How To Transition Your Cat To Raw Food? Best Ways

How to transition your cat to raw food? As a cat owner, it’s important to provide your feline friend with a healthy and balanced diet.

If you are a cat parent who wants to provide the best nutrition for your feline friend, then transitioning to a raw food diet may be a great option for you.

Raw food provides cats with the essential nutrients they need, while also promoting overall health and well-being.

However, transitioning your cat to a raw food diet can be a daunting task. In this article, I’ll discuss how to transition your cat to raw food, and some tips for making the switch smoothly.

How to transition your cat to raw food?

Start by placing a small bowl of raw food next to your cat’s current food bowl. This allows the cat to smell the raw food while eating their regular food and attract them to the raw food. Maintain this routine for two to three days.

After about two to three days, gradually reduce the portion of cooked food in your cat’s current dish by mixing it with a little pureed raw.

This can be done by either adding a little raw food, pureeing it into the cooked food, and then pouring it into the bowl or putting pureed raw directly into their bowls.

When your cat finishes eating their regular meals, remove any leftovers so they have no excuse to eat their new food. After two to three days, this new raw food should be the only thing left in their bowl.

Once your cat has adapted to the new raw food, you can increase the amount of raw until all the regular cooked food is gone and then decrease it back to what it was.

Once all the regular cooked food is gone, you can keep feeding just raw for a few days until your cat is completely undiscriminating when eating food. This means they will eat natural and home-rendered (raw) meat.

Here’s a sample plan to transition your cat to a raw diet:

Week 1: Feed your cat 50% cooked and 50% raw food. Mix cooked and raw food.

Week 2: Feed your cat 75% cooked and 25% raw food. Mix cooked and raw food.

Week 3: Feed your cat 100% cooked and 0% raw food.

After week 3, you can start adding some vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale, or other green leafy vegetables to the mix slowly over the next few weeks until these are more than 50%. This will aid digestion and benefit your cat’s health because of its high antioxidant content.

After a week or two, increase the amount of raw food until all of their regular cooked food is gone, and then keep feeding just raw.

Be careful not to overload your cat’s system with too much raw protein or fat. Your cat will become very fat if they eat too much at once.

Feline Obesity is a real problem amongst cats. It can occur when the cat overeats meat at once, leading to weight gain and Obesity. Avoid overloading them with too much meat and fat, which can lead to health complications.

Feline Diabetes also increases the risk of Obesity due to an increased appetite for sugary foods. Feeding a raw diet can benefit cats suffering from diabetes because it reduces their need for carbohydrates and sugars.

The body will rely more on proteins and fats than sugars, which results in less developing fat deposits and a healthier weight.

Can Cats Eat Raw Chicken?

Yes, Cats can eat raw chicken. The idea is to make a dish where the cat will not know if the chicken is raw or cooked. Cooked chicken has more fat. Therefore, you must add more of it and less of the skin and other chicken parts while cooking.

But you can use raw chicken in your cat’s diet because it contains all the necessary nutrients that the cat needs without additives or preservatives.

How to prepare raw chicken for cats?

You can start by chopping the chicken into small pieces and adding it to the raw food. It is better to chop the chicken into small pieces because it is easier for your cat to eat.

Some people prefer adding raw chicken chunks to their cat’s main dish. Another way is to mix some chopped raw chicken with raw food as above. You can also prepare a dish containing mashed or pureed raw meat, which your cat can eat without much preparation.

Cats can also be fed human-grade raw chicken. Raw meat contains harmful pathogens, which can make you sick if not prepared properly. That’s why many veterinary nutritionists recommend freezing or freeze-drying raw meat.

However, cooked chicken doesn’t have to be frozen or freeze-dried. If you are giving your cat cooked chicken, remember that it contains more fat. Therefore, you have to add less skin to the mixture while cooking.

How to feed raw chicken to cats?

This will vary on how picky your cat is. Keep in mind that cats need variety, and you can mix raw chicken with other foods such as dry fish and vegetables. You can also add the raw meat chunks into the cooked food.

Adding extra fats and oils (e.g., avocado, coconut oil, cottage cheese) is a good idea because they will provide your cat with additional fat in their diet.

How much raw chicken can cats eat?

Cats should eat at least two to three ounces of raw meat chunks or chicken daily. If you are giving your cat-cooked chicken, remember that it is fatter, so you must add less skin and other chicken parts while cooking.

Some veterinarians believe that there is no need to feed your small cat portions of raw meat because they will pick out the unnecessary parts and not consume them, which can lead to stomach problems in some cases. It is best to consult your cat’s vet before adding raw chicken to their diet.

Raw diet for cats benefits

Feeding your cat a raw diet provides many benefits to them, as well as other pets and humans. Some of the benefits include:

1. Improves digestion.

2. It reduces the risk of heart and intestinal diseases.

3. It is cruelty-free.

4. It avoids food safety issues due to the potential of bacteria growth in cooked meat and by-products not being fully cooked.

5. It is an extremely low-budget diet for animal shelters.

6. It is an excellent alternative to rawhide treats and other harmful chews.

7. It helps cats maintain their ideal weight.

8. It reduces the risk of food allergies in cats by providing them with a more natural diet with more vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants than they would get from eating an all-natural prey diet.

9. It reduces the risk of chronic diseases and diabetes in cats.

10. It is an excellent weight management diet that helps cats maintain their ideal weight without us having to pay a lot for food.

Some kittens may just be born with a preference towards some meats over others, but otherwise, it’s pretty straightforward. Your cat will most likely not care if you’re serving up bison steak or chicken salad with veggies, as long as they have enough to eat (and there is no junk food around).

How do I introduce my cat to a raw food diet?

You can start by adding small amounts of raw meat to the cat’s regular cat food. When your cat consumes it, you can increase the amount. Many raw food diets are complete and balanced to be fed without supplements.

If your cat eats regular pet food, add small amounts of cooked chicken or fish and less extra skin and fat while cooking. The goal is to transition to a diet of raw food.

How do I know how much and what to feed my cat a day?

This depends on the cat’s weight, age, and health. Ensure you keep an eye on your pet’s weight and body condition. If the cat is overweight, you can adjust the amount of food accordingly from what you are putting into the pet dish.

If you notice your cat losing too much weight, you will have to increase the amount of raw meat in their diet.

Final Thoughts

You can add raw meat to your cat’s diet. It benefits the cat in many ways, and you may be unable to tell the difference between a raw food diet and regular commercial pet food.

It is easy to transition from a commercial pet food diet to a raw one. You must add small amounts of raw meat or fish while cooking their regular cat food. You will soon be able to switch them over entirely without any problems.

I hope you will enjoy sharing the experience of getting your cat onto a raw diet with us.

Thank you for reading.

Have fun.

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