Expert: KC - 1/4/2008

Question
I have an approx. 8 month old male kitten/cat. He was a kitten in May when we found his family under an old house. I am not sure how much I should be feeding him per day and when he should be fed during the day/night. He is being fed only dry Purina complete formula at this time. I would like him to learn to hunt for wild game as well. I live in an RV at a State Park. How long should he stay outside when it is 20 degrees or 30 degrees? What about raw chix? I am trying to make sure he is being fed healthy with a balance of dry and moist, without being too expensive. I am not sure where to begin. I am on a strict budget. Can you teach a cat to hunt? Will feeding him raw chix. spoil him from hunting? I can also give him his shots if I knew which ones to give him. More questions later.
Janet & "Silver"

Answer
Hi Janet,

That is a wonderful question!  So many people just feed them however much they will eat and let them 'graze' all day.  However, by allowing them to graze, many end up facing the consequences of an overweight, unhealthy, and possibly diabetic cat when it becomes an adult.

As a general rule, I feed both my cats and dogs only twice per day.  They are given treats in between, on occasion, but are never allowed to graze (snack) all day long, as all carnivores are meant to eat larger portions at once rather than frequent small portions.  This is better to maintain weight, healthy teeth, stomach, and gastrointestinal tract.  Younger kittens and puppies need more frequent meals, but at around 6 months old, the twice a day diet should be perfect.  

I always feed both canned and dry for various reasons and only feed a high quality, super premium food.  I also feed raw, as it is excellent for them.  However, you can't safely feed ONLY raw without proper supplements or they will face serious problems later on...as it's crucial that cats receive the proper amount of taurine to prevent blindness and eye disorders.  Therefore, I feed one of the quality brands in addition to raw so I don't have to worry about supplementation.  Please read some of my past answers regarding food brands, by-products, and commercial food ingredients.  The better the food, the less your pet will eat and the fewer digestive problems you will notice.  Science Diet, Eukanuba, and some of the other so called 'top' brands do not contain quality ingredients, sadly, and can contain harmful fillers.  Purina, 9 Lives, etc. are among the worst.  You are better off buying a high quality food like Wellness and/or buying supplements and feeding a LOT of raw (chicken, beef, pork, etc.) than feeding a cheap food.  To cut cost you can purchase a quality food in only dry (Wellness and Nature's Variety make an excellent grain-free, by-product free dry) and just feeding a small amount of it at each meal and feeding raw to fill them up.  The dry will last a long time this way and you won't be sacrificing your cat's long term health as you would with a cheaper brand.  Not to mention, the premium foods are very less likely to lead to diabetes and weight problems...not to mention other health issues which can all be quite costly to treat.

I personally feed all of my cats the Nature's Variety, Wellness, and/or the Innova brands of food.  They are all made from human-grade, organic ingredients with no fillers and grains (grains contain carbs and sugars which increase weight and are horrible for cats).  I offer 1/4 to 1/2 of canned food both a.m. and p.m. (slightly less for younger cats).  As soon as they walk away from the bowl, I immediately pick it up and offer dry.  The dry is left down for 10 minutes, max, and then picked up.  No food is left down during the day.  I occasinally offer a few kernels of dry during the day for a treat or else cooked or raw chicken, beef, organic treats, etc.  I usually feed around 12 hours apart also, give or take an hour or two.  With this schedule it will take a cat that is used to grazing all day about a week or two to get used to it without begging a lot...they have to learn to fill up at meals, which is a natural carnivore diet, rather than snack and never get completely full.  Also, cheap dry which is loaded in grains, when they graze on it, causes blood glucose spikes every time they nibble on it...they become addicted to it and when the blood glucose level drops, they become hungry again.  It's basically the same cycle you see in people who eat a lot of sweets or junk food.  A proper diet will prevent this and when they fill up on a good food won't feel hungry all day long and want to nibble on dry.  Once they are used to it, they should seem totally satisfied if you are using a good quality food.  Also, the higher the protein content, the more filling it will be.  You will also notice on this feeding schedule that you will be scooping the litter box at regular times, once in the morning and once at night after meals.  If you only have one cat, then once a day may be sufficient.  

So, regarding your question about feeding raw...it's wonderful for cats!  But do get a truly premium food (or a supplement like Feline Platinum Performance (do a web search) to add or mix with the raw.  Adding raw won't deter from them trying to hunt.  However, domestic animals are often assumed to be able to hunt and feed themselves...this is simply not true.  Cats, and especially domesticated dogs, when released into the wild end up scavenging for food.  Most dogs starve to death, while a few of the lucky cats end up living a few years provided there is plenty of game.  As a cat, he will try to hunt and may cats small birds, etc.  It's very rare that one will catch a rabbit or something large enough and on a regular basis to sustain themself for very long w/out relying on humans for food.  Now...when choosing raw.  DO get chicken in all forms.  Until he gets used to it, cut it into small pieces.  DO include bones...cooked bones of all kinds are dangerous to animals because they splinter and break.  However, raw bones (yes, even chicken) are perfectly fine.  Thier digestive tracts are very short compared to humans (because they are carnivores) and the roughage from the bones is good for their digestion.  I feed chicken wings (cut up with the bones), legs, hind quarters, etc.  For beef, you can feed anything from burger meat (don't get the cheapest b/c the fat content will cause major diarrhea), flat steak, etc...anything that is on sale.  ...same for pork.  I have 4 cats and 2 German Shepherds...all get raw in addition to their regular food.  I look for sales and stock up, load the freezer, and then pull out their daily meals a day or two in advance.  This works great.  If you do this and are selective in purchasing meats on sale, and add them to a quality dry (or canned) your cat will get a perfect diet.  

Regarding the weather, 20-30 degrees is way too cold for a 6 month old kitten.  Take a cheap foam cooler or insulated box and cut a hole in it and put a blanket inside...this will help if he's outside.  However, preferably, he would come in during the cold nights and come in/out during the day as he chooses.  Also, since you are in a park, PLEASE keep a collar with a name tag on him should he become lost or someone think he's a stray.  I keep these tags on all of my pets:  http://luckypet.com/  When you purchase a collar, make sure it's snug enough so when in the woods he can't slide if off his head.  Check it regularly though so that it won't become too tight as he's growing.  Also, if you order one from that site, request the split "O" ring attachment...these are great for attaching their rabies tags later on and are smaller than the S hooks.

Now, vaccinations...  I would really really recommend giving him a vaccine combo.  It's FVRCP-C (in various brands)...it will vaccinate against the respiratory viruses and feline distemper, among others.  I would also include FeLV, which is the feline leukemia vaccine.  Also, definitely vaccinate against rabies and keep the tag on him...especially if other campers will see him prowling around.  He'll need 2 sets of the FVRCP-C and FeLV vaccines, 4 weeks apart.  He'll only need 1 Rabies per year.  If you are trying to save money, please get him these initial vaccinations and then repeat them in a year (will only take one of each one yearly).  Then, once they have full immunity, although against the advice of vets, they should be immune for several years so you won't have to repeat annually thereafter.  Also, get your vet to worm him once for Cestodes and Roundworms...you don't have to pay money for the test, just ask for the wormers and get him to repeat them when you go back for the second (last) set of shots.  The cheaper wormers from Wal-Mart and feedstores don't work very well at all.   

Hope this helps.  If you have further questions don't hesitate to ask :-)