Oh my…..sorry for the brief hiatus there!! Went from being under the weather, then super busy, then back under the weather. I think we are all getting back into the groove again!

Time to catch up, I have a few videos to get loaded up today, and need to go finish the outdoor enclosure I am working on. Had a few ’snags’, which I expected…what would a project be without miscalculations?? Well, in my world it would not be a project! Just like it isn’t cooking in my kitchen unless there is a mess being made! If there are not 50 dishes piled around, I have NOT been in the kitchen, its a rule.

First up, WE GOT FOODS!!!

Our shipment came in from Hare-Today late last week. I ordered 90% rabbit this time and a bit of duck. The crew has been a bit picky with the other tidbits I bought last round, so we stuck with the favorite this time. I like to order the whole rabbit (no fur) that is cut into 3-4 pieces. It includes organs, but it still easy to cut and feed. This is their favorite food all around.

When I ship from Hare-Today, it takes 4 solid days with UPS ground to make it here. In the winter it stays fully frozen, this shipment was about 60% frozen (everything is still cold and has ice crystals, just refreeze, it is not a problem). If I were to order in the summer I would pay to have it guaranteed 2 or 3 days. So for those looking to order, just a gauge on what shipping you should consider.

Here was the box opening and a bit of duck I fed for dinner. My husband said he felt like Santa Claus at the beginning of the video.

Direct link to video

I have a few videos and posts in the queue for raw feeding (general info, supplies, our meal plan, ect), so I debated on holding off this post until later. I decided too many things are piling up, I might as well just post this! So in the meantime, here were some items that arrived last night to show what the Pet Meadow crew chows down on occasionally.

I ordered a shipment from Hare Today, a raw food supplier out of the US that specializes in rabbit and other more hard to find tidbits. They cater to raw pet feeders, supplying both true ‘whole prey’ (hair, skin, ect all intact), or more slightly prepared food (our preference). This is our first order from them in a couple years, I have been trying other sources both locally and shipped in.

I had it sent UPS ground, and it took four full days to arrive (Pennsylvania to Colorado). While it has been in the 40’s and 50’s here in my state, it was in the teens and twenties on the east coast, so I figured it would be okay. The box had a layer of insulation, and a couple small ice packs in the bottom. The entire package was almost completely frozen solid when it arrived. Some of the smaller items had barely started to thaw, but overall, not a single problem with the shipment. If this was the summer I would have to spend a bit extra and maybe go two day Fed Ex just to be safe.

Here is the box opening from last night. (there is a second video at the bottom of the post showing breakfast time this morning)

While my primary food sources are cornish hen (essentially chicken), chicken, and turkey, I do need to mix up their meats to prevent allergies and to make sure they get complete nutrition. For cats, I tend to stick to the smaller game as this would be more species appropriate for them. It is hard to find good rabbit locally, most is shipped in from China, and the price per pound is not THAT much less then US farm raised versions. So I usually order a few times a year from these type of suppliers. I get items like rabbit, duck, pheasant, quail, and a newer introduction, mice. They also have a good selection of organ meats, heart, and sometimes other tidbits I grab when the budget allows.

Here are a few suppliers I know of in the US that raise and supply whole prey and meats that are harder to find in your standard grocery store.

Hare Today (where our order came from today)

Rodent Pro (specialize in mice, but they also carry other alternatives)

Prey4Pets (this is where I got my last batch of rabbit)

Whole Foods 4 Pets (slightly smaller product line up, but located on the west coast for those on that side of the country)

There are other resources out there, but these are the ones I have personally used before or have heard decent feedback from. If I can get food directly from the person who raises the animals, I feel like I am helping to grow the raw food resources while also helping the small scale farmers/ranchers. I also really like suppliers that sell more then one meat type since I am paying quite a bit for shipping already.

If you do not want to ship food in, there are other alternatives. Check out your local ethnic grocery stores (our Asian market carries quail, rabbit, and many organ meats you cannot find in your typical supermarket). Some butcher shops may not display the products, but they have the ability to order different meats and organs for you when requested. Some raw food distributors located throughout the US also carry these meat varieties, so check out their product lists. You can also google search farms in your area that might raise small game or other varieties of meats that they sell directly to the public.

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Breakfast time!!!

Here is a video of me fixing the newly arrived rabbit for breakfast this morning. The lighting is not great (and I have a bad case of the mumbles), but you can see how little time it takes to prepare a meal here.

