What to feed your pets. BARF.

[tbourner]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244595/Is-food-youre-feeding-pet-killing--making-vet-rich.html

 

We've fed Loki on BARF since we got him, and our breeder fed him chicken wings at 6 weeks. We would feed the cat on raw meat as well but cats are much harder to swap over so we haven't tried yet.

 

As long as you've got some spare freezer storage and can find a regular supplier of raw meaty bones it's definitely a better option IMO. Also, because I get most of our meat from a free range farm place for FREE, all we spend on Loki is a bag of mixed veg and some supplements (garlic powder, multi-vitamin tablets, apple cider vinegar tablets etc., tub of cheap yoghurt and cottage cheese) each month, although we've got some sheep stomachs in the freezer at the mo so he won't need veg mush for a while.

[Matt H]

all we spend on Loki is a bag of mixed veg and some supplements (garlic powder, multi-vitamin tablets, apple cider vinegar tablets etc., tub of cheap yoghurt and cottage cheese) each month, although we've got some sheep stomachs in the freezer at the mo so he won't need veg mush for a while.

 

Definately sounds like barf to me

[Thorin]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244595/Is-food-youre-feeding-pet-killing--making-vet-rich.html

 

What a horrible scare-mongering article, suggesting that vets are in cahoots with pet food manufacturers to help increase business for vets?? Well, I expect nothing less from the Daily Mail.

 

'Kita is mainly fed on Royal Canin great dane dried food, but often with raw meat mixed in (minced beef or chicken, beef or tripe chunks). She will sometimes just have purely raw meat for some meals though.

[tbourner]

If it removes the blinkers from people who blindly follow what their vet says then it's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. LOTS of people are feeding raw food now to the pets.

[Thorin]

If it removes the blinkers from people who blindly follow what their vet says then it's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. LOTS of people are feeding raw food now to the pets.

 

Which is good yes, but do you really believe the article?

[tbourner]

I try not to take anything in the media as fact becaust they're usually biased in some direction - especially the Mail!! But I've read quite a bit on BARF from the (obviously biased) books by Dr Billinghurst to various pet forums and websites, and I've got my own opinions which are in favour of feeding a raw food diet.

 

I would never tell anyone not to feed commercial food, I only ever tell people what I do and what I've discovered and let them make their own mind up.

[Matt H]

My GF usually feeds the cats, but if was a cat, why would I want biscuit things (dry food) all the time when I'm a cold killing meat eater?

 

Our cats have cans of meaty foods twice a day, usually whiskas. Why would you choose to feed your cats dry stuff anyway?

[tbourner]

We give our cat either Felix 'as good as it looks' or Whiskas. Then we give him some dry food at night for him to munch on.

Cat's are different to dogs because they are obligate carnivores, whereas dogs are omnivores, so cat food generally has more meat in it than dog food (because a cat will die without meat, a dog will just not get on too well on a vege diet!).

[Thorin]

Why would you choose to feed your cats dry stuff anyway?

 

Dried food is generally much better nutritionally than wet food. Usually by a very significant margin.

 

Yoshi has mostly Royal Canin Siamese breed food, and pouches of wet food every now and again. (along with fresh bits of ham or tuna etc. sometimes)

 

We give our cat either Felix 'as good as it looks' or Whiskas. Then we give him some dry food at night for him to munch on.

Cat's are different to dogs because they are obligate carnivores, whereas dogs are omnivores, so cat food generally has more meat in it than dog food (because a cat will die without meat, a dog will just not get on too well on a vege diet!).

 

 

Yeah it's the taurine in meat that cats need as they can't produce their own.

[Matt H]

Yoshi has mostly Royal Canin Siamese breed food, and pouches of wet food every now and again. (along with fresh bits of ham or tuna etc. sometimes)

 

My Yoshi lived on a diet of Koopa Troopers before he past away

 

Poor guy, I was walking him (well riding him actually) when a huge bottomless pit opened up before us - he never stood a chance

[Chris Wilson]

I never cease to be amazed at how much people spend feeding their pets when a little planning and travelling could cut their bills dramatically. A pal of mine from the local pub buys his damned cats fresh prawns and says it's all they'll eat. The two rescue ones he's just got went from eating anything with joyous thanks to "Won't touch anything but fresh prawns" within a month

[Paul]

Our vet pushes Hills all the time, even the scales are supplied by Hills and are nearly always out (read more:))

Took him have his knads removed last year and they apparantly weighed him before, a few days later after the op we took him back and they said he was slightly overweight and started pushing the Hills muck, I took him over to some scales in the surgery and weighed him infront of the vet, he was about 2 kilos lighter than they were suggesting so I laughed saying how heavy his knads must have been

[Chris Wilson]

I have always been curious to know what mark up they make on Science Diet and the equivalents.

[Meko]

i feed both of my two BARF but it's getting impossible to find the food.

We had a beef and lamb supplier but then they started giving up the crap that they wanted to get rid of... leg bones and all that. They seemed to have found somebody else to give their leftovers to.

Then we found a chicken supplier, carcasses at 10p a lb but now they've gone quiet. Costing me a fortune buying chicken wings and turkey legs.

[tbourner]

A pal of mine from the local pub buys his damned cats fresh prawns and says it's all they'll eat. The two rescue ones he's just got went from eating anything with joyous thanks to "Won't touch anything but fresh prawns" within a month

I was watching "It's me or the Dog" the other day, there was some little scrawny rat dog thing that apparently would only eat on the kitchen table, being spoon fed cooked food!!!!

We went to my mums the next day, gave Loki a carcass outside and he just whimpered and pawed at the door - mum said he obviously doesn't like it and can we give him some tuna or corned beef!!! Needless to say within 10 mins of us ignoring him he was eating the chicken but it shows how these things progress when owners give in to their pets demands.

 

i feed both of my two BARF but it's getting impossible to find the food.

We had a beef and lamb supplier but then they started giving up the crap that they wanted to get rid of... leg bones and all that. They seemed to have found somebody else to give their leftovers to.

Then we found a chicken supplier, carcasses at 10p a lb but now they've gone quiet. Costing me a fortune buying chicken wings and turkey legs.

That is a problem for most, we have 2 potential suppliers and 1 pretty good one, both potentials we've used before but they can be crap some days.

There's also some prep required, like we have 3 freezers now; 2 small for us and 1 upright for the dog. We have to make sure we've got enough in there and get stuff out on time to defrost etc. (although he eats it frozen as well). Generally I think people don't want the hassle but for the cost saving and (IMO) better health of the pet it's worth it.