The Raw Deal – Into The Second Month

We are into our second month of 100% raw food for the cats. It’s been 5 weeks since we started on this project.

For this month, my target is to reduce the “incentives”, which is Primal as toppings.

We managed to bring down Ginger’s (obese) 6.5kg to 6.1kg in one month. However, the two days of guzzling his newly discovered Cubgrub Quail brought his weight back up to 6.4kg. So, we shall have to work on this again.

However, one good thing is that he is now willing to eat Cubgrub Chicken without Primal toppings. And ever since he got his WHOPPEE Quail treat for 2 days, he isn’t so fussy anymore. He eats the Chicken without going in and out of the kitchen umpteen times. I was afraid he’d demand for Quail and boycott Chicken but he did not.

Tabs also has reduced Primal toppings now.

But Pole still needs Primal toppings. Well, Pole is under the Special Privileged List because of her lifelong hyperthyroid condition, so she gets what she wants. She is eating a lot more than her 2% portions. Pole is our only cat who needs to put on some weight. She has increased from 2.5kg to 2.8kg.

Cow still needs some Primal toppings before he would start eating his Cubgrub. Bunny doesn’t – he eats the Cubgrub neat. Then, he looks for leftovers, but now, there is barely anymore leftovers because everyone eats their portions up.

Cow and Bunny have maintained their weight, but that is purely my fault. They always don’t seem to have enough after eating their 2% portions, so yes, I have been giving them extra all of last month. But starting this month, I will reduce the extras. Slowly and steadily…one step at a time. They are both 5.7kg now. My target is just to get them down to 5.5kg because both are not obese. They are also very stout.

Cleo’s eating pattern has improved a little too. But she still does the “recess” in between one meal. It’s something she has always been doing. She will eat a bit, then go off to the sandpit to pee, wander around the garden, sniff the grass, then only come back to eat the rest up. I don’t know why she does this, though. Previously, unless I intervene, Bunny would have eaten up her portion and she would come back to nothing. Now, I remove her portion and keep it for her when she returns from “recess”. Cleo’s weight is consistent at 3.5kg. She is a very small eater. “I just eat to live”, she says.

Despite Indy’s loose stool problem, his weight has increased to 5.7kg. I’m just so thankful there is no weight loss. Due to his problem, he eats mostly raw chicken fillet (which is unbalanced). But I will slowly re-introduce Cubgrub into his diet.

Heidi remains the greatest miracle of all time in the raw deal. From a 100% canned and kibble cat, she is fully on Cubgrub (raw food) now. Heidi is 3.8kg, which is fine for her. Heidi used to be apple-shaped previously; now she looks more cat-streamlined.

When we first started the transition, Heidi would walk away from the bowl if there was so much as a hint of raw food in it. To show her further displeasure, she would start “digging a hole” beside the bowl. I think maybe she was trying to bury the food? Or saying that it’s like poo, so she needed to bury it? Haha…I dont know, but she would start digging and scratching on the floor. But all that has stopped now. She eats her raw food and finishes her portion. Half the time, she even asks for more, which I give (guilty as charged). Heidi is not a greedy cat. When she asks for food, it means she needs it. She usually only asks for extras in the morning meal. At other times, she eats her portion or a little less than that. Whenever she asks for extras, she would skip the next meal, so at the end of the day, she ends up eating her daily portion.

On another note, our garden is unsightly because we have to keep the weeds for Heidi. It’s her medicine. She needs to go out daily to eat her weeds. If we remove the weeds, she would have to go to the park to get it from her original stash and that’s getting a bit too far for her.

This morning, she had a stand-off with Buddy. But Buddy is really good. He comes to our porch, sleeps on our doormat and acts as our CNRM-cat to ward off other cats. And he does this without asking anything in return, not even food, because he gets fed from his home. I think he finds his own home to be too crowded (there are many, many cats in his house), so he comes to our porch. Buddy used to be Vincent and Zurik’s pal. I’ve learnt not to simply feed other cats now, especially when they have a home. They could be on a certain diet and I should not interfere with that.

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2019/11/03/the-raw-deal-into-the-se..

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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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