| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| patchworkpeace |
Posted - Mar 08 2010 : 05:20:58 AM
Hi all,
We want to start feeding our cats a natural raw diet. We've purchased Nature's Varieties frozen raw beef but they won't touch it. Does anyone have any suggestions for something to add to this that might tempt them to at least try it. We're pretty sure at least one of them is allergic to chicken. Any suggestions are welcome.
Judy
Success is measured not by the position one reaches but by the obstacles one has to overcome to reach it. Booker T. Washington |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| patchworkpeace |
Posted - Mar 08 2010 : 4:10:21 PM
Farmmilkmama,
We bought the beef mixed with veggies. I don't really think the veggies are the problem because they've eaten both dry and moist catfoods with veggies. Actually, the male loves lettuce and leafy greens so much he comes running when he hears me take the salad spinner out of the fridge. He eats lettuce raw. Weird, I know.
We think at least the female is allergic because she has licked about half of her fur off her belly, back legs and around the tail. She scratches a lot, too. She doesn't have fleas. We have taken her to our local vet as well as the veterinary school of medicine at MSU. None of their treatments have worked and so they just want to drug her up and see if she responds. We try to keep our pets as natural as possible and don't like to give her medicines when no one knows what's wrong for sure. She also has shown sensitivity to meds in the past. We started reading and researching holistic care for cats. We ran across several websites where people described the same symptoms for their cats and a chicken allergy was the problem. It makes more sense to us to feed them nutritious raw food then pump her full of drugs that may not help her. BTW she hasn't had her chicken for 24 hours now and she is not licking and scratching hardly at all. So, we're thinking this might really be it.
I tried mixing the raw with kibble this morning and the male wouldn't get near it and the female picked some of the kibble out and left it.
We'd be real interested in any tips you or your mom may have.
Judy
Success is measured not by the position one reaches but by the obstacles one has to overcome to reach it. Booker T. Washington |
| farmmilkmama |
Posted - Mar 08 2010 : 11:04:47 AM
I talked to my mom (who owns a raw pet food biz) and she wanted to know if what you bought was straight beef or one of the mixes that Natures Variety sells. She said some of their "meat" things are actually mixes of meat along with fruits and veggies...which might be some of the problem. Cats are more carnivorous than dogs and don't generally take kindly to add-ins.
She also asked why you felt your cats were allergic to chicken, and said that would be very rare. From my experience, ground chicken is the favorite meal of the 11 cats who live here!
Also, what were they eating before? Did they switch from kibble to raw cold turkey? (ha. No pun intended.) You might try switching your cats a little more gradually (mixing the kibble with the raw in smaller and smaller proportions.)
After that, my mom said "Cats are picky." LOL. My mom has switched a lot of animals onto raw feeding, and if anyone was going to give her issues, she says, it would definitely be the cats.
Feel free to email me if you want more info. from her. :)
--* FarmMilkMama *--
Farmgirl Sister #1086
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
-Oscar Wilde
www.wakeupstartlearning.blogspot.com
www.farmfoodmama.blogspot.com |
| 1badmamawolf |
Posted - Mar 08 2010 : 07:30:14 AM
It would be very rare for your cat to be allergic to chicken, when there are food (meat) allergys, its usually to beef. You could try putting tuna fish oil on the food (not much) and see if that will help.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
|
|
