My raw feeding experiment

**Antonia** · 3rd December 2010, 05:49 PM

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.

**FreyjaRoMaine** · 3rd December 2010, 06:19 PM

Wow, that's some progress. Can I ask what the barf mix is? I tried the frozen ground mush from Pets at Home and even Wicca wouldn't eat that after the first couple of inhalations.

**Antonia** · 3rd December 2010, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by FreyjaRoMaine

Wow, that's some progress. Can I ask what the barf mix is? I tried the frozen ground mush from Pets at Home and even Wicca wouldn't eat that after the first couple of inhalations.

It's made by a small Dutch company named Tinlo which only has outlets in Holland and Belgium.

**Howlinbob** · 3rd December 2010, 06:46 PM

That's marvellous Anna, what progress you have made. I am definitely in favour of raw feeding, but supplies are a problem. Obviously I can get raw meat, but not the pre-ground stuff with all the bones and bits in it. A friend of a friend can supply me with fresh rabbit, but I only want it minced. So I've asked if he can supply it minced....and I'm waiting to hear.

So you also feed them raw offal - chicken giblets? And chicken wings - do they cope OK with the little bones? I gave our lads a section of chicken wing each, and Larry was completely bewildered. Monty tore away at it with gusto, but on the whole they licked it more than they ate it, and they ended up tossing it around the room and burying it under the rug. I don't really want raw meat hidden in corners of the kitchen, so I gave up on that idea.

Do you think I should try again with a decent pre-minced raw mix? Any ideas where I could find something like that?

**Louie-Louie** · 4th December 2010, 07:28 AM

I give this lot raw turkey mince a couply of times a week they all love it & we dont have the nag nag nag for food I think it fils them up better

Louie still nags for his MC dry food

I read somewhere that unless they actually chew & break up the dry kibble it is a waste of time for dental protection, but the MC kibble is that big it has to be chewed

**Antonia** · 4th December 2010, 12:14 PM

Karen and Louisa, what a pity that good barf is so difficult to come by in the UK. Perhaps you can find out more by googling barf+cat+food.
That’s how I found a lot of information – even joined a Dutch barf forum where I learned loads of stuff, including addresses of producers and retailers.

The offal is part of the diet as it contains important vitamins and minerals. You can also add very small amounts of yogurt (the ‘natural’ stuff such as Greek or Turkish), fresh cheese (in Holland we call it kwark, I think it’s the same as cottage cheese) or kefir (a type of buttermilk). It´s good for calcium and protein. I give them a teaspoon each once a week. Also an egg yolk every now and then is OK for them.
As for the bones, I do not give them leg bones – they’re too hard. But a wing they can handle provided you first give it a good bash with a hammer. Minnie chews the bone until it’s completely gone. Tatja is learning to chew bone as well. But El Monto tries to swallow chunks of bone whole … I definitely have some more educating to do with him.

Personally I’d prefer to feed the kinds of meat they’d catch in the wild. That means birds and rodents. But I don’t strictly adhere to that; they do enjoy beef and lamb, and there’s beef in the preground barf as well.

And yes, the meat does get knocked around quite a bit. But with the stone tiles on the kitchen floor it doesn’t matter.

BTW, there are two very important things to keep in mind. One is: never cook meat on the bone. Cooking makes the bone brittle which can cause damage to their gums and intestines. The other: do not feed raw pork; it may contain a bug which can be lethal for cats.

I found out that it does take some studying before you can start to feed the furries in this manner. But it is a nice way to be occupied with your cats and interact with them. I hope the google search will get you on your way.

**Antonia** · 4th December 2010, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Louie-Louie

Louie still nags for his MC dry food

I read somewhere that unless they actually chew & break up the dry kibble it is a waste of time for dental protection, but the MC kibble is that big it has to be chewed

That is why I still give them a couple of Hill's Oral a day for treats... and also to play with them. I hide the biscuits in places where they have to climb or use their paws to get at them. I call it the 'scouting expedition' and it has become a daily ritual.

**Howlinbob** · 4th December 2010, 01:15 PM

This is really interesting Anna. Just found this UK website:

The UK Natural Pet Food Shop

and I've done some reading about the principles of the Barf diet, and it all makes complete sense to me. It actually feels like a large penny has dropped, or a big veil has been lifted from my eyes, or somesuch! We all know the perils of eating processed foods for ourselves, but we are doing exactly the same for our pets. Look at what our crew is telling us: when I put their MC Royal Canin biscuits down, supposedly the best quality MC food available and recommended by vets and breeders, my cats say to me, OK, but have you got anything better? Where's our real dinner?

I think I could be a convert!

**Antonia** · 4th December 2010, 01:54 PM

Glad to hear your search has already turned something up Louisa. That's an interesting site, though their range of frozen mixtures seems to be for dogs only. But they do carry separate ingredients like chicken necks as well.

The penny-dropping veil-lifting experience sounds familiar... I too think the whole Barf concept is absolutely logical.

I can advise you to try and find a forum of Barf 'converts' like I did (only it's in Dutch so not much use to you). It's great to be able to draw on the experience of people who have so much more knowledge of the subject than we newbies do.

Who knows, before long we'll be swapping scrumptious giblet recipes on here!

**Miss Kitty** · 4th December 2010, 04:33 PM

The breeder advised us to use a mainly raw diet, specifying quality raw food from a pet produce store. We get fresh kangaroo meet and beef mince (no preservatives) for our MC. He also has some MC royal canin biscuits. When we ran out of the raw stuff and got a pack of kangaroo meat from the supermarket - we had to live with the dreaded aftermath that day (terribly upset cat tummy spread throughout the house!). Fresh is best!!!