Raw meat for Kitty any good

[gogoblender 3,072]

Morning guys!

 

We just lately started getting some nice bits of good raw beef from grocery store. Cat`s a bit old, so we wanted to add a bit of spice and life into it`s plate as contrast from regular dry food. It seems like she`s loving it. The cost of the meat though is so high, but it kinda breaks heart to see kitty `forced`to become a kind of vegetarian and eat dry kibbly bits.

 

While the cut of meat is pricey, it lasts some time, and she only eats small portions. Judging from the amount of purring that rolls off her after, and the yowls of demand that preceed feed time, we think the change has been pleasant.

 

I sometimes mix the raw meat with the dry, to kind of `spread`the value, and give her some `texture` (oooh, I`m a chef! :cher:), but don`t know much about feeding cats raw meat.

 

Does anyone here do or has done this. Any stories or tips for the newbie with the cat on the raw meat diet!

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,534]

Do you catch mice and roast them at your place?

Just raw meat the whole day isn't healthy. But a whole healthy mice is. Mice and sparrows are normally a mix of ballast (hair and feathers), seeds, and meat. So a few pieces here and then are okay.

 

Really old cats, 20 years up, are no longer able to use their cutting teeth properly, so you have to fine cut the meat, adding some boiled rice.

 

What I learned from house cats I had to care for for friends at vacances: they often don't recognize raw meat as food, beause cat food has aromizer, smells and all this added.

[essjayehm 58]

Being a "cat-person" I can honestly say I've never given mine any raw meat. Don't know why, per se... maybe something my parents taught me that I don't remember, or whatever. Table scraps, of course, but not raw. Then again, I can remember every one of my cats was a "mouser" in that they caught and ate lots of rodents/birds etc.

 

Heh... that I know of, my cat had 2 live bats and numerous live birds (BTW, I caught and removed them) in the house this summer.

How the heck does a cat catch a bat? LOL, moot question for DC comics fans? When I released them, they flew away as if unharmed, so I was somewhat puzzled at that feat!

[wolfie2kX 528]

Morning guys!

 

We just lately started getting some nice bits of good raw beef from grocery store. Cat`s a bit old, so we wanted to add a bit of spice and life into it`s plate as contrast from regular dry food. It seems like she`s loving it. The cost of the meat though is so high, but it kinda breaks heart to see kitty `forced`to become a kind of vegetarian and eat dry kibbly bits.

 

While the cut of meat is pricey, it lasts some time, and she only eats small portions. Judging from the amount of purring that rolls off her after, and the yowls of demand that preceed feed time, we think the change has been pleasant.

 

I sometimes mix the raw meat with the dry, to kind of `spread`the value, and give her some `texture` (oooh, I`m a chef! :cher:), but don`t know much about feeding cats raw meat.

 

Does anyone here do or has done this. Any stories or tips for the newbie with the cat on the raw meat diet!

 

 

gogo

 

Gogo - Do you get Animal Planet or Nat Geo Wild up in Canada? If you do, tune into any show featuring felines... Big Cat Diary is a good one. I don't think you'll see any of the lions, leopards nor cheetahs chomping down on dry kibble! Raw meat IS a cat's natural diet.

 

Even cartoon network can be educational - look at Tom and Jerry, Sylvester and Tweety - the cats are always trying to catch and eat their prey...

 

Chattius - Most cats "peel" their prey - I.e. remove fur and feathers before chowing down. They're not hyenas who pretty much eat anything and everything, bones, fur and all.

 

Scott - Got to be careful with bats - as with any wild critter, they can carry diseases. Best to keep your cat indoors. The last thing you want is for kitty to be bitten by a rabid bat.

[masteff 64]

`forced`to become a kind of vegetarian and eat dry kibbly bits.

First off, cats require meat proteins in their diet as they are unable to synthesize certain amino acids on their own. Thus cats aren't able to eat a vegan diet and that kitty kibble does contain meat proteins.

 

Second, since you work in the food industry, I trust you use the safest food handling practices, even for kitty. The main risk is from germs.

 

Without looking too hard, here's a link you might glance over: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_feeding#Bacteria.2C_viruses_and_parasites

 

Oh...! You might try what my girlfriend and her mother do... baby food! A half-teaspoon on a saucer every couple of days as a treat. The cat just loves it! http://www.gerber.com/sitter/products/puree_baby_food/2nd_foods_meats_chicken.aspx

[chattius 2,534]

Our cats devour small animal as a whole. They do very hard to open a bigger animal. They bite away long wing feathers, but the rest, all swallowed and then the undigestable parts vomited a day later.

 

My blendling 'Bies Biest', Bad Beast, now 18 and is no longer able to open a rabbit or big rat it caught. Blendlings is the german name for a mix of house cat and european wild cat which are here in some years. Believe it or not, the european wildcat is the only predator which can't be tamed. You can tame orca and polar bear, weasels and wolves, lions and tigers, but no chattius which is latin for a wild cat and the german tribe living in my area in roman times.

 

New avatar is a european wild cat, as you can see at the 5 stripes on the forehead, same as on my Bies Beast. Did you now that the wildcat is in the top ten of all predators if you compare body weight to weapon weight?

[wolfie2kX 528]

Our cats devour small animal as a whole. They do very hard to open a bigger animal. They bite away long wing feathers, but the rest, all swallowed and then the undigestable parts vomited a day later.

 

My blendling 'Bies Biest', Bad Beast, now 18 and is no longer able to open a rabbit or big rat it caught. Blendlings is the german name for a mix of house cat and european wild cat which are here in some years. Believe it or not, the european wildcat is the only predator which can't be tamed. You can tame orca and polar bear, weasels and wolves, lions and tigers, but no chattius which is latin for a wild cat and the german tribe living in my area in roman times.

