# How much for a cat?



## Caja's Mom (Aug 6, 2003)

We just recently went back to raw with the dogs. It is a mix we are getting from Canada. Messing around tonight we got Oreo my old cat to eat some of the ground turkey mixed in with some kibble. Is the amount of raw linked with a body weight ratio for a cat? She is 14 and in pretty good health maybe just a touch over weight but not by much.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

I'm interested to hear this too! Although my cat does beautifully on kibble I would love to hear for future reference!


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

Something to read - of course









http://www.catnutrition.org/faq.php#how_feed
There should be a navigation bar on the site but for some reason it wasn't working for me









My cat is a 10-12lb Sib (







for my allergies) that is completely not food motivated, she gets ~ 50-60g twice a day: I buy 200-250g flat packs & cut these (while frozen) into 4 portions.
We've tried every brand & variety of raw food available - she used to eat Club Canine (at half the price!) but then decided it was no longer appropriate to her elitist palate: oh yah, another food search!








Fortunately 3P had altered their production line, coincidentally moving to flat packs & providing a product that Stasia deigned to eat









She loves the red meats: venison, bison/buffalo, lamb, beef, elk ; rabbit is sometimes _In_; chicken, turkey, pheasant, ostrich are all _*That* is NOT food!_
For these meats, she is perusaded by the judicious use of Toppers 

- the Topper she'll do tricks for ...
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Wait for it ......
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Chicken









Stasia is also not water motivated so I add ~2-4T lukewarm water to her food bowl at each meal: she mostly cleans her bowl.

I buy a variety of meats, portion them & feed at random - I've also tried the opposite, feeding a single protein for a week & then switching: no digestive effects noticed either way.

At this time, she's more receptve to alternate foods, so she gets some of the dehydrated raw food 'dog' treats, eg buffalo heart, venison liver etc

Those cat treats on TV where the cat psychotically leaps through walls etc - only in the mad, sad dreams of desparate advertisers: not even Toppers will get her eating that


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

forgot to answer your question Trish, yes, generally larger cat or more active cat = more food; 50-100g raw/10lb cat is a fairly general starting point, especially as many cats will need a slow transition from kibble to raw; most 20lb cats are overweight, so I'd still only start witth 100g.

If you have a food motivated cat, you can also do a cat version of meat + raw meaty bones, just remember that you need to ensure taurine levels (eg, heart). 

Club Canine has some basic info on Cats - I like the idea of the _10% raw ground veggies, free range eggs, yogurt, kelp, salmon oil, bee pollen_ (cats eat the stomach contents of rodents, whole insects etc) & Stasia was on their food for a long time; as she will not eat bones, she is forced to consume the ground mixes with bone.

Before switching her over to raw, Stasia was on Origen kibble (she arrived eating Whiskas







). Her coat & poops improved dramatically with the switch to Origen; she would not eat canned & I prefer raw over canned anyway, so the next transition was to raw. 

Her eating habits are more consistent on raw than kibble (I worry alot less about the possibilty of hepatic lipidosis with raw than with kibble), her poops are odorless, pee volume is more consistent, slight change in coat - she is a long hair cat that never matts, we occasionally brush her as she does still shed. 
In contrast, she had terrible matts on Whiskas, we did need to brush weekly while she was on Origen.


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## Caja's Mom (Aug 6, 2003)

Thanks for the link. The premade mix the dogs are eating now is http://www.ironwillrawdogfood.com. She is located less than an hour away including the time it takes for me to get over the border and back. I would love to get Oreo eat to some more of the turkey mix. The maker also said she can also make a fish one for cats. Tried to figure out 100 grams is about 3.6 ounces?


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## Alto (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes, 28g/oz but you could also just think of it as a 1/4pound & that would work fine for estimating amounts.

Fish is OK (Stasia refuses the fish - of course!) but should not account for more than 1/10 meals 
BUT there is a shop client whose cat only eats fish & the owner has chosen to do this rather than feed kibble or canned ... 
Vit K deficiency, hyperthyroidism & steatis/pansteatis (yellow fat disease - annoying that I can't find the webpage I want for this) are concerns in cat diets that contain too much fish; Little Big Cat also has a page on hazards of too much fish 

You might see if your supplier would be willing to follow this 
Cat Food Recipe
Pictorial 

I don't recall if I linked this site or not (written by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM)
Cat Nutrition 
Making Cat Food 

Before deciding if you (& Oreo) really want to go raw, you might just toss him bits of any meats you're cooking with (assuming you're not vegetarian etc







) &/or give him a daily snack/single feeding of the raw dog food for a month or so. This would let you know if he's likely to be still interested after the novelty wears off ... though I suppose you could just feed any rejected cat food to your dogs


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## Caja's Mom (Aug 6, 2003)

I have been trying to give her a small amount everyday of the ground turkey mix. The chicken mix we have right now has a lot of other veggies in it and some garlic so I don't think she will eat it. Today was the first day she snubbed it but I won't give her any kibble until her normal dinner time. I think she will eat it once she realizes I am not going to give her something else. Her and my other cat are now fighting over a sun patch on the couch. So probably in a little while she will be looking for food again.


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## lixy (Mar 14, 2007)

The Raw Cat group (Yahoo! Raw Cat) is an _incredible_ resource that you can post any questions to. 
(As is the general rawfeeding group







)


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: lixyThe Raw Cat group (Yahoo! Raw Cat) is an _incredible_ resource that you can post any questions to.


Thank you for the reference!


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## mspiker03 (Dec 7, 2006)

You may want to pm board member The Stig - she feeds her cat raw (or used to at least). She hangs around in the raw section occasionally, but you may have to pm her as she hasn't been around as much lately.


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## Caja's Mom (Aug 6, 2003)

Well she threw a curve the other day and decided she didn't want to eat any more of the turkey mix. Haven't tried any since, but will in a few days. She wouldn't even lick it with some kibble mixed in or the kibble that was around it. When she was chowing on it the day before. I dunno darn cats. Fudge doesn't even want to sniff it let alone eat it lol.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

Silly cats.


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