# Does anyone feed thier cats on frozen mice or chicks ?



## eieio (Feb 15, 2008)

Hi , i have been feeding my dogs on a raw diet now for a while they love and so do i . now i have a Siamese kitten 6 months , i want to feed her raw too , i have only been giving her chick wings ( which she loves ) , prawns, salmon (tinned) and tuna , mackerel all tinned. now Ive read that you more or less give them the same as dogs , but I'm thinking in the wild surely they would not eat lamb, cow, and such like ????? , so thought maybe i should be giving them , more of what they would hunt and catch for themselves like , small birds , mice, rats, squirrels maybe , so was thinking , i would feed small day old chicks, mice , all in tact, frozen ,and just defrost from a supplier ? what do you think , i would think this would be a better diet for a cat do you not think? , does anyone else feed mice , and chicks to their cats ? and if so could you tell me where i could get these from ?.. thanks guys .


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2008)

Dunno about chicks and mice etc. I just feed mine simular to the dogs but with more poultry than beef and lamb. It doesn't matter that they wouldn't eat cows or sheep because the nutrient profile of beef and lamb is close enough to that of their natural prey. Be careful not to feed too much fish as it doesn't provide a good balance of nutrients; fish should really only be fed as a treat rather than meals.


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

Yes, I am sure that someone feeds day old chicks (dead of course). I suppose you could get these and possibly rat/mice from a snake food provider.

I know that people feed rabbit (a natural prey) - see here:

English Rabbit Meat

and this link I got from a poster here.

I feed lamb and beef and chicken wings raw. Lamb is the favourite, beef is sniffed at but seems to disappear eventually, usually at night


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## catlover (Aug 6, 2008)

i dont understand this raw meat diet thing, my understanding is that domestic pet cats have been raised for thousands of years to be just that, your not keeping pumas


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2008)

catlover said:


> i dont understand this raw meat diet thing, my understanding is that domestic pet cats have been raised for thousands of years to be just that, your not keeping pumas


Yeah, pet cats have been eating Whiskas and Felix for thousands of years!


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## catlover (Aug 6, 2008)

ajshep1984 said:


> Yeah, pet cats have been eating Whiskas and Felix for thousands of years!


humans used to live in mud huts and run around in loin clothes, it's called evolution...........


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

catlover said:


> i dont understand this raw meat diet thing, my understanding is that domestic pet cats have been raised for thousands of years to be just that, your not keeping pumas


Hi

I see where you are coming from but actually processed meals for cats (and dogs for that matter) hasn't been around that long. Maybe 70 years?

Most cats would have been working cats - and their food would have been their prey. Cats were kept to keep infestations of mice and rats at bay. They probably scavanged scraps from the kitchens as well.

Most people on here are pragmatic. They feed a combo of raw, dry and wet according to how easy it is to get and what their cats like.

The main concern is how much cereal is in any given food. Many processed food manufacturers 'bulk' the food with cereal which is not easy for a cat to digest. It makes the food cheaper.

However, a cat fed a combo of high protein food usually eats less (unless pregnant or feeding kittens). You need to look for high meat content food, either wet or dry.

Orijen is a dry 
Tesco Luxury and/or Finest is a wet

Many feed Natures Menu which contains ground bones (wet).

Raw could actually be quite cheap if you are lucky enough to have a tame butcher. A colleague of mine feeds her Bengals scraps from the butcher at a fraction of the price as he can't sell them.

Alternatively look at cheap mince products in the supermarkets and reduced meat. Possibly meat supermarkets might have bargins. I bought 2kg of halil mutton (boned leg) for £5.40 from a muslim/asian cash and carry. I cut it up and froze it.


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## catlover (Aug 6, 2008)

Janee said:


> Hi
> 
> I see where you are coming from but actually processed meals for cats (and dogs for that matter) hasn't been around that long. Maybe 70 years?
> 
> ...


thank you for that informative answer, better than the sarcastic reply before

i'd be a bit nervous of food poisoining with raw meat, so think i'll stick to the food i use  I was just curious


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2008)

catlover said:


> thank you for that informative answer, better than the sarcastic reply before


Sarcasm as in the same thing as your Puma comment?  Don't give it if you can't take it!


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## Janee (May 4, 2008)

catlover said:


> thank you for that informative answer, better than the sarcastic reply before
> 
> i'd be a bit nervous of food poisoining with raw meat, so think i'll stick to the food i use  I was just curious


Hi CatLover

The cat is not equivalent to the human gutwise. They can deal with a lot more than we can.