I use a pair of Henckels Kitchen Shears to cut up meat, they have lasted me for over 5 years now (I have sharpened them a few times in the last couple years, and just toss them in the dishwasher).

Asia and Bayou eat together on the floor in the kitchen (I have a ton of old towels I rotate through), Dexter and Cosmo each eat in a separate cage where I can just wipe the bottom out. This is how I balance out different appetites and eating speeds among four cats.

This is part two in the series on Introduction to Raw feeding. Yesterday I discussed our story on getting into raw feeding. Today we will start delving into the variety of options in raw feeding.

When someone says they feed raw food to their pets, this statement only skims the surface as to what exactly they are feeding. There is quite a variety available now for raw food choices. From commercially prepared raw food patties, to recipes that involve feeding whole animals with no preparation whatsoever, the options are quite varied.

So lets take a look at all the choices available. I will offer some personal opinions on the positive and negatives of each, but keep in mind, these are just my opinion in the end. I believe that ANY raw choice is a good step in your pets diet. Choosing what you the pet owner is most comfortable and confident with is one key to success in feeding raw.

Mixed Diet

There are quite a few pet owners who have started feeding raw as an alternative meal, but still feed dry or canned food as well. Sometimes the raw is an occasional once or twice a week occurrence, sometimes raw is the primary food source and dry food is left out for munching in between meals.

I must say I have very little experience with this method. Before switching to raw, my research showed that the digestion rate of raw versus dry food was vastly different. Where raw will go through the system completely in 8 hours or less, dry food might take over two days. Cat and dog digestive tracts are actually very short compared to humans, this is a good reason why they can handle the bacteria present in raw meats (combined with acid levels in their stomach). So if dry food moves through much slower then raw, the theory would be that raw would not move through fast enough when fed in combination, and can cause complications or bacteria overgrowth.

All this said, I do know a lot of people who have been successful feeding a combined diet of raw and dry food. If this is a path you choose for any period of time, I would highly recommend feeding the raw and dry food completely separate, keeping as much time as possible in between the different meals.

Positive Points

Concerns

Concerns

Homemade Ground Meals

Many who would like more control of their ingredient content, but still like the ease of feeding ground food, will make their own ground mix. This can be accomplished either with a home meat grinder, purchasing pre-ground plain meats, or having someone grind it for you.

If you are new to raw feeding, I would not recommend purchasing a meat grinder right away. Maybe test the diet with pre-ground mixes, borrow a grinder, or use a bone meal supplement added to pre ground muscle meat. Many people move from ground to whole pieces and it would be pricey to get a good grinder for the short term. If you do decide on grinding, Northern Tools Grinder is probably the most recommended model I see around the raw forums and discussion groups from a cost and dependability standpoint.

Oma’s Pride and Bravo! are two large companies that sell pre-ground meat mixes with bone that have nothing else added. You can purchase these and add in supplements, eggs, organs, and so on to your own liking. Many butchers are catering to the growing raw feeding trend, either creating their own ground mixes, or grinding on request.

(I started to go into raw food recipes, but it is too large to be included in this post. I have moved it to another article that I will post later this week.)

Positive Points

Concerns

Whole Foods Diet

The next step up from grinding your meals at home, would be to feeding whole foods. This could be from putting down a chicken leg quarter for your dog to eat, or cutting up pieces for your cat to chew on. The ideal version of this type of diet is to keep the pieces large enough so that the pet needs to chew before swallowing. The bones are kept relatively whole as well, allowing for the crunching and scraping of teeth on the bone. These whole pieces can range in size from small bites to a whole chicken, whatever works best for the experience level of the pet.

For dogs, this is usually much easier, as they have no problems crunching down meat and bones in whatever form they take. Leg quarters, chicken backs, turkey necks, you name it, they will get through it. There may be a learning curve for a pet new to the diet, but most pick it up pretty easy.

Cats can be a bit more difficult only because it can be harder to find bite sized bones. In the wild the bones they would consume would range more the size of small birds, mice, and lizards. I use cornish hens, chicken wings/ribs/necks as my primary substitution. I also feed pheasant, quail, and rabbit when available. But the price per lb for the more exotic meats means these are more occasional meals. Muscle meat wise though, most cats will munch on anything from turkey to deer. I can put down a nice turkey thigh and they will clean the bone which is also great for their teeth. (As a side note, I have found some felines do not digest dark red meats very well, like those from beef, deer, elk, or buffalo. This is something you will have to test and learn what your pets can or cannot do.)

