HOW MUCH SHOULD I FEED MY DOG/CAT?

One of the questions we get asked by almost every new customer is "How much should I feed my dog or cat?"  People seem to be very nervous that they don't know the correct amount to give to their pets.  It is however something that is very easy to work out.

 

Adult dogs & cats require approximately 2-3% of our their total weight each day in RAW food.  The majority of dogs and cats will require 2% of their total body weight in food whereas dogs and cats that are highly active (working dogs for example) will require more food due to them burning off more calories. 

 

In order too calculate the appropriate amount of RAW food to give your pet each day you will first need to weigh them.  If you don't have suitable scales at home you are more than welcome to come in to Raw N More where we offer a free weighing service using our pet scales.

 

Once you have established your pet's weight in grams you need to multiply that number by the number below accordingly:

     .02 (inactive/diet needed lose weight)

    .025 (active/maintain current weight normal healthy dog/cat)

    .03 (very active dog/cat or needs to increase weight)

 

A 3kg dog weighs 3000g.  If a 3kg dog was very active  you would work out how much to feed it as follows:

 

3000 x 0.03 = 90 grams of food

 

 

If you're feeding more commercial raw dog food, most companies will put feeding suggestion depending if has veg / fruit or just raw.  Use our Body Conditioning Charts to determine if your dog is at a healthy weight.

 

 

 

 

Due to the fact that they are still developing, puppies will typically eat between 5-8% of their body weight in food each day.  Puppies require a higher percentage due to their faster metabolisms and active nature which means they burn off calories quicker than older dogs do.

 

 SWITCHING TO RAW FOOD

 

The other most common question we get asked by new customers is "How do I switch my cat or dog to RAW food from kibble?"  It is totally up to you if you switch gradually or take a more cold turkey approach.  Your pets overall health, digestive issues if they have them, and how fussy they/you may be will affect the time it takes to transition successfully.

  

If we take for example a healthy dog or cat with no signs of digestive problems (such as chronic vomiting, diarrhoea, or loose stools or slimy stools) they could be successfully transitioned within a week just by gradually adding bit more RAW food and a bit less of the food you were previously feeding to them at each meal.

 

When transitioning to a raw diet many raw feeding nutritionists suggest not mixing raw food with kibble in the same meal (as different enzymes are required to digest protein and carbohydrate), and feeding separate meals, but in our experience most dogs can cope.

 

Cats may take longer to transition since they tend to be more complex characters and will possibly be rather accustomed to dry and processed foods.  You can try by just putting down half a teaspoon at a time then gradually increasing the amount of raw food over the course of 2-3 weeks or more. Some cats may prefer the raw on its own, and you can offer them a teaspoon or so before offering their regular meal to see if they show interest.