Think about it: they eat prey, ferals will scavange from bins. Their digestive tract is designed to cope with bacteria.

(Though strangely it is advised that fish is cooked because 'raw' enzymes in fish can cause problems)

My cat has just chomped through a raw chicken wing and left a minute sliver of bone. That means he has eaten most of the bone in that wing. This is fine - they are designed to cope with this.

DO NOT GIVE COOKED CHICKEN BONES >>>>> cooking changes the structure of the bone and makes it sharp and indigestibe.

Its YOU you have to worry about giving raw - wash hands and hygiene is a priority - not the CAT.

Edit: if you freeze it kills bacteria. You can leave raw out as long as not extremely hot or loads of flies around - just use common sense.


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## eieio (Feb 15, 2008)

Hi guys thanks for advise , thanks janeee for link


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## haflingers4ever (Jun 13, 2013)

First I'd like to mention that if you understood what your cat truly needs for an exceptionally healthy life, you would not worry about raw diets. The only reason why more people don't feed their pets this way is because vets say it is unsafe for variouse insufficiently proven reasons. Why vets say this is bad and try to make stuff up is because if pets were truly healthy they would lose a BILLIONS of dollars, because most people only take their pets in if they are sick or if they need their shots. and when the pets are given a correct diet they don't need these shots in the first place. Infact there are tests you can have your vets do to prove that these "yearly" booster shots are not necesary, cause more harm than good and remain in the body for much longer than a year so your pets don't actually need a booster but the vets don't tell you this because they make more money that way.
And the second thing I wanted to say is that if you are worried about your furry friend being poisend I would def not feed them kibble! more pets have been killed by the pet food industry than any natural raw diet.

P.S. Sorry for my terrible spelling and puncuation.


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

Dave just ate four fuzzies. He really likes them. I will have to defrost five tomorrow. I'm not sure how many he can eat in one go. He only had two yesterday and was desperate for more!

I can't get him into the chicks yet. He'll eat the head if I cut it off for him but I think he is not very keen on the feathers and I'm not sure how to help him with that


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

Forgot to mention, I am getting mine from here at the moment:

Frozen Mice


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Hi Dave - are the quail (if you get them) completely whole; as in guts and everything?


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

Yes the quail are whole but smaller than the day old chicks.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Dave the Brave said:


> Yes the quail are whole but smaller than the day old chicks.


Even the ADULT ONES?


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

Dave the Brave said:


> Dave just ate four fuzzies. He really likes them. I will have to defrost five tomorrow. I'm not sure how many he can eat in one go. He only had two yesterday and was desperate for more!
> 
> I can't get him into the chicks yet. He'll eat the head if I cut it off for him but I think he is not very keen on the feathers and I'm not sure how to help him with that


I only have one prey eater as yet. He just had a whole DOC for lunch (followed by a little portion of terra faelis). It's a big meal. The chick weighed 40g and will have something like 55 - 60 kcal (the kitten weighs 2.4kg). To get that amount of energy from fuzzies you will need to feed 10 of them. That's one hell of an expensive lunch.


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

I know! Trying to work up to bigger mice!

I don't know if they sell more than one type of quail but the one they sent me was tiny.


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## BeauNoir (Sep 16, 2012)

catlover said:


> humans used to live in mud huts and run around in loin clothes, it's called evolution...........


No, it's not.


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

dave have you got any idea what the source of the animals are? have been tempted to buy the chicks but my son has decided to become some sort of unsigned member of animal protection and asks a billion questions about the source of animal products - he wanted to write to the company that made his school shoes to know where and how the leather of his shoes were farmed 

i am hoping they are ex battery? I am not much of a meat eater myself so don't know much about these things!

also noticed they have minced chicks? have you tried that and if so was it any good?


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

crispycat said:


> dave have you got any idea what the source of the animals are? have been tempted to buy the chicks but my son has decided to become some sort of unsigned member of animal protection and asks a billion questions about the source of animal products - he wanted to write to the company that made his school shoes to know where and how the leather of his shoes were farmed
> 
> i am hoping they are ex battery? I am not much of a meat eater myself so don't know much about these things!
> 
> also noticed they have minced chicks? have you tried that and if so was it any good?


They are a by-product of the egg industry. The are all male and so have no real commercial value. That's why they are going cheap


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

I was also under the assumption that they are all male chicks and I do have certain concerns and ethical issues myself with the whole thing and therefore will only buy whole chicks that have hopefully painlessly been euthanised by gas. I may be kidding myself that this is somehow better but cannot bear the thought of purchasing a bag of mince that came from live chicks being tossed through a grinder. Too sad! If only cats could be healthy vegetarians. The other reason is that I want him eating whole foods and bones. I have loads of minced up animals from Honeys and Natural Instinct.


