When we first got Lucy in 2003, we started off feeding her Science Diet, since that's what my parents had always fed our pets. I began researching pet food, though, and quickly made the switch to better kibble. Then we got Mac and did some more research. We slowly began transitioning them to an all-canned food diet - and not just any canned foods, but the best of the best. Lucky ducks.
Things seemed to be going well with this feeding regimen, but then Mac started having bowel issues. His stools got looser, and this slowly turned into explosive diarrhea. (Ew!) We eventually brought him to the vet earlier this spring, and she suggested an elimination diet. In other words, limit him to one unique protein source in case he had developed an allergy to the meats in his canned foods. Unfortunately, we had given him a rotation of several different types of canned foods (beef, chicken, turkey, duck, salmon, tuna, etc.), so the only remaining protein we had never tried was venison. We tried this new protein source for a few weeks to no avail. So we went back to the vet and this time she suggested a "wonder pill" call metronidazole which should clear up the diarrhea and decrease the inflammation in the bowels. She said she had never seen any adverse side effects, but there was a small risk of neurological symptoms, in which case we'd have to just stop administering the drug. Sounds good. So we gave him the pill that morning, and within 4-6 he was completely unable to walk - his legs were shaky, he had terrible coordination, and I was a blithering ball of anxiety. I was so scared for him! Needless to say, we did not give him any more doses, and needless to say, this was not a "wonder pill" for him. Thankfully, about 4-6 hours later that pill passed through his system and he seemed good as new...but the whole experience made me VERY hesitant to try any other meds on him (especially since he had also had an adverse reaction to his vaccines in the spring).
With that, our vet said the only remaining option was to try cortisone injections and we'd likely have to do that for the rest of his life. I was reluctant to start a barely 7-year-old cat on a life-long drug regimen, especially with his history of med side effects, so we started looking into other options. I remembered having read about raw feeding (aka a BARF diet) when I first investigated cat foods, but I had initially dismissed the idea as way too intense. But by now we were ready to try anything. Luckily we live in a city that is fairly progressive, so all we had to do was drive to Woody's Pet Deli in Minneapolis to pick up some frozen raw food to try it out. After letting it thaw for about 48 hours, we gave Mac his first sample.... He was madly in love with it! And, better yet, his diarrhea was gone within 48 hours on the new food!!!!
We were completely sold on the wonders of raw food. But we weren't too keen on the price of buying pre-made raw food. So I did some more investigating...I read every book on this topic from our library system, and read everything that I could find online. In the end, basically everything pointed back to this site by Lisa Pierson, DVM, and to this site by her friend Anne Jablonski. (I highly recommend watching the video that Anne made - she makes it look so easy!)
So, after I did all that research, I finally had an understanding of the recipe, including what ingredients provided what nutrients, what were possible substitutes, and what could never be replaced. We invested in a grinder that could handle bones, bought a bunch of canning jars, and we were off! We just made our second batch of raw food at home, and it's been quite a hit so far! Here are Lucy and Mac, licking out the container that we mixed everything in:
As you can see, we have created some obligate carnivore monsters. They are madly in love with their new food, and we are madly in love with how healthy they now are! Definitely a win-win. :)
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