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I feed canned only except my oldest cat, who I got as an adult cat. and who refuses canned. She gets Wellness Core grain-free.
Grains and glutens are used as cheap fillers by pet food makers. Cats in the wild do not eat grains or protein glutens!
I have a very chubby tabby who got fat on carb-laden dry, and who is now losing slowly on a canned-only diet. I am thrilled!
Cats evolved as meat eaters, not kibble eaters.
Bingo!
Glad that chubby kitty is getting back to health with healthful food. An overweight kitty is un healthy kitty and over time may be a cause for some many problems. Great that she is on that healthy road!
First off Great Job!!!
Here's one more (oh, how ever many that you have!) Healthier Happier Kitty(s) in the world!
Feed:
2x's a day
Leave food out for about 30 to 45 mins, sometimes they will want to eat more on some days and less on others as well as eat faster and then slower on other days.
Save the leftover food if you wish, but store it in fridge and use within a couple of days.
Hope this helps!
Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for.
(PS It was only a handful of certain Fancy Feasts in the link which are approved by Dr H, due to them being the exception to the norm and an alternative if a parent couldn't get the other brands.)
And, of course, those aren't the varieties my cats like! They'll eat the grilled chicken and turkey. Period. They do not like the ground-up stuff; they want chunks.
Little brats. When they first showed up in our backyard, they'd eat anything, including the food our 17-year-old cat wouldn't eat (because he was gradually going downhill, but we hadn't realized it yet).
This is always such a hot topic with people. First off, if someone is giving a furred one a good, warm loving home with enough food, love and vet care when needed, then my hat's off to them. There are many millions of cats and dogs eliminated ("put to sleep") just because there aren't enough homes for them. Breeders, no matter how good, are another topic altogether, but I won't go there.
The problem is the veterinary folks and the pet food producers are in bed with one another. It's a rare find these days that is a vet who refuses the "perks" offered from the pet food people. We are taught from birth to trust those in authority. Vets seem like authority. (Most don't have the time to keep up with the latest research, I assure you from experience). We trust them to make the right decisions for the health of our little buddies. Sad truth is, we cannot in good conscience abdicate our responsibility to our furred ones to our vets of today.
It may be that a lot of cats do well on dry kibble and/or pouch or canned goo. They may live to a ripe old age and seem very happy. I always wonder how much longer in good health a cat like that may have lived, if fed a natural diet? No matter, I always seem to bring home the ones that need lots of extra care - we seem to attract each other. I quickly found out that for marginally healthy kitties, like mine with heart disease from inbreeding, dental problems from years of living on canned and dry with the former owners, and bowel and thyroid issues on top of all that, I had to find the absolute best way to keep them healthy and comfortable. I did a lot of research, and now feed a homemade diet, which follows the dietary requirements for cats. If I couldn't make the homemade like I do, due to time constraints (but seriously, I probably don't have more time than most), then I'd keep on top of the label reading and feed the very best I could of the commercial stuff. Being aware, however, that even the "good" companies change formulas at whim for whatever (monetary) reason.
"Garbage in, garbage out" is the motto I go by when feeding my buddies. I bought an inexpensive electric grinder on ebay 6 years ago and started out making raw when I found out one of them has IBD. Since then, we've adopted a sickly, puny little girl who has the worst kind of heart disease, and all the issues that go along with it, as well as terrible dental problems. That was last year. She has been eating a strictly raw diet since last St. Patrick's Day, and this summer the vet told me she didn't understand how she was still alive, but she was, and she was amazed at how well she is doing. (I'm not ).
