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Post by fuzzymom on Apr 12, 2010 11:30:22 GMT -5
Now that I have a job, I'm hoping to convince my husband to let me switch the cats over to a raw diet. One (or more) of the cats has been vomiting. 1-2 times a week we will find vomit in our bed. Another 1-2 times per week we will find a nasty messy hairball in our bed. So that is 2-4 times per week I have to wash our sheets. And I just don't like seeing our babies not feeling good. They have been on the same kibble for a while now (Iams) and I just think it is time we switched them. So this diet will basically follow the ferret's diet (that way it can all be prepared and frozen at the same time) just more of it.
The cats: (and we are not sure which one is vomiting) Tyran (fur loss due to stress or allergy) - 10lbs Miki - 8lbs Ramman - (bad breath) 16lbs Liam - 13lbs
I read that they are supposed to eat 2-4% of their body weight. I could go in the middle and say 3%. Though, Ramman and Liam could lose some weight, so should I go with 3% or 2%?
Tyran - 4.8oz Miki - 3.84oz Ramman - 7.68oz @3% and 5.12 @2% Liam - 6.24 @3% and 4.16 @2%
I will be using only what I can find at Walmart and I intend on taking pictures and doing videos to post on youtube about their transition. Of course, that is if it is okay that I go ahead with this. I will update on whether on not I will be doing this. Hopefully I can.
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Post by Heather on Apr 12, 2010 12:12:12 GMT -5
You don't mention how old your kitties are?? Like ferrets this is a factor. Cats are, in my opinion, often harder to switch than ferrets and require as much close observation. They cannot at any point just be left to their own devises just to eat their food, because unlike dogs cats will starve themselves to death. Do your kitties hunt? Willingly steal scraps or food from the counter? An overweight cat who suddenly stops eating is prone to Feline Hepatic Lipidosis also called Fatty liver disease. I've successfully switched a 12 yr old finicky siamese so it can be done at any time. Some cats are easier than others. Samurai took about 6 months to switch over. My 80 yr old mother in law switched her two kibble addicts over to raw, so anyone can do it Do your little ones only eat kibbles or do they eat moist or get moist as treats? Like ferrets your cats will require a minimum of 3 types of proteins sources to cover their dietary needs plus a balance of organ and bone. I moderate on a yahoo group that specializes in cat dietary needs if you're interested. Good luck ciao
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Post by fuzzymom on Apr 12, 2010 12:33:37 GMT -5
*smacks forehead* Forgot. Miki is around 4.5 years old Tyran is 4 years old Ramman is 2.5 years old Liam is around 1.5 years old (he'll be 2 this summer) I also forgot to mention that they all switched to raw for a month in 2009 as a sort of experiment to see if they would do it. They loved it! And a couple of them even started eating whole prey. Then I switched them back to kibble because of money issues and I haven't gone back since. Of course they occasionally get raw scraps when I'm prepping the ferret's food for the week.
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2010 0:07:29 GMT -5
Ok....this isn't sounding near as bad Good luck...Iams is not a good food and there are a lot better out there. Even getting your furbabies off kibbles on to moist is better for them (takes out the dehydration factor) but raw is indeed the ultimate feed. Good luck on your being able to convince your husband. You could always use the better health and fewer vet visits ciao
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Post by fuzzymom on Apr 13, 2010 14:59:12 GMT -5
When you mean put them on moist food are you talking ONLY feeding them canned food? My cats would think they died and went to heaven! They hear a can being opened, even if it is a can of corn and they come running, thinking it is for them.
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2010 15:11:34 GMT -5
As your guys have already eaten and liked raw you can skip that step altogether Moist is better for them than kibble though. So if you get no farther than that (I find canned moist more obnoxious (smell wise) than a freshly opened bag of kibbles If you're switching a hard core kibble addict, say the way my old kitty Samurai was, you would first convince them to eat canned. For Samurai this was a long hard drawn out process. He hated moist food. Of the 6 months that it took me to switch him over 4 of those months was just convincing him that I wasn't trying to poison him with moist food. I spent weeks trying to find him a food that he would actually sample. Now, to make all things fair, he also had a vomiting issue which I learned resulted whenever he ate beef or any hoofed animals' meat. I noticed the other day, that he quite comfortably ate the bison that I left out for Merlyn with no ill effects so maybe those sensitivities resolve themselves ciao
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Post by fuzzymom on Apr 20, 2010 11:52:05 GMT -5
It might make the financial switch easier if I go to canned first. For many raw feeders it is cheaper to feed raw than it is to feed kibble and wet food but for some reason I find that feeding raw is bit more expensive and time consuming, though I'm sure if I did some digging I could find deals on meat and if I did all the prep on the same day, I'd save a ton of time. Not to mention all the kids could be fed at the same time everyday. I will see where my finances sit and I will begin making videos when I begin their switch to raw.
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