bluekarin Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Ooh I'd like to know all this too! We have been thinking of putting Neela onto the raw diet, but I am not brave enough. She is on Applaws which is grain free and lots of meat so the closest to raw food that I can see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Not dogs, but cats still on raw food and Tozi still around more than three years on from being told he would have weeks to live . Was it the right decision - oh yes! It's kep Tozi alive, allowed me to reduce Cleo's medication and all three cats have shiny thick coats. No bad breath and no more stinky poo - and Cleo could do stinky poo to Olympic level Still on Honeys, which costs about £6-7 per kg and they get through roughly 0.5kg per day between three of them. Costs more to feed them than me, but they still got the good stuff even when money was tight .Honeys do quite a wide range and the cats have "out of season working dog" food which has no veg in it. Absolutely favourite flavour is rabbit, with lamb coming a close second. Starve day? I hadn't heard of it and I don't think it would find any favour in my household ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 We put our shih tzu on a raw diet last June and she loves it. Prior to that she was eating what we thought was a good diet as the vet had recommended it, but it seems most vets don't know a lot about nutrition and what they do know is taught to them by the big kibble manufacturers, so their opinions are biased. In the warmer months when Daisy can eat outside we feed her raw meaty bones like chicken breasts or thighs, lamb chops, chunks of heart or tripe and some offal. However as I don't like her dragging food around the house and she doesn't seem to get the idea of keeping her food in one place, we now feed her a BARF diet which is still raw but it's all minced up. The one we are using right now is called Nutriment and for our shih tzu it costs us about 50p a day which I think is quite cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I've been feeding raw for nearly 2 years. A lot of info on the Internet makes it sound horribly complicated but it isn't. Dogmother was really helpful when I started and showed me how easy it is - she's been feeding raw for ages and knows everything there is to know! I don't do a starve day, Tango would probably eat me if I did that For me it's really cheap, it reckon I spend £25 ish about every 3 months for Tango (11kg) but it depends where you can source meats from. The online raw suppliers vary in cost. I don't have any helpful butchers round here but I know some people do and can get all sorts for next to nothing. It's worth asking around. The prepackaged (complete) raw meals are fine until you find your feet, but very expensive. Sourcing meat yourself is much cheaper. In terms of what you can feed, pretty much anything goes. The only real no-nos are large weight bearing bones that have the potential to break teeth so they should be avoided. Otherwise for bone meals you can feed chicken (legs, wings, carcass etc), ribs (pork/lamb), pig trotters, lamb spine/neck, whole rabbit or rabbit portions... You get the idea. Meat wise I feed beef, green tripe, lamb, fish, lung, heart, rabbit, pheasant (the latter two tend to be what we 'find' out on our walks ) again, anything goes and the more variety the better. I also chuck in some liver and kidney. Not too much or it tends to cause diarrhoea Start with small amounts of offal and build up from there. An easy way to start working out how much of everything you need to feed is 80:10:10 - this is 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% offal. Don't forget your bones will be covered in meat so a bit of guesswork is required! If it helps, I usually feed 2 meals a day. Breakfast might be a chicken carcass portion and dinner will be boneless mince with maybe a bit of offal chucked on top. Total amount to feed is 2-3% of body weight per day as a starting point. I hope that's helpful. Sorry it's a bit of an essay! Just trying to cover all bases Feel free to PM me if I can help with anything, or as I say, DM really knows her stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 However as I don't like her dragging food around the house and she doesn't seem to get the idea of keeping her food in one place Tango does this too. There's nothing like having raw meat wiped all over the floor is there? I contain Tango in the kitchen while she eats then run over the floor with a steam mop. Seems to do the trick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Never heard of Nutriment. Do they do cat food too? Off to have a look, see if I can feed the furry tyrants good food for less ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I've heard good things. I feed my cats raw, but I make my own rather than buy pre-made this means I can feed my cats the same quality meat as I eat myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I feed my 2 on raw, and would never go back. The poo reduction is reason enough! I don't think it's any more expensible than feeding a high quality dry food..... I use a local company called Paws Pantry and it's £1.49 per 450g tub. I defrost it as I need it. Saffi our rescue Yorkie is brilliant on it as it's cleaned her teeth up so much that she no longer needs any dental cleaning. Both have wonderful coat and zero doggy breath! I like the fact that I know exactly what is in it. I thought I would really struggle with it being a veggie but even I can manage it. I think the bloodyness depends on the brand. I'd tried a few before this one but always managed without throwing up! We feed 2-3% of their body weight.