Long post, so sorry, but my point I guess is that do the best you can and you'll save vet bills and heartache in the long run. Educate yourself as to the medicines the vets routinely prescribe (most don't have a clue as to possible side effects), and read those pet food labels and avoid any and all meat by-products. You wouldn't believe what is in there. Also, grain is an addictive filler - my older girl kitty will even eat that wheat-based litter, she loves her crunchies so much. But if she doesn't have them (like for several years now), she happily eats her homemade. Rice (brown is no better), Barley - all of that is of no use to a cat, and has been implicated in many long-brewing diseases, like IBD, for instance.
reindeerlady, can I ask what you feed and how you prepare it? Do you buy additional supplements to add to it, and where do you get those? I spend a lot of money on quality canned food per month and figure making my own for them can't be much more $$...or maybe even cheaper?
reindeerlady, can I ask what you feed and how you prepare it? Do you buy additional supplements to add to it, and where do you get those? I spend a lot of money on quality canned food per month and figure making my own for them can't be much more $$...or maybe even cheaper?
Hanna, I sent you a DM, since I refer to a wonderful site online for the kitty girls, fully backed by factual research. Since I can't post their link here, I've sent it to you. Not one to reinvent the wheel, I follow their recipe. And believe me, they know their stuff.
As for additional supplements, yes I do add some. I buy local, restaurant-grade rabbit from a farm in our state, and grind it myself. (Took some getting used to, but I just gulp, say a prayer of thanks to the rabbit, and cut it up with kitchen shears. ) Pre-ground is available on the web as well. Rabbit is too low in fat and you'd risk the kitty getting very ill if you don't add animal-based fat to it, so I do add rendered chicken fat, which I save from when I roast (without seasonings) chicken - I just freeze it. My kitty girls are allergic to eggs, so I don't use them. How do I know? It goes down, it comes right back up. No eggs, it goes down, it stays down.
It's important to feed more than one kind of meat. A holistic vet once told me that. It can cause allergies if a kitty eats only one thing all the time. (Same goes true for dogs, I believe - and probably us!) I rotate chicken and rabbit.
As for price, set-up will be the most expense. But you don't have to be rich. There are several options for feeding homemade. A grinder if you plan on making smoother food, with very tiny pieces of bone. (No, raw bones from small animals will not hurt your friend - RAW being the important part)... Or just cut into chunks if you don't plan on using bone, but do plan on getting that lost calcium into them with supps. Mine set me back about 89.00, plus shipping, but has been used regularly to grind meat and bones for a long time, now, with just replacing the blade once.
Good quality meat may go for up to 7.99/lb. If it's pre-ground from an online source, it'll be cheaper, but you'll have to add in shipping costs, which can be considerable due to the producer having to pack in dry ice (weight) and regular ice (more weight) to get it to you safely. Ideally, find some like-minded folks who will pool an order with you to save money. Maybe you can find a local butcher who will have just what you need. If all that fails, use supermarket meat meant for us humans. Anyway, don't faint at the price. You are getting pure food. 100% of that is bio-available to your furred ones. They will need to eat less, as they can use it all. Due to her heart problems, our PW eats 6 tiny meals a day - ridiculous for most people due to their schedules, but I think that's why we ended up with her. I work from home, and I'm here. I don't get much sleep, but I'm here For most cats, anywhere from 2 - 4 meals a day, for a total of half a cup of raw would probably be fine.
As for the supps, they balance out the formula, to make sure the food contains as close to possible the nutrients in whole prey animals. I use vitamin E, regular cod liver oil, tasteless vitamin B, Taurine (esp. impt. to add to rabbit), and a few others. You don't need much, and after you get them, they last quite awhile. The cost vs commercial I've never sat down and figured. I do believe the site I've told you about has that info, tho. I have never bothered because I didn't really see that I had a choice, given the price of the meds they wanted me to give both of them. After researching the possible side-effects, I swore I'd never go that route, so I had to get them as healthy as possible so their bodies could heal, or in PW's case, be comfortable.
Hubbs and/or I drive 2 hours from here to get that rabbit, so we're nuts about "our girls" and you can take all this with that particular grain of salt. But we figure it like this: We're helping out a local business (the farmer) and like now as I'm typing this, I will sometimes look down at whoever is on my lap and see this happy face looking up at me that the vet gave up on and just wanted to dose the heck out of - well, ya know.... makes it worthwhile. But then, I have to admit I don't have much of a life beyond my hubbs, my furred ones and my family
and like now as I'm typing this, I will sometimes look down at whoever is on my lap and see this happy face looking up at me that the vet gave up on and just wanted to dose the heck out of - well, ya know.... makes it worthwhile. But then, I have to admit I don't have much of a life beyond my hubbs, my furred ones and my family
Wow! great story! You devoted so much of your time and energy to your little ones!!!
