If you own a cat, you know that they can be picky with their food.
Trying to transition them to a new type of food or brand can be a challenge.
Cats are imprint eaters and they develop from a young age a strong preference for taste,
temperature and texture of that food for the rest of their life.
So today I am going to show you how to transition your cat to a raw meat diet.
I am the Cat Butler, and my two ragdoll cats Teemo and Arya have been on a raw meat diet
since when they were little.
I also had trouble transitioning them to a raw meat diet at first, but over time I was able to figure out some key tips that I will
share today. For people not familiar with a raw meat diet,
I will quickly highlight the benefits. Cats are carnivores and their digestive systems
have evolved to specifically handle a meat-based diet.
A raw meat diet will keep your cat at a healthy weight, reduce poop smell and poop volume,
doesn’t smell too bad Teemo and Arya, better dental health, better urinary health, a healthier
coat, and increased energy. As you can see there are a lot of benefits.
Whereas the problem with common commercial cat foods like kibble is that it contains
carbohydrates that cats have trouble digesting and most importantly don’t need.
In addition, kibble is often linked to obesity, which increases the chance of diabetes, plus
the lack of water in dry food is not good for bladder and kidney health.
Cats don’t drink a lot of water and mostly rely on getting water from their food.
So usually a wet food or a raw meat diet would be better for your cat’s health.
And if you are worried about bacteria, their digestive tract is short and acidic so it
gives little time for bacteria to proliferate and get them sick.
Now you understand the nutritional benefits of a raw meat diet, in the next few minutes
I will go through the steps you can do to transition your cat to a raw meat diet.
There are two types of paths you can take to transition your cat to a raw meat diet.
Kibble to Raw or Kibble to Wet Food to Raw. What path you take depends on your cat.
If your cat is more picky, then the Kibble to Wet food to Raw is the path you take.
Kittens are generally more open to trying new food so it's possible Kibble to Raw may
work. For Teemo and Arya I had to go the Kibble
to Wet Food to Raw route, even though they were kittens, as Arya was super picky.
The key to transitioning your cat is patience. Some cats may take 3 seconds, others may take
months. In this video I will do Kibble to Wet Food
to Raw as the Kibble to Raw step is similar to the Wet Food to Raw step.
The first thing you need to do is to stop free feeding dry food, instead start feeding
your cat 2 to 3 meals a day. Your cats will get a little hungry in between
meals versus being full all the time, and your cat will have more motivation to switch
to a new diet. Leave it out for 30 minutes, and then put
it away. This lets them know the food is not always
there and they have to eat it right away. Another benefit of feeding your cats several
meals a day is that your cat associates food with you.
They will associate you with positive feelings. This helps build a stronger bond with your
cat and helps with training your cat at a later time.
This may be the hardest step because kibble is very addictive.
Start by choosing a quality grain-free canned food that is high in protein.
I recommend these two brands. They are both packed with protein, grain free,
and healthier than the other options on the market.
The key to any successful transition is to do it gradually.
You can start by having their meals be 25% wet food and 75% dry food.
Have the foods be separate. When you see your cat eat the wet food, gradually
increase the ratio till you feed them 100% wet food.
If in the beginning you have a hard time getting them to eat the wet food, you can mix it with
their dry food. And if that doesn’t work you may have to
try a different brand. Also, like the dry food you want to take the
food away after 30 minutes. This is to reinforce the importance of meal
time and get them to eat immediately. Do make sure that your cat doesn’t go too
long without food. Especially for cats that have a medical condition.
On average healthy cats can go 12-24 hours without eating.
Lastly, when you transition your cat to a new diet they may start to have diarrhea.
This is normal as your cat is adjusting to its new diet.
After your cat is comfortable with wet food, stay on that diet for 1-2 weeks.
