What Is Prey Model Raw:

MeOW-llo furiends, welcome to Service Cat Furiday. Very little is as impurrtant to your feline’s health and over all well being as Nutrition. And yet, as we discovered in our Pet Feed Ingredient mini-series, commercial/big pet feed companies products are far from ideal or Nutritional. Ifin you missed any post in that series or any postys in our Service Cats series, you can check them out by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page from the menu above. And, ifin you have any questions or topics you’d like to see here, you can leave them in the comments section below or send us an email via our Contact page. Purrlease stay with us, we’re going to show you how you can give your cats the proper Nutrition they need to not only survive but thrive. We’ll show you how everypawdy can afford it and make it so simple that even mommy could figure it out. Don’t tell her me meowed that last part, okay? Anyways, it’ll be easy peasy. You’ll be askin’ yourself how come some peeps make it so hard when we get finished. Remember, the purr-puss of this series isn’t to pass judgment, but rather to educate and make pet parents aware of all their options.   

  

 

 

The following post will be written in human English for reader and translator ease. Our Service Cat posts aren’t intended to be an all inclusive Training Manual but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques used/developed by mommy A thru her many years of animal training, cats in purr-ticular. And to offer insight into your questions about Everything Feline. Always remember, successful Training is all about Repetition and Rewards.

What is Prey Model Raw:

 

     Last week, we addressed some of the more common myths about Raw feeding. This week, we’re going to focus on the “Formula” for Prey Model Raw Feeding. We’ll be addressing actual Recipes and how to make the switch in future posts, so stay tuned. The idea behind Prey Model Feeding came from looking at a cat’s natural prey and the make up of that prey, mice or small birds. If kitty were left to fend for his/herself they would hunt mostly mice and small birds. We know this because feline history tells us that cats gathered around human communities and killed the mice that were attracted by the grain stores. So what is the make up of a mouse? Regardless of size, a mouse is 80% Meat, 10% Bone and 10% Organs. A mouse is a 100% Nutritionally complete and balanced meal for kitty. But that doesn’t mean you should put out mouse traps and start feeding kitty mice. Unfortunately many mice found in and around homes may be poisoned. After all, humans consider them pests to be killed and removed from their homes ASAP. But, we will get back to mouse eating in a future post. 

 

 

 

 

 Is It Meat or Organs: 

 

     Let’s dissect the mouse and see what’s what, so you can better understand those percentages we mentioned. And while we’re talking about percentages, we’d like to add that growing kittens actually need a tad higher percentage of bone. That means the baseline for kittens would be 75% Meat, 15% Bone and 10% Organs. Wait a minute, Don’t run off. Mommy’s not good with math either, so we plan to explain all this so that everyone can understand. We’re going to assume that everybody knows things like breasts, and roasts are meat. But, there’s other parts of the animal that humans may not eat, altho’ some do, that are considered Meat when feeding your kitty. The following are counted as Meat:

• Heart (high in taurine)

• Green Tripe  

• Lungs  

• Gizzard  

• Uterus   

• Tongue  

• Trachea    

• Penis  

• Cheek    

The following are Organs aka Offal:   

• Liver (Must make up at least 5% of Organs in recipe/food) 

• Kidneys

• Brains/Sweetbread   

• Spleen    

• Testicles  

• Pancreas   

 

 

 

     You may feed any protein/Meat that kitty likes or you have access to. That means, you don’t have to go to specialty shops, you can head down to the local grocery store or butcher. And if you know any hunters, you might be able to get a few seasonal goodies. Rule of thumb regarding safety of wild meats is that it must be frozen for 2 – 3 weeks prior to serving to kitty. This will kill any parasites the animal may have had. Not something you need to worry about with meat from your grocer/butcher. Another thing to keep in mind, is that cats need a lot of fat for energy and to help breakdown vitamins and minerals. Some meats are higher in fat than others, but don’t get hung up on fats. You can always add a little extra if kitty prefers a leaner meat. Below we list (not a comprehensive list) meats (most commonly available) by fat content in descending order. That just means the fatter meats are 1st: ***High Fat, **Medium Fat, *Lean

• Sheep/Lamb *** 

• Pork *** 

• Beef/Ox ***     

• Duck/Goose ***   

• Chicken/Turkey **    

• Venison **  

• Squirrel **  

• Goat **   

• Rabbit/Hare *   

• Ostrich *   

• Kangaroo *  

We luvs rabbit.

 

 

 

 Bones:

 

     So, we’ve listed Meat sources and what is Meat and what is Organs, let’s take a look at Bones. *If kitty has kidney issues, please use an alternate source for Bone percentages*. We will be addressing this in a future post. First, let’s just say, yes, kitties can and do eat Bones. Do Not feed kitty any COOKED Bones. Cooked Bones can splinter and be dangerous. Some Bones are softer than others and easier for kitty to eat. Listed below are chicken Bones, softest first. You’ll also find the percentage of Bone to Meat ratio listed beside them: ***Softest   ** Medium    *Hard    

• Poultry Neck *** 70% Bone    

• Wing Tips *** 30% Bone     

• Wing Mid Joint ** 20% Bone     

• Full Wing ** 50% Bone   

• Drumstick ** 30% Bone    

• Poultry Feet ** 60% Bone     

• Leg Quarter * 30% Bone   

• Thigh Section * 20% Bone 

• Chicken Ribs and Backs, Lamb Ribs and Rabbit Ribs are also softer Bones

****Bone Meal or Egg Shells can be substituted for actual Bones: We will discuss substitutions, supplements and other necessary ingredients in a Recipe post.

 

All this talk of food is makin’ me hungry.

 

 

 

Extras: 

 

     Something to keep in mind, is that just because kitty is/was allergic to a protein in cat feed, doesn’t necessarily mean that kitty will be allergic to that same protein when fed raw as intended. In fact, many kitties switched to raw because of food allergies, have quickly recovered and shown no further signs of such allergies. As discussed in our Pet Feed Ingredient posts, there’s very little actual meat in commercial pet feed and the meat that is in there is questionable at best and may even be toxic. 

 

     Taurine is a necessary Nutrient for cats. Taurine is plentiful in dark raw meat or hard working parts such as hearts, thighs, tongues or gizzards. The smaller the animal, the larger the concentration of Taurine in the heart. Taurine is water soluble, so if you’re worried kitty won’t get enough, you can always add a supplement, even though it’s not needed. Most kitties enjoy liver. However, for those who don’t, chicken liver is the mildest tasting and smelling and a good place to start for picky kitties.  

 

Me needs to finish eatin’ me’s brekky. How’s ’bout

some more bone and liver gravy mommy?

 

 

 

We’re gonna wrap it up fur today. Again, we’ve given you a lot of infurmation to look at, think about and mull over. Purrlease join us next week, we’ll be putting all this together in recipes and showing you that you don’t need to be a math wiz to figure it out. Ifin you’re feelin’ adventurous, and you’re up to the math, you might want to try makin’ kitty a dinner t’ween now and then. Ifin ya’ do, we’d luv to hear all ‘bout it. We’ll also be breakin’ down the cost and showin’ that a Proper Diet isn’t any more cost prohibitive than kibble/canned. Remember, ifin you’ve missed any posts in our Service Cat series, you can ketch up by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page. We’d also luv to hear your comments, questions and/or concerns regarding anything you’ve read here or want to see posted here. Just let us know below or send us an email via our Contact page in the menu above. We’re also joinin’ Comedy Plus fur Feline Furiday. 

 

  

Till the next time…………………………………………………….Be Blest!!!  

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses  

 

Deztinee and RaenaBelle