Raw Feeding Corner

[Howlinbob]

Hi everyone, I've been raw feeding my 3 cats for 6 months now, with great results, most noticeably in my 18-year-old moggy. His fur is shinier, teeth cleaner, eyes brighter, and he's got more energy for wrestling with my 2 coonies! It took quite a bit of research to find the best suppliers, and now I've settled on using my local butcher, a local pre-ground raw food supplier, and a really excellent online supplier. My butcher is great, if I go in on a Friday he always gives me a bag of chicken wings, for free, and he will order beef heart and tongue for me, as well as beef trimmings, all of which is very cheap. I also feed minced whole rabbit, turkey leg meat, pork, liver and kidney, chicken meat, chicken necks, and whole mice from the snake shop. I would love to get hold of chicken hearts again as they love them, but I can only get 16kgs at a time which is rather too much for my freezer! Time to start a co-operative....

I don't do any mincing or grinding myself, I just cut larger pieces into chunks for the lads, (smaller chunks for my old-timer). I don't mix it all up and feed a balanced portion every day: I aim to achieve the balance over a week or so. I think this is called the 'frankenprey' model? If ever they turn their noses up at their dinner, I open a tin of pilchards or sardines and all it takes is a little blob on top, and they eat the lot! A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...! They have a few prawns as a special treat, and moving outside the raw food diet for a second they also eat peas and spaghetti. Here's a couple of pics with a turkey drumstick, sorry I have posted these before, must get some new pics soon.

[Hades]

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[Conny]

I give a lot of raw meat to my cats.
Chicken, duck, lamb,meat from a cow.
And complete raw, we have here carnibest...is a complete raw food with all in it.
Salmonella is not a issue for cats, they can handle it...we human will be verysick from meat with salmonella a cat will not be sick...( sometimes ok there is a sick cat but that is with everything we give I think )
I give raw meat for 5 ore 6 years now.
They look better and best of it, my cats bin very healty...My vet only see me for there shots ore for testing on felv and fiv :-)
Ok sometimes a cat have something..but never they bin really sick.
I also give a good canfood animonda, and give dryfood.
I nature the cats have no choice only raw fresh meat, look at the cats on a farm ore who live outside the catch a lot of mouses, birds and maybe a rabbit to eat...
I think its very naturel and healty for our spoild cats ;)

[catslave]

I'm glad its not just Buddy that eats spaghetti Howlinbob. Mind you he eats raw corn on the cob and brocolli as well. Apart from huge improvement in his health there have been advantages for me. I can leave cooked meat out to cool and know it won't be touched. ... defrosting meat is taking some extreme hiding places. Buddy does love his mice, I get them in bulk due to the snakes eating them as well. Fresh meat wise Buddy tends to get the same meat I am cooking for us humans, ie. If I'm cooking chicken I will cut legs and wings off for him.

It would be nice if this thread could be left alone by those who do not agree with raw feeding and left as a place for those who have already done their own research, spoken to their pets vet etc to discuss. I'm pretty sure if threads were started about feeding processed food with all the goodness cooked out none of us would behaviour in a similar way by continually posting the health risks etc of this type of feeding.

[Howlinbob]

It would be nice if this thread could be left alone by those who do not agree with raw feeding and left as a place for those who have already done their own research, spoken to their pets vet etc to discuss. I'm pretty sure if threads were started about feeding processed food with all the goodness cooked out none of us would behaviour in a similar way by continually posting the health risks etc of this type of feeding.

You took the words right out of my mouth, Catslave. I thought this might happen but I'm shocked that it's happened so quickly - a mere 19 minutes after my initial post.

I started this thread because I thought there was a need on this forum for a friendly, supportive place to discuss raw feeding for those who are interested. I understand that some people have serious concerns about feeding raw, but that debate is covered on other threads and this is not the place to go over it again.

There are already several other threads which discuss various wet/dry commercial pet foods for those that are interested - and as far as I'm aware there is no aggressive trolling from raw feeders on those threads. Would the anti-raw camp please show the same courtesy. If you can't maintain the tone and the spirit of this thread then please go elsewhere.

[IrishKitty]

Howlinbob can you let me know if this is a "support thread" for maine coon owners who feed raw food or is this an open discussion about the raw food diet?

[dave]

Right, lets get this sorted..

I'll create two seperate sub forums One for pro raw food fans to discuss raw food and one for those against.. Please do not mix..
Feel free to copy and paste your content from this thread into a new thread into the new forums when I've created it..
I'll come back later and delete this entire thread as its gone from good to crap... again.

[dave]

Actually use the main diet forum to discuss why you don't like raw food, we don't need a seperate forum just for that.

[Howlinbob]

Oh I get it. I guess the fact that I am against raw feeding makes me enemy #1 to you. So I can't even post something jovial and polite without a not so nice comment. You know I forgot that you hated me so bad. Thanx for the sweet reminder.

Just a reminder, discussions are just that discussions. Not something to be taken persoanlly.

Candes, I'm sorry I upset you, I really didn't mean to. Your post was perfectly jovial and polite and none of my remarks were aimed at you.
I don't hate anyone, certainly not for the food choices they make for their pets. Everyone has their reasons.
I just wish that there was more of a 'live and let live' attitude in general, in the anti-raw camp.

[dave]

So how do we proceed taking this into consideration?

Is that question to me personally, or referring to maine coon owners as a whole?