And that is where it ends. I don’t imagine anyone in this thread is interested in feeding raw anyway, so I don’t think you need to worry about it. 
Oh, and grass. I buy the girls a pot of cat grass every couple of weeks or so and they gnaw it down to the roots in no time. I must say it freshens their breath.
One small can of Fancy Feast and then “free-feed” a high quality non-corn based dry food.
Once in a while they get a few treats and also kitty grass.
Free fed ID or KD, with a bit of kitten chow mixed in the with the latter, depending on whether the boy’s IBD is acting up or the girl’s kidneys are.
Boy cat is on prednisone, atenelol, and aspirin, but he’ll take them in moist treats, so they each get a half dozen of those every night.
They split a can of wet food or tuna every couple of weeks, and, very occasionally, have some milk or cheese.
They both also like to try to steal food, especially when we get takeout. I’ve caught the girl attempting to run off with half a piece of nan when we get Indian, and the boy is especially fond of bruschetta.
I feed all three of my cats Hill’s Prescription Diet c/d.
My oldest has a history of crystals in his urine, though he has been just fine since getting on this food. It is impossible to feed them seperately, as they have all been raised with free-choice communal bowls. It is more expensive, but they’re all in good health.
My vet is fine with the fact that I’m feeding prescription food to two cats without urinary issues.
Sabrina caught and ate a butterfly yesterday. 
I remember one time when I had no mortgage and only one pet. I took my dog to the vet, and while there asked if I should switch to a “premium” dogfood. I was feeding Pedigree. My vet said, “Her eyes are bright, her coat is shiny. She’s neither over or underweight. She’s healthy. Whatever you’re doing is great - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
StG
Actually, I am. I really don’t think grain fillers are good for my cats. My cats have a wide range of needs so I’d really need to research first. Do you have any good websites? I have not mentioned this to my vets yet either, but then again they haven’t seen how much weight my tabby has gained lately, either.
More than likely your cat’s weight gain is caused by eating too much and exercising too little. Switch to a high quality, weight loss diet (after consulting with your vet) and encourage alot of play. I’m not going to address too much of Mixie’s arguments but since she insisted on replying, I must say that if you honestly believe that someone off the net knows better about your pet’s nutrition and wellbeing as opposed to your veterinarian who was educated thoroughly in the subject, well…yeah. I take offense in that Mixie is implying that vets are biased in their knowledge based on the incorrect idea that pet food companies ‘fund’ college classes. The idea is ridiculous. It’s the same as people arguing that vets promote a kibble diet because they’re getting money under the table to do so. I’ve worked in many veterinary hospitals and known many other people in the same field. Vets do NOT get paid extra to sell kibble products. They sell them because they work for special needs animals.
Again, everything that’s been quoted for a raw diet (poor studies by kibbles, vets thinking it’s ok) has no real proof or basis provided. I can provide multiple links to various non-biased sources that have studied popular raw diet plans and have all found that they nearly never give the pet the full range of nutrients needed and cause alot more trouble than a normal kibble diet.
So please, if you’re concerned about the grain content in your cat’s diet, talk to your vet. They know your animal best and will be able to steer you in the right direction in which food to feed 
I keep some Nutro dry food out for my two boys all the time right next to their water dish. When I get home from work, I split a can of something between the two of them. Right now it’s these pouches from Nutro, before that it was some variety pack of cans that my girlfriend bought them. This way they can graze all day whenever they’re hungry and when I get home it’s a special treat for them, allowing me to kind of say I’m sorry for leaving you alone all day. While they really like this, it means I get less attention from them when I get home, since as soon as I walk in the door they run to the kitchen saying “Feed me NOW!” in kittyspeak.
I also make a point of changing the flavor of the dry food as often as I can. I know I’d hate having to eat the same thing every day for the rest of my life, why should my cats be any different?
My Luna loves grain fillers. We give her nice premium cat food where the first ingredient is chicken. She willingly eats it, but what she really likes (and begs for all the time) are the cheapo cat treats where the first ingredient is cornmeal. 
She has been known to jump up on the stove and take bites out of cornbread, and this past weekend I caught her up on the counter sniffing at a honey cake I made during Passover.
Purina One, Senior formula, free fed as desired. Both (12 and 13) are healthy and frisky, and at a very good weight.
