Melamine to Frankenprey: A Documented Journey

I'm thinking I'll feed the kittens the diced breast meat and the ribs with meat for dinner tomorrow and the adults will each get part of a leg. If anyone's still hungry, I'll give them a wing. Everyone will also get a small piece of gizzard. How does this sound to you experienced folks?

 

I'm rather distressed about the shopping trip because it looks like my cats are thinking about not eating the canned food anymore, and I'm absolutely not ready to feed them a 100% raw diet. Last night, they refused their bedtime meal. I wasn't too, too concerned 'cause they've been eating so much during their raw meal. But they also refused the canned breakfast I gave them this morning, even after I sprinkled it with the freeze-dried chicken. They ate the chicken and whatever food was stuck to it, but left pretty much everything else.

 

I'm feeling pressured to get this whole thing together and soon. I don't want my guys hungry, and I don't want them missing any of the nutrients they need either. At day four, I'm thinking this is an awful lot of work!

 

 

Today marks a full week my crew's been eating raw dinners, and all is going splendidly well.

 

I've given them bone-in chicken wings, thighs, and drumsticks, as well as de-boned and diced chicken from all parts of the carcass. They've shared a Cornish Hen and eaten chicken hearts, liver and gizzards. Everything has been devoured eagerly, if slowly.

 

The only issue I've run into is procuring desirable foods, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get that straightened out over the next week or so. No one's shown any sign of being tired of chicken, but the sooner I can get a steady source of various meats, the happier I'll be.

 

I'm picking up some squirrel this weekend. I'll let y'all know how it goes! In the meantime, I'll leave you with this pic of a happy, well-fed Spencer.

 

 

The squirrel wasn't ready for me today, so I picked up some frozen mice instead. I'm happy to say three of my five cats found their inner tiger.

 

I was so proud of them while I watched them eat! I took some pics but haven't shown them to anyone; as natural as this behavior is, it can still be disturbing. Lots of folks don't like snakes because of their diet, but our cats eat the exact same prey in the wild. I actually felt a shift in my perception while I watched them eat. Kinda weird, really.

 

Spencer was hysterical with the mice. Holy smokes, you'd have thought he hadn't eaten in days, the way he was behaving. And growl?! He was growling and snarling like a Mack truck shifting into second gear on an uphill incline!

 

The two holdouts, Rachel and Meghan, were like, "You're kidding, right?" LOL!

 

 

I've received multiple comments from some readers referencing the "risks" of feeding raw foods.

 

I've done a ton of research and read article after article from folks who've been feeding or recommending raw food for years, some for decades. I've yet to come across a single documented instance of a cat, dog or owner becoming ill from feeding raw food; although I've read of multiple cases of people hospitalized with salmonella after handling dry pet foods.

 

Cats have shorter digestive tracts with a specific enzyme mix that evolved to process raw meat completely and quickly.² It took me a while to get to this point, but based on everything I've read, I'm comfortable feeding raw food, both human-grade and wild-caught.

 

 

They had their first raw beef dinner tonight. I was kinda skeptical about offering it because I've read that beef is an iffy prospect for most cats.

 

Not at my house. Between the five of them, they downed just a hair over a pound of Round Stew Meat in about ten minutes flat. And I gave it to them exactly as it came out of the package, in nice big chunks straight out of the fridge.

 

Man, I'm loving this!

 

 

Now that I've established that the cats'll eat pretty much anything, I need to do the calculations to determine how much of what to buy for any given week, then take a look at Hare Today and Rodent Pro to create my first order.

 

I'm seriously leaning toward getting mostly whole prey (mice, baby chicks, quail, rabbit pieces, etc.) with maybe some diced chicken and beef thrown in every now and then. It's so much easier than trying to cut down a whole hen or chicken, you know? Plus, the deal with my brother-in-law fell through, so that leaves me without a source for organ products. I have to do a cost/benefit analysis first, but even if it's a bit pricier for the whole prey diet, I'm willing to spend it for the convenience. I really dislike cutting down those whole birds!