Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently am feeding my cats a mixture of dry and canned food. Nutro brand, which doesn't contain any by-products or corn meal. I have been reading about the benefits of switching over to an all natural diet for cats.

I do not think it is feasible for me to make a 100% switch at this point, but I would like to at least begin incorporating some of it into my cats' current diet.

Any advice on where to start? How to do this without cutting my cats short on nutrition or upsetting their digestive system by adding new (and unfamilar) things such as raw meat/fish, etc.

Any and all adive will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Heather (hd_rulez@yahoo.com)

Hi There,

I must admit that I have very mixed feelings about feeding raw meat to cats. Despite what you may have read, cats can become very ill from eating contaminated raw meat. The meat we buy for ourselves often contains bacteria but it is killed in the cooking process. For this reason it is best to obtain raw meat to feed cats from a local source, a place where you know how the meat is handled. Not too long ago there was a recall on one of the ready-to-feed raw meat diets for cats, so you must be very, very careful in choosing where you will buy the meat.

I did look up a few sites that appear to give some very good advice in transitioning cats to a raw diet:

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/feline/feeding_safety.htm

http://www.poshnosh.ca/about_raw/benefits_cat.html

http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicleguide.htm

Please understand that I am not standing behind any of the brands that may be mentioned on the sites. I have never fed my own cats raw so I have no experience.

Please let us know how things go.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for your response. I guess I should explain why I am looking into making a switch....

My 6yr old male (Boris) is prone to urinary problems. I have heard from many sources that he should never be on dried food....ever. But canned food is so darned expensive that I use dry food in combination.

On one hand, I don't want to put a price tag on my cat's health and comfort. But I simply don't know if I can afford to switch to a 100% canned food diet at this time!

I was thinking that, if I could supplement the canned food with meats/grains that I can buy in bulk and prepare at home, I could get the "best of both worlds".

I am skeptical of the raw food myself. Perhaps a compromise would be to cook the meats?

My other concern is making sure Boris will not be missing out on any vital nutrients, which commercial cat food supplements (lutein???).