Along with the meat and bones fed, whole or ground organs can be added to the meals, along with any supplements or additions you are feeding.

Positive Points

Concerns

Whole Prey Model

Many raw feeders have migrated to what is called the whole prey model. The idea is to mimic what an animal would eat as close as possible in the wild. This might mean something like a whole rabbit, organs and fur included.

While all raw diets are actually geared towards mimicking wild prey (even using the same terminology of whole prey at times), the act of feeding true whole prey is really a unique form of feeding all by itself.

With this diet, no supplementation is usually needed. The ratio of bone to meat, organs, ect is no longer a worry. On the flip side though, obtaining meat in this form can be more difficult. There are companies that cater to this, but usually require shipping which drives the cost up. Preparing the meals is much easier of course, although reducing the meal size down to a reasonable portion can be a challenge depending on what you are feeding.

I actually have started experimenting with whole prey recently, but this is only something we do rarely. The cats have tried mice and a couple species of chicks that I had shipped in. I will say the reviews are mixed from our crew, with Asia and Dexter being the only current takers. Dogs usually have less issues with this version of feeding, while cats might take some getting used to the idea depending on their age.

This is the ideal raw diet in the end, but the practicality of finding supplies and acceptance by the pet (and owner) of a furry or feathered animal is a large obstacle to overcome. This type of diet can be something many raw feeders do on occasion, and is a great way to increase variety and nutrition in our raw food plan.

Positive Points

Concerns

*Complete nutrition refers to the total package of meat, bone, supplements, and organs in one serving. For a raw diet to be truly complete, variety in meat sources is highly recommended. Feeding the same protein source over long periods is not suggested. Some supplements are also not recommended to be frozen for long periods, so they may need to be added at each meal.

Summary

So there you have the basic options in the raw feeding world. I would say not any one diet is perfect in every sense, for example, the whole prey diet is probably best from a nutrition standpoint, but from a feasibility and cost it can be a serious challenge. Many pet owners use a combination of any number of the above items to make raw feeding work for them.

The key is to balance what is best for you, your household, and your pets. I started off feeding a homemade ground mix seven years ago. Later I started adding in whole pieces to help out their teeth, and eventually migrated away from ground food all together. Now I am adding in whole prey occasionally, and while I like what it can offer, I do not see myself heading down that path entirely. I have kept my mind open to new ideas, and I have pushed my crew to do the same (well, as much as cats will accept ‘new’ ideas).

The raw feeding adventure continues…….

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Still on the list for these raw feeding installments, I will cover topics such as where to find supplies, techniques, keeping cost down, recipes, and how to convert your dog or cat from dry to raw food. Stay tuned!!

(Please note, all information provided at epetmeadow.com is intended for educational purposes only. Before making any decisions for your pets, please do as much research possible, consult with a professional, and make a well informed decision. See disclaimer for additional information)

Over the coming days I will be posting several articles all about raw feeding. Ideas, information, links, and my own thoughts on the subject. To give some perspective to these articles, I thought it best to start with a little introduction as to how we started feeding a raw diet and my background.

For those new to this subject, raw feeding refers to offering meat and bones in raw form to your pets. The basis of this diet goes back to before commercial food became available. Dry and canned foods have only been on the market for for the last century or so, not really becoming popular until after World War II. Before that time, dogs and cats ate whatever scraps were tossed to them combined with prey they caught on their own. Not long before that, they fended pretty much entirely for themselves. The digestive tracts of these animals has not really changed in thousands of years, but their diet has been flipped completely around in a matter of half a century. Many pet owners are now trying to remove grains and less natural items out of their pet’s diet, raw feeding would be one end of the spectrum of natural food choices.

Before Raw
I started working in veterinary hospitals when I was still in high school. Cleaning cages, walking dogs, and mopping floors sort of work. When I went off to college I continued to work at vet offices, doing assistant and technician work as my experience increased. I loved being around animals, and I loved making a difference in whatever way I could. I supported the veterinarians and their advice, recommending the foods we sold and learning the ins and outs of commercial pet food. If a cat had bladder crystals, we had a food for that. If a dog needed to lose serious weight, we had a food for that. It was very straight forward, and I never gave it two thoughts.

