Introduction
The raw diet for kittens is a topic of growing interest among pet owners seeking to provide their feline companions with optimal nutrition. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to feeding kittens a raw diet, covering essential aspects such as the benefits, how to balance the diet, and potential considerations. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they require certain nutrients that can only come from meat.
Understanding Obligate Carnivores
Cats are obligate (strict) carnivores, meaning they depend on nutrients found only in animal flesh for survival. There is no such thing as a vegetarian diet for cats. As obligate carnivores, cats' dietary needs are very specific, requiring a high-protein, moderate-fat, and low-carbohydrate intake. Cats use amino acids found in meat to create energy for bodily processes and metabolism regulation, as well as for the creation of new proteins, repairing and growing tissue too. Understanding this fundamental aspect of feline physiology is crucial when considering a raw diet for kittens.
Benefits of a Raw Diet for Kittens
Feeding your pets according to their ancestral, biological needs allows them to thrive! There are several potential benefits to feeding kittens a raw diet:
- Improved Digestion: Raw diets are easier to digest, which means your pet gets more nutrients and benefits out of every meal. A study shows significantly better digestibility of raw diets over processed feeds and pave the way for a healthier microbiome in cats.
- Smaller, Firmer Stools: And because more is digested, your pet will have smaller and firmer stools.
- Health and Vitality: Feeding your pets according to their ancestral, biological needs allows them to thrive. A nutrient-dense raw diet can provide key vitamins, amino acids, and minerals that help cats to thrive.
- Hydration: Cats have evolved to have most of their moisture requirements met from the food they eat, rather than from drinking lots of water.
- Reduced Allergy Risk: A raw diet can lower the chances your kitten will develop allergies as he or she grows.
Transitioning Kittens to a Raw Diet
Cats can be introduced to raw food at any age. Young kittens are generally easier to transition to raw food, and they can even be weaned onto it. Older cats may take a bit of time to get used to the idea of raw food, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be introduced to it. Cats can be sensitive to sudden diet changes. If this is true for yours, start by mixing small amounts of raw food with their current diet and gradually increase the proportion of raw food over a few weeks, and decrease the current diet congruently. Every cat is unique, and some may take longer to adjust to a raw diet than others. Don't be discouraged, cats can be very cautious, sometimes stubborn and picky.
Here are a few methods for transitioning your cat to a raw diet:
Read also: Chicken Recipe for Indoor Kittens: An In-Depth Analysis
- The Straight Swap: Keep it simple.
- One Bowl Method: Mix a small percentage of the Bella & Duke raw cat food with your cat’s existing food.
- Two Bowl Method: Place 90% or thereabouts of what you would normally feed your cat in one bowl. In a second bowl, place 10% of your new Bella & Duke raw cat food.
Warming meat a bit with a warm water bath can be helpful, make sure the meat is in a sealed container and place the container in warm water.
Balancing a Kitten's Raw Diet
Essential Components
A balanced raw diet for cats should include a variety of proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Because kittens are growing, they have very specific nutritional needs. Here is a list of “easy-to-digest” rules to stick to for your kitten’s diet:
- Variety: Variety As some of you may have heard or experienced, cats can be very picky! And this starts in kittenhood. Starting your kitten off with a varied raw diet full of different meats, organs and other foods sets them up to be way less picky with food as adults. Additionally, by ensuring enough variety in your kittens diet, you also ensure your kitten gets enough other minerals like potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, etc, be sure to use a variety of other proteins, organs and bones. Switching young cats is much easier than switching older cats who are stuck on the processed food train. Just like people, it can be hard for them to change their habits. Starting young is the best time to get them interested in fresh food!
- Calcium: The number one source of calcium in the raw diet is raw bone. Feed poultry or rabbit with ground bone at least 4 days per week. It is easy to maintain the calcium levels in your kitten’s diet this way. Unlike people, cats have to ability to digest bone and utilize the minerals from it.
- Mineral Supplements for Poultry: If your kitten has GI (gastrointestinal) issues or suspected allergies and cannot eat poultry or rabbit, you will need to use a mineral supplement. The best option is steamed food grade bone meal powder. Do not use calcium supplements or eggshell powder since they do not provide the right mineral balance to ensure healthy growth for kittens.
- Omega 3's
- Taurine: Cats have a specific need for the amino acid taurine since their bodies cannot make it from other nutrients like dogs can. This means that you need to pay special attention to your kitten’s daily taurine intake. Poultry is adequate in taurine eg. chicken and turkey. But…. If your cat can’t or won’t eat these, you’ll need to add a supplement. Hooved animals such as beef, venison, and lamb are all low in taurine. Rabbit and kangaroo are also low.
Common Ratios
80-10-10 refers to one of the most commonly used ratios when making raw pet food. 80-10-10 is more of a guideline than a rule, but is a useful starting point. Most cats will require a somewhat lower bone content in their diet, and many will benefit from the addition of more nutrient dense organ meat.
