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help my cat does not eat catfood!

  
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Tamara

1055270
 
 
Purred: Thu Oct 22, '09 12:33am PST
my cat has a problem with eating i think. for a long time she was really skinny (about two months ago) her bowl was always full adn i would feed her on mostly wet catfood. but she didnt seem to like it. she would turn her nose up and i tried lots of different types of catfood and also dry but she would only eat a little but and it sat in her bowl for ages. i know youare supposed to feed your cat about 3-4 pouches a day, tamara was eating 1! now she is fatter because she is fed pure chicken (usualy meant for people to eat).

my family insist i feed her this because they say cat food is 'rubbish.' they would keep telling me i dont feed her properly because i was feeding her catfood. but its catfood! they are supposed to eat it right? so why wont my cat?! i was just wondering is it really ok to feed her fresh, RAW chicken? she seems to really like it and seems to be ok. but why would she suddenly turn her nose up as normal catfood when she has been eating it for months?

also my friend who supposedly knows a lot about cats does not think it is a good idea
what do you guys think?

Edited by author Thu Oct 22, '09 12:34am PST

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Mason

1049068
 
 
Purred: Thu Oct 22, '09 7:52am PST
Although I feed my cats raw, I use Nature's Variety pre-made raw food. It does not go through the same process that people food, such as chicken, go through so the raw chicken has more of a tendency to contain bacteria. Also cats need organ meat as well as a couple supplements so feeding a boneless chicken breast is not ideal. In the wild the cats would eat the bones, organs and flesh of an animal. I think raw is definitely a good idea if that is what your cat seems to like, just have to take precautions when preparing it. Feline's Pride is also a good pre-made raw food as well as Aunt Jeni's. You can also get info on how to make your own raw food at: www.catinfo.org
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Sprinkles

1004280
 
 
Purred: Thu Oct 22, '09 8:04am PST
wow your family is right! If you can afford it, start her on raw! It is healthier. Pet food companies are not perfect angels. Even though it is labled cat food and companies know full well cats are carnivores, they still put corn,and truckloads of grain that they don't need in there. You can't feed her soley on meat though, you will have to give her vitamin/mineral supplement sprinkled lightly over your food, or if you have the stomach, feed her organ meats(but I'm sure you'd rather do the vitamin supplement lol) check out the raw forum.

Edited by author Thu Oct 22, '09 8:07am PST

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Merlin - An Angel- Forever

*Poof*
 
 
Purred: Thu Oct 22, '09 9:40am PST
Raw meat is great for cats for many reasons. *But* just plan raw meat with nothing else is not nutrionally complete. It does not contain the necessary vitamins and minerals we need. A vitamin/mineral deficiency can lead to serious health problems.

If you want to feed raw, there are three ways to do this (that I know of).

One is to buy commercially made raw pet food. These are either frozen or freeze dried and all are nutrionally complete. Nature's Variety, Stella and Chewy's, and Bravo are three brands I can think of right now. There are others.

The second option is to make your own homemade raw food using a nutrionally complete recipie. There are many recipies out there. Try http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php and http://catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm for info and recipies.

The third option is to use a pre-mix with raw meat. The pre-mix contains all the vitamins and minerals you need. You mix some pre-mix (following the directions on the package) with raw meat (ground or cut into small easy to eat pieces) and some water. And it's ready to eat or freeze for later use. Feline Future is a pre-mix that you can use. That's the only one I know of.

You can check out the Raw Food forum for more info and to post questions. There are some Catster groups on raw food you can join, too.
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~Kyande- Kisu~

TrickRTreat Im- sweet-Born on- Halloween
 
 
Purred: Thu Oct 22, '09 12:42pm PST
I hate to say this cause I been purrmoting it so much here on catster.. but seriously try Weruva.. its almost like human food, it even looks like it and smells like it.. try paw lickin chicken.
Go to their website and check out the varietys.
www.weruva.com
I think your cat will like it cause we were very picky also.
REAL picky
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Louis

I eat plastic,- therefore, I am
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 28, '09 7:32am PST
I just want to reinforce that if you are going to feed raw food to your cats, that feeding them raw food that is prepared for human consumption is NOT the way to go. It is prepared using additives and preservatives that are not good for cats. Also, just feeding meat that is prepared for human consumption does not provide the full spectrum of nutrients that a cat needs.

A raw food diet is good for cats, but just keep in mind that there is a huge difference between meat that you get at the grocery store for your own consumption and meat that is prepared in a way that is specifically targeted to a cat's nutritional needs. Please be certain that you are well educated in this area before switching your cat to a raw diet!
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Matty

Rescue cats- rule!
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 28, '09 11:42am PST
Raw can be a great way to go and I agree with everyone (from what I know) to feed raw prepared for your animal, but lemme ask: aren't their vitamins and minerals that cats need, or do better with that aren't in raw foods? And if so, do you supplement? I'm just curious, because I've only known (in person) a handful of raw feeders and they supplemented a few times a week with some high quality kibble because of the vitamin premixes in good dry foods.
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Alaska

I ordered snow,- where is it?!?!?
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 28, '09 11:55am PST
Many raw feeders feed a much of a variety of meat as they can to help avoid vitamin deficiency's. You do not want to feed just chicken...you want to feed a lot of meats (chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, beef, duck, rabbit, venison, etc).
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Merlin - An Angel- Forever

*Poof*
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 28, '09 1:09pm PST
Plain raw meat by itself is not a good diet because it doesn't contain all the necessary vitamins/minerals we need. It is ok, however, to feed a little plain raw meat in additionto dry or canned food, kind of like a treat.

To go on a completely raw diet, you must use a proper nutrionally balanced recipeor use a commerical brand of raw food or use a pre-mix.
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Alaska

I ordered snow,- where is it?!?!?
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 28, '09 6:42pm PST
I do the 80/10/5/5 model (frankenprey). Personally I'd worry more about it being nutritionally complete if I were using a premix over doing frankenprey. The best option when raw feeding would be to use whole prey of course smile
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