When I was a little more flush cash-wise, I fed Pro Plan, but there haven’t been any negative repercussions to my austerity measures.
They also get lots of fresh water, and they’ll only drink bottled water or filtered water, which I hardly blame them – I won’t drink my tap water either, it tastes most repulsively of copper.
Tha baby eats almost exclusively the Iams kitten food, but only a few more months, then I’ll wean him off. The adults (12 and 5) have a bowl of Iams Multiple Cat out to eat, and I’m pretty certain Cuervo nibbles on that.
Cuervo despises the Iams canned kitten food, but lately has taken a shine to tasting the juice out of their once-daily can of Friskies canned food. I’m thinking, it might be a good way to get him off his all-dry diet, being a boy and more prone to urinary problem as it is.
Tha baby eats almost exclusively the Iams kitten food, but only a few more months, then I’ll wean him off. The adults (12 and 5) have a bowl of Iams Multiple Cat out to eat, and I’m pretty certain Cuervo nibbles on that.
Cuervo despises the Iams canned kitten food, but lately has taken a shine to tasting the juice out of their once-daily can of Friskies canned food. I’m thinking, it might be a good way to get him off his all-dry diet, being a boy and more prone to urinary problem as it is.
That’s what my girls do. They will lick the chunks from pouch food dry, but they won’t eat the chunks. They turn their noses up at canned food, no matter what it is.
I never, would never, claim to know anything about any specific pet’s health, so please don’t put words into my mouth.
I too have worked in and grew up in a vet hospital, worked in animal research and the pet store industry for years. You may not like my opinion, but it’s well-researched and informed. You are free to dislike my point of view, but I’m free to ignore your opinion as readily as you ignore mine
Of course there’s no “real” proof by your standards, and I would never claim there is. The research is terrible–the problem is that there are as many “raw diets” as there are people feeding raw, and I can bet I’ve read every study you have, none of them are the diet I, or anyone I know, feeds their pets. If I had all the money in the world I’d be happy to fund the research, but I don’t.
As always, this isn’t the time or the place and neither of us are about to budge our opinons. All I can say is I’m urging people to do their homework and make responsible choices based on the information they gather. For me the choice is clear. What, exactly, is your problem with that statement that you feel the need to keep taking potshots at me?
Boscibo, I am more than happy to discuss this at length, I’ll send you all the information and articles I have and direct you to folks and sources far more informed than myself. Feel free to send me an email at mixiearmadillo AT hotmail. com
I fully intend to research this myself and talk to my vet before doing anything like switching my cats diets. My SO feeds his dogs a modified raw diet (vet approved), and at 13 and 14 years of age, they are doing very well on it.
Dry food is convenient for people, but are they necessarily better for the cat? I think many of them are the equivalent of junk food - sure the cat will eat them, but kids would live on sugar cereal and soda if you let them…that doesn’t mean it is healthier.
My kitties get Purina One. They’re very brand loyal and at least protein is the first ingredient. When they were kittens thye would eat anything but now they’re very very picky. Occasionally I mix in some IAMS or Eukanuba hairball formula, which they will eat if they have picked out all the Purina and they are very hungry. Every once in a while they share a pouch or a can of fancy feast, but they usually only eat about half between the two of them. They’ll also drink most of the water from a can of tuna, but won’t touch the little pieces of tuna. Picky picky babies!
Mine get Iams dry food, in a 24x7 bowl that they can all graze from. We have 4 cats, so scheduled feeding can be a problem, especially with the smallest cat, who would be intimidated by the bigger cats at feeding time. Occasional treats of wet food or cooked poultry, no raw food here.
See this is the problem I have, a few of the vets I talked to have differing views on what is the best diet to feed my cats. My three cats are young and healthy. I want to do what’s best for them, but I don’t know what “best” is.
My dogs get Purina dog chow but I, on most days, mix in an egg, or carrots, or lean meat.
I don’t know how to do any sort of modified raw diet for the cats because I know their systems are so much different than dogs.
What are some raw diet ideas for cats? I’d like to run them by my vet when they go for their annual check-ups next month?
A carnivore is a carnivore, nutritionally speaking. My cats actually eat the exact same thing my dog does, just smaller pieces. Are you wanting to suppliment the dry food?