Recent poops:Not very solid and well formed!

**WoodsideMaineCoons** · 19th February 2010, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Tomiam

Well.. Its more than 24 hours since we removed all dry food and went over to a 100% raw diet. As you predicted Woodside, the lamb was received very well by both Loki and Storvenn but the pork.. Storvenn was up on the counter chewing at the packet before it was opened!! Loki was more than happy to share a plate full with her brother. Might just be me, but they both seem to have more of an appetite for raw. Too early to say for sure, but its the first time Ive ever seen Loki be the last one at the plate eating and thats happened twice in the last 24hrs.

Kids and wife are off for the weekend, which is both good and bad. The good bit being that its me and me only that will be cleaning out the litter trays.

Current status is that Ive removed one 'normally formed' poop from the tray. WhooHooo!

Sadly I dont know whose it was. I did ask them both but all I got was blank stares back...

I shall continue to monitor the litter trays but its looking good, sans dry food, at the moment. **cross fingers.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and advice.

ps: Did you spot I deliberately avoided the raw vs dry food stuff? I fact I didnt even bring it up in my post ..errr.. dammit. Never mind

That sounds like very good news - hope it carries on improving for you. Nothing worse than nasty litter trays is there, especially in a semi long haired cat!

**IrishKitty** · 19th February 2010, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by Tomiam

Irishkity, How many days did it take before your kitties poop started looking better please?

It took about 5 days until he did a poop with better form!
I'd post a sample pic but I don't want anybody going off their food

Are yours still the same?

**Tomiam** · 19th February 2010, 02:13 PM

Well...
Since we went onto raw only diet we have had zero wet poops. I can not confirm with 100% certainty that Loki has stopped wet poops, as I have not seen her poop, but I can confirm that since going to a raw only diet (with some boiled chicken meat too) that:-
a) I have found no wet poops in the litter tray
b) I have found two normal poops in the litter tray
c) 3/4 of a 400g pack of pork went in a few hours this morning!

Unprovable: Both cats seem.. more energetic. Might just be them growing up, but they are definately tearing around the house a lot more than before. Ive also seen some pretty impressive jumps in last few days too.

ps: ...and some jumps that would have been impressive if they had been successful... ;)

I know there was / is a conversation here about the pros and cons of raw vs dry vs dry vs raw vs etc.... Each to their own, world is full of folks with different ideas, would be boring if we were all the same etc etc...

BUT. For me, going to raw food from a proper supplier has worked very quickly. I have seen Loki change in a short space of time when no other influences were apparent. I have also found a subtle change in Storvenns energy levels which I didnt expect. Both S&L have better appetities / prefer the raw / eat more than they were with dry food only.
As a result I placed a decent sized order with food 4 cats this morning (where did the tuna option go?).

So in conclusion.
a) THANK YOU for everyone who gave their honest opinions. Very much appreciated.
b) I will be / have moved over to a raw diet
c) I will continue to learn about the raw diet info (thanks for the webby link)

**IrishKitty** · 19th February 2010, 04:26 PM

Tomiam: checked poop this morning and it was better again

I actually have changed over to a brand of food called "Real Nature" which is made in Germany.
As far as I know it is only available in "fressnaph" branded pet store of which we have 4 recently opened in Ireland.

Real Nature

Fressnapf - Alles für Ihr Tier - Tout pour vos animaux

I have given Winston some raw food though my breeder has advised to give him cooked chicken.
I have not tried to source raw meat (especially packaged for cats) here though of course I know you can get it in the butchers

**Tomiam** · 19th February 2010, 08:36 PM

...and setting new heights of irony.

Cats cured.
Me, just caught the sickness and diahorea bug thats going around. Not sure that a raw diet would work with me though....

**harrymc** · 19th February 2010, 09:07 PM

Must have been from those 4 shredded wheat Tomiam ! seriously hope you feel better soon

**Tomiam** · 20th February 2010, 01:14 AM

Thanks HarryMC

1:10am. Can now confirm that Loki has normal poops

**Scrapdragon** · 20th February 2010, 05:34 AM

well that's good news for the cats... bad news for dad but...

**Tomiam** · 22nd February 2010, 07:33 AM

Probably my last entry into this thread but Id like to post this so that anyone reading it will know what my thoughts are five days after starting a raw only diet. Maybe it will help someone.

*** NOTE: All raw food I have fed my MCs has been from a reputable supplier which breeders & owners currently use. Food 4 Cats. ***

Appetites: Both Loki and Storvenn have definately gained bigger appetites. Yesterday we went through 400g of raw and 300g of cooked chicken fillet + some kitten milk. Loki is confidently eating about twice as much as before.

Poops: All good . They are pooping less than before. When I do see poop it is normal formed and.. here is the bonus.. it doesnt smell! No more coming home from work, opening the door and thinking "ahhhh.. think Id better clean the litter tray right now!".

Weight: A noticeable difference in Lokis weight. Even in just 5 days shes filling out and looks more solid. Storveen was growing like mad anyway so hard to tell if its any difference with him.
-------------
Non scientific test: Wife & kids have been away for 4 out of the last 5 days. I picked them up from train station and they asked how Loki had gotten on with raw only. I said it was going well but would like them to tell me what they thought when they saw both Loki and Storvenn.
When we got to the glass front door both cats came running and my wife + kids immediately commented on how much larger Loki looked.

So if anyone wants a fair amount of Pro Plan Kitten dry food and is willing to pick it up from Bristol, then you are more than welcome to come and have it for free.

**Scrapdragon** · 22nd February 2010, 07:43 AM

That's an interesting Tomiam....

I'm thinking of feeding a mix of dry and raw and dropping all tinned food. I want to keep feeding dry as that is what my cats are currently used to and I know that Gryfn is being fed that too atm.

I might end up changing in the future but.