reducing it to 1-2 meals a day. This is just a guide, because each individual animals intake varies based on age, weight, activity level, health, etc.

Here's the thread on the cost of raw and how to save money! (the video is a good watch too!)
holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gen&action=display&thread=1221