bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 17, 2011 9:00:16 GMT
remember when well meaning friends, relatives and the doctor would bang on about giving up smoking?
I know I would get defensive if not down right annoyed.... I didnt need to be given the lecture or guilt trip. I'm not saying thats what your doing, but I remember being ultra sensitive if anyone mentioned smoking habits, and my negative response defensiveness was an automatic reaction.
Ive had most of my friends ask me about the e-cigs, some are impressed, others less so. I dont bang on about it, all I say is that its been an amazingly easy lifestyle change for me. I have swapped real fags for a fake one which to me tastes better and is more socially acceptable.
I think my smoker friends have fallen into two camps -
There are those that feel I have been corrupted to the dark side. After all I dont even show them the solidarity of standing outside in the rain to vape, I sit in the cafe (ok I admit i might look a little smug).
Others who are fascinated, but put off by either start up costs, fear, embarrassment or just general worry about taste and the thought of "giving up". These guys are the ones who are asking to try it, talking about it and the group I think more likely to consider the switch at some time soon.
I do feel a bit like a test subject. My every move is being analysed to see whether i will crumble, or if it really is as easy as it seems! Its like being in a goldfish bowl!
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 17, 2011 8:43:26 GMT
personally i wouldnt waste your money on a smaller grinder, all the ones ive tried just dont last for very long, especially when you are feeding a larger dog or multiples. Re the bashing... try putting it in a bag first  (the large tie handle freezer bags are ideal), and then cover with a tea towel just incase any bones poke through the bag. |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 16:02:55 GMT
and breathe! I think i'll just shut up now lol!
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 16:02:35 GMT
apologies for information overload....
but
While we are on the subject of cats and not wanting to bore you, there is such thing in the cat world termed a taurine bomb.
Heart (especially poultry heart)
gizzards
diaphragm
shellfish
The above are all VERY high in their taurine content, and as such should really be included as part of their everyday diet. As mentioned in the first post taurine is ESSENTIAL To cats, and along with blindness it can and does cause heart failure which is irreversable and will cause the death of your cat.
If you cant source some of the above or just want to be doubly sure, many many raw feeders choose to give a taurine supplement. Taurine is not stored in the tissues so any excess will be extreted in the urine. The supplement comes in a powder form, will last for AGES, and you just mix a little with water and sprinkle on the food, its also tasteless so doesnt interfere with a cats general fussyness.
To source your bones, carcasses, meats and especially some of the more unusual things you dont find in a supermarket (like gizzards), try local butches, gamekeepers, shooting clubs (remember no lead pellets and to remove all shot before feeding), and ethnic shops. Many many halal or similar butchers sell gizzards, poultry hearts, diaphragm etc and its generally cheap as chips! Get friendly with a traditional butcher and you might find you have an endless supply of chicken carcasses due to todays consumers preferring to buy only breast meats. Gamekeepers are also an excellent source of rabbits.
Finally - DO NOT feed only minced meats. Taurine breaks down during the processing and so what otherwise would normally be a balanced diet suddenly becomes deadly. Chopped meats are ok, minced not. I do feed mince to mine sometimes, but as part of their balanced diet, along with whole poultry heats to compensate for any taurine loss.
Supplements you might want to consider....
Salmon oil - Excellent source of nutrients and good fats
goose fat - especially if you are feeding mainly lean meats such as rabbit or chicken
slippery elm - good to calm an upset stomach
peppermint oil - again good for digestion
If your pets poo's start to become hard and white you are feeding too much bone. Equally if they suffer constipation. A tin of pilchards in tomato sauce generally gets things moving again.
Dont forget some nice fish too makes a lovely addition to the diet! Especially whole oily fish such as fresh sardines or mackerel.
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 15:52:21 GMT
hiya lynda.... for a gulper its generally about getting more hands on. First bash the bone with a rolling pin (NEVER cut into chuncks with a knife), and hold onto the other wnd while he munches. This way even if he gulps it, it will digest easier and be much less likely to cause obstruction. However if he is just crunching fast on a chicken wing and not gulping whole i wouldnt worry too much.
With bones the general rule is not to feed the weight bearing bones, such as legs of the larger animals. So no beef, lamb, venison or pork legs, or necks (pork should also only be from uk herds never from eu).
Some feeders will give the larger bones as recreational only - e.g. something to chew on that they cant swallow, but not a part of their main diet. There is a bit of a mixed feeling about this, as the larger weight bearing bones are more likely to splinter, break teeth and cause obstructions. As a general rule I dont advise giving these to the larger more powerful dogs, as they are more likely to splinter them.
Bones to feed:
poultry - any - including the whole carcass
game birds - again up to the whole carcass
feeder rodents/chicks (from the local reptile store) - whole carcass
small game animals such as rabbit - whole carcass
For larger poultry such as turkey or goose, judge by your dog/cat and how well they are chomping on their food. I do feed turkey neck and legs to the cats and dog BUT they have been raw feeding since birth generally. My dog billy will also occasionally get some leg of pork/lamb as a recreational treat but its a very very occasional thing.
