only occasional raw?

[melissa5]

I have two 10 week old kittens that I would like to start giving them some raw food just as a treat. I am not ready to switch to full time but i do want to get them used to it so if i ever decide to, I wont have a problem. My husband is not comfortable with the idea so i want to slowly introduce him to it as well!
I'm not thinking of any specific feeding days, I would just like to give them something that i will be making so it could be once a week or it could be 4 times a week.
Tonight I offered them a piece of chicken breast and both cats devoured it!
My questions are: what are some other types of meat I can offer them that i maybe cooking?
I read somewhere that raw and kibble together is not a good thing. Is this true? I feed both canned and dry food right now.
I also read somewhere that there needs to a certain among of time in between eating raw and anything else? I also have no idea if this is true!
Do I just feed it as a treat or could I occasionally replace a meal with some raw? How much would I have to feed them in order to do this?
How big of pieces do i feed them? I cut it up very small tonight because it was there 1st time.
Sorry for all the questions, I am obviously very new at this!

**I know that any amount of kibble is not good for them, but right now it works with our budget and our schedule so I would like to keep that in their daily feedings for now. If I am able to occasionally replace a meal for a raw feeding then it would obviously be the kibbke that is being replaced instead of the canned food.**

[wolfsnaps]

I am no expert. But what I do know is NOW is the time to introduce your kitties to everything you EVER want to feed them. I think I waited too long with my kitten so it is more of an adjustment to her now as she is a little older. They have a window of time where they learn what to eat. This is why I think cats are finicky, because giving them something new once they are older is like speaking Greek. They don't understand. So give it to them now if, later you want to switch to full time raw. This way they know its food.

Even though I still do this myself, I would say not to feed kibble and raw together as raw digests faster and I can see digestive upset if you mix them.

Hopefully someone else here can answer your other questions. But trust me on introducing them to everything NOW.

[beckyhiker]

[QUOTE=melissa5;830517]
My questions are: what are some other types of meat I can offer them that i maybe cooking?
I read somewhere that raw and kibble together is not a good thing. Is this true? I feed both canned and dry food right now.
I also read somewhere that there needs to a certain among of time in between eating raw and anything else? I also have no idea if this is true!
Do I just feed it as a treat or could I occasionally replace a meal with some raw? How much would I have to feed them in order to do this?
How big of pieces do i feed them? I cut it up very small tonight because it was there 1st time.
Sorry for all the questions, I am obviously very new at this!

Hi; congratulations on your new babies and congratulations on deciding to feed them at least some raw food!

You can let them sample any meat that you are going to cook for dinner just so long as it is unenhanced (no marinade, added salt or sugar, etc.) and not grocery store ground (may have increased amounts of bacteria). My cats eat chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, rabbit, pork, bison, etc. A good raw snack that many cats love is chicken gizzards which also happen to be decently cheap.

This is something I posted in another thread regarding feeding kibble and raw. There are several problems with feeding kibble and raw. The main issue is that kibble, because of it's lack of moisture and high carbohydrate content, moves very slowly through the feline digestive tract. This slow moving mass of food blocks subsequently fed raw and any bacteria on it from moving quickly through like it normally would. The bacteria are then given time to start multiplying. Additionally, constant feeding of kibble increases the pH of the digestive tract. It is the low, acidic, pH that kills bacteria. Raising the pH gives bacteria a more hospitable environment to inhabit. You can, however, feed canned food and raw food with no problems. Many people even mix raw in with canned when they are starting reluctant cats out on a raw diet.

With regard to the size of the pieces, since they are kittens they might be very willing to tackle larger sized pieces. The best bet is just to gradually give them bigger pieces and they'll learn to chew/rip them apart.

In your situation, I would replace the kibble meal with the raw. However, if you are going to continue with this, you are going to have to eventually include bones (rmb's) and organs. Do you know that the proper ratio or raw feeding is 80% muscle meat (includes hearts and gizzards), 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other secreting organ (kidney, sweetbreads, pancreas, etc.)? Kittenhood is the time to introduce these things before
they get set in their ways and while they are still hungry all the time! And, yes, you can just give them some raw as a treat.

Some good websites to help you out with the raw diet are, catinfo.org, feline-nutrition.org, rawfedcats.org, and catcentric.org. Take your time and browse through them when you have a chance. Raw feeding is a great thing, but only if you put the proper research into it so that you know that your are feeding a balanced diet.

Best of luck with the kitties!