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This is probably the most common question next to "Is it safe" that raw supporters hear from those who are new to raw feeding or skeptical of it. So here are the directions on how you go about calculating how much to feed, there is also an excel program that another member has that will hopefully be posted in this thread soon to make it easier for all those with excel, but this thread will show you all exactly how it is calculated.
Things to remember are that most raw feeders start out feeding 2 or 3% of their cat's body weight. As their cat eats raw for a while they will see if the cat is maintaining a good weight, if he's loosing too much add more food, if he's gaining feed less. If he seems hungry but is a good weight feed more and see what happens.
Also remember most of us use the model of feeding that says feed 80% of your cat's diet in muscle meat (includes heart and gizzard), 10% in bone (raw, meaty bones, they will probably not eat a plain bone), 5% in liver and 5% in "other" (non-liver) organ (like Kidney, Pancreas, tripe, spleen etc. but not heart). Again adjust as needed. Too much bone can constipate a kitty and so can not enough liver. If your cat is constipated adjust those. Remember though that a cat on raw may only poop every three days! If your cat is straining to go that's when you can worry about constipation.
So here we go, I'll write my examples as if I had a 9 pound cat and was feeding 2% of his body weight.
First change your cat's weight from pounds to ounces, multiply his weight in pounds by 16:
9x16=144 oz.
Then take that number (cat's weight in ounces)and find out what 2% of that is by multiplying the weight by .02 (if you feed 3% multiply by .03, 4% is .04 etc.) and this will tell you how much FOOD total the cat should eat each day:
144x.02=2.88 oz FOOD PER DAY
Because it would be a hassle to feed a balanced meal every day, with 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ EVERY day, I suggests balancing those percentages out over the week. So in ONE WEEK you should have fed 80% meat, 10% bone 5% liver and 5% other organ. You can have days without any bone or any organ or just a raw meaty bone.
So we want to find out the total amount of food the cat should eat in one WEEK, we just multiply the daily amount by 7:
2.88x7= 20.16 oz. FOOD PER WEEK
once you have that it's time to calculate specific area of the diet, the meat, bones and organs.
To find amount of meat fed in one week, multiply the total amount of food by .8 (80%):
20.16x.8=16.13 oz of meat per week
For bone in a week you multiply the total amount of food in a week by .1 (10%):
20.16x.1=2.02 oz. of bone per week
for liver you multiply the total amount of food in a week by .05 (5%):
20.16x.05=1.01 oz of Liver in one week
For the "other" (non-liver) organ you multiply the total amount of food per week by .05 (5%):
20.16x.05=1.01 0z. of "other" organ per week
So that's easy enough a 9 pound cat on 2% of his body weight would get:
16.13 oz. of meat, 2.02 oz. of bone, 1.01 oz. of liver and 1.01 oz. of "other" organ every week and each day the cat would get 2.88 ounces of that. i would split those 2.88 ounces in to two meals each day though.
now, no freaking out about it, it's simpler than it looks. you don't have to measure for the rest of your life, these just give you a good place to start, something to help you gauge what the proper amounts look like, you don't have to be perfect. I'd measure for the first week or so and then, once you have an idea of what all these amounts look like, just go by your memory of approximate size. Then as I said, adjust amounts as your cat's body needs it.
So basically feed meat every meal, unless your feeding a raw meaty bone (RMB) in which case, if your cat is not a huge eater, you can skip meat. Give a RMB every three days or so and give the organs once or twice a week each.
Now that you understand how it works, hopefully the excel sheet will be posted shortly for you all to do it the easy way
Things to remember are that most raw feeders start out feeding 2 or 3% of their cat's body weight. As their cat eats raw for a while they will see if the cat is maintaining a good weight, if he's loosing too much add more food, if he's gaining feed less. If he seems hungry but is a good weight feed more and see what happens.
Also remember most of us use the model of feeding that says feed 80% of your cat's diet in muscle meat (includes heart and gizzard), 10% in bone (raw, meaty bones, they will probably not eat a plain bone), 5% in liver and 5% in "other" (non-liver) organ (like Kidney, Pancreas, tripe, spleen etc. but not heart). Again adjust as needed. Too much bone can constipate a kitty and so can not enough liver. If your cat is constipated adjust those. Remember though that a cat on raw may only poop every three days! If your cat is straining to go that's when you can worry about constipation.
So here we go, I'll write my examples as if I had a 9 pound cat and was feeding 2% of his body weight.
First change your cat's weight from pounds to ounces, multiply his weight in pounds by 16:
9x16=144 oz.
Then take that number (cat's weight in ounces)and find out what 2% of that is by multiplying the weight by .02 (if you feed 3% multiply by .03, 4% is .04 etc.) and this will tell you how much FOOD total the cat should eat each day:
144x.02=2.88 oz FOOD PER DAY
Because it would be a hassle to feed a balanced meal every day, with 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ EVERY day, I suggests balancing those percentages out over the week. So in ONE WEEK you should have fed 80% meat, 10% bone 5% liver and 5% other organ. You can have days without any bone or any organ or just a raw meaty bone.
So we want to find out the total amount of food the cat should eat in one WEEK, we just multiply the daily amount by 7:
2.88x7= 20.16 oz. FOOD PER WEEK
once you have that it's time to calculate specific area of the diet, the meat, bones and organs.
To find amount of meat fed in one week, multiply the total amount of food by .8 (80%):
20.16x.8=16.13 oz of meat per week
For bone in a week you multiply the total amount of food in a week by .1 (10%):
20.16x.1=2.02 oz. of bone per week
for liver you multiply the total amount of food in a week by .05 (5%):
20.16x.05=1.01 oz of Liver in one week
For the "other" (non-liver) organ you multiply the total amount of food per week by .05 (5%):
20.16x.05=1.01 0z. of "other" organ per week
So that's easy enough a 9 pound cat on 2% of his body weight would get:
16.13 oz. of meat, 2.02 oz. of bone, 1.01 oz. of liver and 1.01 oz. of "other" organ every week and each day the cat would get 2.88 ounces of that. i would split those 2.88 ounces in to two meals each day though.
now, no freaking out about it, it's simpler than it looks. you don't have to measure for the rest of your life, these just give you a good place to start, something to help you gauge what the proper amounts look like, you don't have to be perfect. I'd measure for the first week or so and then, once you have an idea of what all these amounts look like, just go by your memory of approximate size. Then as I said, adjust amounts as your cat's body needs it.
So basically feed meat every meal, unless your feeding a raw meaty bone (RMB) in which case, if your cat is not a huge eater, you can skip meat. Give a RMB every three days or so and give the organs once or twice a week each.
Now that you understand how it works, hopefully the excel sheet will be posted shortly for you all to do it the easy way