Such a great post, Lots a great info.
One of my kitties does not do well on raw, so I don't do it, but I am aware of the benefits, however I do cook for them at times, chicken, veggies, brown rice, they are ok with eggs...
This brings to my attn that I have not cooked for a while... been feeding from the cans... Wellness core turkey mostly but I do add some lightly cooked veggies and sometimes cooked meat to it too, along with a little sardine.
I do agree that expense is a factor just like it is for people who can't afford fresh produce to stay healthy.
I also agree that just taking in an animal is doing a wonderful deed. Feeding it whatever you can afford is fine, as long as you can try to understand that your companion animal will eventually suffer illness if the food is strictly dry.
In my case it was something I honestly didn't know until the last few months and I've had cats since I was 15.
Now that I know the facts I am spending the money for a high quality food, Wellness, and we only have one cat now, so it's not breaking us. She eats one can/day which costs around $1.39, so about $40/month. Multiply that per cat in your house if they consume one can/day also.
I've always called those loving people who care for several cats, or who volunteer for shelters, "angels on Earth." I give them money whenever I see them, usually women, feeding their furbabies outside Target or wherever when they could be home watching TV and relaxing. They have no choice but to use dry food, and in their case it's far better than letting stray cats die of starvation.
So there are circumstances. It's just about what is the best you can manage. No one should feel bad if they can't provide this way of eating but they should stop and consider the long-term benefits and probable *lack* of expense down the road from exorbitant vet bills when their pet gets any one of many food-related illnesses.
Our bill just for 2 blood panels and exams was $800. We had no x-rays, ultrasounds or endoscopies done that were offered, and that would have driven up the cost (just for diagnosis) to begin possible treatments.
Our poor baby had cancer, it was obvious at the end, and I'll never know if her horrible all-dry diet for most of her life was the primary cause, but I'll bet it was.
I'm still crying over her loss, and questioning why I didn't get better nutrition information years ago. It's just another instance of being self-educated.
I feel terrible that I had NO CLUE (for 8 years) that cats are strict carnivores!
Most dry food is garbage... not to mention that cats don't get enough moisture from dry, tend to be over-weight, and can cause all kinds of medical problems.
The pet food companies should be ashamed of themselves! Look at all the commercials, paper advertisements, and product labels that give the impression that the food is healthy. Grrrrrr!
Our vet did suggest Wellness AFTER we had a medical problem with our male. What took him so long?!
Yes, wet food can be expensive when compared to dry... however, if people knew the FACTS before ever feeding dry, they could then make an informed decision as to how many cats they can afford.
We had 4 cats before being educated. We made the choice (lifetime commitment) to parent 4 cats, so we sacrifice where we have to - to afford good food and good health.
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They'll eat the grilled chicken and turkey. Period. They do not like the ground-up stuff; they want chunks.
), and read those pet food labels and avoid any and all meat by-products. You wouldn't believe what is in there. Also, grain is an addictive filler - my older girl kitty will even eat that wheat-based litter, she loves her crunchies so much. But if she doesn't have them (like for several years now), she happily eats her homemade. Rice (brown is no better), Barley - all of that is of no use to a cat, and has been implicated in many long-brewing diseases, like IBD, for instance.
For most cats, anywhere from 2 - 4 meals a day, for a total of half a cup of raw would probably be fine. 
But we figure it like this: We're helping out a local business (the farmer) and like now as I'm typing this, I will sometimes look down at whoever is on my lap and see this happy face looking up at me that the vet gave up on and just wanted to dose the heck out of - well, ya know.... makes it worthwhile. But then, I have to admit I don't have much of a life beyond my hubbs, my furred ones and my family
