Today Winston got 3 oz of raw food (same as yesterday). His stool just now bordered on kinda wet. I could see where he had backed up against the jumbo litter box wall and while most of the poop was Ok the latter part of it must have *shot* out and was a bit wet. Crap! I finally find something that Winston wants to eat besides his Friskies gravey that gives him the runs now too and I overdid it.

On the other hand Alaska didn't want anything to do with the raw food diet today. She wants her Friskies stinky senior food with the gravey too. She wouldn't eat her raw food.

What did I learn today?
1) Don't give Winston so much raw food or he may have the poopy poos with this like everything else.
2) Give Alaska the raw food diet first before offering other food to make sure she gets the best diet she can as well.
3)Lola the dog will still eat anything (no I'm not giving her the raw cat food as I have raw food for her too)!'

Live and learn here...

Here's a few things to add to your new knowledge:

1.) Winston is old, so his system may have to build up to 3oz. Try 2.5oz for 3-5 days and then go to 3oz. I'm sure he'll be able to handle it once his digestion gets used to it. Several of mine have a similar problem if I feed pork or lamb for more than 1 meal a day -- poops start getting mushy.

2.) Even cats raised on raw food will prefer crappy commercial food if given a choice. Drives me nuts!!! I honestly believe that companies put something in it to attract and addict cats. I've had few cats that once on raw will refuse all commercial food -- few as in 2 that I can think of.

3.) Left over cat food can be fed to dogs. It's better to give it to Lola than to throw it out.

um.. ok .. a few more questions if you don't mind
1) I took 2 extra servings of raw food (1oz each) from freezer as I thought Alaska would eat them but she didn't eat the first one so they are now defrosted and still in the fridge. They've not been left outside or anything just in the fridge. Will they be OK to use tomorrow?

2)re the raw food diet for cats so it's unlike the canned food or kibble re Ok to feed to Lola? I guess an oz wouldn't hurt her I just thought the raw dog food was somehow made up differently. I'm getting a bit nutz w/raw food here as you can see.

Lola is a bit overweight. She's easily 20 to 21 lbs and should be something like 15/16 or 17 max. She's a vacumn cleaner when it comes to food and if I turn my back or am not watching her every single stinkin' move she's all over whatever she can find to eat.

This is the frustrating thing about spending really good $ to feed Lola right as she messes it up picking up crap off the street in a nanosecond and then is really serious about not letting me take it away from her or dropping it. However I still want to do the best I can by her food wise.

As long as I'm between naps, questions are fine.

1.) Robbie can only eat beef which is often more expensive than turkey so he has his stuff and the rest get turkey. One pound of beef mixed up will take him 3-4 days to eat. I mix it up, feed him, refrigerate the rest until gone. The beef does turn brownish on the outside, which is oxidation, but the inside is still pink. While the oxidized part has less vitamins due to oxidation, it's a tiny fraction of the amount he gets. As for germs, most bacteria can't grow or grown extremely slowly at refrigerator temperatures. Bottomline, it's never hurt him and if I thought it would, I wouldn't give it to him. So, defrosted and in the fridge for 24-48 hours shouldn't be a problem at all.

2.) The difference between dogs and cats in terms of nutritional requirements is mainly the proportion of protein. Cats need about 50% more protein to survive than a dog. Survive is the key word. While dogs are scavengers and can digest carbs fairly well, many raw-dog owners feed only meat, organs, and bones -- basically a chunky version of the raw cat food. Dogs on a high meat diet will do fine. The reason most owners add grains to the raw dog food is cost -- I can't imagine feeding a rottie on all raw meat diet! Hubby's dogs get my cat food with some added rice, pasta, leftover casserole, etc, just to "fill them up" so they don't feel so hungry so soon -- it's not that the food is too rich, it's all doggie psychology! So, Lola can eat the leftovers with no problems.

3.) About Lola eating other things -- good luck! Just remember, it could be worse. Hubby's one dog taught the second one the joys of cat poop. It does mean we clean the cat boxes 2-3 times a day to avoid doggie problems.

Thanks Linda!
Re the kitty poops..yep Lola seemed to think they're a delicacy/treat too so up went the baby gate cutting her off from the bathroom and bedroom and one preventing her from getting into the kitchen! Sometimes I forget and remove them as I'm not quite so nimble in the a.m. (tripping over them) and zip.. there goes Flash/I mean Lola!