hey hey it's jess and jericho
jericho has been on a raw diet since 2018
so today i want to share some tips that i've learned along the way
so you can feed a raw diet to your cat safely.
ohh he's so cute.
first most importantly feeding a raw diet to your cat takes a lot of planning.
you don't want to waste food and you certainly want to avoid bacterial
contamination and nutritional imbalances.
if you're completely new to a raw diet i recommend
starting with a commercially available properly balanced raw diet before going full homemade.
cat nutrition is extremely complex and an unbalanced diet is the worst diet.
if your cat isn't eating raw right now you'll have to introduce the new food properly.
check out the video in the top right corner and in the description below for the
right way to transition your cat to a raw diet.
next is to choose the best food.
if you have a properly balanced recipe go to the local farmer's
market or your local farms or your butcher shop for your ingredients.
always make sure your food is fresh and buy organic whenever you can.
especially when it comes to liver and kidneys.
liver and kidneys filter out toxins so if you're feeding non-organic organs
there's a chance that there could be toxic substances in it from the livestock animal.
or buy from a company online or your local pet store that offers a completely balanced diet.
find a raw pet food supplier that supports local farms and has good manufacturing practices.
check out their website to see how much information they provide on feeding a raw diet.
that'll show you how much they know about raw feeding and it'll show you how much they care.
clean manufacturing practices are a must to avoid bacterial contamination.
you can check out my best raw cat food brands in
the top right corner and in the description below this video.
give me a polydactyl thumbs up for jericho cuz he's so cute!
when it comes to ordering properly buy in bulk.
when you buy in bulk that'll pack the box
full and will ensure that your food arrives completely frozen.
pay for the express shipping especially in the warmer months.
i order jericho's food about three weeks in advance and that brings me to my next point.
you need to store raw cat food properly too.
so this is the usda's website on food freezing and safety.
so it says "is frozen food safe? food stored constantly
at zero degrees fahrenheit will always be safe.
only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage."
i typically buy around two months' worth of raw
food that way it isn't sitting in the freezer for too long.
"freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules
causing microbes to enter a dormant stage."
i order three weeks in advance so that i can freeze everything
solid for three weeks before i need to use it.
i buy about two months worth of raw foods so that it packs the box full
but it isn't too much food that it's sitting in my freezer for too long.
next is proper thawing.
then it says "does freezing destroy bacteria and parasites?
freezing to zero degrees fahrenheit inactivates any microbes bacteria yeast and molds
present in food. once thawed however these microbes can again become active
multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illnesses."
always thaw raw food in the refrigerator at least
24 hours before you need it that goes for portioning and serving.
never thaw raw meat at room temp on the counter and never use the microwave.
leaving raw food out at room temp and thawing in the microwave will only multiply bacteria growth.
so i have saran wrap down, my gloves, this is the digital scale,
jericho's plate that i use to weigh everything, some jars, and the meat is in a glass container.
when you're done portioning the food sanitize everything.
your hands, your utensils, plates, the digital scale, the counters, everything.
now that we have our raw food portioned out it's time to serve.
so again you're going to thaw your cat's raw food
in the refrigerator at least 24 hours before you need it.
avoid plastic! plastic traps bacteria even with regular washing.
the containers for your cat's raw food,
feeding plates, and bowls should be either glass, ceramic, or stainless steel.
you need to wash all of your cat's plates and bowls after each meal
and replace the water at least once daily.
use unscented chemical free soap.
see those juices? those are very very important juices.
those juices contain precious nutrients. taurine for example and b vitamins are water soluble.
your cat needs those so include all of those juices when you feed your cat.
you can add a little bit of slightly warmed water
to swish around in the jar to get all those little bits out.
never leave raw food out at room temp for longer than 20 minutes
and again that goes for portioning and serving your cat's raw food.
after about 20 minutes at room temp bacteria are more likely to multiply.
if your cat has uneaten raw food you can store in the refrigerator
in a sealed container for about two or three days.
but if it has an off smell don't feed it. just discard it.
do not feed raw food that has an off smell.
unless you're feeding green tripe.
if you end up discarding food and you need to thaw another serving
quickly you can run it under constantly cold running water.
but make sure you keep the food in the container because again
some nutrients are water soluble and you don't want to lose those.
if you want to learn more about your cat's
nutritional needs check out this video right over meow.
thanks for watching!