On top of the whole carcass, remember that anything chicken sized or smaller can (and should if you can get them) be fed virtually whole. Get the butcher to take out the intestines and bum, but to leave the rest inside. You then have a balanced meal in one!
Freeze all whole and game carcasses (especially wild caught) before feeding.
IF all else fails, you can feed ground bones. They dont offer the same tooth cleaning and muscle strengthening benefits, but will still ensure a balanced diet. DAF, and many of the other barf suppliers include 5-10% ground bone in their mixes. You need to take this into account if your not making your food from scratch.
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 9:20:45 GMT
liver - dont overdo it, otherwise your at risk of causing damage from too much vit A. For an alternative to poultry bone, get some lamb breast bones (often free from the butchers  ), get the butcher to cut the knobbly bit off and then feed within the normal bone requirements for your particular diet formula. I tend to stick to the 80/10/10 with my dog, and the occasional bit of veggie to simulate a more wild diet. |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 9:09:28 GMT
thanks Scylla, raw feeding is something I'm quite passionate about.... but even I will admit that there are some good commercial diets out there.... just not usually found in vets surgerys or supermarkets.
For a good wet (much prefer wet to dry... but thats a whole other thread) commercial try bozita, toplife (bozita in a different case essentially and available in asda), feline feyre black (again asda, morrisons or home bargains) or smilla.... those offer good value and good nutrition.
For dry, try orijen, acana, ziwi peak (ziwi isnt exactly a dry - its more like a jerky)... which at least have very high meat contents.
Raw feeding isnt for everyone, and with cats its essential to get it right every time.
I generally live by the mantra
"a well balanced raw diet will ALWAYS be better than commercial, but any commercial diet will ALWAYS be better than an unbalanced raw diet"
My final tip, and speaking from experience here, ensure your cats can and do accept and digest some sort of commercial food, and keep this in stock. I feed mine a commercial meal once or twice a week. I struggled badly when we had severe snows a couple of years ago and my supplier couldnt get through, I ran out of RAW, couldnt get to the supermarket and basically my cats had to live on crappy quality local shop brands. This meant about 3 weeks of bum gravy for me to deal with. My little boy is also in and out of hospital, and this means relying on friends and neighbours to feed and care for my cats. In these times they tend to stick to the commercial, as RAW is quite a daunting prospect even if I have it already bagged into portions.
So just incase you ever have a hospital stay, the weather causes chaos or some other emergency make sure you have a stock of good quality commercial available at home for you or a neighbour to feed.
as to the RAW, many feeders tend to go for the franken-prey approach. This means that you are essentially ensuring you get as near to a whole prey item in terms of content per meal. I find this method the easiest to follow and easiest to ensure overall balance.
sorry I'm rambling now lol!
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 6:52:28 GMT
not a fan but i live about 5min from the local stadium
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 16, 2011 6:46:02 GMT
if I can help Ive been feeding RAW (not barf - cats do NOT need veggies) to my cats for 15yrs |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 15, 2011 20:55:40 GMT
will sort you some pics asap! |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 15, 2011 19:41:37 GMT
I'm vaping a very nice strawberry at the moment, and have some praline and a caramel to try too I'm going to try sweetening up the tobacco ones (a 5ml bottle just to try), but if it doesnt work then i'll list the full bottles I have for swapping. |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 15, 2011 18:00:14 GMT
I have a red-silver MC, along with several mogs , and a small black hairy mutt to keep them all under control! |
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 15, 2011 17:03:32 GMT
hi Chrissie, is that a MC in your avatar?
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bluecow1980
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Post by bluecow1980 on Mar 15, 2011 16:50:48 GMT
Hiya all, Ive just entered the world of e-cigs after being encouraged by a friend of mine to give them a go. I'm only 1 week in and have made some daft mistakes but slowly getting there. I managed to burn the wick in some of the cartomizers (even the v2's), and ruined them.... but other than that so far so good. I have a Riva 510 (and a ego xl battery) and a kr808d-1. I love them both for different reasons. Anyway I thought I would join after I saw a thread on moneysavingexpert (I'm a long term lurker on there). I do have some questions though! 1 - can i get/use/buy bigger catridges for the riva? (so they last longer between refilling) 2 - Ive found I seem to have really gone off the tobacco flavoured juices  . I'm only 2 weeks into use, but the tobacco flavours are too smokey for me. I still have LOADS of tobacco juices left though... can i add other flavours to them to mask the taste? I'm working on a seriously tight budget here lol! Cheers for any advice or words of wisdom! |
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(the large tie handle freezer bags are ideal), and then cover with a tea towel just incase any bones poke through the bag.
), get the butcher to cut the knobbly bit off and then feed within the normal bone requirements for your particular diet formula.
. I'm only 2 weeks into use, but the tobacco flavours are too smokey for me. I still have LOADS of tobacco juices left though... can i add other flavours to them to mask the taste?