 

New avatar is a european wild cat, as you can see at the 5 stripes on the forehead, same as on my Bies Beast. Did you now that the wildcat is in the top ten of all predators if you compare body weight to weapon weight?

 

Cats have 3 kinds of teeth.

 

1.) There's the fangs - used to kill prey.

2.) There are the Carnasials - the side teeth used to slice chunks of meat from the prey for eating

3.) And there's the front teeth (the ones between the fangs) - used to pluck feathers and fur from prey.

 

Your European Wildcats may be a bit less fussy, or the fur they don't remove may be just too short and not worth the effort to remove.

 

The English word for "Blending" in this context would be a "hybrid" or "crossbreed". As far as taming wild animals goes... I'm not so sure there's any such thing as a tame lion, tiger or wolf. They may become accustomed to living with humans and may even be trained. But even then, they're not what most would consider "tame" - like a cat, dog or other domesticated species. Most people who have lived with such critters as lions, tigers and such still have to be extremely careful when dealing with their pets.

 

Look at Sigfreid and Roy - of the famed Las Vegas tiger act. The cat damn near tore Roy's neck to shreds - even if it was an attempt to "save" him by dragging him off stage. I see it differently. Roy slipped up. He may have had a stroke, or maybe not. The cat saw an opportunity and struck. That is the way of the feline. Cats have a LOT of skill when it comes to manipulating their bite pressure. The same teeth that can deal death to a wildebeest one minute can be use to lovingly pick up a lion cub the next and carry it to another location. Granted, Roy weighs in a bit more than a lion cub, but still.. The amount of damage, I have a feeling the cat was about to have a snack.

 

I don't doubt the Euro wildcat is pound per pound in that top 10. There's a show on Animal Planet (at least, there was recently) that was a top 10 countdown thing. They did the top 10 cats based on the number of species it had in it's "larder".. Namely how many different critters it was willing to eat. Lions, tigers, cheetahs were at the bottom with 20 - 50 species. The common house cat was #1 on that list with 1000+ species. And it all makes sense - cats eat birds, mice, rats, lizards, bugs, squirrels, chipmunks and 990 other species. I don't doubt the Euro wildcat, being able to breed with the house cat (thus making it a related species), has a similarly long menu...

[gogoblender 3,072]

 

Do you catch mice and roast them at your place?

Just raw meat the whole day isn't healthy. But a whole healthy mice is. Mice and sparrows are normally a mix of ballast (hair and feathers), seeds, and meat. So a few pieces here and then are okay.

 

heh, the cat's had a examples of this happening, she's caught a few mousies in the apartment over the years. Waits patiently outside Schot's door till he wakes up, then presents it to him.

 

Always amuses me, but so messy Would be cool if we could more efficiently manage this life blood and flesh need without the smears of blood on the floors

 

Being a "cat-person" I can honestly say I've never given mine any raw meat. Don't know why, per se... maybe something my parents taught me that I don't remember, or whatever. Table scraps, of course, but not raw. Then again, I can remember every one of my cats was a "mouser" in that they caught and ate lots of rodents/birds etc.

 

 

Scott this was kind of my background on this as well. I'd always "known" , "felt" that "cat food" was "correct" never questionned it. A friend of mine at work has four cats, him and his gf are hugely fans. They buy pounds of meat, all kinds of cuts, and open up a big plate of the stuff for the cats every morning. Raw, moist, dripping He says his cats go nuts for it, and are super healthy. He also says it's much more expensive than buying "cat food"...this is prime meat, not cast offs.

 

 

 

I don't think you'll see any of the lions, leopards nor cheetahs chomping down on dry kibble! Raw meat IS a cat's natural diet.

 

 

 

I know this is how it's in the wild, but it's so hard to give up what I've been "lessoned" or brainwashed... "Must obey, cat food only comes from a bag!"

 

 

 

 

Oh...! You might try what my girlfriend and her mother do... baby food! A half-teaspoon on a saucer every couple of days as a treat. The cat just loves it! http://www.gerber.com/sitter/products/puree_baby_food/2nd_foods_meats_chicken.aspx

 

 

That is really cool! I know a few times, the cat has been strangely attracted to Melon! Maybe intense sugar a la good fruit is a good way? I'll check out that baby food^^

 

 

gogo

[wolfie2kX 528]

 

I don't think you'll see any of the lions, leopards nor cheetahs chomping down on dry kibble! Raw meat IS a cat's natural diet.

 

 

 

I know this is how it's in the wild, but it's so hard to give up what I've been "lessoned" or brainwashed... "Must obey, cat food only comes from a bag!"

 

 

OK... But WHO was doing said brainwashing? Obviously - the cat food companies who have a financial stake in you feeding your kitty THEIR product. Of course, they want you feeding Fluffy 9 Lives (or whatever brand the cat is partial to). But cats have been eating raw meat for many millions of years - and rarely ever have problems with it.

 

 

Oh...! You might try what my girlfriend and her mother do... baby food! A half-teaspoon on a saucer every couple of days as a treat. The cat just loves it! http://www.gerber.com/sitter/products/puree_baby_food/2nd_foods_meats_chicken.aspx

 

 

That is really cool! I know a few times, the cat has been strangely attracted to Melon! Maybe intense sugar a la good fruit is a good way? I'll check out that baby food^^

 

 

gogo

 

 

Feh.. That's nothing. My cat LOVES tomato sauce and celery. But some are attracted to corn. There are videos out there of cats eating it straight from the cob.