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Prey model means that you feed the percentages of the various key things they would get if they were eating whole prey animals, that is (apporximately) 80% muscle meat (including gizzard and heart) 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ. It is home made meals fed in chunks, not ground up.
I started with commercial raw for my cats. It took no time for two of them to eat it, and weeks and weeks for the third. I then introduced little pieces of meat. Again, two took to those small pieces right away, the third would not touch them, no matter how I dusted them over, at first. I now have two eating one prey model meal a day (one fourth of their total intake). I use an eggshell calcium supplement instead of bone, so far.
One cat took to prey model with no trouble. Another, after some initial hesitation now eats it without trouble. The third is still very hesitant about meat pieces and I still have to dust her share with plenty of Vet's-Best as incentive.
I am in no rush, I let each cat adjust to the new foods at her own speed. I started with very small pieces because commercial fed cats do not have the jaw muscle built up to eat chunks comfortably, right at first. It takes time for them to get used to it.
PS I started in May 2012, with Stella&Chewy's freeze dried raw (re-hydrated). In September I added the Rad Cat Frozen raw, and shortly after that I began trying the small pieces of raw meat.
I never feed raw meat that has not been frozen solid at minus 10 Fahrenheit for at least three days. While the chance of parasites being in any muscle or organ meat bought at the grocery store is small, still I want to take no chances on that.
Because we use all the pork for human consumption, every bit of the pig gets used some way or other. Thus, it's mainly tradition now I guess, because I think traditionally pet food was made from stuff that was left unused by human food processing. That is not always the case now, but poultry and fish is probably easier because the individual animals are smaller. I'm mainly guessing here but I would guess beef pet food is still mostly made from cuts we wouldn't typically eat.
Since not all hogs are healthy and at least some would be rejected by inspectors at the slaughter houses.... that would mean they're using those carcasses for some type of human consumption. Cold cuts maybe? Kielbasa?
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I'm pretty sure I saw something pork-based in one pet store recently, not a can or bag of food though, some kind of treat. Apart from fish, poultry (mostly chicken and turkey but you can get pheasant if you dig) and beef you can find lamb somewhat readily and venison and rabbit if you dig a bit. But yeah, no cans of pork at all.
I've seen some of those at PetsMart I think. Maybe it was Petco. I hesitate to buy and try those expensive brands again because two of my cats are so picky. Several times we bought those $1+ a can cat foods and they ended up being tossed outside for the coons and possums. Some of those expensive brands looked and smelled like the stuff that sells for .45 a can. There was something about them the cats didn't like.
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I still think we need that mouse-based cat food. Yes you can buy mouse prey from a few sources but why not canned mouse? Of course I think I know why: it's because pet food is marketed to humans, and most humans are going to say EWWW at the idea. Bad enough dishing out food you might eat yourself but is packaged for pets. When you get to some animal you would never eat, then it's that much nastier. (Although I suppose for vegetarians it's like that all the time if you choose to have a cat.)
Yes, I agree and I would definitely buy canned rodents, ground rabbit and other natural prey for them if it was canned and at the store. I would even feed them raw if I could be sure there would be no deficiencies down the road and they would eat it.
I remember when cat and dog food had discernible pieces or fish of meat in the can. The food wasn't boiled to mush for hours at the feed companies like it is now. It looked and smelled like canned meat or fish. Now it looks more like sliced or chopped baloney or spam in a gooey syrup. There's no way to know what it is and some of it has no aroma at all.
There are several brands of rabbit cat food - try googling 'rabbit cat food' to see some possibilities. Here's one, for example, at Only Natural Pet Store:
That link brought up a chicken page. In any case read the ingredients on some of the canned food and you will see the FILLERS added just like they do with the kibble.
Prey model means that you feed the percentages of the various key things they would get if they were eating whole prey animals, that is (apporximately) 80% muscle meat (including gizzard and heart) 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ. It is home made meals fed in chunks, not ground up.
What other secreting organ are you using? I used to be able to find kidneys and other internal organs where I live, but none of the stores have it anymore. I was told by some man working in the meat dept at Kroger that they don't get enough calls for those meats. I can get gizzards, hearts and sometimes beef tripe. That's about it. And I do freeze all meats.
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I started with commercial raw for my cats. It took no time for two of them to eat it, and weeks and weeks for the third. I then introduced little pieces of meat. Again, two took to those small pieces right away, the third would not touch them, no matter how I dusted them over, at first. I now have two eating one prey model meal a day (one fourth of their total intake). I use an eggshell calcium supplement instead of bone, so far.