- 80% muscle meat
- 10% raw bone
- 10% organ meat (5% liver, 5% other secreting organs)
If you feed even amounts, 1-1, of boneless meat to the 80/10/10 grinds, you would be at a ~90/5/5 ratio.
Variety of Proteins
At Hare Today, they provide a variety of over 20 proteins. While many cats prefer rabbit, poultry is also a popular choice. You can also consider offering novel proteins like mice and cavies (guinea pig). A variety of meats is crucial to a raw diet, goal of 4-5 different proteins, over time, for max nutrition. A common mistake of many new raw feeders is to add too many new proteins at one time. When starting a new raw diet it is important to go slow and steady, adding one new protein at a time.
Read also: Kitten Food Ingredient Analysis
The Role of Fiber
PMR ratio guidelines fail to include fiber-based foods, which would be present in true whole prey feeding. Therefore, including an animal-based fiber source to Franken Prey feeding methods is recommended. Traditional PMR ratios do not provide an animal-based fiber ratio guideline. However, 2 to 5% by weight of “furry” or “feathered” ingredients is a good recommendation to include in daily meals. This will help provide 1-2% fiber in the diet. It is important to note that the 2-5% ratio refers to the furry ingredients as a whole, which will also include the skin and tissue in the weight. Do not feed the weight in fur or feathers alone. Whole Carcass fiber has shown to be beneficial in feline diets, but high fiber may lead to lower amounts of pancreatic enzymes which can decline nutrient absorption.
Raw Meaty Bones (RMB)
Don't forget to incorporate raw meaty cubes/strips and bones, but keeping in mind that Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) should always be given under supervision. Incorporating some small chunks of meaty bones for kittens, and larger pieces for cats, adds benefits from jaw exercise to teeth cleaning. You can also feed whole prey foods for some meals. You should NEVER feed any type of cooked bone to your pets!
Monitoring Your Kitten's Health
Keep an eye on your cat's health and behavior after transitioning to a raw diet. A journal can assist in monitoring your cat's weight, tracking when proteins are introduced, bowel movements, and more.
Stool Quality
Observing Stool Quality Yes, that’s right, poop can be a great indicator of health! It’s also a useful way to tell whether or not you’re feeding too much or too little bone. Indoor felines tend to be more on the constipated side so it’s important to keep an eye on the litter box habits. Stool that is light in colour, dry or crumbly or hard to pass indicates you are feeding too much bone, especially if this is happening every day. Stools that are dark in colour and soft on a regular basis indicates that you may not be feeding enough bone. Poops should vary in colour, depending on what you are feeding that day. Don’t be surprised to see differences in stool colour and formation as they eat different foods. That is totally normal! Just be sure that stools are moist, firm but not hard and easy to pass. Dark brown stools may indicate red meat consumption. Black stool might result from consuming several meals rich in blood.
Safety and Hygiene
Practice proper food handling and hygiene when preparing and serving raw food to your cat.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Defrosting
Avoid defrosting frozen meat and poultry products at room temperature. Thaw in the refrigerator. It's easier to open frozen chub bags by cutting down the side and placing the frozen meat in a bowl to thaw. For cold water defrosting, keep the original packaging intact. Ensure the package is airtight or place it in a leak-proof bag before fully submerging it in cold water.
Handling
After handling meat and poultry, wash all utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot, soapy water.
Addressing Common Concerns
Nutritional Deficiencies
There Is A Myth Going Around About Fresh Food Diets…We’ve been hearing from a lot of new kitten parents that have been told not to feed fresh food because it will cause nutritional deficiencies. While it’s possible for nutrient deficiencies to occur….. it’s not very common. And it can be easily avoided!
Is Raw Cat Food Safe?
Raw cat food is safe, provided it is prepared and stored properly. The best way to make sure raw food is safe, is to buy raw food that follows strict testing (we are RawSAFE accredited) and is handled in line with human standard food hygiene processes throughout the supply chain.
Is Raw Feeding Messy?
Raw feeding can be messy, especially if you’re making it yourself. But it doesn’t have to be. When you buy a complete raw cat food from a company like Bella+Duke, all the hard work has been done for you.
Is Raw Feeding Expensive?
As with any type of food, raw feeding can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be and our cat food compares favourably with other types of good quality cat food.
Feeding Amounts
How much food your cat needs will depend on a number of factors, including their age and weight. Adult cats, 2-4% of their ideal body weight per day. Kittens up to 10% of their current body weight or feed based on projected adult weight.
Supplements
Cats need a few basic supplements, especially taurine. We offer the Alnutrin supplement for both boneless and bone in ground meats. They are free of ingredients from China or India. They are not typical vitamin supplements for your cat.
Tools
Ice cube trays are extremely helpful in portioning out your cat's meals. One standard ice cube is ~1 oz. Check out these trays as well which hold 3-4 oz. Pyrex storage 2-cup round dishes provide a tight seal, keeping meat fresh, longer and are safe to use in the refrigerator and freezer. Each dish holds approximately 12 oz. I would recommend putting one of our ground packages directly into the refrigerator in a dish or Ziplock bag.