Raw meat for my indoor cat?

Kimia

My little one is 3.5 and currently eats Iams dry food exclusively. She drinks lots of water which I'm happy about as I know she needs it with the dry food. We then feed her the odd wet food sachet maybe once or twice a week for a treat.

Her coat is beautiful and her teeth are fine. But I have heard that raw meat may be better for her as she's indoor so is not supplementing her diet with hunting or anything.

I would be happy to buy her raw stewing steak - would this be ok? What kind of portion sizes should she be eating per day? Will I also keep giving her small amounts of the dry food?

angry kitten

Kimia wrote: »

My little one is 3.5 and currently eats Iams dry food exclusively. She drinks lots of water which I'm happy about as I know she needs it with the dry food. We then feed her the odd wet food sachet maybe once or twice a week for a treat.

Her coat is beautiful and her teeth are fine. But I have heard that raw meat may be better for her as she's indoor so is not supplementing her diet with hunting or anything.

I would be happy to buy her raw stewing steak - would this be ok? What kind of portion sizes should she be eating per day? Will I also keep giving her small amounts of the dry food?

Hi, I considered putting my cats on a raw diet however, when I asked my vet about it she it she advised against it. She felt the protein would be too high and would cause them problems in the long run. The thing to remember is that cats need taurine in their diet.

My cats are on Royal canin slimness dry food with a little wet food during the day. I give them treats of raw mince beef a couple of times a week as well as some raw chicken blanched in boiling water. They love the occasional raw plain pork rib as well.

There are websites that give instructions for feeding a raw diet. In the end it is your decision but its worth doing a bit of research to make sure that your cat is getting everthing they need in the diet.

Zapperzy

I sort of agree with angry kitten, a full on raw diet for cats should not be taken lightly but it is possible with some research. The thing about too high protein is horse manure in my opinion for most cats, there will always be cats that a raw diet just doesn't suit but for the most part cats seem to get on fine with it. As for taurine, muscle meat such as heart is high in it, you can also get taurine supplements to add to food.

I found this very handy, it's a bit full on but don't try to read it all in one go before you get your head around it http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/111455-thinking-about-raw-feeding-basic-guide.html

I don't feed a full raw diet as I just don't have the time to fully research and prepare fully balanced meals. I just feed a few raw bits and pieces a few times a week, mostly quail (all the bits of it including all the bones), chicken breast and mackeral, have tried feeding whole mice too. I have thee most incredibly fussy cat ever but she loves raw meat, even the small little quail bones she loves.

If you read through the link everything you need to know is in there. I think it's roughly 3-5% of their bodyweight a day in raw food. An example of what mine might get would be 50g of chicken breast meat and a bowl of maybe 85g of wet cat food, but my cat is an indoor cat relatively low activity and going by what it would say on the back of a bag to feed her she practically lives on fresh air. Tough stewing beef I have been told is good for their teeth. As for mixing cat food with raw meat, some say feed them in separate meals as they digest differently, I don't follow that too strictly, watching what comes out into the tray she doesn't seem to have any problems with it.

Themadhouse

Some older cats wont take to raw as I have discovered. No harm in feeding it as an extra rather than going to raw fully, unless you will add everything they need diet wise.
We freeze tesco chicken wings/thighs or deumsticks. Defrost for a full 24 hrs and let them eat it. Also mince the same way. We find it a good treat and those that like it, really like it!

Kimia

Thanks everyone for the replies.

It's funny, I've read a lot of posts about chicken bones etc. I always thought that giving anything with bones in it was bad for cats as they could choke. So this is an old wive's tale then?

Also, would I be better off giving her large chunks of the stewing beef or should I be cutting it up into little bite size pieces? I remember once giving a chunk of raw chicken to my other cat and he choked on it - I had to reach in and pull it out as he couldn't breathe!

angry kitten

I cut it up into bite size pieces for mine. I started giving my cats raw chicken wings recently. I drop them into a bit of boiling water for a minute first to kill off any nasties and I make sure they aren't too hot. One loves them and carries it out to the back garden and takes it into corners, bits of dirt and all, the other prefers diced raw chicken. I think it depends on the cat, probably best to err on the side of caution, at least until they get used to chewing raw food.

Delancey

As an occassional treat I give my cats raw mince - they go wild for it !