Many raw food devoted folks say that food companies financially influence veterinarians and their staff, having worked in the environment for years, I can offer a firsthand opinion. While I will say we had ‘free’ items, there were no tropical vacations or 5 star meals being spread about. I am talking free canned food lids, a few pens, and maybe some bandannas for the pets. I will say that most of the vet offices were given a handy reference book, so that a diagnosis could be matched up with a recommended food type quickly and easily. I rarely saw any material on homemade diets, and never saw or heard anything on raw food at the vet hospitals unless it was from a client that came in. It was not that the veterinarians did not want to carry it, it was more that it wasn’t widely available or even known about. With the number of subjects and topics vets have to be experts on, I can understand why researching diets usually never went further then finding a different brand of commercially available food. Here were some additional thoughts I had on the vet community and raw feeding previously.

So when I got my first kitten in my early 20’s (Cosmo), I did not give food any thought. I bought what was offered and recommended at the vet hospitals I worked at, Science Diet and Eukanuba were the two I used most often.

Fast forward about five or six years, another kitten later (Dexter), and now a puppy was added to the mix. Samson was a miniature pincher puppy who was handed over by the owners to a vet clinic I was working at in the evenings (I now had a cubicle job during the day). He was a bit rough around the edges, had diarrhea, and needed some serious socialization as he was originally from a pet store. I decided to take him in, maybe permanently, and see what I could do. This is where my food ideas were turned upside down.

Making the Switch
Samson had chronic diarrhea from day one. I tried every food we had at the vet office, various medications, and we did test after test looking for parasites. In the end, it looked like he had serious food allergies. I fed him enough dry food for a 50lb dog, and he barely stayed at 12-13lbs, food just went straight through him.

One of the staff members at this vet hospital had experienced something similar with a pup she rescued a couple years before. Rather then diarrhea though, this dog had chronic skin sores and irritation, again determined to be food related. She went through FAR more trials and medications then I did, only to still have a very pink, sore, and uncomfortable pooch. We had a client who frequented our clinic that fed a raw diet, and after talking with her, and doing much research, she took the plunge and put her allergic dog on raw. It worked, her dog healed and looked great!

So when I was experiencing problems, I started researching raw food early on. I had never given it much thought until I had a pet with major medical concerns. I joined forums, read books, and asked questions from local raw feeders. The more I researched, the more it just made sense (medical problems or not). I picked a course of action, bought supplies, and took the plunge.

I converted Samson to a raw diet overnight, and within two days he had his first normal looking stools! After adjusting to his new diet and detoxing, Samson blossomed on raw food. His coat looked incredible, he developed muscle definition that was better then our bird dogs, and his stools were great. It wasn’t long before I had to cut his food back a bit as he was gaining too much weight. Another sign that we had headed in the right direction, was if Samson ate a single piece of dry food or grain based treats, he got diarrhea again.

Eventually Samson went to live with a nice lady looking to replace her miniature pincher that had passed away. He has done wonderful with her, even getting a bit ‘plump’ which I never would have thought possible when I first met him. He still had a few behavior problems, and her situation worked well for them (although years down the road, I would love to work with him again as I know so much more about training, but they are happy together so that is what counts).

After Samson’s success, I quickly moved down the list, and converted my husbands three bird dogs and my felines. The dogs took to the raw like there was nothing to it. They gained great muscle mass, better endurance, and looked great. Their teeth were healthy, and their stools were perfect.

The cats once converted did better then any of the dogs had. I was amazed that my sleepy groggy cats suddenly turned into running, jumping, and talking fiends. Their eyes looked incredibly bright and clear, and their coats became very dense and thick. They became very heavy, not because they gained fat, but because they developed muscle mass that I never expected. My cats weigh far more then anyone would expect by just looking at them. Best part of all, the litter box smell became almost non existent.

Changes Over Time
I first converted my pets to a raw diet around September of 2002. The dogs went to a whole food type diet, and the cats went to a more ground version that I made myself (I will talk about various techniques in a future article). As time went on and I learned more about the diet, I changed and tweaked our recipes. The dogs started with veggies, I later removed those. I used a lot of supplements to begin but also removed almost all of them as I got better with variety and feeding organs. The cats are now on a more whole prey version rather then ground meats. We have done a lot of growing and changing over the years. Raw feeding is more of an art then a science, every animal is different, resources vary depending on where you live or your budget, so being flexible is key.

Bayou joined us through the local bengal rescue a couple years into raw feeding, so I worked him into the diet as quickly as possible. He was nauseous the entire time he was on dry food, but as soon as he converted, it went away immediately. Now, just a couple dry food kibbles and he has an upset stomach for about a day. This was the perfect diet for him as well.

