Want to start feeding 2 new kittens a raw diet, some help please?

[macnunu]

We recently adopted 2 new kittens!They are approx 7 weeks old, and I'm thinking about switching them over to raw.
I used to feed my dogs a raw diet but I am completely foreign to raw diet for cats, and even more foreign to raw diet for kittens.
Any tips or links you guys can send my way will be really appreciated! I have done some research and it seems that taurine is the one important element for a cat's diet, so I guess it's time for me to muck about with cow hearts.
The kittens are currently on a diet that consists solely of Wellness chicken tins.
I would love to hear some of the combinations you guys have for your kittens/cats!

[14+kitties]

Welcome and thanks for adopting two kitties. Two are always better than one.
This is the best site we can give you.
www.catinfo.org
And it has a section on making cat food which is easy to do.
http://www.catinfo.org/#Home-Prepared_Diets
Wellness kitten is a great food as well. If they don't take to the raw right away you can still supplement with it.
Good luck. And ummm, we like pics here.

[sugarcatmom]

Some more links for you to check out:
http://feline-nutrition.org/nutrition
http://www.holisticat.com/rawrecipe.html
http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.php

[macnunu]

Thanks guys, will duly check those sites out!
The adoption centre recommended that we should wait another month or so before we start them on a raw diet since the kittens are only 2 months old.
I cheated a bit the other day and gave them half a raw chicken neck each, I freaked out when one of the kittens started growling as she was eating so I took it away -__- is that part of natural cat behaviour when eating raw meat?

[hazelrunpack]

They're so cute, macnunu!!!!

No clue about the growling, though We're sort of overrun with dogs at my house. But I'm sure someone with some kitty answers will be back soon.

[kungfuMao]

Yeah! Our young cats (8 months & 10 months) will growl on occasion. They don't do it all the time though. I've noticed that it generally happens if it's a small piece of meat that they're working on and I try to move it or get too close to them, then they might growl. WHen they're working on a package of pre-made frozen raw, they don't usually growl. They are not more aggressive when I give them raw.

I read in a cat behavior book that that's normal, the growling that is. I think left over from their days of hunting. Instinctual, I suppose!

P.S. Your kitties are SO CUTE

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by macnunu

The adoption centre recommended that we should wait another month or so before we start them on a raw diet since the kittens are only 2 months old.

No need to wait. In fact, the earlier you start them on raw, the better! Not sure what the adoption centre's reasons are for waiting, but think of it this way: in "the wild", kittens don't wait until a certain age before they start eating raw meat - as soon as they move from mother's milk to solids, it's going to be raw. It's not like there is a supply of cooked and heavily processed food during the transition.

Originally Posted by macnunu

I freaked out when one of the kittens started growling as she was eating so I took it away -__- is that part of natural cat behaviour when eating raw meat?

Perfectly normal. Just shows how much they love it!

[Love4himies]

Nope, no need to wait, my foster kittens get raw (ground) from the time I get them, or during weaning. They are then chomping on soft chicken bones at about 10 weeks.
I have had foster kittens that growl while eating and playing, it is very normal.

They are very, very sweet

[chico2]

OMG,aren't they just the cutest
I too will add my thank you's for adopting 2 kittens,they should always be in pairs or more

[macnunu]

Thank you xD their cuteness belies their naughtiness!
That photo was the scene we came home to on their first free run day at home while we were at work. It looks like they are protesting xD
The rescue centre is concerned that they're too young to be eating raw and might end up choking on bones etc.
I've been giving them bits of raw chicken meat, salmon, and cooked prawns about once a day. The grey one gobbles it up and will growl as she's eating, but the calico one doesn't seem to care much for raw.
I read somewhere that ground meat loses much of its valuable taurine, therefore making it necessary to include supplements.
I'm really not fond of the idea of feeding supplements, are there any natural foods which will supply them with a complete diet?

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by macnunu

Thank you xD their cuteness belies their naughtiness!
That photo was the scene we came home to on their first free run day at home while we were at work. It looks like they are protesting xD
The rescue centre is concerned that they're too young to be eating raw and might end up choking on bones etc.
I've been giving them bits of raw chicken meat, salmon, and cooked prawns about once a day. The grey one gobbles it up and will growl as she's eating, but the calico one doesn't seem to care much for raw.
I read somewhere that ground meat loses much of its valuable taurine, therefore making it necessary to include supplements.
I'm really not fond of the idea of feeding supplements, are there any natural foods which will supply them with a complete diet?

I make my own home made raw, and yes I would agree that until they are 10-12 weeks old,they should only eat ground.

As far as I know they don't loose any nutrition from ginding, but they won't get the teeth cleaning benefit as there are no bones to chew. I do add raw egg yolk for extra B vitamins (very important as cats have a very high requirement for it), and a bit of taurine, just in case, other than that I weigh the bones, hearts, liver, and muscle meat to ensure they are getting the proper proportions. Now freezing may degrade the taurine and Vit B and that is why I add extra . And I add a bit of salt every couple of days for their iodine and wild salmon oil for their Vit E.

[macnunu]

So last night I threw a few raw chicken strips into the magic bullet and mixed that with half their usual tinned Wellness chicken.
We noticed that their poop has changed, it's now softer, and smellier. They were just fed deworming tablets 2 days ago. We're starting to worry and wonder if their poop change is due to the dewormer or due to the raw food.
Any light?