Just when I thought we were doing so well!

[sherrylynne]

  Here's a copy of a post I put on the rawcat forum a couple of days ago. I got one response today. Maybe someone here can help.

Ok. Three of my four cats were essentially on raw. Just needed a
smear
of canned mixed in. The fourth one was 1/2 and 1/2.

Problem one- found out my 14yr old cat was allergic to chicken.
Fine. He needed a week on wet to let his tummy settle, otherwise he
threw everything up. He then started stealing raw from the other cats
dishes, so back he went to raw.

Problem two- Then my 9yr old Siamese decided to quit eating(he was
the one on 1/2 and 1/2. Had to syringe feed for a couple days til he
decided to eat again. He will not touch the raw I'm trying to slip
back in. Eats around it and leaves it. Every time.

Problem three- Then, my 12yr old decided she no longer wants any raw
whatsoever. So she's now on canned, so she actually will eat something
(syringing her is a very scary idea!).

Problem 4- Tried some turkey bits slipped into the pork the other two
love. My 14yr old again started vomiting. Fine. Back to wet for a
week.

Problem 5- NOW, my youngest has decided if the others are getting
canned, HE'S not going to eat the raw!
I've tried shutting various cats in various rooms, and they won't eat
if the doors are closed.

I'm reaching the end of my rope here. This transition started last
September, when they were free fed kibbles. They went to canned in
November. I've been trying to do the raw ever since. And the really
funny part? The only one who wants raw is the one who keeps vomiting!

[Bonkers]

  Oh my! You do have quite a dilemma don't you! Personally I would probably just let them all eat what they like, be it canned or raw. Unless you still have some fight left in you.    At least you have succeeded in getting them off of kibble which is quite an accomplishment!

[GreyGhost]

I'm with Bonkers on this one. Are you sure its the raw making the one vomit? Maybe try a commercial raw. That's all I have ever used. Never tried to wing it myself.

[kaffe]

I have heard of this sort of thing happening to cats fed raw or home-cooked for some time - suddenly, they want none of it.  When this happens with Cato, what I do is let him have his way - for a day - and feed him babyfood.  That'snot real nourishing so he is expected to get pretty hungry by evening or next day.  By which time, I present raw food to him again.  Usually, he eats it.  I guess cats get bored with the same fare, so I try to "break" the monotony by offering something different like turkey or cooked pork or beef now and again.

[GreyGhost]

That's a great idea. I never thought of that.

[sherrylynne]

Thanks, everyone! And yes, it's the raw fowl making Mr. Stubbs vomit. Seems to happen every time! And when I don't give him long enough on canned to settle his tummy, he also then vomits everything else, including foods he had previously tolerated well. Right now, I'm trying commercial lamb, since Herne takes so well to the freeze dried version, but only a teeny bit. Basically starting over again! I'll be honest- I don't know now if they will ever totally take to a raw diet, since I can't close anyone off by him/herself, so they all know what the other is eating. And I'll be honest- after almost 6 months, I'm really tired of the whole thing. I have no problem with the whole idea of raw meaty bone diet for them. It doesn't scare me at all. I'm well familiar with the proportions. But these guys just won't cooperate! And I really don't want another cat going anorexic on me!
I guess I'll just play it by ear, and see what happens.
And- thank you all for responding! I have terminated my account with rawcat, since they couldn't be bothered to answer me. This is not the first time I asked them for help and got no response either! And yes- I'm griping

[kaffe]

I am a member of rawcat too... and yes, I'm afraid you're right that there isn't all that much experience there to advice us or respond to questons beyond the basics... have you tried My Pet Carnivore?

[sherrylynne]

I just checked out the site you mentioned Kaffe. Unfortunately all the lists on it are the yahoo ones. But thank you. I'm going to start reintroducing some premade raw back in a couple of days, see how it goes . I've got the methods down, it's just getting them to cooperate!

[Perseus]

sherrylynne, I'm feeding two different pre-made commercial raw foods, 8 flavors between the two, to keep my guys interested by offering a variety.  We have days when everyone hates the chicken; one hates the beef but will eat the duck; everyone loves the turkey in the morning but by evening they hate it, and so on.  I also put freeze dried meat toppers on it to trick them into thinking it's yet another variety.  It's always a struggle to convince all of them to eat, but somehow all the food disappears as soon as the attitudes do.  Little Athena will almost always walk away from her breakfast but we're not caving into her any longer, and sure enough she'll return to her plate now within a few minutes.

I bought a freezer just for the cat food, and I buy it in bulk (120 lbs at a time) to keep the price as low as possible.  The freezer paid for itself in the first few months and it's less expensive than canned now.

[sherrylynne]

I know what you mean about the price, Perseus! I've got Stubbs on the Wellness grain-free pouches, but there's no way I could afford to feed all 4 of them on it!
And tomorrow, I'll start slipping in the Urban Carnivore lamb. I did try it a couple of days ago, but I guess I put in a bit too much, because there were no takers at either meal .
If Stubbs wants to steal some of the raw, so be it, but his main food will be the wet. As I mentioned, I really don't want to chance having him go through the whole vomiting thing yet again, poor boy!

[Bonkers]

   Been a couple of days, how about an update as to how things are now going?

[sherrylynne]

Well, looks like the DH has made a decision about the cats. Watson will be the only one continuing on raw, because he does eat it well, when mixed with the canned. The others will all be on a rotation of FF and Wellness pouches. Not happy with this, but as he is the one home most days, he feeds them then.
Right now, Watson is eating Urban Carnivore, and I plan to slowly slip him some pieces of meat in about a week. He is now eating in the bedroom, with the door closed, and doing well with it.

[Bonkers]

  I can relate as I know how time consuming it is in trying to get some kitties to eat what you would like them to. Takes me about 1 1/2 hours to get mine all fed in the morning. Mine are pickers and they like to take their time and make about 20 trips back to their dish before they are finished.    Can't let the raw sit out for any length of time and can't let the canned or kibble set out or my allergy kitty would be into it. I just have one question for you though, please do not say that the "FF" stands for Fancy Feast............

[coontuffy]

sherrylynne, like Bonkers I'm hoping the FF stands for something other than Fancy Feast?

Fantastic Feline maybe?

[Perseus]

uh oh, sherrylynne, I'm hoping the "FF" isn't what we think it is!  I've had very bad reactions to FancyFeast.  On the other paw, I am feeding Wellness canned grainless a little and actually highly recommend it as far as commercial canned goes.  There's plenty of variety in their products.  If you want to hear my sob stories about FF just PM me!