FEEDING A SPECIES-APPROPRIATE DIET
Almost thirty years ago — decades before the current surge of companies creating pre-made raw meals — there was a slowly growing number of dedicated pet owners busy schooling themselves and sharing their knowledge and experience on now-extinct online-forums. Most of us were initially inspired by the long-standing Give Your Dog a Bone, by Australian veterinarian Dr. Ian Billinghurst and others like Juliette de Bairacli Levy and Dr. Marty Goldstein. And trust me when I tell you: we were hardcore.
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Without the convenience of neat packaging and balancing of nutrition done by today’s raw-food businesses, we had to do a lot of the figuring ourselves … acquiring the NRC guidelines and painstakingly breaking down every aspect of the diet we provided for our dogs to be certain we were addressing all of their needs. We debated veggies vs. no veggies, balanced meals vs. balance-over-time, supplements vs. no supplements; we even debated whether to feed with feather and fur still attached to our dogs’ whole-prey dinners. Like I said: hardcore.
I would purchase whole carcasses for my dogs — goats, sheep, even young pigs destined for pit BBQs — taking the rejected and the leftovers from the human food chain, cut them up into meal-sized portions and filled my freezers. I’d buy rabbits at live-weight (having the farmer do the deed that I could not) and then cleaning them to put in the freezer for my dogs. I’d secure hundreds of pounds of venison each hunting season, accumulated from the scraps from hunters, good meat that would otherwise be tossed out. And I’d shiver on a hillside behind the slaughter shed of a local farmer as he dispatched his early spring lambs, waiting for him to toss me the pucks and stomachs for me to hose out onto a patch of filthy ice so that I’d have amazing quality organs and green tripe for my dogs, as it was illegal for butchers to sell us green tripe back then.
The lengths to which we would go to acquire affordable but good quality meat, organs and bones for our dogs seemed daunting, however … once those sources were sussed out, a rhythm could be found and feeding any other way simply didn’t even register.
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Today, life is infinitely easier with a virtual onslaught of raw-food suppliers clambering for your business. Still, I will always gladly join in on the cleaning of an unfortunate deer who collided with a vehicle, so that its death will not have been a waste as we use every last bit possible. And — with two picky cats who will eat only meals prepared by me — I can be found every six weeks or so, elbow deep in chicken or rabbit parts, and running my little meat grinder at full tilt.
Because of my long history of feeding raw, and taking a more natural approach to my animals’ health and wellness, I am often asked for advice on canine nutrition. And, over the years, I would do my best to guide these people via lengthy emails or long phone calls, sometimes even helping them source their dogs’ food.
With a limited schedule, however, I decided it was time to compile a list of links and books to direct people to in order to get them started.
This is by no means a complete list, but it’s a start. If you find an awesome raw-feeding site out there or have one of your own, send me the link or add a comment below, and I will see to adding it to this list.
RAW FEEDING LINKS
The following links will lead you to a lot of information about raw-feeding, and to even more links …
A Journey in Learning from NaturalRearing.com — an extensive site full of information compiled by Marina Zacharias in Oregon:
Nutrition & Diet— The Whole Dog Journal … lots of articles by Dr. Jeannie Thomason ranging from “What’s Really in Pet Foods?” to “Detoxing and Healing,” “Species Appropriate Nutrition” and “Raw Feeding Myths”
And, of course, the latest gurus on the stage:
Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib.
Disclaimer: I have not read The Forever Dog, but I hear that it’s the place most new raw-feeders these days are starting.
RAW FEEDING FOR CATS
Cats are true carnivores … what is termed: ‘obligate carnivores’. What this means is that their nutrition comes only from meat, and that a meat diet is not just a choice, but, in fact, a necessity. Of course, after a life on kibble — the equivalent of Froot Loops to kids — trying to convince some cats that a species-appropriate diet is best can certainly be a battle. Other cats make the switch with ease, as though they have been craving a wholesome diet with readily accessible nutrition all along.
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With most of my cats being rescues right off the streets, I find that these cats switch quite readily and often will choose raw over kibble or canned. For pickier eaters, a switch might require mixing a little grainless/all-meat canned food in with the ground raw, gradually lowering the ratio of canned, until they are completely switched over … and then introducing proper morsels and ‘prey’ chunks to work on (like my former girl Mirren with her quail in the photo to the left … my first cat on raw … so many years ago).
Here are a couple of links to get you going with raw-feeding your cat!
Feline Nutrition Foundation – an extensive site on feline health. Check out the Nutrition tab for plenty of articles to answer a lot of your questions about feeding your cat raw!
Perfectly Rawsome has compiled a handy page of articles acting as a Raw Feeding Guidelines for cats
Grinding raw for cats isn’t recommended unless your cat has dental issues, or if they are just too finicky or just plain lazy (like my current two spoiled boys). By encouraging your cat to grind up their own raw-meaty-bone meals with their teeth, you can avoid a lot of dental cleanings. But still, even on a ground version of a raw diet — a rotation of something like rabbit, chicken, pheasant, venison or beef — a cat’s health can thrive.
Of course, most raw-food suppliers will offer a good variety of cat food if you’re into pre-made, each with the proper ratios, including taurine. Alas, my boys will eat only the meals I prepare for them using the extremely handy — and obviously delectable — recipe from Feline Nutrition Foundation.
If you prefer to grind and make your cats food and don’t want to mess with a longer recipe involving supplements and bones, I recommend TC Feline supplement — an easy to add powder formula — to ensure that your meals contain all the necessary and balanced nutrients.
Cat Nutrition is another extremely informative site with details on making your own meals. Again, though feeding raw does not need to be complicated if you’re thinking ‘whole prey’.
As for a grinder … the Tasin TS-108 is not only affordable, but an amazing little beast of a grinder. It whizzes through meat as well as bones … and very easy cleanup. And the customer service at One Stop Jerky Shop is awesome. I have used my Tasin to grind literally thousands of pounds of meat and bone.
And if you’re still on the fence in regards to the benefits of feeding a natural diet, perhaps Rodney Habib‘s TED talk addressing the question of Why Don’t Dogs Live Forever? will provide some convincing …
… happy feeding!
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My dogs love Stella and Chewys freeze dried patties and I love their quality!
Illona, I didn’t realise you fed raw until coming across this page. So great to see and you’ve posted some excellent links as well. I’ve been feeding my Great Dane Luna raw since the day we brought her home at 8 weeks old, and her condition and overall health has always been great.