That Mutt is mainly a canine blog, however I understand numerous of you have cats too!
This publish is all about why you may think about feeding your feline a raw diet.
If you have any type of concerns about raw feeding, please leave a note in the comments.
This publish is sponsored by Darwin’s natural Pet Products.
IN THIS POST:
Benefits of raw food for cats
Will cats get ill from raw meat?
How to shift your feline to a raw diet
Giveaway – Win Darwin’s raw food for your pet
Benefits of a raw diet plan for cats
Most healthy cats will benefit from a raw diet. right here are 7 benefits:
1. Cats are true carnivores
There’s no question about it; cats are carnivores developed to eat MEAT!
Eating raw food is the natural method for your feline to eat!
Cats do not requirement all the carbohydrates discovered in numerous dry pet foods. Their digestive systems are not developed to process high amounts of grains, as well as they do finest with a high-protein diet.
This is since raw food is fresh, whole as well as unprocessed. It’s the natural method a feline would eat in the wild. Raw food includes online enzymes essential for digestion as well as taking in nutrients.
Eating raw meat will make your feline pleased since he is developed to eat whole animals like mice.
2. A raw diet plan offers much more wetness for cats.
Cats depend upon getting many of their water from their food.
The issue is, numerous feline owners feed their cats dry feline food which is certainly lacking in moisture. If a feline doesn’t get sufficient water, it can result in kidney as well as bladder issues down the road.
I did not understand exactly how essential it was to feed my cats a high-moisture food. For many of their lives, mine ate dry food. Unfortunately, my feline Beamer died from kidney illness in 2018 as well as my other feline Scout has kidney illness now.
My cats’ diet plan did not necessarily cause them to get kidney disease. I will never understand for sure. However, I believe it played a role. I plan to offer my future cats a raw or canned diet.
See my post: Raw food for cats with kidney disease.
3. much better general health
I believe a raw diet plan is the healthiest choice for many cats. people who feed their cats a raw diet plan commonly report their cats have:
healthier coats
less poop!
healthier teeth
less shedding (fewer hairballs!)
more energy and
fewer allergies
And while you can’t manage everything, feeding your feline a high-quality, balanced raw diet plan ought to ideally imply less general sees to the vet. Ideally, this will end up saving you money on vet expenses over time.
The raw feline food from our sponsor, Darwin’s, is 100% genuine meat (chicken, turkey, or lamb) as well as includes no animal by-products or fillers! The food is grain free, as well as all of the turkey, chicken, as well as lamb in the meals are pasture-raised as well as free-roaming (cage free). The food includes no antibiotics, steroids or synthetic hormones.
Learn much more about Darwin’s raw feline food here!
You can likewise get as much as 75% off your very first purchase with Darwin’s with their trial offer! discover much more here.
4. Raw food to assist a feline lose weight
Cats do not requirement all the carbohydrates discovered in many industrial dry foods. They requirement genuine protein, not corn as well as affordable rice by-products.
When you feed your feline a raw diet plan high in protein, it’s simpler to assist him maintain a healthy weight. Raw feeders are likewise less likely to “free feed” their cats. Instead, they’re much more likely to feed fixed amounts twice per day.
Unfortunately, numerous indoor cats in specific are extremely overweight in the United States.
We all understand that obesity is linked to all kind of health and wellness problems whether you’re a feline or a canine or a person. It doesn’t take a veterinarian to figure out that fit, lean cats are typically healthier as well as much more likely to online longer.
5. Raw food for cats is budget-friendly compared to feeding a huge dog.
Let’s deal with it, expense is one of the reasons much more pet owners do not feed raw diets. It’s typically much more costly to feed healthy, fresh food.
I hear about this barrier each time I compose about raw feeding, as well as I totally understand.
At least with cats (and little dogs) you’re not purchasing as much food since they just don’t eat as much!
Yes, feeding your feline a raw diet plan is much more costly than feeding dry food, however it’s not as considerably higher like it is for, say, an 80-pound Lab.
There are numerous raw feline food brands to select from such as Darwin’s (or you can make your own!).
