what do u feed ur 4-footed furry friends? page 2

[bloodorchid]

let's see..

taste of the wild, chicken thighs, chicken legs, chicken wings, this week i got them hearts and gizzards. avocado, butter, cheese.. just random bits of what i'm eating

[Tercio]

My hounds get Earthborn grain-free and whatever primal foods they can scavenge off me. The basset is always there when veggies are being chopped and eats everything but onions. I add a splash of coconut oil to their food about 1/2 the time. They seem to like it and have very shiny coats. I also have a good source for raw turkey necks, about 1/2 go in the broth pot and the other to them. But the funny thing is these are the first dogs ever that don't like avocado. Ah well, more for me.

[Primal123]

Our dog and 16 year old cat eat a raw diet. Both eat raw chicken, beef liver, rabbit, the dog gets raw beef bones as treats and the cat eats raw fish. Dog likes to eat sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and some left over veggies, eggs if I break one. Oh and both love coconut oil

[waterjen]

Houdini, my 5-year-old 55-lb lab-mix rescue, eats mostly raw. Usually chicken and some organ meats. Sometimes I buy those organ meats specifically for her. A few weeks ago after gathering up some nerve, I bought beef liver and beef kidney with the intention of eating them myself. The smell of the liver convinced me it wasn't going anywhere near my mouth, so Houdini feasted on that. Then I got a bit worried about preparing the kidneys, so with a certain amount of relief I gave those to a very grateful hound. Sometimes I splurge and get her duck or rabbit. Never raw pork. Sometimes it's beef muscle meat and bones, but that's gotten a bit expensive too. She also gets eggs (raw or scrambled).
She loves coconut oil, as well. She'll lick it off my skin if I don't stop her, so usually what I do is make her sit patiently while I apply the oil to myself, and then I scoop out a small dollop and let her lick that off my finger. She usually gets a dollop of coconut oil every day.
When I started making bone broth, I decided to give her the mushy veggies. I make broth about once a week, so I spread out the veg delivery to the dog so she gets them a few times a week. She devours them.
When I made the switch from veg head to primal -- you should have seen me at the grocery, buying veg for me and meat for the dog -- I started giving her small cooked scraps of meat/veg, and she seems to be doing better than ever with this addition. She particularly likes when I have bacon for brekkie or when I bake extra chicken and share a few scraps with her as I'm pulling the meat off the bones for later ease in cooking. I think she's even learning to like freshly ground black pepper, which I eat on just about anything but chocolate.
For treats, I like to do the dried sweet potato jerky or dried liver bits. If I'm eating nuts, I'll sometimes share those with her. She really likes the raw almonds from the farmer's market. Right now I'm treating her from a small container of Stella & Chewy's Carnivore Kisses (100% salmon) that Houdini loves, but I think stink. What is it with dogs totally digging the stinky stuff?


The cat is a different story. I had her on raw for about 2 months when she took herself off it, stealing food from the neighbor cat's dish. So we're back on dry but with a little cooked chicken or bacon if she seems interested. Or if I'm having seafood, I tend to offer her little bits of it, and she seems to like that as well. She tends to have a big brekkie and then graze, hitting the food dish periodically between naps. She's indoor-outdoor, at an appropriate weight (8lb), 8 years old. I would love to hear what people have had success with in feeding their kitties. I'm not opposed to spending the money -- I'd rather buy good food and have a healthy kitty for years and years than save money now by buying crappy kibble and then have horrendous vet bills later on.

[Silvergirl]

The funny thing is my dogs have been Primal for over a year, me a couple of months. I feed them a ratio of two meat to one mixed vegetables, with added calcium, salmon oil and coconut oil, and digestive enzymes. Their blood work has improved a lot.

[JoanieL]

basically, i just need a cheap and easy, primal way to thicken up some beef broth (think stew broth but without onions and garlic, which are poisonous to dogs).

I don't see arrowroot specifically addressed in Mark's blog, but it is from a non-grain plant product and is used for thickening gravies, fruit sauces, etc.

[primalrob]

I don't see arrowroot specifically addressed in Mark's blog, but it is from a non-grain plant product and is used for thickening gravies, fruit sauces, etc.

thanks. we'll have to get that in his monday "is it primal" series.

[phigment]

Just thought about it, before I switched his food he used to be a poo eater unless I caught him. Now he doesn't even try to snatch it. Also fleas are not as bad.

[namelesswonder]

i don't want to hijack, but i'm also wondering if anyone knows of a good way to make a flourless gravy or sauce to pour over pet food. my dog gets a wet/dry mix for dinner, but just dry in the morning...and lately he has been looking down at his bowl, then back at me with those 'WTF? it's dry. go get me a can of awesome animal parts' eyes. but, he'll go nuts on that dry food if a little gravy is dripped on it. basically, i just need a cheap and easy, primal way to thicken up some beef broth (think stew broth but without onions and garlic, which are poisonous to dogs).

Why not just some fat? I don't know about fat requirements for dogs, but I know my parents' dog loves a bit of olive oil drizzled on her food. She used to not eat unless there was oil on it. Coconut oil is supposed to be good for animals too.

I feed my cat Nature's Variety chicken kibble, because it's their cheapest grain-free option. She also gets meat juice (from defrosted meat) and gristle/trimmings. I don't think I could ever go 100% raw with her food because the getting all the nutrients balanced would be a lot more work than I'm willing to invest. When they're having deals, I pick her up some canned grain-free food. She no longer gets visible dander, but she's still rather fat. She was 12 lbs in May, and I feed her enough food for an 8-10 lb cat (what's recommended for a heavier cat that needs to lose weight).

[Wildrose]

My cats eat Whiskas. They'll also eat the dried Shih-Tzu food we got for the dog, which she refuses to eat. XD The younger cats refuse to eat anything but hard... and whatever I happen to be eating. It's probably too late to try to get them to eat real food.

The dogs, on the other hand, are spoiled rotten. Chicken legs is their favorite. They also get grain free soft food, including this frozen raw food that's made from ground chicken backs. The smaller dog will eat fish, so he tends to get some whenever we make it. And they'll both eat steak. Spoiled critters!