I’ve certainly tested a lot of cat feeding products over the years, and I have several favorites, but at the moment this is my preferred set-up. I’m completely in love with the multi-cat raised feeders from Catswall Design, available in the US through WoofCenter.com.
I’m actually so impressed with every little detail about how these feeders are designed, I marvel at them every time I feed the cats, no kidding. First, they come in the most fabulous packaging, a brown kraft box with a simple modern label and everything neatly fitted inside the box. As a designer, that made receiving them a special treat. The feeders are really easy to assemble and they are incredibly sturdy with a heavy weighted base. The smooth plastic is very easy to wipe clean.
One of the coolest features is the ant trap that’s built into the base. This is a great feature if you have pesky ants (which we get occasionally as the seasons change). The ants get trapped in the base so they can’t crawl up into the food. This is a cool feature, but it also creates the only issue I have with these feeders. If crumbs (or ants) get down in the trap it’s a little tricky to get them out, not impossible, but you have to shake them out. This is because the base comes pre-assembled as a single part, so I guess it’s a trade off for easy assembly. Nothing’s perfect.
I feed twelve cats, so what I love the most about these feeders is that they allow me to pick up and put down six bowls at once. The food is raised to just the right height and the removable stainless steel bowls are easy to clean. The stylized cat handles are absolutely perfect for lifting and carrying. And they’re adorable!
I’m also obsessed with the new silicone pet feeding mats from PetFusion
My thoughts about feeding cats…
I do not write about what to feed your cat. Cat food and nutrition is not my area of expertise as a writer, I only know what I’ve learned from my experience feeding my own cats. But for those of you interested, I can share what I’m currently feeding my cats and why.
My cats are on an entirely raw food diet, because it is my experience that they do better when they eat raw food. By better, I mean their coats are shinier, their eyes are clearer, and some chronic problems like arthritis and even asthma have cleared up when they are eating a raw food diet.
Feeding a raw food diet isn’t for everyone, it requires set mealtimes and careful food handling procedures (one of the biggest complaints from veterinarians is that raw food, when handled incorrectly, can make everyone in the house sick — both cats and humans). That said, a raw food diet is the closest thing to what cats would eat in the wild, therefore giving them the most complete species appropriate nutrition.
There are lots of different ways to feed your cats a raw food diet. You can make your own raw food or you can purchase freeze dried or frozen raw food. I am currently feeding Bravo Blend Chicken frozen raw food, which comes in a 5 lb. chub. My twelve cats eat 2.5 lbs of raw food per day in two separate feedings. I’ve also used Nature’s Variety Instinct frozen raw, which comes in patties or smaller medallions, perfect for one or two cats or if you just want to give raw food a try. Simply defrost one or two medallions at a time.
Obviously, the health and wellbeing of my cats comes first, but there is one HUGE BENEFIT to feeding cats a raw food diet: THE LITTER BOX IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! There is practically no odor from solids, no diarrhea or constipation — it all seems to regulate, there’s actually very little to scoop and what there is to scoop is like compressed sawdust. Total transformation!
A resource for raw feeding
Switching to a raw food diet may take some getting used to for both you and your cats, but there is an excellent resource that can answer any question you have. The Feline Nutrition Education Society is a non-profit organization that provides information, recipes, and guidance for transitioning your cats to a raw food diet. Visit their website feline-nutrition.org. They are also currently running an Indie Gogo campaign to help increase awareness about raw feeding and it’s benefits. If you’re at all curious about raw food, I highly recommend checking them out.
We feed Rad Cat raw food to our sphynx cat and it was the only thing that didn’t bother his delicate stomach! My gray tabby absolutely refuses to eat raw so we were advised by our vet to just continue to feed her the normal healthy food she’s used to. Rad cat comes in tubs which I though I’d hate but actually it’s really convenient. You just scoop out what you need and a tub lasts us around 5 days. Our kitten is growing up happy, healthy, and with no digestive issues thanks to their high quality raw food!
