Is Raw Cat Food Better Than Other Cat Food
Nutritionally inadequate cat foods are widely available, and this is true for both processed cat food and raw cat food diets.
Many of the benefits that are often ascribed to feeding cats a raw diet could be gained simply by switching to any higher-quality, more biologically appropriate cat food.
Here are some factors to consider and how different diets stack up.
How Much Raw Food Should Adult Cats Consume
As a kitten grows, its calories requirement reduces since metabolism also reduces. As a cat grows, you will realize that it spends less time playing. Adult cats spend most of their time napping in the sun they only get up to eat or play.
While other cats turn into sun-spot chasers, others tend to conserve most of their energy. Although the amount of raw food you should give your cat depends on many factors, here is a simple guideline showing how much raw food to feed cat.
- For a cat in its ideal weight, provide 2-2.5% of the current body weight daily
- If your cat is older, less active, and overweight, 1.5% of the current body weight is ideal
- For active, underweight, or malnourished cats, give 3% of the current body weight in pounds per day
Final Thoughts On Raw Cat Food Calculator
The best raw cat food calculator is on Hare Today.
You are likely to spend around $75/month on raw food for one 10-pound cat.
Dont get scared by this cost.
Think of it more as an investment in your cats health.
Many holistic vets say that poor quality nutrition causes common health problems in cats.
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Other Factors That Determine How Much Raw Food To Feed Your Cat
An elderly cat that spends his days lazing around the house and only walking as far as his food bowl and litter box, for example, would require significantly less food than a young and healthy energetic cat that spends his days playing and racing outside in the fresh air.
Hence, because each cat is unique, you must consider a few factors when calculating how much raw food to feed your cat. The factors are as such:
- Current weight
- Exercise levels
How Much Wet Food Should I Feed My Bengal Cat
Usually, a can of 5.5 ounces of wet cat food contains anywhere between 120-190 calories.
So if you are only going to feed wet cat food to your Bengal cat them usually you need to feed two cans per day to your Bengal cat.
Now to know exactly how much wet cat food you will need to feed your Bengal cat, you will have to do some calculations.
First of all, you need to know the weight of your Bengal cat.
Bengal cat requires anywhere between 25 to 30 calories per pound per day.
So if you are a Bengal cat is 10 pounds then you will need to feed you will need to provide it anywhere between 250 calories to 300 calories per day.
Now you will have to check how much calories a can of your wet food contains.
And then you can easily know how much cans you will need to feed your Bengal cat on a daily basis.
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Our Raw Cat Food Feeding Calculator
Enter your cats weight into our raw cat food feeding calculator. There are many different factors so our calculator is based on rough averages and does not take account of your cats breed, age, activity levels etc.
This calculator is specifically designed around our food and calorie contents rather than standard processed cat food.
Depending on your cats metabolism, activity levels and where you live , we suggest you use this as a starting point and monitor your cats body composition.
Combining Evolution & Science
We lovingly blend our raw cat food in an approach which combines understanding what your cat has evolved to eat, boosting this with the latest science and focussing on the quality of each and every single ingredient.
Feeding your cat our Raw Cat Food provides them with the types of meals their bodies have thrived on over thousands of generations.
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Commercial Raw Cat Food
Commercially prepared raw cat foods take a lot of the guesswork out of feeding raw. Reputable manufacturers follow the guidelines put forth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials .
Make sure that you can find an AAFCO statement of nutritional adequacy like one of these on the label of any cat food you might purchase:
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Brand X Cat Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for adult maintenance, growth and reproduction, or all life stages.
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Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Brand X Cat Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for adult maintenance, growth and reproduction, or all life stages.
You can be confident that any cat food, raw or not, that conforms to AAFCO standards will at the very least provide your cat with the basics of good feline nutrition.
How To Feed Cats With Raw Food
After deciding to feed your cat with raw food, follow the following few steps or tips
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Mixing Raw With Dry Kibble Or Canned Food
Most manufacturers recommend that you feed raw food separately from dry or wet food. If you are feeding kibble or canned along with raw pet food, you might consider making this the morning meal and raw the evening meal.
If you are switching to raw due to any health issues such as allergies or inflammatory bowel disease, then it is highly recommended that you transition to a completely raw food diet for at least 1-3 months. The longer your pet has been ill, the longer the raw diet should be fed. After the initial time on raw, try a gradual addition of canned, kibble or dehydrated or freeze-dried and see how your pet tolerates it.
How Much Dry Food Should I Feed My Bengal Cat
To know how much dry food you should feed to your Bengal cat, first, you should find out how much calories does the dry cat food you feed to your cat contains. It is usually mentioned on the label of the cat food.
On average, dry cat food contains anywhere between 350 to 500 calories in a single cup.
Now lets see how much calories a Bengal cat and kitten need on a daily basis.
A Bengal kitten requires anywhere between 100-40 calories per day depending on its age.
And an adult Bengal cat requires about 25-30 calories per day.
So now you can figure out how much dry cat food you can feed to your Bengal cat or kitten.
For example, say the dry cat food you feed to your cat or kitten contains 500 calories and it is of 10 lb. Then 1 lb contains 50 calories.
Now 1 lb equals 2 cups.
So as 1 lb contains 50 calories, 1 cup will contain 25 calories.
As a Bengal kitten needs 40-100 calories, well need to feed 2 to 4 cups of dry cat food to the Bengal kitten .
And as an adult Bengal cat needs 25 to 30 calories well need to feed only one cup of dry cat food to the cat.
Now, this was just an example.
Usually feeding three fourth cup of dry food is sufficient for an adult Bengal cat for a day.
And feeding one and a half to two cups are sufficient for a Bengal kitten.
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Monitoring Your Cats Weight
To some degree you can assess your cats weight based on how they look and feel. Are they feeling heavier or lighter when you pick them up or when they sit on your lap?
We recommend regular weigh-ins to monitor your cats weight, especially when you first transition to a raw food diet.
You can use the scales at your local vet to weigh your cat, but the easiest method is to use digital bathroom scales at home.
Based on the scale readings and how much your cat weighs you can adjust how much you feed your cat.
You may need to feed your cat slightly more if he has lost weight since switching to raw food. Or, you may need to reduce how much you feed your cat if he is putting on weight.
Our Kitten Feeding Calculator
Kittens can require up to as much as 5 times more food per grams of body weight than an adult cat. They need more protein and fats to keep up with their rapid growth.
During the first year, your kittens daily feeding requirements will change.
You can see how much to feed your kitten by weighing them and using our kitten feeding calculator below
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What Are The Risks Of Feeding Your Cat A Raw Diet
There are several possible risks which include bacterial contamination, parasites, internal damage and inadequate or too many nutrients.
Bacterial contamination:
All meat will have some bacteria in it however, high levels and certain strains of bacteria can result in sickness. Common pathogens include salmonella,e-Coli, listeria, Clostridium, and Campylobacter.
Cats have a shorter gastrointestinal tract this means meat passes through the cat faster. Also, cats secrete high levels of stomach acid in their stomach which breaks down the protein and kills bacteria. However, there will always be risks of bacterial contamination in all types of food, including meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. Taking precautions, which are listed further down this article will help reduce the chances of your cat becoming sick from eating raw meat.
Parasites:
Toxoplasmosis Gondii is an intracellular parasite that infects multiple warm-blooded mammals. Cats are the definitive host, meaning that the parasite can only reproduce in the cat. Cats become infected either by consuming prey or meat which contain the cysts of the parasite or by ingesting cysts that pass out of the cat via the feces. Infection in cats usually causes no symptoms at all however, the concern with this particular parasite is the ability to cause congenital disabilities to unborn human babies if the mother becomes infected during pregnancy.
Trauma from bones:
Taurine deficiency:
Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism:
What Kind Of Raw Food Can I Give My Cat
There are lots of types of meat you can give to your cat I like to include cheap cuts of steak including chuck steak and round steak. Ideally, the meat should be free-range, organic and free of chemicals. As already stated, I always recommend feeding human grade meat to cats. Avoid feeding the same type of meat all the time as this is more likely to result in a nutritional deficiency. When feeding raw meat, you are unlikely to provide a nutritionally adequate balance with every meal. So one meal may be mostly muscle, another mostly offal or bones. Over a few days, it should all balance out.
Types of raw meat suitable for cats:
- Raw chicken breast or thighs.
- Raw chunks of steak. The cheaper cuts are chewier, and your cat has to work harder to chew them, which is good for the teeth and gums.
- Beef or lamb heart and kidney.
- Beef or lamb liver can be fed to cats but only in small quantities. Liver contains high levels of vitamin A and too much can lead to vitamin A toxicosis.
- Rabbit cut up into chunks.
- Turkey breast, wings and legs, cut into chunks.
It is perfectly fine to give your cat cooked meat some pet owners prefer this. Dont ever give cooked bones, they are too brittle and can splinter. As has already been mentioned, cooking destroys taurine, which is essential for your cats health. If you do decide to cook your cats meat, it will need supplementation with taurine.
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Utensils And Ingredients Availability
When you prepare raw food you need to have some utensils such as a knife, a cutting board, a scale… But you also need to be sure before starting that you will be able to find all the meat and ingredients needed to provide a balanced diet. This step can take some time depending on where you live. If you are struggling to find a good meat provider, I advise you to try and find a local raw feeding group, with which you can share local tips. You can find these groups on Facebook, for example. To read more about what to do before starting to raw feed, read my article.
Ideal Food Portion For Adult Cats
Cats’ metabolisms tend to slow down as they get older. You may find that your adult cat spends more time snoozing in the sun and gets up to feed and play less frequently than kittens.
The following is a general feeding guide for adult cats:
- For cats at their optimal weight 2% to 2.5% of their current body weight/per day
- For less active, overweight cats or senior cats 1.5% of their current body weight/per day
- For active, underweight cats 3% of their current body weight/per day
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Your Cats Dietary Needs Evolve Over Time
As your cat moves through kittenhood, early adulthood, and beyond, his nutritional needs will change. Meeting those requirements at every phase of life sets the stage for good health.
Your first stop when choosing the right food for your cat? The nutritional adequacy statement.
Usually located on the back of the bag or can, this statement indicates whether or not the food is nutritionally complete and balanced for its intended life stage. The label will read, for example, formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO cat food nutrient profiles for all life stages.
Foods that arent nutritionally complete and balanced will usually be labeled for supplemental feeding only. These foods dont contain the appropriate balance of macronutrients and micronutrients and shouldnt be your cats sole source of nutrition.
While youre looking at the label, check out the feeding instructions as well. For the average house cat, the appropriate feeding instructions are usually already placed on the packaging of the cat food.
The nutritional guidelines on the package will point you in the right direction, though you may need to make some modifications to fit your cats exact needs.
Ideal Food Portion For Kittens
Anyone who has ever had a kitten knows how active and inquisitive they can be. They require more food for their body weight than adult cats in order for healthy growth and development.
Because kittens can’t eat as much as adult cats at one go, you might want to feed them smaller meals more frequently rather than a few big ones. To maintain their energy levels and keep up with their everyday activity, they require meals that have as many nutrients as possible.
A general guide to feeding raw food to your kitten is as follows:
- For 2 to 3 months, 10%-13% of their current body weight/ per day
- For 4 to 8 months, 6%-10% of their current body weight/ per day
- For 8 to 14 months, 3%-6% of their current body weight/ per day
This can be split into at least 2, or preferably 3 meals per day.
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How Much Wet Food Or Dry Food To Feed A Cat
Once youve determined how many calories your cat needs every day, you need to figure out how much food to feed a cat to provide those calories. Thankfully, manufacturers now have to list a foods caloric content on the label. It will be written as kcal/kg and kcal/can or kcal/cup . In nutrition circles, a kcal is the same as a calorie.
Divide your cats caloric needs by the foods caloric content . The answer will let you know how much wet food to feed a cat or how much dry food to feed a cat. To figure out how much food to feed a cat at each meal, simply divide the daily amount of food by the number of meals you plan to offer each day.
For example, lets say your cat is 10 pounds and very active, and they are on a diet of Tiny Tiger Pate Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Wet Cat Food. According to the chart, your cat should consume 346 kcal/day.
Since the calorie content of the wet cat food is 95 kcal/can, you would determine how much wet food to feed your cat by dividing 346 kcal/day by 95 kcal/can.
346 kcal/day ÷ 95 kcal/can = 3.64 cans of Tiny Tiger Pate Chicken Recipe Wet Cat Food per day.
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How Much To Feed
If you are wondering how much to feed your cat on a raw food diet, experts suggesting starting at 2-4 percent of your cats body weight per day. You can divide this amount up into several small feedings. For example, if your cat weighs 10 pounds, he could require as much as 6.4 ounces of raw food per day. If you divide this among 80 percent animal meat, 10 percent bone, and 10 percent organs you can get a rough idea of what you would need to use in a recipe, plus supplements. Or you can use a recipe like Dr. Piersons which already has the amounts worked out. Most people who feed raw will make enough food to last for several days even if they prepare something else so they can alternate the meals.
Once your cat is eating the raw food diet you can assess his condition. Is he gaining or losing weight? You can adjust how much you feed him at that time.
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