How I Got My Finicky Pet to
Eat Raw |
| by Tiffani Beckman |
| Copyright 1998 |
| |
| So many people have trouble converting their cats
to raw. Cats are stubborn like that. |
| The problem usually is that cats were weaned onto
kibble (or canned) and that is all they know - |
| they aren't like dogs who like to try other things
all the time. Many times they don't recognize anything
other |
| than kibble as food. One of my cats, Roy, was
outside for much of his life, and I suspect he moused,
as |
| switching him to raw was very easy - he ate chicken
wings the first day I gave them to him. |
| My other cat Diamond, however, was a different
story.... |
| |
| This is how I got Diamond to eat raw. He was addicted
to kibble and wouldn't even eat the canned stuff. |
| It took me about a month total, from start to
finish. |
| Note - the methods described below also
work fine for finicky pooches. |
| |
| 1. First of all, you must get your cat to accept
the fact that he or she is not going to be free-fed
anymore. |
| Dinner is only once a day (or twice, if your cat
is younger than 1 year). So start by picking up
that bowl |
| of never-ending kibble, and set down a portion
once a day. Doesn't matter what time. Don't put
down |
| an excess amount either - go by what the bag says.
Or put down too much, let him eat, then measure
|
| how much he ate. This will be the daily feeding
amount. Once I had him eating once a day, I moved
on to |
| step two. |
| |
| 2. I started sprinkling some water on his food.
He didn't particularly like it, but it tasted and
smelled the the |
| same, so he ate it. Gradually, as he accepted
it, I put more and more water on his food (letting
it soak into |
| food for a while before I gave it to him). Pretty
soon he was eating mushy kibble with no problems.
|
| |
| 3. When he was getting used to the mushy kibble,
I started putting a sprinkle of garlic powder on
his food - |
| tiny amounts at first until he got used to it,
then a light sprinkle. I use garlic regularly in
my raw diets, so I |
| wanted him to get used to eating something that
he will be eating for the rest of his life. Also,
raw meat not |
| only tastes less but smells less (smell kibble,
then smell a chicken wing), so many times animals
are put off |
| by the bland raw food for a while. |
| |
| 4. When he was eating mushy kibble with garlic
on it with gusto, I started putting a tiny (and
I mean small) |
| amount of raw hamburger in the bottom of his dish,
sprinkling *it* with the garlic powder, then putting
the |
| mushy kibble on top. I had to do this for a few
days before he would eat the hamburger and all,
and when |
| he ate it, I started SLOWLY increasing it and
decreasing the kibble. It is important to make sure
your cat is |
| hungry enough to eat this, so try not to put down
too much...if he is a tad bit hungry at the end
of the meal |
| that is good. It is also important to always bring
the meat and bones up to at least room temperature
before |
| serving. Do this by running under hot water or
by soaking in a bowl of hot water. |
| Warm it up at least enough to take off the chill,
but not enough to cook it. |
| |
| 5. I kept increasing the amount of raw vs. kibble,
and when I was about at 50% raw, 50% kibble, I started
|
| putting a wing tip (the last joint of the wing)
in the food too. At this time I decreased the amount
of kibble |
| and raw, so he would at least be hungry enough
to sniff it. It is a good idea to put a tiny amount
of garlic on |
| the wing tip too...he associates the smell of
garlic with the taste of food, and will realize
that the wing tip is |
| food (garlic is the "bridge", so to
speak). Keep this up until he is at least trying
to eat it (depending on age |
| and tooth integrity, this may take a day or a
week), then increase the amount of food again, making
sure he |
| is still trying the wing. You can also bash up
the wing with a hammer to help him chomp through
it. |
| |
| 6. Keep increasing the raw and decreasing the
kibble until he is eating 100% raw, with the wing
tip. |
| You can now introduce the whole wing and see what
he makes of it. Gradually introduce him to more
new |
| foods, like liver and heart, ground turkey - whatever
you normally fix for a raw diet or plan on fixing. |
| Keep adding the garlic in, especially when trying
out new foods. |
| |
| Note - I only use garlic *powder* in the beginning
stage of feeding raw. As soon as the cat is eating
|
| normally, I use real raw garlic in the meals.
