Is anyone feeding raw?

[purplefdu]

I don't know about pumpkin for digestion we feed it for ear infections and because the puppy loves it. If it were so great for digestion you'd see it in more foods and many do not have pumpkin as an ingredient. We actually e-mailed Wellness when it wasn't included as an ingredient suggestion, even if just for flavor/carrot replacement.

[delucashawn]

We feed out min pins Innova Evo. It is all natural and as close to a raw diet one can get without the actual raw meat. The dogs love the food and treats. The aftermath is easier to clean up and dissolves quickly into the lawn. It is kind of expensive and we had to have our vet become a distributor as there was not one in our area.

[thriftycj]

I know this thread was started awhile ago, but thought I'd chime in. I've been feeding my cats a raw diet for several years, and they do remarkably well on it. I would strongly recommend using a recipe blend... in the past, I have used the recipe found in Anitra Frazier's book The New Natural Cat. I now feed my cats raw food supplemented with a powder from a company called Feline Instincts (you can google it). My cats are older, so it is a special formula for kidney health.

It isn't cheap, but still less expensive than quality canned food. A large canister of the powder costs $56. It makes 10 batches of food, each batch lasting my two cats just short of a week. (my one cat, willie is a little piggo, while miss jezebelle eats only once a day). The recipe for each batch calls for:

2 lb. raw meat (I use the 80/20 frozen ground turkey from Aldi. Not organic, but still better than anything you're getting in processed pet food).
1 cup raw chicken liver (you can also purchase a powdered version from Feline Instincts, which I highly recommend. Less icky, not any more expensive, and the cats LOVE the powder... helps them in the transition)
15 oz. canned pumpkin or 1lb. of steamed squash or sweet potato
About 1 Tbsp. salmon oil

I make it in a double batch, then freeze in muffin tins and then place in a large ziploc once frozen. Then you just need to thaw before serving.

I can't say enough good things about this diet. It is balanced and meets their nutritional needs. Their demeanor improves along with the coats. Plus, their physical waste decreases SIGNIFICANTLY. Miss Belle still poos every day, but it is just tiny bits. No excess involved... her body uses everything I'm giving her.

[couponsmakecents]

I am working on feeding raw. One is cooperating and one is not. Roscoe (my 7 month old Jack Russell) loves raw carrots, green beans, etc. so he gets those as treats. I am looking for ways to incorporate and add in.

[Lmnde]

I feed raw [when I can afford it and offer raw supplementation when I can not swing it for the entire crew] and use the whole prey method. Mine also get eggs and dairy products as available and we never had problems with any of this - they love it, thrive on it and get clean teeth and shiny coats. I've been blessed with that we have no skin problems etc [12 years of selective breeding], so that has never been an issue - but richer coat colors, thicker, glossier and shinier coats are the norm when I have them fully on raw.

We buy chicken backs in 40# bulk boxes directly from Claxton Chicken [the big chicken company here in se. GA] and it is their mainstay along with deer, pork and to a lesser extent beef, rabbit, turkey and occasionally goat. Really wish I could get some cheap fish for them too. The babies love it as well and all the moms always have abundant milk when they are raising babies on raw...

My cats were reluctant to switch and it took them quite a while to get comfortable with it; now they inhale it when it is offered, and will eat entire chicken backs, bone and all. I'm seriously thinking about raising mice or rats for them, but haven't gotten that far yet...

If I could afford to rawfeed 24/7 - this would be my preferred choice of food for them - the poops are clean, hard and non smelly - the easiest "doo" cleanup ever. I've never supplemented with vitamins or vegetables, and we have no birth deficiencies or other problems. I do buy additional organ meat seperately to add to, and also used to get extra hearts, lungs and livers from the deer processing place we got our deer from, and froze them for later use [they do not use them and will gladly let you have all the bones, scraps and organ meat you are willing to carry off = at least the place we used to get our deer processed did]. Be sure come fall when hunting season starts up again, to visit the processors to see if you can work out something with them.

[KrispyKrittersUSA]

I fed my cat a raw diet for over a year. It is expensive, but I found that I could get a pound of ground turkey, for .79 cents packaged in a frozen roll at Savealot. I would defrost one and mix it with seaweed powder from the nutrition store. She had a hyperthroid, and the seaweed powder gave her the nutrients she needed. She loved the mix. She drank more water, her coat got better, and I swear her eyes sharpened up. Took the cloud out. She was less needy. And she slept better. Raw diet really helped her out. WHen they have thyroid problems, commercially prepared food doesn't help them alot. I would totally do it again!