Raw meat or no raw meat for kittens/cats?

Listen to your instinct.

Do wild cats eat cooked meat? Do they eat corn or "corn gluten meal", do they eat organic spinach and blueberries?! No. They eat freshly killed prey or scavenge off of meat that has been sitting for a few days. You are right. A carnivores digestive system CAN handle all the bacteria load that we cant. Think about it, cats lick their butts and dogs eat fecal matter. A cat can handle it. As far as a vets opinion on this, vets do not get much nutritrional education while they are in vet school. 90% of their animal nutrition material is written by scientists representing Hill Science Diet. A high CORN/low meat based food.

Some have said to me..well cats and dogs have evolved, they are not as "wild" any more and therefore dont need real meat anymore. BOGUS! Commercial pet food has only been around for the past 50 years or so. I highly doubt 50 years of eating corn can biologically change the needs of a carnivore that has been around for thousands of years!

Heres what I think. I think you should do your research, lots of research, and start feeding raw. I promise you your kitty is not going to get food poisoning, not going to keel over, and is not going to become a bloodthirsty killer.

"Plus, Vets say no vitamins or minerals added to raw meat? Why is this because it'll keep them healthy therefore no business for you?"

Well actually this one vet was right. A WELL balanced raw diet contains the correct amounts of muscle meat, bone, and organ meat that no supplements are necessary. However I cannot stress enough that bone and organ meat must be provided.

I have had cats live to be very old on things like fancy feast and meow mix(I know I know I was an idiot back then) however they did not THRIVE, but merely survive. I say go for it do your research and happy feeding.

Unfortunately I am not in a positon to feed raw anymore ..but I plan to again in the future!

KUDOS to you for doing your research. There is also a raw feeding group here on YA you may want to check out.

A cat's (and dog's) teeth go bad and rot because there are only 3 things that will clean teeth. Not dry, not wet/canned and not ground up raw. The only 3 things are feeding raw meaty bone such a turkey/chicken necks, brushing the cat's teeth yourself or putting the cat under and the vet cleans the teeth.

1) eat raw in the wild it's natural for them 2) they have more acidity in there stomach and therefore can handle raw food

The 2 statements above are true. I've been feeding since Jan '09. Binnie has gotten an infection once during this time period because of the bacteria. She got an infection due to her petsitter not washing out her food bowl with antibacterial soap as instructed. This was the only reason.

When feeding raw food, most of the food stays in the body and acts as nutrients, so there is very little waste. My cats poop about 5-6 small terds and it has very low odor.

Edit: Suzi. Of course that study is grossly biased since it's done by Purina. Someone who has done thorough research on raw feeding knows to always feed a variety of meats. Rabbit lacks taurine and apparently thiamine. You should never feed just one meat all of the time as that one meat will lack something that another wouldn't. If I were to feed my cats purely chicken super mix (2/3 meats/bone, 1/3 organs), my cats would have an overdose of several vitamins as that's too much organ all of the time. My cats have a mixture of chicken, chicken super mix, turkey, duck and I'm introducing quail. Variety is a balanced diet.

I feed canned and raw. There has never been a problem due to raw food. I have 3 cats right now

1 is 3-4 yrs and 2 are 16 months and they have never had a single episode of digestive distress (except on the one occasion I ran out of all their usual food and fed them some cheap stuff - projectile vomiting - yay!). The older one was a stray and she got some raw food while pregnant and nursing. The young ones got some raw food since they were bitty little things.

All the other cats I have had have eaten at least some raw food. They never had any digestive problems either.

I do know what you mean about some vets. I have had a couple look at me like I have 3 eyes when I told them what I fed the cats. Not only concerning the raw food but also worryingly, about their canned foods - never heard of EVO or Before Grain?! I think the problem is not that these vets are "stupid", I think that is unfair, but that they had a very conventional and limited nutrition education and they are ignorant. Nothing wrong with ignorant unless you insist on staying that way!

Listen! Listen to your gut logic. What do cats eat? Corn meal? Soybeans? Or do they eat mice, rats, voles and baby bunnies? Do they gas up the grill and broil them? Do they roast them on tiny spits?

Do wild cats keel over from eating bacteria or bones? Have vitamin deficiencies?

You are right; the world, unfortunately, is wrong.

My only concern with a raw diet for cats is the risk of thiamine deficiency. I read a report that stated that a study of cats fed a diet of pure ground raw rabbit suffered thiamine deficiency during the test period. I'm not a nutritional expert, but the report suggested that either grinding, freezing, or just the fact that the carcas is dead, rather than living, may reduce the available thiamine.

I am not stating this as fact, however, because if I remember correctly, the study was done by Purina, and I doubt that they would support anything besides feeding commercial foods.

I have always given raw meat to my dogs, and never thought twice about it. But until recently, I had never fed raw to cats.

One of my cats was a kibble only eater. If it wasn't in a bag, and crunchy, he wouldn't eat it. Although he was eating the best dry food available, I have always been concerned. But now, after being fed raw meat, he loves canned, too. I have never seen either of my cats eat so voraciously.

Because of the thiamine issue, I have been feeding a mix of raw, and high-quality canned foods.

NO no and NO. Raw uncooked meat can introduce more parasites. These kittens could have weakened immune systems from worms, and eating raw meat while infested could cause further harm. Take these kittens to the vet and get them de-wormed. Some pet stores will also sell de-wormers. I hope you choose the vet though, as they can give the kittens a good check up as well for anything else.

I have fed my cats a raw meat diet for almost 9 years now. I am lazy and they do eat canned in the mornings.

I just got two books you might want to purchase or look up. Both support the natural feeding. You have already experienced some of the benefits with your cats.

"The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care" - Celeste Yarnell, PhD and Jean Hofve, DVM

"Whole Health for Happy Cats" - Sandy Arora

I feed raw. I don't supplement. My cats get RMBs, meat, organs, etc . Whatever I can get off a feeder animal they get.

Think about it logically, if we didn't domesticate cats what would they be eating? THe same things your feral did before she met you, mice, rodents, and bugs lol

Raw is the only way to go in my opinion. I"ve stopped wasting my money on commerical foods.

Many vets still don't agree with raw diets even tho the risks are low now and more research has been done.

We are now feeding our cats dry in the morning, canned at night and twice a week they get to eat raw chicken wings or raw stew beef. Their coats are better (soft and shiny), better muscle tone, and agree with you - less smells in the litter box.

Did you ever tested out Eating for Energy (120 raw food diet recipes) procedure? Proceed on this page : http://www.stayeatingraw.com/Free . It might truly benefit anyone!

\\Ive fed my cat raw meat he threw up lol but i fed him LIVE mice and he loved it i put him in a empty room with no holes and let him chase 3 mice around its exercise and he gets food i also feed hi canned food though