Is anyone else finding that their cats vomit up raw food?

[nepeta]

Help!!  My 2 boys will eat their raw food but it seems to induce them to throw up in a most spectacular fashion.   I need to figure out what is going on. 

We were feeding Purina One Dry (am, noon, midnight) and canned Friskies (around 6pm every day) until the recalls started.   (My husband insists the cats will expire if they go more than 5 hours without food.  Okay, he's from a country where people died of famine, his viewpoint is a little skewed.)  Tried Natural Balance canned for 3 days, then that was recalled.  Tried homecooking--they said "yeeech."  Canned mackerel and canned salmon were okay, as were chicken livers (both raw and cooked).  I bought raw Primal.  That seemed fine the first 2 nights, but then they started leaving larger and larger amounts uneaten.   

So I bought canned Newman's and Artemis, and dry EVO, all of which went down fine, and starting to add back raw food gradually.  Well, two days ago El Gato Numero Uno threw up everywhere, following a raw food meal.  Yesterday I served only canned and dry--no problem.   Tonight tried a small amount of raw food (Rad Cat) for their "midnight snack" and both boys threw up . 

I don't think they're sick--they're fine and frisky and hunting for dry food as usual (breaking into the cabinet, scratching my computer chair, tugging at my sleeve right now.).   But the raw food isn't staying down.  My SO insists the solution is to feed them smaller amounts of dry food more frequently (which would basically mean every hour on the hour).  Wonderful--El Gato Numero Dos is already overweight.  So I'm forseeing two cats the size of Godzilla--not a good future.   

Any ideas?  Suggestions?  Solutions?  Why won't the raw food stay down?   And how do I convince my SO that  the solution is NOT to starting waiting on them hand and foot?  As long as the cats are throwing up the raw food (at my instigation) he's not inclined to listen to my "expertise". 

[zanzie]

I don't know what's in the Primal food that you're giving them. It may be a specific ingredient or even the texture that doesn't agree with them. It's also possible that the change is too sudden.

My girls are on raw now, after a 3 week transition period from all canned commercial. They are only fed once per day, which is the same as before I made any changes. When I first started with the raw food, one of my girls, who is prone to vomiting, tossed it up a few times. I think it was just too different initially. When that happened, I just slowed down the transition for her. She was also less fond of the new food, so that was fine with her. I mixed a larger proportion (~30-40%) of people tuna into her raw food so that she'd eat enough to stay alive. Gradually I cut down the tuna. She had an aversion to chunks of meat until a few days ago. Now she's just fine.  Her sister had an easier time of it all along.

My suggestion would be to make the change more slowly, and also look at the composition of the raw food. If it has big chunks, cut them up smaller for easier eating. When they wolf down big chunks, sometimes they don't stay down as well. You could also add some warm water to create a bit of "gravy" which some cats like to lap up. My sensitive kitty did a lot of licking of the soft parts of the raw chow before she was willing to eat the chunks. I had put in plenty of ground turkey meat and chicken livers, so she was getting more than flavored water.

I've been working with the recipe at catnutrition.org, using chicken and turkey meat so far. The batch last night used calves liver because I'm worried about mela-liver. The texture of the food is a mix of dime-sized chunks of chicken thigh and ground meat with egg, gelatin and supplements.

My sensitive girl hasn't thrown up in about 2 weeks now, which is a huge improvement over her history with SD kibble. She used to toss her cookies every couple of days. I never realized that the grain might not agree with her.

Both of them look terrific now - sleek, soft and energetic. It's worth the aggravation of managing the transition. They won't die from throwing up a few times or being a bit hungry. Hunger will motivate them to eat. Just be sure they don't go too long (past 18-24 hours), because I understand that  their livers can be damaged.

[Cindy Nevarez]

Question: How much, and how fast are they eating it?

When cats eat too much, too fast (of anything) they will throw it up....it's not usually the food itself in this case.

If they are over enthusiastic about their food...this happens.

[Mary K]

Thank you, Zanzie, for the encouragement. I haven't done raw yet but every time I read something like your post I feel more confident! Also, could it be possible that some commercially-fed cats gradually develop enzymes to digest the raw meat, since they had not been doing so previously? Would digestive enzymes help in the beginning? Just an idea...

[janielaurel]

this post is a month late. Sorry, but I just joined this group. One of the things to consider in issues with your cats vomiting raw food is that when you try to migrate them over from a commercial dry/processed food diet, their digestive systems are completely screwed up. Dry good, comprised mostly of grains, is a completely worthless food. There is nothing nutritionally valuable in grain foods. Processed foods are cooked, and therefore are depleted of most of the nutrients your cat requires to stay healthy. it's a wonder we haven't killed off the entire domestic cat population feeding them these foods.

Oops, got on my soapbox there. What you might want to consider is purchasing some FloraZyme LP (or, if you wish to avoid dried liver, purchase FloraZyme EFA). You can find them on the web. They are digestive supplements and will help calm down your cat's digestive system.

The other thing to do is make sure when you're migrating them to raw is the use ground  meat AND pureed vegetables (a great use for the food processor that's gathering dust in the corner of the kitchen...). Cats are carnivores and they DO want some vegetable matter, but in the wild they eat the partially digested remains of their victim's last meal. By pureeing raw vegetables, your cat will have a better chance of digesting them.

finally, don't overfeed them. A raw diet is so high in nutrients that your cat won't want to eat a lot every day. If you have another other questions, you can contact me if you wish. It's a really easy process to get used to but in the beginning it sounds like a daunting task to "always be preparing meals" for your furry little friend.