[checkmeowt]

Hi everyone!

My name is Melissa and I am quite excited to start my journey through catforum! I am presently employed at an Animal Boutique in Montreal that specializes in grain-free, raw diet for dogs and cats. This being said, I have started my own undertaking in getting my cats to eat raw - let me tell you, it is not an easy one!

I have 2 wonderful cats: Ruby and Hooligan. They were both strays that I found 2-4 years ago. Ruby is 2-3 years old and Hooligan is 3-4 years old...still fairly young! With the recent start of my new job, I have just been informed that everything I was feeding my cats before was terribly wrong. I have read a few posts here and there and I am quite excited to be a part of it.

I hope to both receive and give help to everyone of you's that need it.
Speak to you soon!
Melissa

 

[checkmeowt]

Second post! In dire need of help...

Now that I am fully introduced, I do have one question for you all (and then I can begin thinking of my third post!) As mentioned, I am beginning my cats on a raw diet - but they are first in the process of getting accustomed to their grain-free, canned food. I've gone through venison, turkey, chicken, mackerel (which they both loved) anything and everything!

Hooligan, my male cat, will eat anything you put in front of him -he is a godsend! Ha ha. Ruby, my female cat on the other hand, will eat nothing by tuna. Today is the only day that I've gone almost an entire day (9am - 9pm) with trying to get her to eat either her venison canned food or her turkey in gravy. I've put it out with parmesan, fish oil, then I poured some "tuna juice" on it and she did not want to know anything about it. She would get very close, smell it and then walk away. I succumbed to her meows and put about 3TBS of tuna (her tuna cat food, not for human consumption) and she had at it. She ate the tuna, but only the tuna that wasn't touching the other 2 proteins.

I hate to do this but I will not give her more - I've left her plate out for over an hour now. I don't know how else to introduce her. I know that too much tuna is not great and that she is clearly addicted to it now. Have you guys ever come across this problem? Should I be concerned about her not eating very much in a day? (She is about 6-7 pounds - that is her healthy weight).

Should I be slowly introducing ("tricking her") into eating other meat that is hidden under her tuna? I am completely defeated and at my wits end.

Please help :sad

 

[marie73]

Welcome!

When I adopted Cinderella, all she had been fed for a long time is Chicken-of-the-Sea tuna. Not cat food, people food. It was like trying to get someone off crack.

Good luck. You're employed as an animal nutritionist, hopefully you'll be learning all kinds of good stuff for your cats - as long as your workplace doesn't believe that dry food cleans cats' teeth...... :grin: