. Our cat that we found out was pregnant not long after we took her in from the street, had kittens. She had been fed raw food while she was pregnant and while she was nursing.
The kittens are about 3 and a half weeks old. We are starting to introduce them to raw food. We just ordered 5 pounds of raw chicken hearts from our raw supplier. I know they have a high taurine content so I decided to go for it. They are a bit bigger than my kitten's mouth. Since their teeth are still growing should I chop them? or do I just leave the food be and let them tear it for themselves. I do want to feed them as naturally as possible.
2007-12-02 16:03:16 · 6 answers · asked by Jorjor 6 in Pets ➔ Cats
I would chop them in half but not too small or they may choke in the wild the mother would tear off little pieces for them at the start so you should do the same i would think.
2007-12-02 16:09:21 · answer #1 · answered by truthteller 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yea!! for feeding your strict carnivore pet (a cat/feline) raw food!!! I bet mom and her kittens look great.
I would say give the kittens some whole hearts and see what they do with them, if they have trouble then cut the meat smaller. Do you feed mom in with her kittens? They will probably start eating bits of meat off of her food.
My cats all go nuts over raw meat and bone. They eat chicken backs and necks with no trouble, and eat deer meat with gusto. My Slasher Momma Kitty steals meat from the dogs.
I haven't had any dogs or cats get sick from eating as nature intended. They were eating and thriving on raw meat long before bagged cereal based pet foods in the pretty bags became popular 50 years ago.
Just ask your vet what he thinks, he will steer you right over to the Science Diet that he sells in his office, because of all that nutritional training he got in vet school (from Hills). He's not biased at all. : P
2007-12-02 17:28:19 · answer #2 · answered by debbie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would chop them up the get the kittens started. They are a little young to start on meat though. Are they completely weaned? If they see their mother eat them they will probably try them too.
A proper raw diet has to include other elements than just chicken hearts so don't overdo it. The kittens have to have a source for calcium and something for fiber to keep their bowels moving.
2007-12-02 16:09:17 · answer #3 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would chop them up very finely,maybe even grind them.Kittens have very tiny teeth and throats,and if one should try to swalllow too large a piece,it could very easily choke to death.I would also wait for another few weeks to introduce solid food,as the mom's milk has everything they need at this age.I would also include muscle meat,liver,etc. Another thing that you could feed them,which might sound disgusting to some people,but it's their natural diet in the wild,is frozen mice and rats,like you would purchase for a snake.Just thaw them and feed.If you want to go for natural,that's about as natural as you can get. Good luck!
2007-12-02 20:30:34 · answer #4 · answered by Dances With Woofs! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chicken is easier to chop up into little pieces when it is frozen. Get a knife that is not serrated and sharp. Just slice away to the desired size and you don't have to worry about getting your fingers in the process of sawing away at it.
2007-12-02 16:26:58 · answer #5 · answered by princessdemeesa2 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've never fed my pets raw food due to bacteria and spoilage. 3 weeks is extremely young,they nurse around 6 weeks. Why raw? Are they lions?
2007-12-02 16:43:21 · answer #6 · answered by wendy m 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