Does anyone here feed raw meats to their cats?

[sasvermont]

The breeder I use mentioned that she thought I should switch my cats to the ALL Raw Meat diet...called B.A.R.F. I have been reading up on it and would be willing to do it but I also don't want to do damage to my furry friends.

If you do have your cat on this diet, would you PM me please!

Thank you!
Sallyanne

[Miss Meow]

I don't have the information in front of me (and Miss Jasmine us sleeping on my lap right now - can'y upset the princess :) ) but I believe cats can die from a raw meat diet. Raw meat lacks an amino acid (lycine I think) which can kill them.

I don't know how ferals survive on raw meat diets??? Other PTers may be able to elaborate.

I feed mine a varied diet of raw, dried and canned food (and BBQ chicken for treats!)

[kdjkiwi]

I come from New Zealand and my parents always fed our cats raw blade steak. Some dried biscuits too. Their cats, mostly Siamese, all lived long and healthy lives.
I too fed my cats raw meat, often sheeps heart, when I left home, and my cats all thrived.
Now I live in Canada and found that my Siamese here would not eat raw meat when I started feeding them "adult" food. I decided it was because of the hot temperatures and perhaps the meat went "off" quickly, as cats will only eat fresh food..........unlike dogs.
Anyway, now I feed them canned and dried food and they are happy campers. Though they get raw meat by catching their own prey from time to time - meat, feathers, the lot is consumed.

[sasvermont]

I started giving them semi-cooked meats and toss in some raw each time. They LOVE it. Eventually, I will get rid of the dry food, but for the time being, I am introducing them to beef, chicken, turkey. They do prefer the smell of the cooked....but I think they will move over to completely raw eventually. I have ordered and tried <---- operative word.... to add supplemental grains but they refuse to eat the frufru stuff. Hopefully I will introduce that slowly as I slacken with the dry food. I am not feeding them canned food at all since adding the fresh meat.

I think it is going to work. From what I have heard, uncooked chicken necks are really, really good for the gums and teeth (dental problems)...... and makes their breath sweet again....

If anyone is interested in the theory of feeding raw meats...just go to the internet and do some searches.....

I would love to stop buying cat food and just feed them human quality food...and the right ones....

I will let everyone/anyone know from time to time how it is going.

So far so good! ;)

[kdjkiwi]

I forgot!
Anytime I cook chicken - one of my siamese goes crazy as soon as she gets a whiff of it in the oven. She chats up a storm!
When we are eating the chicken she inches closer and closer to us, 'til she is practically in the plate - so we feed her pieces.
I've heard of giving them raw necks and wings too for their teeth, though no success again here. As I said in my last message, they won't touch anything "off", so I think our summer temperatures here just won't let the meat lie around too long.

[sasvermont]

this is an interesting article about raw foods.....



http://www.amorepetfoods.com/03resources/03sun010226.html

[sujei]

well i hear this about cats and dogs. but would it be sutible for my rats. any vets on here that can tell me yea or nay. i dont want to hurt my ratties:eek: :confused:

[sasvermont]

Don't know about rats eating raw meats.

So far, my cats are enjoying the raw meats and haven't been eating much of their dry food. They run to their dishes whenever I enter the kitchen, thinking it is time to eat again. I am going to try to do two sittings of meats, along with veggies, and a tiny bit of meat with bones, to get them to switch to chicken necks at least once a day. I have gotten the hang of touching raw meat. I use gloves!

Miley seems to have had a complete personality change in the past week, since I started the raw meat. She is much, much more active (like I need that) and seems much more aggressive (she was being way too passive)..... so I am hoping that the extra protein in the diet has kicked her into a better sense of well being.....

Everything I have read about the raw meat diet is positive and so, since I am willing to be available to these three monkeys twice a day for feeding, I will give it a try!

I will keep you posted.

;)

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by sasvermont
... From what I have heard, uncooked chicken necks are really, really good for the gums and teeth (dental problems)...... and makes their breath sweet again....