I feed my cats a *mostly* raw diet, but complement with some canned (evo) food. The reason for that, is that I was feeding Nature’s Variety alone at first, but one of my cats got terribly constipated and started vomiting. I had to take her to the vet and she had to get an enema to get everything out. The vet told me that whatever I was feeding her, had way too much bone, and that if her stools are white (which they were) it’s because there’s far too much bone in her food and it’s very difficult to pass. She suggested I mix it with something else. At first I was mixing with ground beef or turkey to dilute the amount of bone in Nature’s Variety. But another vet said that since about 1/3 of what I was feeding them was just ground muscle (no bone, cartilage, guts, or supplements) their nutrition might be a little deficient, so I was told I should supplement the raw with some canned food to dilute the amount of bone. Evo canned food is 95% meat, so there’s no carbs or fillers. It’s working out well so far. Their stools are not white anymore, but they’re still very dry and firm and without smell and there has been no constipation problems.
My vet mentioned that she fed Nature’s variety for months and her two male cats developed crystals in the urine that caused problems.
We started by feeding Nature’s variety but have since switched after hearing about that. This also makes me feel like we made a good decision by switching to a different brand.
Yeah for Raw!! One of my 3 cat’s favorite brands is RadCat; they only use organic eggshell calcium & not bone. It helps with the constipation & provides the same nutritional value. It also happens to be the only raw food she will eat (champagne taste) & that she can keep down (extremely sensitive stomach). Her anal sacs would get impacted on a regular basis, & that has dramatically improved as well.
http://www.radfood.com (look under the FAQ section for discussion on eggshells)
My other two get to enjoy some other raw brands, such as Stella & Chewys & Darwins. Raw may seem overwhelming to some, but when you do the math, most brands are less expensive per meal than many high-end cans. When you include the short & long term health benefits, raw seems like the only choice to me : )
That is what I’m feeding my seven cats as well. 🙂
The bit about making everyone sick is a bit overblown. feeding raw cat food is about the same as cooking your own raw meat. Once you know basic sanitation skills, the risk is minimal. Kibble tends to make more humans sick than raw food.. for the simple fact that it is supposed to be cooked so people take it for granted that it is safe and not harmful.
https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Documents/Salmonella.and.pet.food.FAQ.8.21.2012.pdf
I am a nurse that cured my cat of her bi-monthly kidney stone attacks by moving to a raw diet. Guess what? Raw doesn’t have to mean bloody. Raw is also “dehydrated” and “freeze dried”. Both are processed at no higher than 120 degrees (if memory serves). Just enough to kill bacteria. I didn’t think this up myself. I looked up “natural way to cure cat kidney stones and found several naturopathic-leaning Vets talking about it. Raw diets are also good for animals with allergies and skin conditions.
You put it in a bowl just like the severely cooked cat foods. Easy. I use Stella and Chewy’s as much of it is organic and they also use thoughtful sources. See their website.
If you prefer, you can feed a cat the real, blood-dripping raw if you choose, but it does require diligence and many animals won’t eat raw after having been raised on cooked foods.
My cat has not had a kidney stone attack in 7 years since I’ve fed 100% freeze-dried raw cat food. I tried to tell the regular Vet about it, but she wasn’t interested. After all, it decreases her income….at the expense of the animal and their pain.
Raw-feed kitties — 15 years and counting!
Hi Kate,
This is very interesting and informative. My Henry is 13 and about 4 years ago he started to become very food sensitive, My Vet and I have tried several limited ingredient formulas, but after a time he starts to have issues. Complicating the issue is his fussiness, I have never had a cat so fussy about what he eats. For the most part, he does not like wet food at all. My other one is just the opposite, Nigel will eat anything and everything!
I am fascinated as to how you manage with 12 cats. Do you do this by yourself & are your living quarters very large?
Thanks for Hauspanther, and all the information it provides.
Frances
Just another great resource for feline nutrition, including a recipe and a boatload of information about our feline friends in general (check out the little box section!): http://www.catinfo.org. I use her recipe, minus the eggs, and I don’t cook the chicken at all. I make 20 pound batches at a time using organic chicken thighs. I mix in about 1/3 grain free canned food (Wellness or Evo), mostly because they love it and because I have about 10 cases to work through. I will likely go 100% raw.
