Photo Above posted on Flickr by RawAllison
Our cat food situation is interesting, to say the least. Today, I made some attempt to start getting the raw meat organized. The 30 lb. block of ground chicken seemed too daunting, so I decided to try the cat out on the rabbit.
Bart, our kitty, has been eating mainly raw eggs mixed with small amounts of canned (cooked) food or tuna. Definitely not optimal, I know! He has been spending a lot of time outside and I'm not sure he's not getting some of his food elsewhere. I can only hope it's not kibble and not threatened species of birds or something!
Today I thawed the 5 lb. of rabbit pieces and the 3 lb. of ground rabbit and 2 lb. of chicken hearts. Tonight when he meowed for food, we gave him about 1/4 C. of ground rabbit mixed with a couple tablespoons of the canned organic food (cooked) and cracked an egg over the top. Bart ate the egg, but didn't seem to try the meat. Hard to tell.
Tonight, I started portioning out the rest. The instructions on catnutrition.org were a little daunting... I didn't have some of the tools and haven't been able to find some of the ingredients. And they separate the egg yolks from the whites and discard the whites. Am I hurting my cat feeding them to him? He eats them!
First, I cut the rabbit into big chunks. This proved more difficult than I thought! I will have to invest in some poultry shears. I only did half the package. And I HATE handling raw meat. The smell, the crack of the bones. The poor little animal. I am not made for this! This will be my last cat, I think.
I put a big chunk of bone and rabbit meat in the bottom of a glass pint jar, added a chicken heart, and topped with ground rabbit. Then, when the jar was 2/3 full, I added another chunk of bone and rabbit meat and another chicken heart and a bit more of the ground rabbit. I only filled the jars 3/4 full so that the meat has room to expand when it freezes.
I am not going to try the big chunks of bone and meat on Bart yet, as he still seems squeamish about raw in general. So, I made 2 jars of just the ground meat and put those in the fridge for use this week.
I was very frustrated at my health food store. I ordered Torula yeast, which Tommie from Really Raw Food Forum says gets her cat to eat anything. Two weeks later, I still have not heard from them and when I stopped in, there was no record of my order. Grrr... I got taurine tablets and sprinkled some ground taurine in with my cat's food, but I'd love to get the magical yeast that cats love so much.
Today's Human Food (Thank God I'm a vegan!)
9 a.m. About 10 C. watermelon
12 p.m. About 3 C. sweet cherries
3 p.m. "Ice cream" made with 2 large frozen bananas and 2 1/2 C. frozen mango
5:45 p.m. Zucchini "pasta" with Pomodoro Sauce* (Roma tomatoes, red pepper, sundried tomatoes, a tiny bit of avocado, fresh basil, lemon juice, agave syrup), a large salad with Four Seasons lettuce, yellow pepper and more Pomodoro Sauce
7:30 p.m. A couple of cups of spinach and baby Swiss Chard while working in the garden
The Pomodoro sauce was loosely based on a recipe by Victoria Boutenko that I saw on YouTube. It was really good, but could have been fabulous with really sweet homegrown tomatoes. I also would have preferred to sweeten it with dates, but haven't been able to get any yet.
19 comments:
Hey,
I like your blog! Would you check out my blog, I have added you to it. If you like mine, would you add me to yours? Thanks, my address is:
www.rawfoodpassion.blogspot.com. Have a good day!
April
Greenmama, I hate handling the raw meat for my dog too! But our companion animals deserve their optimal diet just as much as we do.
I'm going to try your pomodoro sauce recipe. There's a few I've made, but I haven't been thrilled with any of them. You'll have to order some dates from The Date People this winter. They are fantastic, and the price can't be beat!
You are very brave! I cannot imagine tackling a rabbit in the kitchen...
How do you make your zucchini pasta? Do you have a gadget that you use? Or do you just "shred" it with a carrot peeler thingy (I am so embarrassed to be blanking on what these are called right now! But, I think that that is the technical term...!)? How do you do it?
Thanks!
Courtney
Yuck! I just had to prep chicken for the next week for my dogs. It's sad & gross but it's what they need.. I look forward to the day when I have enough room to keep a flock of chickens and let my animals hunt for themselves!