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'm a veggie too quickcluck - it's amazing what you can get used to isn't it?! People always think it's weird that I'm prepared to chop up meat and bones for the dog, but at the end of the day she's not a vegetarian and needs meat - it's just a bit more sanitised if it comes out of a tin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have to admit I I dont do any chopping up of stuff lol.... my DH does give them bones and stuff but in the garden only! I am luck that they scoff it down sooooo quickly that I don't even have to look at it for long, just weigh it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi, following quickclucks recommendation, we started feeding Daisy and Annabel raw food a couple of months or more ago. Have to say they love it. We have used Natures Menu raw nuggets, minced meats, fruit and veg, and also Nutriment starter pack. Since they are Yorkies and dont eat too much I cant say its expensive but I guess if I had much larger hounds to feed I might think differently. As quickcluck says, big difference in poo dept and no doggy smells at all I do give them the odd treat day when they have some of their fav gently poached chicken with some veg but think I'll be sticking with raw for the most part. Axx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 So off I went "to look" and found myself ordering the Nutriment starter pack for cats. I usually order 24kgs at once and Nutriment would work out nearly £50 per order cheaper than Honeys. As each order lasts 7-8 weeks, that's a significant saving over a year All that remains is to see if Loki picky-paws will eat it. Cleo and Tozi (long-term shelter and street-cat respectively) will eat anything you put in front of them but Loki (couple of weeks in a shelter) has to have a good think about it first! I'll let you know ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Never heard of Nutriment. Do they do cat food too? Off to have a look, see if I can feed the furry tyrants good food for less ... Yes they do cat food too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Our lot (even the cat)are are on Nutriment then topped up with lamb ribs and chicken carcass's from the local butcher. If you are new to raw i would recommend going down the prepared route to start there are some very confusing websites and information out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 It is something I am considering too.Is the prepared stuff vacuum sealed or frozen there doesn't seem to be any stockists here in N Ireland I like the idea of prepared initially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Do you have nature's menu over there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 It is something I am considering too.Is the prepared stuff vacuum sealed or frozen there doesn't seem to be any stockists here in N Ireland I like the idea of prepared initially. Are there Pets at Home stores in NI? I imagine there are? Pets at Home stock freezers of raw products, which are good if you are starting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Oh thank you Quickcluck and LB can get Natures Best and we have Pets at Home and Jollyes also excellent local butchers so will be checking this out.Watched recent programme and it does make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Well have ordered book from Amazon,and rushed to Jollyes and got some frozen stuff.Tried Schnauser this am with chicken necks.turned up her nose .Will try minced chicken tonight I see some web suggests starving for 2 days,is this so they will be so hungry they will eat anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 First time I gave Puddy-cat a raw chicken wing, she growled at it like a feral thing, before going under the coffee table and scoffing the lot! The other three just looked at theirs My Nutriment cat starter pack arrived yesterday and I've left a chicken tub out to defrost today, so they can try it tomorrow. We'll see how it compares to Honey's in the Loki picky-paws taste trial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Tried little princess on minced chicken and she scoffed the lot Hope it doesn't give her a taste for girlies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Tried little princess on minced chicken and she scoffed the lot Hope it doesn't give her a taste for girlies My cats love raw chicken.... But it's never made them tempted with the live ones that flap their wings and have beaks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucker1 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 So, being completely dim here....do dogs and cats not get salomonella poisoning if eating raw chicken? We are getting a puppy in the Summer and I am very pro raw feeding. I seem to remember feeding our jack Russell tripe over 30 years ago, but think used to cook it, not sure though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 1. There's hardly any salmonella in chicken anymore 2. Can't speak for dogs, but cats have a much shorter digestive tract and much harsher stomach acid, so things survive less and pass quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 For first meal go for a mince and put some warm water into it to make the aroma strong..... should scoff it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
