How-I-Fed-My-Cats-Raw

ccccccI’ve learned a lot from being the care giver of my fourkitty companions, and I am still learning with Carmellaand wondering about her diet as it relates to her health andlongevity. Does her diet contain too much fat, too much fish,is the food pure enough, are there too few organs, too littleor too much of some particular nutrients? I’ll keep learning,with observation and intuition as my guides.May your love affair with kitty be long and extra special, andmay he or she live the best of all nine lives! If you have anyinsights and stories to share, your correspondence would bepurrfectly welcomed! I’d like to write more on this subject infuture issues.Now here are the basics of “Raw Kitty Care 101.”DDietary TransitionI don’t have any experience with dietary transition. The threecats I’ve adopted took to a 100% raw food diet right away.I have heard from other cat guardians who have said thattheir cats would not eat any raw food in lieu of their cookedfoods. I suggested blending in some raw ground meat, avocadoand veggie pulp with their meals, and keeping bowlsof plain raw egg and avocado near their regular food dishes,but I haven’t yet received any positive feedback on that. Ialso recommend raw cat kibble and treats. If you have anysuccess stories about your finicky cat, please share them.DWhat To FeedMeats. The goal, of course, is to feed our pets as similarlyas is practical to how they would eat as predators in nature.Cats are carnivores. Their digestive organs are the same asthose of humans. However, their digestive organs and digestivesecretions are designed to function best on a relativelyfatty, high-protein diet of mainly raw animal meats as well asgrass and other vegetables.So you shouldchop or slice meatsas finely as possibleto ease the digestiveburden. Large chunksof food tend to lead tofrequent barfing.Meat choices:• Fowl (chicken and turkey, sliced or ground)• Hoofed mammals (cow, steer, lamb, deer, buffalo). I don’tfeed any of these to Carmella—I don’t believe they arehealthful; cats do not prey upon them.• Fish (tilapia, salmon, white fish, smelt, anchovies, clams,scallops, etc., sliced, filleted, ground)• Organs (liver, heart, gizzard, etc.) I am not convinced that Ineed to add them to Carmella’s diet, considering her huntinghabits; I believe she is getting taurine and all the otheressential nutrients she needs. Liver seems too toxic to feedto any cat.• Bone and marrow, finely chopped or ground. I rarely feedthese to Carmella because of her hunting habit.Vegetables. Cats have pointy incisor teeth which are suitedsolely to tearing flesh. They do not possess flat molars whichwe have for mastication, that is grinding and crushing plantfibers, to release their nutrients. As such, cats are not suitedto digesting fibrous vegetables well. Nonetheless, the fiberand microflora in raw vegetables will be very useful for theirbowel health. Cats will eat grass, and when they eat rodentsand birds they ingest their bowel contents, which wouldinclude semi- or fully-digested vegetables and seeds andgrains. To increase their nutrient intake, we can help cats byfinely chopping, blending and juicing fibrous vegetables and13