Why Feed Your Cat a Raw Diet?

Why should you feed your cat a raw diet? Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that a cat NEEDS to eat meat for prime health. Raw meat provides nutrients that your cat’s body must have for optimal health. Our cute cats share over 95% of the DNA with their big cat cousins, the tiger. When was the last time that you saw a tiger chowing down on some corn or grain? National Raw Feeding Week is the first week of April and it seemed like a perfect time to broach the controversial topic of a raw food diet.

I had been researching a raw diet for my cats for a few years now. It was not until August of 2021 that I actually took the plunge to start the transition to a raw diet. Sadly, this was due to the loss of my Monti Boi, due to severe kidney disease at age 4 brought on by an adverse effect to the rabies vaccine (2 articles for another time) and a poor diet. Now, my dedication to the well-being of my cats is not a recent development. So, when I say, “poor diet”, it was not cheap food. They were eating wet food daily and indoor formula, grain free kibble. I thought I was feeding them a good quality diet. Boy, was I wrong.

I was doing right, somewhat, with feeding wet food. Cats get most of the moisture from their foods. Your cat’s ancestors are desert cats, where water bowls and fountains are not set up for them to drink. These desert cats acquire the moisture that they need from the prey that they consume. Because of this, wet food is a must for a cat’s diet. However, and this is where I went wrong, you must check the ingredients of the wet food that you are providing for you cat. Any kind of “meat by-products” are NOT the kind of meat that you want your cat to eat.

My biggest mistake was feeding my cats kibble, or dry food. And not only was I feeding them kibble, but I was also leaving the kibble out for an all you can eat buffet. This was, quite possibly, the worst thing that I could have done for my babies. There is absolutely nothing in dry food that is nutritious for your cat. And leaving the dry food down for them to graze is just pouring salt in the wound.

Dry food is full of sugars, carbohydrates and other things that you would be sickened by. Don’t be mislead by the ingredients list on the back of the bag. Remember, they are trying to sell you their product and these companies are very proficient at marketing. They are not going to list the “true” ingredients. Dry food goes through processing that removes any nutrients that the “meat by-products” may have and then they add “flavoring” and nutrients.

Stopping the “all you can eat buffet” was my first step to feeding my cats a better diet. My goal was to stop feeding kibble altogether, but I knew it was going to be a process. And I didn’t want a kitty revolt on my hands. Each day, I would feed them less and less of their dry food. It was a process and not one that any parties involved were happy about. But it was a necessary step on a road to a raw diet.

My next step was deciding what raw food I was going to start feeding my beloved furbabies. There are many options for cat parents in terms of a species appropriate raw diet. Darwin’s, Small Batch, and Smalls are just a few. Most of the brands are small, independent companies. One of the main things to keep in mind when choosing your raw food is the sourcing. Where does the raw meat come from? Most reputable companies will have this information on their websites. If not, a quick call or email to customer service will provide you with the answer. If they choose not to answer, then please choose not to buy their product.

I knew that I needed something that was still convenient and easy to feed. Most raw diets are fed based on the weight of your cat. This was an important component when I was choosing which brand was best for me and my cats. My cats vary in weight, and I needed to find a raw that would allow for this. I, finally, decided on Small Batch. Small Batch are frozen patty sliders. There is a convenient chart on the bag that shows how many sliders your cat needs based on their weight. It was purrfect! Thankfully, my cats also agreed.

I, also, wanted to provide them with food that still had a “kibble-like” consistency. For this, I chose Stella & Chewy’s Freeze Dried. I use this as food toppers over their raw, especially if I want them to finish their meal in a timely manner. I also crumble some into their bowls for them to be able to have a little snack. Keep in mind that a cat’s stomach is the size of a ping-pong ball and frequent small meals are good for them.

The Resident Cats have been on a full species appropriate raw diet since August. And the benefits and positive changes that I have witnessed have been amazing. Bodie, my Maine Coon mix, was becoming overweight and unable to properly groom himself. He has since lost weight and is back to grooming his nether regions. Emmet, who we thought had FIP, was given an all clear at his last vet appt. The vet said that she has never seen him look this good. Franklin, my 12-year-old who has a sensitive stomach, has since been having good bowel movements and is running and playing like a kitten again.

We pay attention to what we are putting in our bodies, why should we not pay attention to what we are feeding our cats. We know that food is the foundation to a healthy lifestyle for us, and it should be for our cats. There is an amazing documentary, Pet Fooled, that was eye-opening to me and how I was harming my cats by what I was feeding them. It truly makes me happy to see them eating their raw food, knowing that I am providing them with the food that their bodies need.

“Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.”
― Terry Pratchett