I'm sure this topic has been covered before but I really want to read what everyone is feeding their cats Does anyone feed raw diets? Have you noticed a difference? There's a place in my area called Healthy Pet Pantry and they carry raw diet pouches ~ a lot of people swear by it but I haven't been brave enough to try it.

My 2 kitty cats are on Wellness. My kitten Allegra eats Wellness dry Kitten formula along with Wellness canned mixed in. My 3 year old cat Lyric eats Wellness Indoor formula along with canned Wellness mixed in. I occasionally give them Weruva for their evening meal

Since no one has answered this and I'm trying to distract myself...

Yes, I feed a raw diet. I've done it for nearly 20 years with no problems. (I'm feeling old right now!) I've never bought raw food because when I started using it, there were no commercial raw foods available, so I make my own. One advantage of that is I have total control over what goes into the food so if I need to customize it for a special cat, I can.

As for differences, yes, big time differences. Now, I deal with cats who have problems, such as diabetes, liver failure, stravation, etc. So, when you take a less-than healthy cat who has lived on cheap kibble and convince the cat to eat raw (this can be a major problem), the cat transforms itself in a couple of months. Many of the diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome disappear. In healthier cats, there still is a lot of changes. For example, Spencer is a 'new' cat on the raw food. He is the healthiest cat I've adopted in years -- a black and white, van bicolor Persian. (He actually was hubby's attempt at fostering, but now hubby has confessed Spencer is here to stay. A nice fuzzy foster failure.) He was in okay condition -- a bit pudgy in the butt, hair dullish and not the softest, and ears waxy. We've had him a month and already we can see changes. His pudgy butt is gone and he has excellent muscle-tone. His hair is softer and beginning to shine. The wax in his ears is much less and that's not due to me cleaning them. (I should, but Maggie gets priority.) Also, his energy level is increasing to the point he's kitten-like (3 y/o) and has recently discovered he can get on the counter.

One other thing is that, excluding Maggie, I have less than $100 a year in vet bills for 8 cats. Many problems, such as UTI or diabetes, just won't develop on a raw food diet, or at least I have never had any problems develop.

So, if you want my opinion, raw is the only way to go and I would never go back to commercial food.

Right now, Savvy is being switched from Iams to Felidae. I will eventually transition him over to at least partial raw.

Linda ~ thank you for the response about your experiences with the health of your cats and raw diets. It was so informative and I appreciate all the info

Yes, I feel raw and have been for the better part of a decade. When I did rescue I fed raw to my rescues and they flourished and got better. Now I am a raw feeing breeder. I can not tell you how much of a difference it makes. It significantly decreases eye discharge, nasal stuffiness and greasy coats. It also decreases shedding. They are so much healthier all around. My cats are all have clean as a whistle ears and I hardly ever go to the vet. I only go when a new cat comes to my cattery and that is it. I never need to.
Linda is so dead on.
I used to hear that it was normal for Persians to have bloody stools. I found that to be a frightening thing to think. Bleeding from any orifice is not normal. On raw it all cleared up.
I have no hairballs, no diarrhea, no dental issues...no fleas, no parasites...I do not use Advantage or any topical flea medicines. I put kyolic garlic in their raw and it further adds to the benefits by not only keeping them parasite free, it reduces the chances of worms and boosts their immune systems.
Oh yes, no UTIs, no blockages, no crystals...I use way less litter than most people do because they do not defecate as much and their waste has less odor.
They even look better, are more energetic, less stressy and have more vigor. They look brighter and healthier.

There is no downside, only positives. I highly encourage you to try it.

Just as FYI garlic is considered toxic along with onions to cats.

We all have issues that drive us nuts. This -- garlic being toxic -- is one of mine.

I will acknowledge that in large amounts, it is dangerous and potentially fatal. The only numbers I could find were 1-2 fresh cloves or 1 tsp of powdered garlic per kilogram of cat were considered toxic. So, for a 4 kg (about 9 lb) cat, that's 4 tsp of garlic powder per day for several days. Somehow, I have problems imagining a cat eating that much garlic powder!

What I have never been able to find is any numerical data on less than fatal doses. I do know from personal experience, 1 clove a day will not hurt a cat. I did that for several years with a couple of cats. One lived to 19 years old and the other to 15 years, so it didn't kill them and their bloodwork had always been fine. I also know a lot of people who use it and who have never had cats develop anemia.

In moderate doses, I feel it's safe and I do use it occassionally. It's like just about any substance -- used with common sense, it is safe, but used to the extreme, it's dangerous. (Since it can be dangerous and since some people won't listen to words of caution, this is why I stopped recommending it despite my feeling that is can be used safely.)

http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/ve ... &sk=&date= You are entitled to your opinion. This is the link where I researched my answer. From my calculations and the statement in the article about repeated SMALL doses causing problems I would avoid it.

Lynda -- thanks for the link, and I really mean that. I learned a few things about the toxicity of Allium and I appreciate that.

The sentence you refer to says, "Allium species toxicosis typically ensues after consumption of a single large quantity of the material or repeated small amounts." Then they give the single dose levels for onions, which do have almost twice the level of organosulfoxides. (For those curious, it's 2 tsp of onion powder for a 9lb cat.) What they don't say, unfortunately, is the amount of or frequency of the repeated small amounts. I have a good notion to contact the author and see if he can provide further clarification.

Anyway, I'm comfortable using it in small amounts (less than 1/4 tsp per day on a 16lb cat) because I have used it without problems in the past. If and when I see or read something that convinces me that the small amounts I give cats is actually harming them, I will gladly admit I've been wrong.

We all are doing what we think is right for our fuzzballs, which doesn't mean we all agree on everything.

Can anyone suggest a raw food brand? I'm looking into the raw food diet for my cat but I honestly don't have the time to make the food with my schedule.