See my post: budget-friendly raw pet food
6. less poop in the litter box!
The reason for this is since a natural raw diet plan will offer your feline with all the nutrients he needs rather than fill him up with unnecessary, affordable components like corn. That implies less waste. A great deal less.
7. Cats have been eating raw food ever because cats existed!
Commercial dry feline food is a relatively new idea. before “kibble” was invented, cats thrived on genuine food.
Which brings me as well …
Will a feline get ill from raw food?
No, cats typically won’t get ill from eating fresh raw meat since they are carnivores. They’re extremely unlikely to get ill from fresh raw meat from a raw feline food business such as Darwin’s.
Like dogs, cats have extremely acidic stomachs as well as short digestive tracts. This avoids bacteria from colonizing.
If your feline has been eating a dry or canned food his whole life, it would be a great concept to shift him to raw by slowly integrating the two foods.
This isn’t since your feline will get ill from bacteria in the raw meat. It’s since your feline may get an upset stomach from different food in general. similar to if you were to switch your feline from one dry food brand to another.
Of course, if your feline is out catching as well as killing mice or birds, there is a possibility he might pick up worms/parasites from eating these wild animals. If your feline goes outdoors, you may requirement to provide him a de-wormer every few months (ask your cat’s vet about this).
Cats eat mice, rabbits as well as birds in the wild
My other half likes to tell the story about a time when he as well as some good friends were grilling burgers on the patio.
Our big, orange feline Beamer all of a sudden squeezed himself with the slats of the fence, bring a freshly killed rabbit across the yard. He then proceeded to drag the rabbit onto the patio as well as location it a few feet from the grill!
Apparently, Beamer chose he would join the celebration as well, BYOB style.
That’s Bring Your own Bunny.
Beamer ate the entire (raw) bunny – the eyes, the brain, the bones, the intestines, the heart, the kidneys, you name it. as well as then he unwinded on the deck in the sun, full as well as pleased as well as purring.
When our dogs as well as cats online mainly indoors, we fail to remember they are animals, hunters as well as carnivores.
How to shift your feline to a raw diet
You can shift your feline from his dry or canned food to raw food slowly by mixing the two over a couple of weeks. Or, you can just switch your feline over to the new diet plan best away. There are pros as well as cons to both.
Slowly changing your feline to a raw diet
The benefit of this is you’ll slowly assist your feline change to the new food without upsetting his stomach. as well as because some cats are picky eaters as well as don’t like change, a sluggish shift may assist your feline change better.
Most raw pet food business such as Darwin’s suggest a sluggish shift where you add a few bits of the new food into your cat’s old food. perhaps about 25% new food as well as 75% old food for a few days.
If all goes well, you can do 50/50 for a few days as well as then 75/25 up until you’re at 100% raw food after about 10 days total.
For much more details, see this post: exactly how to shift my pet to a raw diet
What to do if your feline is not thinking about raw food
My feline Scout is extremely picky as well as with him I would just slowly mix in bits of his raw food with his canned or dry food. He believes dry food is a treat so it assists to mix that in with his raw food. Not ideal, however with picky cats you have to get creative!
If your feline likes the structure of dry food, you can sprinkle some over the raw food. He may likewise like some dehydrated raw food.
Darwin’s suggests staying with a consistent feeding routine to your feline understands to expect food at specific times of the day as well as will develop up an appetite. This is likewise true since you don’t want to leave raw meals out all day.
For much more info, inspect out the Darwin’s short article on transitioning a feline to raw HERE
And of course, if you have any type of concerns about feeding your feline a raw diet, just publish them in the comments as well as I’ll do my finest to help!
Darwin’s giveaway! Win a month’s worth of raw food for your pet!
UPDATE: The champion has been selected as well as notified. Congrats to Brittany B.!
Would your canine or feline like to try a raw diet?
Let me understand in the comments!
– Lindsay
Lindsay Stordahl is the creator of That Mutt. She composes about canine training as well as behavior, healthy raw food for animals as well as running with dogs.
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DIY raw feeding basics
Mistakes when feeding your canine a raw diet