I admire your spirit and dedication! I tried years ago to do the raw food thing for the animals, but I just couldn't keep up! I had several cats and two large dogs.
I also considered not having carnivores for pets, but there are so many that need homes that I could not go that route either.
My poor animals just have to do with the best quality pet food I can give them and be thankful for being rescued. Lol!
I am reading through your blog and really enjoying it.
Blessings!
Connie
I just mixed up a batch of yucky raw meat dog food yesterday. Your zucchini pasta looks fabulous.
VW
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your comments of support! My cat is not really taking to the raw meat yet. More about that in today's blog. I am going to keep trying to do better with it.
Marjorie
April,
Thanks for the compliment. I'd be happy to add you to my blog list. I look forward to hearing about your adventures in Greece.
Marjorie
Courtney,
Hi... *Waving to my cool friend, Courtney*
I have a Saladacco garnishing machine that I bought specifically to make zucchini pasta. But... I haven't used it yet. My kids keep playing with it and some of the pieces seem to be missing (I'm sure they're around here somewhere. LOL!)
Anyway, I just grated the zucchini with a regular "cheese" grater. It came out fine and everyone liked it.
Marjorie
Greenmama,
You're sick. I hope someone thaws your cat in pieces or ground it up like you do the rabbit. Your practice displays an utter disregard for life and common decency. You say you are a vegan but in reality you and your cat are cannibals. Perhaps you should just eat each other. I have some rabbit companion animals, and the only thing your website has done is to trigger a thought that perhaps I could slaughter some cats to feed my rabbits. Thanks so much.
I came upon your site after reading today's Wall Street Journal article on Hare Today. As a rabbit owner, I am appalled and disgusted that so-called animal lovers could possibly stand in the kitchen and grind up a whole rabbit as feed. How would you feel if dog owners could buy frozen cats to stick in the blender for puppy chow? I urge you to visit www.rabbit.org to see how rabbits make great companion animals. Perhaps that would give you a different perspective on your actions.
Congrats to you!
Feeding your cats a species appropriate diet is the best you can do for them. Ignore all the ignorant post about carnivores! How very ignorant!
Your cat is an obligate carnivore. It must have high quality meat. There's no way around it, if you want your cat healthy. Knowingly feeding the cat improper food so its health inevitably suffers would be very wrong.
There's no other moral issue here unless one inhumanely killed the food animals.
I think you can see the mindset of some of those commenters, since they write with hate and speak of violence.
Maybe some do "write with hate and speak of violence." But they are not violent people. They are actually sensitive, sympathetic people, who, in this case, love and care for pet rabbits.
Please answer the question (of two posts prior to yours): "How would you feel if dog owners could buy frozen cats to stick in the blender for puppy chow?" Maybe then you will begin to understand how these "hateful, violent" people feel.
So you can't see yourself eating or having your pets eat your pet animals. I don't think anybody would eat their pet or grind it into food. These people are just doing what most of us do on a daily basis feeding our family with chicken, beef, fish, and yes rabbit. Did I go out and butcher my pet rabbit and/or chicken to do this, no I did not, but my children and my carnivore friends need to eat. No one is feeding their pet bunnies to anyone. These are commercially grown animals much like chickens and cattle that are grown for the specific purpose of meat production. I guess I need to speak to that hawk nearby and tell him to start eating corn because it is not acceptable behavior to go after the jackrabbit or rat. It may be an "utter disregard for life and common decency" but would you give your pet rabbit molding alfalfa or the just cut alfalfa out of the field? The same goes with pet owners of cats or dogs they want to give them the freshest food available aside from letting them go out and hunt for themselves, unless you live in the country that is kind of hard to do. I believe most dogs and cats do not usually eat all vegetables anyway they need protein for good nutrition and if we buy pet food don't those companies use cattle and chicken's and they are ground up for that food as well? What is the difference between letting someone else grind the meat up for you or you do it yourself and know it is fresh.
Teresa, you make your point well and I understand your position. But I think the post previous to yours was addressing our society's biased perception of domestic rabbits versus cats/dogs. The rabbits in question are commercially grown, yes, but are derived from the genetic stock of domesticated rabbits.
Based on your logic, it seems you would not be opposed to commercially grown cats and dogs for the specific purpose of meat production. Correct?
