Melamine to Frankenprey: A Documented Journey

pfht! What was I thinking? These guys know they are carnivores! Not only did they eat every scrap, they ate it a whole lot faster than I would have credited.

 

*shakes head in wonderment*

 

I hit what may be a small bump in the smooth ride, however. For breakfast, I served beef round stew pieces. The chunks were quite large, but no one had any trouble eating them. Rachel, my once thin kitty, ate more than is usual for her… but about an hour later, threw some of it back up. Normally, because she ate so much, I'd shrug it off as a reaction to that. However, several days ago I fed beef for dinner and then again for the evening meal, and someone threw up a very small amount after the second meal.

 

So I'm thinking Rachel either needs to slow down a bit, or she might have some intolerance to beef; I know that's not an uncommon occurrence.

 

Have to keep an eye on that!

 

 

Fed pork loin chunks this morning. Only the kittens were enthusiastic about eating it, but no one turned their noses up.

 

Throwing the food down on a towel is working wonderfully. I love rolling that thing up to reveal a perfectly clean table!

 

Someone asked me if I included any beef flavors when I was feeding canned. The answer is yes. In fact, I fed beef in Wellness®, Evo® and Nature's Variety Instinct® flavors, among others, and no one ever had a problem with it.

 

 

 

I guess that rules out sensitivity issues. At the least, it makes them more unlikely!!

 

Beef is harder to chew than chicken and turkey, and Rachel is the slowest of all the cats, so maybe she's being lazy and swallowing chunks she should be cutting down?

 

I know too much food and food eaten too fast can cause issues, but can too-large food chunks cause stomach upsets, as well? Anyone have any experience with that?

 

If so, I'll be happy to cut her food down a little more while she gets used to all the chewing she needs to do now. Considering how easy this has been for me — yes, I totally recognize that I am very, very lucky — I think I can manage cutting one cat's food into bite-size pieces.

 

 

I've finally found a source for organ meat, the last ingredient I needed. Turns out my favorite grocery store sells both chicken and beef kidneys; I never saw them because the beef only comes in once a week and the chicken needs to be special ordered. I picked up a couple months' worth of beef kidney today and I'll order some chicken tomorrow.

 

I also found a butcher about 45 minutes away that sells pork kidneys and placed an order with him. I'll keep looking for other organs, but the need is no longer critical, thank goodness!

 

I gave the cats some beef kidney, beef heart and bison meat this afternoon as a snack, just to see if they'd eat it. Everyone chowed down with gusto. Rachel surprised me; she ate everything without any of the Whole Life™ treats I sometimes have to use to tempt her, especially the beef heart. So yay!

 

After talking to some folks on another board, I ascertained that Rachel was, indeed, being lazy about properly chewing her beef chunks. I've been cutting her pieces in half before offering them to her and we've had no more upset stomach issues. Problem solved!

 

The cats have been on raw food for three weeks and three days now, 100% raw a little over half that time. I have sources for everything I need and I've worked out the majority of the kinks in a feeding methodology that I can sustain and that addresses all their needs. Oh, and I bought a lovely set of knives and something to keep them sharp with.

 

 

I have slightly modified my feeding schedule:

 

Breakfast: 9 to 10 oz of beef round (comes in precut stew pieces) or pork loin chunks I cut and package myself.

 

Lunch: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday they'll get about 11 oz of something with bone in it for lunch. Chicken wings, half a quail, a quarter of a Cornish Hen, or half a chicken breast with ribs.

 

Sunday and Thursday, lunch will be 6ozs of either chicken or beef liver and 5oz of chicken or beef heart.

 

Tuesday and Saturday, lunch will be 6 oz of chicken, beef or pork kidneys and 5 oz of chicken or beef heart.

 

Dinner: Either a chicken quarter or a turkey drumstick with the bones removed. The weight for these can range from 12 oz to 18 oz, but averages about 14 oz. Every now and then I'll try something different, just for the fun and variety of it.