Asia came to us in July, and the breeder actually fed a partial raw diet. She made the conversion easily, and now thinks that any commercial food should be buried straight away! I had never switched a kitten to raw, and was amazed at how easily she learned to chew bones. She is now my best raw eater in the house.

I have to admit though, our dogs are no longer on a raw diet as of about two years ago. I am officially the cat person of the household (and the raw advocate), and my husband is the dog lover. He travels with the dogs often as they are working bird dogs, which made feeding raw on the go difficult. We also had medical problems develop with one dog, and to make absolutely sure it wasn’t a problem in the diet, we converted her back to commercial for a period of time. The medical problems did not go away, but my husband decided to stay on dry food as it was easier for him to handle. We keep them on a grain free human grade dry food which is as close to natural you can get with a kibble. I also supplement with cooked fresh foods, canned food, and large bones for chewing on and cleaning teeth. While I do think raw is the absolute best, I know first hand how hard it is to maintain a raw diet, so I support alternative better foods just as well.

Going Forward
The future of raw feeding is wide open as I see it. More and more pet owners are becoming aware to the possibility, are trying it, and are succeeding. Just in the seven years I have been feeding I have seen countless amounts of new information become available. The term itself is less foreign, and I meet other raw feeders frequently where before it was almost unheard of. I am excited to the possibilities. My hope is that with this shift, more credible research and testing can be done to better help the veterinarian community and fellow raw feeders.

The funny thing for me is, researching raw feeding has opened my mind up to far more then just food for pets. I had a lot of medical problems at the time which I have almost completely cured just by changing my diet as well. I may have ended up down this path eventually, but raw feeding my pets is truly what opened the door of awareness for me.

I encourage everyone to look into what you feed your animals. It doesn’t mean you have to convert to raw, but at least be aware. Read the ingredients, understand what those ingredients are, and make an educated decision. Do not let advertisements, sale price, or pretty pictures on the packaging influence the health of your pets. I believe the only way to keep food companies honest (pet or human), is to make sure we are educated as consumers.

Stay tuned, more information on raw feeding and pet food is up next!

(Please note, all information provided at epetmeadow.com is intended for educational purposes only. Before making any decisions for your pets, please do as much research possible, consult with a professional, and make a well informed decision. See disclaimer for additional information)

There was a chat going in a yahoo group I belong to, that started to head down the path of veterinary opinions on pet food. This is a big subject for me as I feed a raw diet to my felines. While I am a huge advocate of raw after seven years of doing this myself, I can honestly say that I am still leery on giving outright food advice for pets. Part of that is because the nature of raw feeding is one of many variances, each animal takes to it differently, and the ability to be flexible is key to the diet especially in cats. Its also not for everyone just based on the level of commitment required.

The other angle though, is the sheer fact that there is an air of blame that runs through our world. If something goes wrong, everyone immediately turns to the one next to them and points their paw. Even though every piece of advice I give is always my flat out honest researched attempt to help an animal, that does not always weigh into decisions when it comes to determining what went wrong.

I personally try to take any action, every day, with the understanding I have made the decision completely on my own. If I read an article on some aspect of raw feeding, I consider it thoroughly, maybe do additional research, but in the end I draw my own opinion on the subject or idea. The direction I eventually head is my decision, and if anything should go wrong, I try and practice not shifting to an excuse. Learn from it, fix it, move on.

One discussion within the conversation of raw diets, is that the veterinary community is either openly and aggressively against it, or silent. I do believe that many have actually become curious to the topic, or may see it in a positive light, but the unfortunate fact remains they really cannot openly admit that in today’s environment. The threat of suits or legal issues because they have no large research projects to fall back on is omnipresent, and I think may be hindering a lot of progress down this path.

There are other factors involved with the evolution of pet food opinions in the vet world. From food companies and how profits influence direction, to the number of subjects veterinarians must be experts on, the list goes on. So I am definitely not saying legal issues are the exclusive cause of slowing progress, but I do believe it plays a strong role.

Its a shame that this will hold back the ability find out what is the unbiased best answer for our pets. I do love my crew on raw food, it really fits for them, but I always strive to find out more. Not only so I can improve on what I do now, but so that I can pass it on.

Just a short soapbox moment today, the discussion got me to thinking, which is always dangerous……

Here was an article from a vet blogger I saw the other day, which I think is a nice progression as things go.
Pawcurious – What should I feed my dog