You are a truly disgusting person. I hate saying that as I try to be a very open minded person, but to be able to rip a rabbit to shreds to feed your cat is ridiculous. If you can't help but ensure your cat is getting there diet's worth of raw meat, let it hunt for it's own like nature intended. I let my cats outside and they hunt for what they want, otherwise they get the processed cat food. I don't prepare a feast for my animals as that is not what "would happen in nature". If a human can live without real meat, guess what, so can a cat!
I would have to include you and all your other crazy bloggers in that category of "crazy cat ladies" who would do anything to pamper their animals. Try explaining to your children what your doing to Bugs Bunny in the kitchen some time, if they don't cry their little eyes out I'd be a bit worried.
The level of ignorance I am seeing in some of these comments is astounding.
"How would you feel if dog owners could buy frozen cats to stick in the blender for puppy chow?"
Actually, that is what a lot of pet food companies do... render euthanized cats and dogs into meat-and-bone meal and add it to food. Don't believe me?
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/euthanized-pets-dog-food/
http://www.naturalnews.com/012647.html
"I don't prepare a feast for my animals as that is not what 'would happen in nature.'"
Perhaps not, but it is considerably closer to natural food than a bunch of of grains, fillers, rancid fats, and byproducts that have vitamins sprayed on and are then marketed as proper food for a carnivore. Also, in "nature," the cat would torture and play with its prey for animals, which is extremely inhumane and horrible to watch, unlike the quick and virtually painless method used to kill the rabbits.
If a human can live without real meat, guess what, so can a cat!
This statement is the epitome of ignorance. Do some basic biology research. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means that they absolutely can not in any way shape or form live without meat. They do not have the necessary digestive tract to process plant material, and a cat with no meat in its diet will go blind and die from cardiovascular and neurological problems because taurine deficiency.
"Your practice displays an utter disregard for life and common decency. You say you are a vegan but in reality you and your cat are cannibals. Perhaps you should just eat each other."
Displaying a disregard for life and common decency would be wasting the meat of the animals which are slaughtered. In order for Greenmama and her cat to be "cannibals," Greenmama, who does not consume any meat at all, would have to eat other humans, and the cat would have to eat other cats. If you are going to try and insult someone, know the definition of the words you are using, otherwise you just show your ignorance.
Commercial food is unhealthy for cats. This person is trying to give her cat, who did not choose to be her pet, the best nutrition possible and should be commended. If someone has an issue with the nutritional requirements of carnivorous pets, they should not own those pets in the first place. She is doing her best for the health of her cat, which should be the responsibility of all pet owners since we force these animals to live with us. Doing otherwise is an extreme form of negligence bordering on cruelty.
I have not had a cat since 2007. We moved and when we did so, the cat took off into the wilds. We caught glimpses of him a couple years later (he's a very distinctive-looking cat) and he looked quite healthy, so he must be doing fine hunting. Luckily he was fixed, so he is not making babies.
Cats being let out to hunt would be optimal for the cats, but possibly not for threatened and endangered songbirds and other species. The Audubon Society recommends that cat owners keep their cats inside or on a leash at all times. Cats are not native to this continent, they breed rapidly and have few natural controls.
There is a lot of debate on this issue and I truly can see all sides compassionately. I don't think there's a hard and fast answer and I'm a bit wary of people who do.
Here's where I come down on the issues... Unlike my cat, I am not a carnivore, and I don't enjoy playing with or eating corpses of animals. I have never bonded with animals the way I do with people, although I have respect for those whose pets are members of their family. So I'm not a species-ist when it comes to harming animals... for some people horses and rabbits are taboo, but cows and chickens are not. I don't favor any specific animal over another.
Above all, I believe that it's important for humans to tread as lightly as possible on Mother Earth, and try to occupy our niche, rather than seeing the Earth and it's creatures as items for me to consume and discard. So, I don't begrudge the cat eating the rabbit, as is his natural place on the food chain, and I don't believe we need to convert our predator companions into vegans. I do have a problem with people raising animals for food (that destroys our bodies), holding them captive, destroying natural habitat, polluting the atmosphere and the water, and destroying their simple enjoyment of life and connections with family members.
I don't have any plans to get another carnivore pet.
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