Let�s Talk Food Again

It’s been sometime since I last wrote about food. Not food for the humans, but for our cats and dogs.

I met up with a friend a few days ago and she is a proponent of raw food. Before moving to this present house, I had been giving raw food to Cleo and Bunny, but the two would only eat the raw meat and a bit of the skin. They don’t eat bones. Indy would eat only raw liver, not the meat. So, it isn’t balanced. The rest of my brood weren’t interested at all.

BARF (Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) is giving the animal the food that it is “meant” to eat if it lives in the wild. Observe how a tiger eats is prey. First, it attacks and kills the herbivor, then it goes for the stomach (where there is a wee bit of digested plant-food), next it eats the flesh and skin (including the organs like the heart, liver, etc.) and finally it chews on the bones for dessert. In other words, it eats up the whole animal except for the feathers. Gross, I know, but that’s how carnivorous animals eat in the wild. So, if we choose to give raw food, it is recommended that we give a balanced meal of meat, organ-meats, skin, bones and a wee bit of fermented vegetables (cooked vegetables). The appropriate proportion is probably something like 80% meat and 20% veges (or even less).

But as always, there will be argument for and against BARF. Our animals do not live in the wild, they may not have the enzymes to digest raw food. Then, there is the worry of parasites in the meat that we purchase from the market.

So, then comes the proponents of cooked food. Again, the proportion would be about the same, ie. 80/20. The reason for cooking is to destroy the parasites and other micro-organisms and also, it may be more easily digested (so says the proponents of this kind of food).

Then, for convenience and picky eaters, we may choose canned wetfood and finally, dry kibble. Why wetfood over dry kibble? Because wetfood contains more water and dry kibble is too highly processed, hence, furthest away from being “natural”.

There will always be arguments for and against the above, with people citing real-life experience of how well their pets fare on kibble-food and how they cannot take raw or cooked food. Point duly noted, of course. The best judge is your pet himself/herself. Every animal is different. So, we do our best, give them all, and let them choose what they want and observe how they fare.

Also, I was told it takes a stronger stomach to digest raw food and some of our pets may not have this ability.

Fair’s fair. Let them choose what they want.

So, after the conversation with my friend that day, I was motivated to try raw food on Bunny, Cleo and Indy again. And who knows, the trend might catch on with the rest. I mentioned my concern about parasites but the friend says she read somewhere that parasites will be destroyed by freezing. Hmm…really? Now, that’s good news. That gave me more confidence to try it on my brood.

And guess who liked it THE MOST?

Yes, Raven!

�It’s meat and skin only for now.

Bones will come next. Then organ meats. Then some cooked veges. One thing at a time.

Blended or not? It depends. If given in chunks, our pet can chew and this might be good for the teeth. Remember that in the wild, there is no blender!

A friend who is so into BARF told me that even if your cat is willing to eat just the meat and skin, it would be sufficient (but this doesn’t hold for dogs – dogs need more veges). She has been feeding this to her cats for a long time and her cats are all thriving. But others say it isn’t balanced. Well, I really don’t know, but being “kiasu”, I’ll give my cats raw food and home-cooked (those who are willing to eat it), canned wetfood as well as kibbles. Let them eat everything.

�Cleo and Bunny, as before, enjoyed the raw food.

�Try one teensy bit, Tabs?

No. This is not real food. It smells funny. I don’t know what this is. Not eating it.

�Meanwhile, Indy eats up his raw liver.

Tabs and Tiger refused to touch their food when I hid a tiny bit of raw meat in the Natural Balance wetfood. Cats, how can you trick them? Their sense of smell is far more superior than ours, many times over.

Oh, Cow has made this basket his, which is GOOD. But the not-so-good news is that he has started spraying in the room again. Sigh… Still, it’s slightly less than before. The two wooden doors, for some reason, have been spared since I did my massive cleaning up with baking soda and vinegar.

�A Monge meal. Still their No.1 favourite. I give this about once in 3 days or so.

�But yesterday, Tabs ate raw food!

Good girl, Tabs! Yay!

�Raven is probably the type who would eat anything.

She loves raw gizzard…would you believe that?

So now, I have another project – to get my clan to eat some raw food as well!

Disclaimer: This is just a sharing of my experience and in no way serves as any advice on nutrition for animals. Please consult a nutritionist or veterinarian for professional advice on food for your pets.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/11/02/lets-talk-food-again/

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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