What's so frustrating for us is that they ate a lot more raw meat including fish, cottage cheese and cooked eggs at one time... but now all two of them want is canned and they wait for their kibble midnight treat. Zeb' is eating less and less canned and raw all the time and doesn't look as good as he once did. If it was up to him all he would eat is the kibble mix we use as a treat. It crossed our minds to stop the kibble treats at night as they may be addicted to kibble to the point they don't want anything else. Just not buy it or have it in the house.
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One cat took to prey model with no trouble. Another, after some initial hesitation now eats it without trouble. The third is still very hesitant about meat pieces and I still have to dust her share with plenty of Vet's-Best as incentive.
I am in no rush, I let each cat adjust to the new foods at her own speed. I started with very small pieces because commercial fed cats do not have the jaw muscle built up to eat chunks comfortably, right at first. It takes time for them to get used to it.
PS I started in May 2012, with Stella&Chewy's freeze dried raw (re-hydrated). In September I added the Rad Cat Frozen raw, and shortly after that I began trying the small pieces of raw meat.
I never feed raw meat that has not been frozen solid at minus 10 Fahrenheit for at least three days. While the chance of parasites being in any muscle or organ meat bought at the grocery store is small, still I want to take no chances on that.
We freeze all meats also, especially pork. Beef is to the point it's no longer in our budget and we must budget if we want to continue traveling, camping and snow-birding plus an occasional dinner at a local restaurant. We may buy steak once a month... that's it. Even fish is expensive where I live and so I buy less of it. Being retired, our income is a lot less than it once was. Pricing some of the online cat foods put us in sticker shock when S&H are added. And there is no guarantee they would eat it. At this time we're spending around $75 a month on cat food. We buy the better kibble brands as a treat for them and the rest is a variety of Purina Friskies canned. They wont touch Fancy Feast, Newman's or the other brands we've tried. At least when they reject a Friskies flavor, it's not a lot of money being tossed out the back door. And no, we don't buy the .30 a can brands. It's probably nothing but heads and hoofs and hides.
What is "prey model?" Is that a brand of raw cat food? I'm having a hell of a time keeping my cats on even some raw meat. They've eaten less and less of it as the months go by. They'll eat around it, consuming the canned food and leaving most of the raw behind. They used to eat both. I've looked into buying raw mixes made for cats but with shipping it's cost prohibitive.
It means raw meat, raw bones, raw organs. It is not a mix or brand. What you buy at the store, the chicken you would cook? That's what they get fed, for example.
I would not advise trying to feed them raw while giving them canned. OF COURSE they are going to eat the canned...all that fat and crap, they love it. Doesn't mean it's good for them. Best thing to do is wean them off the canned food or try "cold turkey". I don't mean literal turkey I mean, just completely switch. If they have eaten it before, it shouldn't be as difficult to switch that way.
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This doesn't surprise me as the commercial foods are such crapola. It's akin to humans living on junk food from a fast-food restaurant.
That is exactly right.
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Can you explain to those interested in how you got to switch them from commercial to raw? I followed some online information and as young cats they would eat the raw food, but not having vitamin/mineral supplements (and fearing a deficiency), I mixed it with the canned. But slowly all of them stopped eating the cut up bits of raw liver, chicken and turkey heart, gizzards and meat. They wont even get soft boiled or scrambled eggs anymore.
Because if you give a child a choice of candy or meatloaf for dinner, which one do you think the child is going to pick?
If you give your cats canned and raw, they are going to pick the one that is akin to candy for a child.
There's several things to try as some have cats that have been just waiting for their owners to figure it out and give them raw and the switch is easy. There's some that have picky cats and they have to really work at it but it's worth it in the end.
I'm afraid to go in to too much detail on this particular thread for fear of being told I'm off topic. I would happily go in to it if someone wants to start a thread about it.
It means raw meat, raw bones, raw organs. It is not a mix or brand. What you buy at the store, the chicken you would cook? That's what they get fed, for example.
I would not advise trying to feed them raw while giving them canned. OF COURSE they are going to eat the canned...all that fat and crap, they love it. Doesn't mean it's good for them. Best thing to do is wean them off the canned food or try "cold turkey". I don't mean literal turkey I mean, just completely switch. If they have eaten it before, it shouldn't be as difficult to switch that way.
That is exactly right.
