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-   -   Now she won't eat raw!! (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=79568)

corin December 4th, 2011 11:59 AM

Now she won't eat raw!!
 
Good morning everyone. Today I started the transition to raw food with Corin, but she won't go anywhere near her food. I took some wellness grain free wet cat food and put a tiny bit of raw in with it, and she won't eat it. Just sniffs and walks away and meows at me because she's hungry!
She normally gets fed twice a day. She usually eats some right away as I set it down. She usually grazes on the wet food I give her throughout the day. I fed her about 3.5 hours ago, and she still hasn't eaten. How can I entice her to eat her food? How long can raw food sit out at room temperature? I know that you can leave wet canned out up to 12 hours without being harmful.
I'm getting her to chase a laser pointer right now :D as I have read that this can stimulate her appetite.

Should I cook the raw food a bit?

It may be noteworthy to mention that in her food bowl, I have 2 little piles of food, one that is just canned wet food, and the other pile wet canned and raw mixed.

How long can this sit at room temperature? Once it's at room temp for a while, can I refridgerate it and bring it out later to feed once it's reached room temp again? Or is that dangerous (salmonella, etc)?

Love4himies December 4th, 2011 12:36 PM

I mix my cats' food half raw (homemade, nutritionally complete) and canned, Wellness being one of them and my cat food sits out for 12 hours while we are gone to work and have never had a sick cat.

I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating the raw mix right away, she may not be too hungry right now. When I was transitioning Puddles, she had to get quite hungry before she would eat the Wellness (from kibble diet). You are doing the right thing by slowly increasing the raw proportion.

Good luck and don't give up, or in too quickly. :grouphug: :goodvibes:

sugarcatmom December 4th, 2011 12:50 PM

I've left raw out before for several hours, but there does reach a point where the cats just won't touch it (gets kinda crusty and blech). If Corin doesn't want to eat it now, it's not likely she'll get any more interested in it as it sits out. You could refrigerate it for a couple hours and try again, although I suggest trying a different plan of attack. Does Corin like cooked meat at all? Try lightly cooking (boiling or broiling works well) some plain chicken breast or thigh (no bones). If she goes for it, gradually cook it less and less. This should only be for treats though, not as a main meal as it isn't nutritionally complete. Once she's used to regularly eating raw chicken, you can try offering her one of the balanced commercial products.

Another suggestion is to put even less raw in with her canned food (like the size of a pea, mixed in really well). If she eats that, really really slowly, like over the course of weeks, increase the amount of raw you mix in. If she starts to balk at the proportion of raw in the mixture, go back to a smaller amount that she would eat. Patience is the most important part of this whole process. It's easy to get frustrated, especially if you find you're throwing out more food than they're eating, but cats will pick up on that and start to associate meal times with anxiety. You definitely don't want that!

What I personally find works best is to offer a small amount of raw covered in the kitty's favourite pulverized treat. My guys all freak for freeze-dried duck liver or salmon (chicken also works well, but the liver and salmon are a big hit). It's easy to rub some pieces between your fingers to make a powder and sprinkle a liberal helping of it on top of the raw. At first the cats might only lick off the powder and leave the raw, but eventually they get used to the smell/texture/taste of the raw and start to eat that too. Cats are all about familiarity when it comes to food. The key is to gradually make the unfamiliar familiar, and/or to make it so highly appealing that they ignore their natural instinct to be suspicious of new foods.

So I wish you all the luck in the world! This is totally doable, with lots of patience and a loving attitude. I converted one of my cats when he was around 10 or 11 (he's 18.5 now) and he was one stubborn mofo. So if I can do it, so can you!!!!

corin December 4th, 2011 12:53 PM

I won't give up! Should I be putting supplements into her raw food too? It's commercially made, by urban carnivore, which now goes by the name carnivora. It says on their web site that it is nutritionally complete. I'm using the beef patties right now.

sugarcatmom December 4th, 2011 01:32 PM

[QUOTE=corin;1030299]I won't give up! Should I be putting supplements into her raw food too? It's commercially made, by urban carnivore, which now goes by the name carnivora. It says on their web site that it is nutritionally complete. I'm using the beef patties right now.[/QUOTE]

No need for supplements with that product, they use the whole carcass so bones and organs make it complete. Problem is, some cats aren't so keen on organs when first introduced to raw, which is why starting with plain muscle meat treats and gradually working up to include organs/bones can be easier. Also some cats aren't as keen on beef as say, chicken or turkey. Do they have sample sizes you could experiment with, maybe try a few different protein sources without committing to a large batch of one thing?

corin December 4th, 2011 01:48 PM

Haha! I took some raw and some fancy feast I had left and mixed a bit of raw in and she ate it!:)
Yes, I'm sure I can get a little sample package

--edit : ah shoot, she threw it up :( seems fine otherwise. She sometimes throws up after eating. I think she sometimes eats too fast, or something.. Not sure if this is a coincidence or if her stomach didn't like the raw food. Let's say hypothetically that her tummy didn't like it.. World that go away? Did anyone else have this when switching to raw?

I'm going to give her some cooked chicken later to see how that goes

1third March 16th, 2012 11:20 AM

I give my cat cooked chicken mixing with wellness canned food.. my cat doesn't throw up after eating..


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