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Just like going from dry to wet food, we will gradually increase the ratio of wet to raw
food. Starting with 25% raw and 75% wet food and
eventually getting to 100% raw. For viewers that are unfamiliar with the raw
meat diet, the diet is composed of muscle meat, bone, organ meat, and supplements like
vitamin E or iodine. Supplements are added because the whole animal
is not being used, such as the animal’s head or feet.
The raw meat diet aims to mimic what it is like for cats to eat whole prey.
The first raw meat your cat should try is chicken.
I recommend starting with chicken as it's less likely to cause your cat to have an upset
stomach. So start by adding a few chicken pieces with
your cat’s wet food. I like to cut my cat’s raw meat into chunks
so they can use their jaw muscles, but you can grind the meat as well.
Keep it separate, and only mix them together if your cat is not eating it.
If your cat eats all the chicken you can now add other proteins like beef heart or pork
loin. And if that goes well you can start adding
some bone and then organ meat. Raw edible bone provide essential calcium
and help firm a Cat’s poop. Make sure to feed small bones safe for consumption
and never cooked bones. Some small bones you can feed your cat include
chicken necks or chicken wing tips. I use Calcium MCHA, which is natural freeze
dried bovine bone from New Zealand and Australia. Instead of cooking the bone like bone meal,
in MCHA the bone is freeze dried. Cooking the bones loses most of its nutrition
whereas freeze dried bone is almost identical to whole raw bone nutrition wise.
This makes it one of the most complete and effective bone health supplements today.
It is also high quality and helps me save time preparing for my cat’s food.
The number of capsules to give depends on the size of your cat, but a good rule of thumb
is between a half and ¾ capsule per every ounce of meat.
I will link the calcium MCHA in the description below.
When you start feeding your cat organ meat, you may notice your cat having loose stools
or even diarrhea. Organ meat is rich in nutrients, which makes
it very difficult to digest. Therefore, you should reduce the quantity
of organ meat till your cat adjusts to it. You can feed your cat a little bit of fish
once a week to get their Omega 3s. OMEGA-3 is a type of fatty acid that helps
your cat to have a healthy skin and a shiny coat.
The overall improvement in health of the cat’s hair follicles will help reduce shedding.
Here are the fish you can safely feed raw to your cat.
If you are having trouble getting your cat to eat the raw meat, you can add a food topper
like this one here. I have found that most cats absolutely love
it and get them to eat anything mixed with it.
The food topper is made out of bonito flakes and it is high in protein and low in calories
Keep in mind that it's a treat, and not a
meal.
Supplements to add once your cat is on a raw meat diet include iodine, vitamin E, and Manganese.
Iodine is needed to help support healthy thyroid function. A raw diet that does not include
whole prey usually is deficient in iodine. To add iodine to your cat’s diet kelp is
a good option because it has one of the highest concentrations of iodine found in food.
To figure out how much kelp to add to your cat’s diet, take your cat’s weight and
insert it into this formula to get their recommended daily allowance.
Arya would roughly need 78 mcg per day
Vitamin E is another thing you need for your cat’s nutrition.
I use a Vitamin E oil that is easier to use. You just need one Vitamin E drop daily in
your cat’s food. Lastly manganese can be sourced from green
lipped mussels. Usually I give Arya between 1-2 scoops or
250 mg to 500mg of green lipped mussel. You can find a link to the supplements I use
in the description below. Many people have asked what is this odd looking
food bowl. It’s a slow feeder bowl.
A slow feeder helps stop your cat from eating too fast and throwing up.
This one is also made out of porcelain so it's good if your cat has feline acne.
The common food bowl is made out of plastic. This can be scratched and become a breeding
ground for bacteria. So I recommend going with a stainless steel
or a porcelain option. I will link Teemo and Arya’s food bowls
in the description below. I hope this video made transitioning your
cat to a raw meat diet easier. The key is patience and you will eventually
succeed. If you like to learn more about the raw meat
diet in detail I will link the video in the description below.
Comment down below how do you raw feed your cat?