Raw feeding update

Well, raw feeding has been going amazing. My dogs are a great weight (even Koira, who is now over her chubby phase), their coats look amazing, and they have great energy.

Their meals take a lot more time and effort for them to get through than kibble did, even soaked kibble. Now, they get something different almost every day. They get different tastes, textures, complexities of meals.

Working on some beef rib sections:











A single, complex meal of meat-on-bone, such as this, occupied my dogs for a good 30 minutes. This particular meal involved non-edible bones that I removed once they got the meat off of them, but it fed not only their bellies but their minds as well, making them really think and work for their food. Even the more simple days of a chicken quarter take more time and thought than a bowl-full of kibble ever did.

In addition to the dogs, I have started offering chunks of meat to the cats as well. Martha, who seems incredibly non-cat-like, doesn't seem to realize it is food, though she did eat a chunk once. Kitty supplements her kibbles on her own with mice, birds, and other various animals. Sassy though is ancient, and while she used to do her own hunting, and thrived off of the various creatures she was able to catch and eat herself, has declined since stopping hunting. At 18 (or possibly 19) years old, I figure this cat can eat whatever she would like to, as well as do just about whatever she wants to.

Sassy started begging to get food when I prepped the dogs' meals in the morning, so I started cutting off chunks to feed her. She loved it, and took to it right away. I have been offering raw meat chunks (chicken, turkey, beef heart, chicken liver, and salmon so far) to her since Thursday. In the five days that have passed, Sassy has put on weight. Her hips no longer stick out, her backbone doesn't stick out, and she doesn't feel nearly as fragile. I have been shocked with how much her condition is improving just with the addition of a few mouthfuls of meat offered a couple times per day.

If Sassy will excuse the very inelegant picture:


I don't want to be one of the people who starts trying to force everyone else to feed raw. Its a personal choice, what you want to feed to your pets, and I believe we all feed them the best we possibly can, based on our budget and what food works best for them.

At the same time, I am floored by the results of five days of raw feeding in a really old, fragile cat. She is still old, but no longer fragile. And, while my dogs did just fine on kibble as well, they are doing great on raw, and I am very happy with the new feeding plan.