Typically I just toss in some (depending on how
many animals |
| and what size they are) when I am pureeing the
veggies in the blender. Also I don't start fast
days until |
| about 2 weeks after the animal is eating 100%
raw, although I do fast the day before I start them
on raw |
| (as mentioned below). |
| |
| You have done it! Your cat is eating raw! |
| |
| Now, this is a best case scenario of course. And
it takes patience. Some days your cat may snub its
dinner. |
| Stick to your guns - don't give in and feed him
kibble. Most cats it is safe to not feed them at
least 2 days |
| if they decide they don't like what is being offered.
If your cat has a history of liver problems, I don't
|
| recommend fasting for more than 1 day at a time,
until he gets healthier. After 2 days I would start
at the |
| beginning again or at least at the last step he
was eating it all. |
| |
| Animals pick up on our emotions, so try to be
calm and confident when you are feeding raw. If
you feel sure |
| about the diet, so will he. |
| |
| Other things you can do to help make the switch
- |
| |
| 1. Add the juice from a can of tuna, mackerel,
salmon, or clams, etc. to help get kitty interested
in the food. |
| Not too much though - you don't want kitty just
licking up the juice and forgoing the food, or getting
|
| hooked on the taste of fish in their dinner. Once
a month or so I will put some canned mackerel or
salmon in |
| their meals, but it is just as a treat. Since
it is canned, it is cooked, and therefore not as
good as raw. |
| Parmesan cheese or butter may be used too if your
pet has a fondness for it. |
| |
| 2. Slightly brown the meat and wing to bring out
the flavor of them. Only do this slightly - kitty
can get |
| hooked on cooked meat vs. raw meat, and if you
actually cook the bone in the wing, it becomes dangerous |
| to him. Do not cook them in the microwave, do
it in a skillet. This can also be done with a little
egg if your |
| cat likes them. Cook an egg just enough so it
is just starting to turn, and add it in to the food.
|
| |
| 3. Fast one day before starting this program.
Kitty will be hungrier and his gut will have time
to clear out |
| before introducing new foods. |
| |
| 4. Let kitty watch other animals in the household
(even dogs) eat their raw food. This can stimulate
them |
| to try things they never would have (those of
you with human children can probably relate!). |
| Or feed them in the bowl or crate that the other
animals are fed in. |
| |
| 5. Feed them in front of other animals - they
will be on guard and likely down anything in their
bowl. |
| This works especially well with dogs! |
| |
| 6. "Pretend" to drop some raw meat when
you are in the kitchen...if your cat is like mine,
anything |
| dropped when I am making cooking sounds MUST
be food, and they will scarf it right up. |
| Makes for a handy kitchen vacuum.... |
| |
| 7. Put kitty's food on a plate with some food
of yours and proceed to eat at the table or wherever
you |
| normally do. My kitty thinks that anything on
my plate is food, and he usually gets to lick it
clean, so |
| after you are done eating your food, set plate
down to let kitty smell your food and eat his food.
|
| Note - don't let your cats or dogs eat the onions
that may be in your food. |
| Onions can cause anemia problems, and they are
the only veggie that should never be fed. |
| |
| 8. If your cat is young or has bad teeth, try
grinding the chicken wing or at least bashing it
about with a |
| hammer. This makes it easier for them to chomp
them. Slowly wean them off of the grinding/bashing
by |
| monitoring how they do and grind/bash only some
of the wing (like the largest joint) until kitty
can eat the |
| entire thing whole. Roy and Diamond, ages 9 and
3, eat whole wings, whole turkey necks, etc. |
| with no problem:) |
| |
| 9. It is always a good idea to give any animal
starting on raw some good probiotics (acidophilus)
to help |
| the gut's good bacteria out. Digestive enzymes
are also helpful, especially if your animal has
any sort of |
| digestive problems. |
| |
| I hope I have given you some ideas on how to get
your cat to eat a better diet of raw meat and bones:) |
| |
| Tiffani Beckman |
| |
| Copyright 1998 |