Because if you give a child a choice of candy or meatloaf for dinner, which one do you think the child is going to pick?
If you give your cats canned and raw, they are going to pick the one that is akin to candy for a child.
There's several things to try as some have cats that have been just waiting for their owners to figure it out and give them raw and the switch is easy. There's some that have picky cats and they have to really work at it but it's worth it in the end.
I'm afraid to go in to too much detail on this particular thread for fear of being told I'm off topic. I would happily go in to it if someone wants to start a thread about it.
I feed both raw and canned. I don't have any trouble with it. Two of my cats would take the raw over the canned any day, if they were given a choice. The third doesn't have much interest in food, but is getting more appetite, now that she is getting some raw every day.
It means raw meat, raw bones, raw organs. It is not a mix or brand. What you buy at the store, the chicken you would cook? That's what they get fed, for example.
Where are you getting raw organ meat? I can't find anything but liver in the large grocery stores. They get that about once a week. Sometimes they eat it and sometimes they don't. Or one will eat it... the one who eats it this week wont eat it next week. It's enough to drive a crazy person sane. I've cut back on the canned and midnight kibble snack these past few days. I knew they were getting hungry. Today they ate the gizzards cut in small pieces. Only a few years ago I could get several kinds of organ meat. We have Kroger and Publix here now. The Wal*Mart stores have large meat counters. Food Lion went out of business.
I'd like to get them back on some cottage cheese and cooked eggs again.
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I'm afraid to go in to too much detail on this particular thread for fear of being told I'm off topic. I would happily go in to it if someone wants to start a thread about it.
I feed both raw and canned. I don't have any trouble with it. Two of my cats would take the raw over the canned any day, if they were given a choice. The third doesn't have much interest in food, but is getting more appetite, now that she is getting some raw every day.
One of my cats will eat or at least try anything. She doesn't care much for kibble. The the other two were fed on and addicted to kibble before I got them. They were not that easy to even get to accept canned food. But when the kibble was cut to a tiny amount as a once a day treat, hunger drove them to try and then accept canned, raw and other foods. But for some reason they started to bypass the raw and other things and just eat the canned and wait for their kibble snack.
I feed both raw and canned. I don't have any trouble with it. Two of my cats would take the raw over the canned any day, if they were given a choice. The third doesn't have much interest in food, but is getting more appetite, now that she is getting some raw every day.
The point was, if you're trying to feed them raw and they won't eat it because canned is there as well, get them off the canned.
Cat face...>^..^< or however you made it, I get organs at the store. When I lived in Miami it was easy because those people eat some weird stuff. Where I am now, I can get chicken livers easy at one store near me. To get the other stuff, I go to the same named grocery store but in the "city", (this state's version of a city), and find all kinds of good stuff. If you can't find any at your store, try an Asian market.
If you start a thread, I'll be happy to discuss what I did with 7 cats. Some took to it right away, some took some coaxing, one said, "NO!" and I had to do some work with her. But it CAN be done...people give up too easily, but it can be done. (I'm not saying you give up too easily, I'm saying some do and it's really not that hard; it takes extra work, but it's not that hard.)
The point was, if you're trying to feed them raw and they won't eat it because canned is there as well, get them off the canned.
ing some do and it's really not that hard; it takes extra work, but it's not that hard.)
Ah, I see. You meant IF the cat refuses raw to hold out for canned, stop feeding canned. That wasn't clear to me in the other post. However, I don't totally agree. You can't starve a cat into eating what she doesn't want to eat. Cats go into organ failure rather quickly if they don't eat.
On the other hand, having converted one who flat out refused raw at first, I do agree that it almost always CAN be done, but one should go at the cat's speed and comfort level. I continued to feed her canned food if she refused the raw. Eventually, with a lot of patience on my part, she began to eat the raw also, and now she likes it almost as much as the other two do.
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Some of those expensive brands looked and smelled like the stuff that sells for .45 a can. There was something about them the cats didn't like. 
And there is no guarantee they would eat it. At this time we're spending around $75 a month on cat food. We buy the better kibble brands as a treat for them and the rest is a variety of Purina Friskies canned. They wont touch Fancy Feast, Newman's or the other brands we've tried. At least when they reject a Friskies flavor, it's not a lot of money being tossed out the back door. And no, we don't buy the .30 a can brands. It's probably nothing but heads and hoofs and hides. 
The third doesn't have much interest in food, but is getting more appetite, now that she is getting some raw every day.
