Anyone feed their cats raw or whole foods?

[Russian Blue]

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.

[Lizzie]

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.