I hear pros and cons about feeding raw — as I read here. I don’t feed raw, but some of your and others’ comments are interesting and inspirational.
The design of the dishes is great! Wish they’d make them in all-stainless steel, though, and in a design where you could dis-assemble them for easier cleaning. Good start.
The multicat raised feeders look great- I need to save up for 5 of them.
Couldn’t agree with you more – thanks for covering this topic! And helping peeps to feel comfortable with it. I know some vets are still clueless when it comes to raw food!
And I’d add that a dry only cat diet is very harsh, especially for male cats who are more prone to urinary issues (knowing about 2nd hand from a $6,000 vet bill to save my dad’s cat from a blockage – and pretty much all sources point to his previous dry food diet as the cause).
And for vacations, just to make it easier, we “treat” our cats to some dry food for the few days we’re gone and only have the sitter feed them raw once a day. Can totally tell the difference in the litter box when we come home!
And for more info, check out the link above.
Thanks again!
We use the two bowl feeder by Catswall. I love it as do our cats. I have tried many different bowls and feeders and will stick with this one. Have it in orange, green and pink. Might have to get the purple too. Catswall designs wonderful products for cats. Such great detail and they package their products so well. You can tell they are cat lovers. Woofcenter is a great distributor.
Our grandaughter said her first word last night and it is “Kitty Cat” !
Thank you so much for sharing this important information and links to feeding Raw. I also want to thank Carlos, Kaysea, Cindy Abernathy for sharing their thoughts and experecinces with Natures Variety. I had tried so many different brands of canned and dry kibble always stay Gluten -free I continue to try to feed Raw but my cat she is a Russian Blue refuses to eat it. She has been eating Natures Variety Rabbit Kibble and I have noticed after several weeks she is dealing with urinary track issues. So I will discontinue feeding that and now try what Cindy is feeding the freeze dried Raw. Thank you to everyone for sharing, So helpful thank you.
You might also try Primal – either the frozen formula or the freeze-dried. http://www.primalpetfoods.com/
I have fed my cats raw for the last year+, and I love it and so do they! They have both been super healthy and energetic, and before the raw food one of them had stomach upset and diarrhea often and the other had asthma. I use Primal Raw frozen formula. http://www.primalpetfoods.com/ I can find it easily in a couple different local pet stores. They make several different varieties (different types of proteins), and I rotate a different variety each time I buy a bag.
I love the design of the Catswall feeder. I would use it myself, but I can’t feed my cats in the same room because one of them eats super fast and then steals the other ones food! Ugh…
Thank you for the information and to all the people who have shared their experiences. Raw food sounds good, but I can see that it depends on the cat and the food. I think I will try to supplement my cat’s diet with raw food in the future when I can find a dependable source.
i’ve fed my cats a raw diet since 1996. i began when my cat who was on science diet prescription food, began vomiting up every meal. i did my research, rolled up my sleeves, and bought the chicken. i made a week’s worth of food every sunday evening. my cats thrived. no more urinary tract infections, fleas, ear problems, etc. one of my cats was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma in 1999. i continued to feed the raw diet through radiation, surgery and chemo. the vet said treatments would buy him a couple of years at most. during that time his kidneys began to fail, but sub-cutaneous fluids helped and eventually had to be administered twice per day. i sadly had to say goodbye to my best-friend dunkin’ in february of 2013. however, he beat the odds and lived a long and wonderful life. i don’t know if the raw diet had anything to do with his longevity, but i like to think it did. he would not have been long for this world if i had continued to feed him the prescription diet.
I feed a prey diet which is 80 percent meat, fat, connective tissue, 10 percent bone and 10 percent organ meat. I buy their food at Whole Foods because it’s organic — no pesticides, hormones or antibiotics. Just in case I supplement with a little powdered taurine and probiotics. It’s called a “prey diet” because that’s pretty much the proportions of nutrients in a mouse. You can buy frozen mice, and I would do that if I had a back yard. But I’m sure not putting frozen mice on my hardwood floors and oriental carpets!
How do I know what food to get my cat ?? Cause I just got a new kitty and I’m kinda new so I need to learn a lot so if anybody had any tips or just stuff I should know would be great so please somebody reply