Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

Grain free cat food....


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, mnaiman said:

Is there any grain free cat food available in this area or anywhere in Mexico that does not have to be imported ?

I don't know the answer to this question.  I do know that cats should not be fed dry food and most of what comes in a can has few decent ingredients.  Cats are strictly carnivores and should be on a raw diet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I fed my cats a raw diet NOB I had to use supplements but it was straight raw beef, no added stuff as in the BARF diet. I would talk to Odette, the RAW pet food lady at the Tuesday Market, or Dr Ladrone, about what, if anything, needs to be added to their RAW diet mixes when fed to cats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cats should not be fed beef!  They don't naturally kill cows.  They need to eat what they can kill, such as mice, poultry.  My recipe comes from an expert vet and it does have added supplements as well.  It is raw chicken with everything in it that is needed for their nutrition, including the ground up bones for calcium.  I make it all with fresh ingredients.

  It is the closest to what they would get in nature.  I did a lot of research on this topic when I got the cats as I wanted to do what what best for them, even if not convenient for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Zeb said:

Cats should not be fed beef!  They don't naturally kill cows.  They need to eat what they can kill, such as mice, poultry. 

Since mouse and robin cat food was in short supply, and a large group of us were feeding our pedigreed show cats and concerned with conditioning, we chose raw beef with supplements. And the cats thrived. Raw, whole chicken wings are an excellent addition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drs. Ladron wil tell you raw diets for cats (especially if any beef included) can do more harm than good due to possibility of toxoplasmosis and many other bacterial infections. They would prefer you cook a home-prepared diet. And be sure you have a TAURINE source, as cats cannot "make" their own from food they eat (dogs and humans do). This is why you see taurine as an added ingredient in all commercial canned and dry cat foods.

They get taurine in the "wild" because in consuming ALL of a bird, mouse, or other prey -- bones, feathers or fur,  flesh and innards, etc. it somehow works (knew but can't remember.....)  You cannot provide it with select cuts of any fish, meat, or fowl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/18/2016 at 4:32 PM, mnaiman said:

Is there any grain free cat food available in this area or anywhere in Mexico that does not have to be imported ?

I need to find this out also, since my cat is diabetic on dry food but not wet, but he loves his crunchies. Anyone have any answers?

100_4268.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The raw diet I make has Taurine.  Parts of the chicken, particularly the neck bones, contain Taurine.  I also add powdered Taurine as well in addition to the other needed supplements.   Also, my cats get the whole chicken, except for the feathers and the head part that was already cut off.

Many vets think they know about nutrition.  The reality is that cats in the wild eat much that is not necessarily fresh, and NONE of it is cooked.  Here is a great source www.catnutrition.org.  The recipe I make is on there.

I believe there is more harm in feeding a totally unnatural diet, completely contrary to what they would get in the wild.

Of course, the cats like their "crunchies".  This is like people loving their sweets, and we wonder why there is so much diabetes in the world.  The dry stuff is totally addicting, just as sugar is to us.  One of my cats was that way as well.  I weaned him off all that years ago.  His crunchies are now bones to satisfy the urge to chew. 

He snubbed his nose at the raw food right from the start.  You should see him attack it now. My suggestion is don't give them what is bad for them no matter how much they love it.  Gradually, incorporate a raw diet.  If you really look at the content of canned, it is not that good and contains things cats should not have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're transitioning Max to a more natural diet now.  He also loves crunchies, even Science Diet.  Yep, it seems all the crunchies have carbohydrates which is what they like about it.  Since Max has never had a weight or over eating problem we just left the dry food down for him to snack on after his morning meal of wet food which he loves dearly.

My reading on this indicates that although cats are naturally programmed to eat raw food it does take some time for them to get off of the prepared junk.  The older the cat, the tougher the transition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, it does take a little time and cunning on our part.  One of our cats plowed right into it, and the other, well I already said.  It is really not all that hard to do and it is absolutely the right thing to do for them. You can go from dry to canned, then mix in some raw until it is all raw.  They do need to be able to use their teeth for dental health and to satisfy natural urges, hence why chunks must be kept in the raw diet.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I looked for and found canned, grain free dog food at the pet supply store in San Antonio with the Large Eukenuba sign.  The brand is Evanger, made in the U.S.  I would check there for a similar grain free cat food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, mixed it lightly with some of his dry food, rejected again.

I gave him a piece of left over Baseball Fillet from Brunos, very rare.  He loved it!

The boy does have taste. :D

 

A not so good update this morning.  Mixed a very small quantity of the raw with his usual wet food and after a while he ate about half of it and promptly threw it all up.  This isn't going well, I'm thinking to lightly cook this stuff and see if that will work.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been on canned for 4 days with no insulin and last night his sugar dropped to 67 so added about 6 pieces of dry, not going to give up totally on the dry yet, thought I had this sugar thing licked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hensley--do animals react to exercise the same way people diabetics do?  In other words, did he/she get more exercise yesterday than perhaps the day before and consequently the glucose was used up with exercise?  It's so difficult with people to eat the same calories and exercise the same every day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

Max had his first try at it today and hit the reject button.

Now next up is mixing it in.

Nothing is easy with Max. :D

It is best to gradually change the diet, rather than suddenly.  In case you did not know, it changes what comes out the other end as well.  You will see this if you maintain a litter box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

Well, mixed it lightly with some of his dry food, rejected again.

I gave him a piece of left over Baseball Fillet from Brunos, very rare.  He loved it!

The boy does have taste. :D

 

A not so good update this morning.  Mixed a very small quantity of the raw with his usual wet food and after a while he ate about half of it and promptly threw it all up.  This isn't going well, I'm thinking to lightly cook this stuff and see if that will work.

 

I don't know all the details of what you did, but, first don't serve it cold out of refrigerator.  Let it come to room temperature.  Do not cook the food. Feed small amounts and do multiple meals throughout the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, so this requires patience.  Don't feed restaurant steak!  This defeats the purpose of weaning him off what he likes versus what is best for him.  If he won't eat, then he skips a meal.  He can do without for at least a day and a half before it becomes an issue.  I've done this with two cats and got my way both times.  He will get hungry and he WILL eat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Yo1 said:

Hensley--do animals react to exercise the same way people diabetics do?  In other words, did he/she get more exercise yesterday than perhaps the day before and consequently the glucose was used up with exercise?  It's so difficult with people to eat the same calories and exercise the same every day.

Are you kidding, he is the laziest cat around. All he does is sleep all day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think I could afford mine to miss a meal since his sugar will go way too low, not a good suggestion to not let your cat eat.

Talked to Hector and he thinks that he is not diabetic now so no using the insulin anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, hensley said:

I don't think I could afford mine to miss a meal since his sugar will go way too low, not a good suggestion to not let your cat eat.

Talked to Hector and he thinks that he is not diabetic now so no using the insulin anymore.

If he already has a medical problem, then for sure you need to check with your vet on how to handle this.  My suggestion was assuming a healthy cat to begin with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...