The First Meal ~~~ If regular feed is dry, start gradually switching your cat to canned food. Take about a month to do this before mixing in the meat. This helps the cat adjust to a wet food. Cats react to changes in the smell of their food and changes in texture.

Once the cat has adjusted to canned, start mixing in the 1/2 teaspoon of meat. Continue to feed them twice a day. Do Not leave the food down for more than an hour and toss any leftovers. Cats can get sick if they do not eat, so be sure to watch that everyone is eating if you have multiple cats.

If the cat refuses to eat with even a small amount of meat added, try smearing the food with a little Gerber's all meat baby food. Raw meat has no smell and the baby food smells just like commercial food.

We recently met a female cat who responded very well to the addition of lightly cooked ground beef mixed with the meat. The owner very gradually reduced the cooked ground beef and was able to transition her. See the story of Emily in "See What Others have to Say".

Cats MUST EAT. Older fat cats who stop eating can actually go into liver failure as cats do not metabolize their fat like dogs or people and their livers can become blocked with fat if they don't eat regularly.

Some older cats can take many months to transition. Just go slowly and be very observant and patient.

Young or Healthy Cats

The First Meal ~~~ We have been very successful just making the switch with the smearing of the baby food. They may miss a meal but they do not hold out for very long.

Feeding Schedule ~~~ Healthy adult cats eat once a day after they get to 100%.
Kittens should be fed on their normal schedule.

Occasionally, we add variety by adding some ground (Including Bones) rabbit, chicken, eggs, fish etc. to the meat.

We will also give them a little of our food as a treat.

You will notice that their water consumption diminishes to next to nothing once they are off the commercial dry food.
This is normal.

If you can get your cat to accept a chicken neck a few times per week, this will help clean the teeth and exercise the gums. Otherwise, feeding the diet in nearly frozen mouse size chunks will do a very effective job of exercising the mouth.
Read Tom Lonsdale's book (Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health) for more information on the dangers of peridontal disease.

If you want to do other food groups

Veggies -- Think "above the ground"! Think Herbivore!
Alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, wheat grass, parsley, spinach, dandelion leaves (before they bloom or they are too bitter), dark green leafy stuff.

Wait until you are 100% on diet before adding veggies or you may get a loose stool

Chop and put in the blender with some purified water. Turn it into a "green mush" and pour over the meat.
Do not exceed 2% for most cats.

Cheese --- The best training treat. Lots of flavors and varieties. Stick with white in color.

Fruits --- Some cats like them but most do not.

Grains --- Read Dr. Tom Lonsdale's book (Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health). Do not feed any grains. One of the pet food companies has done research on cats and grains and found they have zero tolerance for them.

Some older cats, or cats with certain medical conditions, must have varying amounts of vegetables added to the meat to balance their diet.

As with any diet, commercial or raw, monitoring your pet's health with the help of your veterinarian is essential.

Trouble Shooting

Loose Stools --

- Over feeding, especially if this problem is intermittent.
- Too much veggies, fruit or grains.
- Using cooked meats for bait in training (no food enzymes)
- Overuse of supplements.
- Food enzyme deficiency. For one month use Dr. Goodpet's. (just a pinch)
Gradually taper off enzyme. The body should start making it's own once you are off the commercial food.

Stools should be dark and come out in a few long pieces. The color indicates 100% utilization.

Partial Use --

Many people choose to use the meat in conjunction with commercial food to keep costs down. Some experts claim you can cause illness by providing too much protein if you use the meat as a supplement to commercial food. There are no long term studies to guide you here. The amino acid supplements that are routinaly added back to commercial foods are not detailed in terms of the amounts that are added back and they are not made from whole foods.


The Healing Crisis --

About a month after we put our two month old kitten on the diet, we observed significant loss of hair across his back. He was shedding the old coat that was apparently not as healthy and growing in a lush undercoat and then a new outer coat. He is now over 3 years old with a very thick, long coat, that has never needed brushing!
Dr. Pitcairn (Natural Health for Dogs and Cats) goes into more depth in his book on the "healing crisis"

Just be aware that you may see some strange happenings on your way back to nature.

WATER: Though cats don't drink much water on a diet of mORIGINS, we recommend that only spring or filtered water be given with the diet to minimize the harmful effects of flouride and other chemicals/contaminants/lost nutrients found in tap, well, and distilled water.

You may have to modify what we recommend with your cat. Every pet is different.