I thought I’d revive this thread to give you an update on my ‘How Do I Teach My Coonies Feral Table Manners’ effort.
There has definitely been progress. I found a brand of preground ‘barf’ they all like… actually, they adore it! They’ll even gobble it up when mixed with some warm water – something I wouldn’t dream of doing with any other wet food because they turn up their little noses at anything diluted. It’s a mixture of beef, chicken, rabbit, mackerel and various bones and organs. At present the freezer in the pantry is stocked with bags and bags of the stuff… good thing we took that freezer with us when we moved into this house even though there already was one installed in the kitchen.
And now that their taste of the wild has more or less awakened, I am gradually throwing in the Real McCoy… like chicken necks and wings, hearts, stomachs, livers, or chunks of beef filet, lamb filet, turkey and duck. Stuff they have to chew, munch and rip apart.
As before, little Minnie tackles it as if she was born to it. Monty and Tatja have gotten over their initial shock (when I first confronted them with something as disgusting as a piece of dead chicken) and have started to join in on the savage feast. Of course they devour their prey much slower than Minnie so I constantly have to keep an eye on the tiny tigress to prevent her from getting more than her fair share.
The results healthwise are jaw-dropping. These last few weeks I haven’t seen a single ‘cow pad’ in the litter trays, nor had to clean up dirty bums and breeches. They poo a lot less and produce firm, almost odorless little turds. They pee all the more, which means they get plenty of fluids.
And El Monto’s coat!!! It has transformed! I check his fur every day and the matts have gone! So no more horrible sessions where I had to clip the matts from his fur while hubby held the whimpering little guy, talking to him soothingly (well, actually he talked about boring stuff like the working of the Otto Engine, but in a very reassuring tone of voice). The other day Montobonto even let me brush his belly… without need for assistance from hubby. He just lay on his back patiently and obviously very much at ease.
There is only one downside. In the pre-barf era I could chop up pieces of meat on the kitchen worktop without bother. They just sat there watching, not recognising that weird stuff as food. But nowadays when preparing a stew, I am stalked by three feral robber-Coonies.:LOL: