BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE RAW DIET

Raw is such a scary topic for some people, and I get it, TRUST ME. I sat on the idea of a raw diet for over a year before I made the plunge. So many fears, concerns, questions.. I had them all. 

My big push for making the switch to a biologically appropriate raw diet, was for Mateo (my paralyzed kitty). Mateo has an atonic bladder and it needs to be manually expressed 3 times a day. Thankfully, he has complete control over his bowel movements. Our big issue was the moisture in his feces. Once he got out of the litter box, he would have some feces stuck to his fur, and then he would scoot around the house, creating what I so lovingly called, his racing stripes. I could see EXACTLY where he had been all day. I would have to mop my floors with disinfectant every single day, and then give him a bum bath. I am no stranger to giving cats/kittens baths, it is just part of the deal when you foster, but Mateo was probably THE WORST kitten I’ve ever had to bathe. He would FLIP OUT. By the end of the process, everything in Mateo’s path was soaked. He was so completely terrified, and I was in tears. The whole process was exhausting. I just kept thinking, there had to be a better way!!!

I was talking (ok, more like crying) to one of my friends and she suggested I talk to someone on Instagram who has been feeding raw for over 10 years and talks all the time about “dry poops”. She introduced us and I’ve been grilling her for information ever since (you’re a saint, Jen! @kitten.nuggets).

I had SO many questions, so many concerns! I decided it was time to immerse myself in as much literature as I could find and educate myself. Mateo deserved it. My lightbulb moment was when I watched Pet Fooled. This documentary was life changing for me. To see where the “meat” came from in pet food and how unregulated it is, was shocking!!! 

I have had pets my entire life, and I’ve always fed commercial pet food. This is what you’re suppose to do, right? You go to big, beautiful pet stores and there are isles and isles of choices. Grain-free, high protein, “natural”, food for diseases and disorders, etc. etc. etc. You buy the most expensive food that your budget allows, because that means higher quality, right? But really, how many of us can look at the back of a bag (or a can) of pet food and can recognize every ingredient and know what benefit it holds for our babies? The big, bad, ugly truth is… these products are created with one goal, to make money. Companies truly do not care about the health of our pets, they want to make money. I care about my babies (and yours!!!) and decided I needed a pet food education.

I am going to tell you some disturbing news. The pet food industry is not regulated like you think it is. The “meat” that is in pet food can be roadkill, euthanized animals, diseased animals, dead zoo animals, recycled animal carcasses, leftovers from slaughter houses. There is really no rules on where the meat comes from that is put into pet food. I do not eat meat, but if I did, I surely wouldn’t feed my babies something that I wouldn’t eat myself. 

I knew dry food was bad from personal experience. I had a cat (my baby Frank, who is heartbreakingly no longer with us) who had diabetes. We had to give him insulin shots twice daily and frequently test his blood glucose levels. He was such a good boy and put up with all of it, but I knew we had to help him with his health. I started researching and found that the food you feed your cat has a HUGE impact on their glucose levels. Dry food is the devil for diabetic cats, it is full of carbohydrates. So, we put Frank on a wet food only diet, and guess what?! His diabetes went into remission! No more insulin! We would still occasionally test his blood glucose, just to make sure he was in the right range. Stupidly, I still fed my other cat Kevyn dry food. She was a dry food junkie and didn’t care so much for wet food. If Frank got into the dry food, his diabetes would come back. You’d think that would be enough for me to get rid of dry food completely. Sadly, it wasn’t. 

I digress… after watching Pet Fooled I instantly threw out ALL of the dry food and never looked back (if you haven’t watched this documentary, PLEASE do your fur baby a favor and make the time). Kevyn was just going to have to deal, I love her too much to feed her a diet that was, in no way, good for her. 

Kevyn was a water fiend. Every time a faucet was on, she would stick her head under it and lap up crazy amounts of water. I just thought this was cute. She had her water fountain also, that she would also drink lots of water from. I thought this was a good thing, cats need water! What I did not realize at the time was, Kevyn was in a constant state of dehydration because she only ate dry food! Dry food has about 10% moisture in it. Thats like us trying to live off chips and pretzels. We would be dying of thirst constantly, just like poor Kevyn was doing.

So, the first thing I did was remove ALL of the dry food and have scheduled feeding times with wet food. I thought this was going to be a nightmare, but it honestly wasn’t! After we got in the groove of that, I started mixing in a little raw food. With Mateo and Niko, this transition was SO easy! They loved the wet/raw! Kevyn, well, she is completely different and hard to transition (we are STILL working on it). I gradually increased the raw until we phased all of the wet food out. It took about a week after being 100% raw to see the glorious results. I am not exaggerating when I say this… RAW POOPS ARE AMAZING!!! They barely have any odor and have very little moisture to them. Cats also have significantly fewer bowel movements when eating a raw diet. Their body actually uses the food, so not a lot of waste is produced. I also noticed their fur was incredibly soft and shiny! And, guess what? We haven’t had a single racing stripe since switching to raw!

I decided also to feed my fosters a raw diet. I have been fostering for years and the number one problem I have had to deal with is diarrhea. I have spent countless hours researching, talking about, taking pictures (foster parents are obsessed) of poop. You can tell so much about a kittens health from their poop. So now, I wean kittens straight too raw. Previously, every time I introduced solid food into kittens diets, I would brace myself for the inevitable “poopsplosion”. It happened EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. when I used commercial food. I would spend so much time and money at the veterinarians office, trying to “heal” my babies. Now, my babies have solid, wonderful, odorless poops. Yes, it is more expensive to feed, but the amount of money I am saving on vet bills and medications completely makes up for it. If a kitten has diarrhea on raw food, I know something serious is underlying and its not the food.

“What about bacteria?” Cats are obligate carnivores. This means that cats are biologically meant to eat flesh. Cats can ingest small amounts of plant matter, but they lack the necessary physiology required to digest it. Cats stomach acid is highly acidic. That level of stomach acid neutralizes pathogens or potential bacteria that could be in raw food. 

“YOU will get sick if you feed your animals a raw diet!” I love the comments that people make about spreading bacteria and how you will get sick if you feed raw. This is basically saying that you don’t know how to clean. They are not lions tearing into flesh and spraying blood everywhere (but that is the lions biologically appropriate food). If you prepare raw meat for dinner, you clean afterwards, right? Same deal. I clean my countertops and their eating surface with Rescue Disinfectant and go on about my day. I NEVER worry that we will get sick from feeding our cats and fosters a raw diet.

You can not just go to the grocery store and pick up some raw meat and feed it to your pets. Raw food needs to be properly prepared with the appropriate amount of muscle meat, bones, organs and supplements. If you do your research and learn how to properly prepare raw food for your cats, you can totally make it on your own. But, there are some really amazing companies to buy raw food from. I’ve partnered with Darwins and they have a greatintroductory deal. This is a great way to try a raw food diet! (use code WITHGRACE for free surprise)

How much should you feed your cat? Hare today has a great feeding calculator. You can put in your cats weight and it will tell you exactly the amount you can feed every day. 

Some products that I have found useful for raw feeding are: a kitchen scale, porcelain ramekins, stainless bowls with lids, a portable induction cooktop (DO NOT cook the raw, this is just to warm it so its easier on their tummies than cold food), disposable paper food boats and Rescue Disinfectant for cleaning up after meals. If you’re concerned about being gone for a long day, I’ve found that feeders with ice packs are helpful.

I know there are a million questions and concerns with this diet. I am not a veterinarian, and I do not have all of the answers. I am telling you all of this because I truly care about your fur babies. I wish we could have them live forever. Sadly, we can’t. BUT, if we feed them a species appropriate diet, we can give them the longest, healthiest life possible. What a gift! To them, and US!!!

***EDIT It took about 6 months to transition Kevyn from dry food to raw. DON’T GIVE UP!!! Now she happily eats only raw food. I never thought that my kibble junky would be a raw food eater, but we did it!!!