We give ours chicken necks every couple of weeks as they are great for cleaning teeth. And raw chicken wings are excellent too. Mini doesn't care for them, but Jasmine loves dragging them around the house and having a good old chew. If you want to protect your floors, put your cats in a room or outside with the necks!!! :D

[Sammy Kitty]

Hello SallyAnne
I breed Persian & Exotic cats and yes we do feed Raw meat as part of there diet but cats can not survive on Raw Meat alone they also need stuff like grass and kitty biscuits for more info send a private Emailto [email protected]
:D

[Cataholic]

I heard about the raw meat diet from a vet, and I thought I would research it myself. I found more conflicting materials than the vet expressed to me, and decided it wasn't worth possibly injuring my cats over it. I suppose the argument could be made...."I have always fed my cats raw meat, and they are fine" just like "I smoke two packs a day, and don't have lung cancer"...but that doesn't mean it is good for you (or for the cats).

[sasvermont]

Well, I have started with the meat diet. They rather like the meat cooked, so I am slowly cooking them (the meats, not the cats)less. They, the cats, still have their dry good but eat much less of it. I will keep you posted. I plan to introduce raw veggies too, but for now, just meats. Wish me luck.

;)

[Cataholic]

Since you are introducing other foods...like veggies (ick, my cats say) try cantaloupe! Two of my six come running as soon as they smell the ripe melon. I feed one of mine baby food and he eats around the peas- just like I did!

[sasvermont]

Only one of my cats, Graemer, has a sense of adventure and will eat lots of different things. The other two, well, they are very nervous about change! Just like kids, except I am not sending my cats to college!:)

[Edwina's Secretary]

All right...I'll bite....(bad pun) WHERE do you get chicken necks...alright...where do you BUY chicken necks?

[sasvermont]

There are places that sell them prepackaged. Just go to Google.com and do a search for .... chicken necks.... and you will find a few places that will ship them. My breeder (my cats' breeder) gets them from her butcher. If you buy a whole chicken, already prepared for cooking, the neck etc. is included in the inside....just like turkeys etc. etc. My guys disliked the neck so much that I dare not order in quanity until they get the hang of raw meats. It makes me gag just thinking about touching the meat. I use gloves.

Anyway, butchers usually have them, just not chain food stores because they don't clean their own chickens. They just splap their stickers on the meats.

Are you thinking about offering a bit for that stuff to Ms. E?

[Edwina's Secretary]

My husband's younger son does not eat any meat other than poultry. He lived with us for two years. I only cook on Sunday night (and that's an accomplishment!) so every Sunday night I would cook chicken. French chicken, bbq chicken, Scandanavian chicken, etc, etc, etc....

Edwina likes Sunday nights. (Except for bbq and garlic nights.) It is a nice change from turkey! So maybe she would like a chicken neck??? My mother has always given her dogs organ meat (kidneys in particular) but cooked. It just seems like a chicken neck would be ALOT of food for one cat!

(BTW -- son went off the college this week...will I continue Sunday night dinner??????)

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
... Edwina likes Sunday nights. (Except for bbq and garlic nights.) It is a nice change from turkey! So maybe she would like a chicken neck??? My mother has always given her dogs organ meat (kidneys in particular) but cooked. It just seems like a chicken neck would be ALOT of food for one cat! ...

We get chicken necks from the local butcher or a shop that just sells chicken products. They don't have a lot of meat on them, more sinewy stuff and the raw bone that's good for chewing without splintering. They look revolting, which is why they aren't often on display!!! (I don't eat meat so I find a lot of it revolting to look at, but the necks are truly gruesome!)

[Troy]

My cats never used to eat raw chicken wings or drumsticks and always looked rather disinterested in the whole concept. I found that if I cooked them just a little they loved them - it also helps to make a few cut marks so they get into it a little better.

Of course it is important not to cook meat with fine bones too much because the bones become brittle and can get stuck.

I feel it's also worth noting that raw meat is part of a cats natural diet. The main difference is that in the wild they consume all of their prey which provides additional nutrients/vitamins/minerals found in the preys "non-meat" parts. So although raw meat is good for kitty it is important to make sure their diet is balanced.

[sasvermont]

Thanks so much for your opinion.

I am sure I will be switching the cats but unsure if it will be 100%. I still leave their prescription dry food down for them, although they are not much interested in it.

Tonight I will again try the chicken necks for my three! This time I will cook them a short amount of time.

This week I hope to introduce them to veggies and fruits. I have done quite a bit of research on this topic and will try my best to balance the cats' diets.

Thank you again for your comments!:cool: :cool: :cool: