Chicken Raw Cat Food

Cats are obligate carnivores, Big Dog Raw Food Diets for Cats are formulated to be higher in meat and lower in plant material.

We ask Animal Nutritionist, Narelle Cooke, if cats and dogs can eat the same food

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From time to time we have people get in touch saying their cats try to eat their dogs Big Dog food and is it OK for them to eat the same recipes. In short, yes! We have tested our dog recipes for their Taurine levels, an essential amino acid for cats that must be obtained through their diet, and they are well above the minimum requirement for cats. While our dog recipes have a higher amount of plant material than our cat recipes, there is no nutritional concerns with rotating our dog recipes in your cats diet if your cat prefers these.

The exception here is our Kanga Single Protein Diet for dogs. Our Cat Kanga recipe is a mixed protein diet and more suitable for cats nutritional needs than this low fat diet for dogs with allergies or who need to lose weight.

The transition from kibble to raw can be long and challenging, we recommend a very slow transition. The primary reason for this is to avoid upset stomachs but primarily because rejection of the food is to be expected. Give your cat the time and space they need to figure out their new diet. That being said, you do not want to leave it for more than 24 hours without eating something. Cats need to eat frequently as fasting is unnatural to them and could induce a case of Hepatic Lipidosis (feline liver disease).

Find our transition guide for cats here: Transitioning to our Big Dog Raw Diet for Cats

Taurine is an essential amino acid in cats and must be obtained in adequate amounts in the diet to prevent deficiency.

According to the Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats by the National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Committee on Animal Nutrition, Subcommittee on Dog and Cat Nutrition, the daily dietary taurine requirements for cats for growth and health maintenance is 320mg/kg of food per day and we easily meet these needs.

Big Dog Raw Diets for Cats are formulated with the following levels of Taurine per kg of food and easily meet these requirements.

Kangaroo – 720 mg/kg

Turkey – 825 mg/kg

The only time you may wish to supplement with additional Taurine would be during gestation and lactation where requirements increase to 450mg of Taurine per kg or food. Feeding a few chicken hearts additionally per day is a great natural way to achieve this.

We generally recommend our food is suitable when kittens reach 1kg of bodyweight or 12 weeks of age, whatever comes first. We recommend feeding kittens 4-6% of their body weight.

If your kitten was weaned onto a raw diet, you can generally transition straight to a 100% Big Dog Diet.

If your kitten was weaned onto a cooked or processed diet (canned food, dry food, cooked rolls) then we recommend to transition more slowly.

A raw food diet is very different to a processed cooked diet and any sudden change in diet can create stomach upsets and gradually transitioning helps to minimise this.

Please follow these guidelines, whilst monitoring your kitten's stools. You should begin to notice smaller, less smelly stools as you transition towards a 100% raw food diet. Loose stools are OK during the transitioning period, but do make sure there is no persistent, watery stools.

Day 1-3: 20% New Diet 80% Old Diet

Day 4-6: 40% New Diet 60% Old Diet

Day 7-9: 60% New Diet 40% Old Diet

Day 10-12: 80% New Diet 20% Old Diet

Day 12+: 100% New Diet

The younger the kitten, generally the easier they are to transition. If you have an older cat or a particularly fussy kitten, please refer to our transition guide here.

We recommend feeding adult cats 2-3% of their body weight daily (this is based on an average sized 4kg cat) and kittens 4-6%.

However, our feeding guidelines are a guide and your pets’ metabolism, breed, size, age and activity level may affect their overall nutritional requirements. Many people wish to replace a raw meal with an appropriate serve of meaty bones for dental health which is an important part of ensuring a healthy raw fed pet. Also taking into account treats as part of the daily energy from food being provided to your pet has an impact.

The important thing to focus on ultimately is that your pet is within a healthy weight range.

It is fine for younger animals (especially puppies) to have extra fat (aka puppy fat) sub 6 months of age. As they grow into adults, it’s more important to fine tune their diet to suit a healthy weight. A healthy weight can be measured in a number of simple physical ways. Ribs shouldn’t be prominent but should be able to be felt with a thin covering of fat over the top. There should be a visible abdominal tuck and when you look at your pet from above, they should have a visible waist. If the ribs can be seen, increase their daily food allowance, if they no longer have a waist and look like a log from above, decrease their daily food allowance until their waist returns.

How much to feed your pet with Chris Essex

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Puppies and kittens should be fed more regularly than adults, we recommend feeding three-four smaller meals and up to six meals a day for larger breeds (1). Regular small meals should continue until the animal is about 6 months old, then we recommend reducing your pet to being fed once or twice per day. Allowing pregnant and lactating pets to feed as often as they want is ideal (2).

Puppies and kittens require more food, more regularly than an adult dog or cat due to the amount of growing and developing they will be doing in the first 6 or so months of their lives. Making sure they get adequate nutrients regularly in this life stage is essential.

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Our Big Dog for cat’s range consists of Kanga and Turkey flavour, mixed protein diets that provide all the macro and micronutrients your cat needs to be healthy and happy. These include protein, amino acids, taurine, healthy fats (including omega-3 fatty acids), moisture, antioxidants, probiotics, prebiotics, fibre, phytonutrients, active enzymes and essential vitamins and minerals. Mixed protein raw food diets, most closely represent an evolutionary diet and the predominant protein source in each product represents the flavour of that product.

For more information on each product, see our products page for cats.