Anyone feed their cats raw or whole foods?

I've been looking into feeding Marshmallow a whole food diet (cooking for her!) because of her crystals. She seems to not like her $2.50 a pound and 1 dollar a can food as much as her old food. She now weighs 6 pounds. Her eyes also run when she is eating... something I've never noticed before.

Does anyone here do this? Can you give me suggestions, websites, and names of books to check out? Your help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Devon

I am careful with raw foods.
The only raw things I give them is raw tuna,but thats out of the can.
Although Scrappy 2,and Miquelito grabbed some cut up Pork Tenderloin last night, and they are all right.

Well i know there is some controversy on giving cats raw food, but i have been giving Ash raw mince,(like your hamburger) once a week and raw meat as well since i have had him, it is high quality premium food that we eat ourselves though, also meat in NZ is of the highest quality, i am not sure about other countries, and the vet says he is in v good condition,so it really is up to you,only we can decide what is best for our pets.

I am in the process of changing him onto mainly biscuits though, but he will still have his raw meat, just not canned food , the cheaper kind he preferred , but I have decided he is to have quality biscuits instead whether he wants it or not, he is adapting slowly and surely, good luck.

Oh one thing i was told that the raw meat makes them fat, and too much is not good for their kidneys, but i have no idea if that is true or not, Ash is a chubby boy, but they also can be that way on a solid dry cat food, infact they tend to get overweight just eating a dry diet, and yes both my kitties are a little that way, so i believe their is an ounce of truth in both statements.

I have been reading about animal nutrition for the last while and there is so much to read on the subject of raw diets. The best thing you can do though, when considering changing your cat's diet over to raw is to get some guidance from a vet who practices raw feeding. They will be the best source of information for you.

Here are some websites to get you started:

Holisticat (huge archive on this site, will leave you reading for hours) ;)

CatInfo

CatNutrition

About.com

At the bookstore, Dr. Pitcairn, Pat McKay and Anitra Frasier seem to be the leaders on the raw food topic. Here are some books for you to consider:

Anitra Frazier - The New Natural Cat

Pat McKay - Reigning Cats and Dogs

Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM and Susan Hubble Pitcairn
Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats

Kymythy R. Schultze The Ultimate Diet : Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats

Donald R. Strombeck, DVM - Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets : The Healthful Alternative

Right now I have been converting Nakita over to an all wet food diet. I will probably introduce a homemade diet sometime in the future.

When I had only five cats, over fifteen years ago, I used to cook all their meals from scratch and I think I used the original Anitra Frazier Natural Cat book recipe. What I remember most of this experience, which lasted about two years, was that the cats had incredibly glossy coats and it was incredibly hard work. Nearly all the cats that were on that diet lived very long lives, in fact Ginger is about to turn 20. I would do it again if I had the time, and fewer cats.