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

Dave the Brave said:


> I was also under the assumption that they are all male chicks and I do have certain concerns and ethical issues myself with the whole thing and therefore will only buy whole chicks that have hopefully painlessly been euthanised by gas. I may be kidding myself that this is somehow better but cannot bear the thought of purchasing a bag of mince that came from live chicks being tossed through a grinder. Too sad! If only cats could be healthy vegetarians. The other reason is that I want him eating whole foods and bones. I have loads of minced up animals from Honeys and Natural Instinct.


thanks for the info  because i'm not much of a meat eater I have difficulty handling the stuff too makes me go 

told my son about these and he had a long moan - well not much dfferent than usual as he's going thru the teenage antics phase!!


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

crispycat said:


> thanks for the info  because i'm not much of a meat eater I have difficulty handling the stuff too makes me go
> 
> told my son about these and he had a long moan - well not much dfferent than usual as he's going thru the teenage antics phase!!


Just don't let him see them being eaten then. My kitten pops the head first which causes black goo to squirt onto the floor (is that the brain?) then he licks that from the floor. Next up he stands on the legs whilst pulling the head with his teeth until something tears. Next, he... oh well I guess you get the picture already. Its gruesome stuff, best for when you son is out for now.


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

Satori said:


> Just don't let him see them being eaten then. My kitten pops the head first which causes black goo to squirt onto the floor (is that the brain?) then he licks that from the floor. Next up he stands on the legs whilst pulling the head with his team until something tears. Next, he... oh well I guess you get the picture already. Its gruesome stuff, best for when you son is out for now.


lol yes gruesome - sounds like a scene out of pulp fiction!!  think I might have to hide too while all this is playing out!


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## Dave the Brave (May 27, 2013)

I wish I could hide!

I have to stand in the kitchen doorway as it doesn't actually have a door to prevent him running around the house with it :wink5:


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## jasminex (Oct 16, 2012)

Since we're on the topic, if I was to give Humphrey some whole prey, would I would need to worm him? He hasn't been wormed since he was a kitten since he is a house cat and my vet didn't see any need to. Would eating whole prey necessitate regular worming? Not keen to as he is a right little :devil: to pill (flat face + jaws clamped shut = hard to open mouth!)


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## tincan (Aug 30, 2012)

I so want to try this with the girls ...... but i seriously fear i am to squeamish  I have been reading the prey threads with great interest , and enthusiasm ... but...... i can't seem to get past my own squemishness  .... Even tho it is in the best interests of the girls


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## Busy bee (May 24, 2013)

I would like my cat to try them too but I don't like the thought of having them in our freezer! Does anybody know what size mice I should start with for a full grown cat? I was wondering if I should start with little ones that don't have too much fur?


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## crispycat (Apr 2, 2013)

Dave the Brave said:


> I wish I could hide!
> 
> I have to stand in the kitchen doorway as it doesn't actually have a door to prevent him running around the house with it :wink5:


haha i am just picturing that!! would be my worst nightmare chasing cat with chick and son chasing me telling me off!


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

jasminex said:


> Since we're on the topic, if I was to give Humphrey some whole prey, would I would need to worm him? He hasn't been wormed since he was a kitten since he is a house cat and my vet didn't see any need to. Would eating whole prey necessitate regular worming? Not keen to as he is a right little :devil: to pill (flat face + jaws clamped shut = hard to open mouth!)


No. I admit to being extra cautious about this and I make sure my raw and prey has been frozen for a month before feeding it. That is neccessary for wild game but not really for farmed chicken (maybe for free range?) though I do it anyway since it is just my routine; everything raw gets bagged dated and chucked in the freezer. A 4 week freeze kills any worms.


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## KathinUK (Apr 7, 2013)

tincan said:


> I so want to try this with the girls ...... but i seriously fear i am to squeamish  I have been reading the prey threads with great interest , and enthusiasm ... but...... i can't seem to get past my own squemishness  .... Even tho it is in the best interests of the girls


Ah but you will, you will :devil: :devil:

When I first bought a bag of the frozen chicks, it was really hard to even open the freezer drawer and see all those sets of eyes staring out at me.

But now I don't even think about it, just heat n eat ... tho I do pull the legs off for Sally as she likes them hand fed 

Kath


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