|
bluehouse vets Cat menu |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dietary objectives·
Considerations: 1. A raw meaty bone diet satisfies all nutritional and dental requirements, but is not for everyone 2. Some foods are not ‘complete’ in that they do not provide every nutrient a cat needs in the right amounts. For example, minced meat without bones and organ meat (heart, liver, kidney) is NOT a complete food. It can be added to the diet to increase the meat content, but should not be fed exclusively. 3. Freezing damages some nutrients, including Taurine. Frozen meat is best supplemented with fresh ox heart once or twice a week. 4. The overall balance of a diet does not have to be fed daily i.e feed liver once a week 5. Over-feeding liver is very dangerous! (if you were to feed it on a daily basis!) 6. You can mix food from different categories e.g. minced meat with kibble (dry food) 7. Fresh meats are best fed raw, though they can be cooked if you wish. 8. Fresh ground/minced meats spoil quickly once defrozen—treat such meat as if it were for your own consumption. You will find that some cats will only eat frozen meats when freshly defrosted - which fits with their natural habitat of only eating fresh prey - they are not scavengers. 9. I
recommend adding Salmon oil to every cat’s diet to ensure good intake
of Omega 3 fatty acids, and no other supplements should be needed (not
Cod Liver Oil, as this is too high in Vitamins A & D). Making the change Some cats are very resistant to a change in diet – processed foods are often sprayed with flavour enhancers designed to appeal to your puss. Start by feeding at set meal times, rather than having food down all day. Make changes gradually – there is no race, and you must never starve your cat into submission. If it takes 3 months to make the change, so be it. For extensive advice on making the change, visit www.catinfo.org. and the ukrmb site. The UKRMB group disapprove of long-term ground meats - my own view is that I agree that RMB is better than minced/ground, but I also believe that ground is infinitely better than wet processed. I know that many people find the concept of raw meaty bones difficult to accept, but if you get your pets on minced 'prey' successfully, there is always the option of adding in (or swapping to) rmb subsequently. Monitoring Why note take a photo of your pet before you change foods, so that you can see the difference in a few months time? Weigh your cat monthly – if he/she wont keep still, weigh yourself holding her, and then without her, and work out the difference. If you have any concerns or problems, then pick up the phone and let us know. DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE ODD SOFT MOTION We are so used to seeing hard, bulky stools from corn-fed cats that we think a soft motion is wrong—it isn't a problem. ‘Complete’ foods My definition of ‘complete’ is very different from the food industry’s definition, and is based on biology rather than ‘what is the minimum we can get away with’. Please note that if you choose the ‘raw meaty bone’ diet, it is your responsibility to educate yourself about this feeding technique. My recommendations are made in good faith, on the basis of my research and understanding. As new information becomes available, I may change my ‘best’ advice accordingly.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||