raw diets are great but they are certainly not the only option.
if your only options are kibble or wet food,
wet food wins because it has an appropriate moisture content.
to improve your cat's kibble the goal is to add more moisture
and as much fresh food as possible while still remaining properly balanced.
you can also replace your cat's treats with healthier options.
and jericho crunches away!
hey friends it's jess and jericho here to teach you how to feed your cat better.
the first question i'm sure you have is can i mix raw with kibble?
some people say yes you can mix raw with kibble. others say no you can't mix raw with kibble.
i say every cat is an individual. so you have to test to see what works for your cat.
all cats are very sensitive to dietary changes.
and most cats are also very picky about food changes. i'm sure you already know this.
so i would say start with a very small amount. something like
an eighth of a teaspoon and mix that very very well with the kibble.
and just see what happens.
and remember when you're adding food to your cat's kibble
take away the equal amount of kibble that you're adding of fresh food.
that way your cat isn't consuming extra calories.
if your cat consumes extra calories, he's going to gain weight.
the best option here is to buy a complete and
balanced raw cat food from a raw pet food supplier.
that way once your cat is adjusted to the food you can add as much raw as you
want without upsetting the balance of nutrition.
this video isn't sponsored but i've included affiliate links in the description below.
if you don't want to feed raw you can certainly add
lightly cooked meat to your cat's kibble to improve it.
by lightly cooked i think the best ways would maybe be steaming or boiling.
and the same thing applies here you would start with a very small amount,
mix it well, track what happens, and then you can go up or down from there.
now let's say for example you choose chicken breast,
lightly cook it, shred it up, and put it in your cat's food.
chicken breast on its own is not complete and balanced.
meaning it doesn't provide all of the nutrients that your cat needs.
so in this case you would only add up to 10% of your cat's total daily intake.
so for example if you feed five ounces of kibble per day
the most of the fresh meat that you would add is 0.5 ounces.
so that's ten percent of the total daily intake.
if raw or lightly cooked meat don't work for you,
you can absolutely add some wet food to your cat's kibble to improve the nutrition.
as i mentioned in the beginning of the video, wet food has an appropriate moisture content.
and most wet foods are complete and balanced.
look on the label for formulated to be complete and balanced for all life stages.
if it says for intermittent or supplemental feeding only,
that means it is not complete and balanced.
and it's more like a treat. not something that you would rely on as a full meal.
so you can start adding a little bit of wet food to your cat's kibble.
again mix it very well, start with a small amount.
and if the wet food is complete and balanced you can add as much wet food that your cat allows.
adding a probiotic to your cat's food might help with the transition.
probiotics are beneficial bacteria
they help regulate the bad bacteria that might come into your cat's body.
raw goat milk is a great natural whole food source of probiotics.
you'll also get digestive enzymes and some vitamins and minerals plus essential fatty acids.
some cats might be lactose intolerant but goat's milk actually has less lactose than cow's milk.
so it's easier to digest.
but again you're going to start with a small amount and see what happens with your cat.
this is the raw goat milk powder that i use.
you can sprinkle it as is on your cat's kibble
or you can mix it with water to make it back into a liquid.
i found that mixing equal parts powder and equal parts liquid work best.
so right here i'm going to use a little less than an eighth of a teaspoon powder.
see jericho's not even waiting for me to put it back into liquid form.
here's some water and then we're going to mix and it'll come out the same consistency as milk.
another whole food source for probiotics is raw green tripe.
i'm not talking about the white tripe that you see at the grocery store.
that's been bleached and scalded. and offers basically no nutritional value.
i mean raw green tripe.
green tripe refers to the fact that it is unwashed,
uncleaned, there's no dyes or anything like that.
you can get frozen green tripe or you can get dehydrated or freeze dried green tripe.
if you want to add more moisture the better option
is to use the frozen version the fresh ground green tripe.
that'll have the moisture in it.
dehydrated and freeze-dried removes moisture.
if those two options don't work for you there are probiotic powders. that's better than nothing.
next you'll also want to upgrade your cat's treats.
so most of these crunchy "dental" treats have the same low quality ingredients as kibble.
so instead of feeding those you might want to transition to
freeze-dried or dehydrated meats and organs treats.
here are some examples of healthy treats.
so when you look at the ingredients it says "lamb green tripe green lipped mussels".
very simple, clean, easy to read.
this one is "green beef tripe".
again simple ingredients you know exactly what's inside.
and "wild caught minnows". this is what the minnows look like.
here's one of the minnows.
and jericho crunches away.
what about other supplements?
i use a feline formula cbd oil for jericho.
this is the cbd feline formula that i use with jericho.
it has added astaxanthin which is a natural antioxidant. cranberries
which is good for urinary tract health and it's also a natural antioxidant.
and there's sardine oil for the omega-3 fatty acids.
you might also give coconut oil.
most cats like the taste of coconut oil it's rich in the fatty acids.
it's also a natural antioxidant.
so that'll help protect the yes jericho
that'll help protect polyunsaturated fats from oxidizing.
do the best that you can without stressing.
and of course the number one solution is to learn how to read cat food labels.
that way you can find something that works for your cat.
without relying on me or anyone else to tell you what to do for your cats.
check out that playlist right over there to learn how to read cat food labels properly.
thanks for watching!