Raw Feeding Cats

Your cats are predators that have evolved to eat and thrive on a diet of raw meat. The structure of their jaws, teeth and digestive system have not changed since the days that they would hunt and scavenge for their food. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to feed them a diet of raw meat and bone, just as nature intended. This makes them Obligate Carnivores. They require meat and meat only for all their dietary needs. Therefore a 100% raw diet offers them all their dietary requirements. A complete raw diet should consist of a balanced ratio of meat, bone, and offal. Taurine is an essential nutrient that cats have a limited ability to produce and must ingest to be healthy. Taurine is found in all raw meats, but the best sources are found in chicken hearts and liver.

Essential Nutrients

The inclusion of bone and offal within a raw meat diet provide your cats with every essential nutrient they require. Bone provides calcium, minerals, and zinc along with collagens and enzymes. Offal such as liver and kidney as an example provide Vitamin B's, A's, Amino Acids and Essential Fatty Oils. Customers who feed their cats raw feedback improvements in their cat’s skin, coat & teeth, improved digestion, a healthy lean body and reduced stool volume and odour. (Cats will digest and utilise most of their raw diet hence less stools).

Transition

Cats can be slightly fussy about changing food.

If you free feed your cat dry food, stop this firstly. This does not necessarily mean you need to stop feeding dry with immediate effect, but certainly pick up the bowl so your cat cannot eat it whenever they feel like it. Dried kibble differs massively in taste and texture to a raw food. It is advisable to switch to tinned food as a short interim step. This will get your cat accustomed to a meatier consistency to their meals. Try feeding half of their normal dry food with half tinned, then gradually reduce the amount of dried kibble over a few days. When you have weaned your cat onto a tinned diet, apply the same principles when transitioning too raw. Feed half and half and gradually reduce the amount of tinned food over the course of a few days.

Never starve a cat to encourage them to eat. Whilst dogs are fine to skip meals, cats must eat regularly to avoid hepatic lipidosis, a severe and sometimes fatal liver impairment. Go at your cat’s pace. Do not be afraid to back track a step or two if it means your cat will eat. Most importantly, exercise a little patience. A change of diet for cats is not something that happens overnight. Persevere, and your cat will thank you in the long run.