Snickers eats raw diet. And every time I prepare her portions as I attempt to cut the chicken, she fights me for the blood. I don't allow her to lick the blood. I make sure I wash all the chicken pieces before serving her portion to her.

I understand in the wild they eat what they catch with the blood. But these are not fresh games that I'm serving. It's chicken from the supermarket that I freeze then thaw before serving. And I'm afraid whatever blood remains, isn't fresh and may be contaminated.

Please advise... should I not wash her food before serving? Should I allow her to lick the blood?

Thank you in advance.

Cut the chicken? Are you not grinding the chicken? I would agree that the chicken should be washed. But, most people grind up the chicken meat with the bone for the calcium. The one thing with feeding raw is that you must also include the organs for the taurine, which is essential for a cat's health. You can purchase supplements online or through a pet store that will help with this.

I hope you read up on all you can on raw feeding. Bengals are not wild cats and do not need to eat raw meat -- although many owners feed their bengals raw. It's a personal choice.

Sherry, you'll be surprised what a spoiled vampire I have at home.

For a whole month she's been eating raw chicken (with added organs and egg). I used to serve her 1/8 of a chicken in the morning and another 1/8 in the evening (1/4 of a chicken in total per day + organs). She'll bite and chew on every bone (except the drumstick bone, it's too hard for her to break). I don't need to grind anything for her. She used to love her food at eat the whole portion before I add extra small pieces for her to make sure she's full.

However, her eating habits are changing in the past three days as follows:
1) she wants blood, blood and more blood. She'd lick the raw chicken piece from its blood, and won't eat the raw chicken any more. In one occasion I cut my finger while preparing her meal, and I started bleeding. She became so determined fighting to lick my finger and the blood drops off the counter. The more I push her away, the more she fights. That's why I wondered do Bengals have an appetite for blood?
2) she wants to eat the meat I eat from my plate, cooked with the sauces/spices/gravy... etc. I tried with her (unseasoned) semi-boiled meat, semi-baked meat and semi-grilled meat... but she refuses to eat any. She's after what I eat which may contain lemon, garlic... etc. that are not good for her. So I ended up offering her what I eat after washing it throughly, and then she'd eat it. Any of your cats eat only what you eat?
3) she no more accepts to eat on the floor, she'll eat only at the table where I'm eating. If I stop eating my meal and start removing the dishes, she'll quit eating too!!! The only way she'd eat if I stay with her while she eats. If I serve her a meal in the morning before I prepare mine, she won't touch hers until I sit down and start eating mine. Sounds like good manners LOL, but it's not normal. I feel she's become too spoiled.

Tomorrow I plan to starve her all day till the evening when I serve her raw meat like before. I'll see how things go.

Does any of the above sound normal to any of you?

You cannot starve Snickers! Are you serious? She's a baby and needs to eat! What you have is a Princess!!! I don't know how much raw food a kitten needs to eat, but if she has an appetite, she needs to quell that appetite by eating! I can't imagine a cat that thirsts for blood! Yuk! Has she been to the vet recently? If not, I'd take her and have her checked out.

She should not be eating table scraps or anything like that. Make up her own food and that's it! If you spoil her like this now, she will NEVER outgrow it! Remember ... Snickers is a CAT! Not a HUMAN! LOL.

I think you're spoiling her too much!

I wonder how much fat is in the chicken? Cats need a moderate amount of fat and will feel like they are always hungry without it. She might like some good butter, cheese, tuna, canned cat food, etc. There's also a fishy paste for hairballs that has a lot of omegas in it.

I didn't want to reply before making sure things were going well, and here's the update:

ONE-DAY-SERVINGS
I noticed she doesn't eat anything that I keep in the fredge more than one night. Anything defreezed, she'd eat on the first day. The next day if I serve it to her whether out of the fredge, or cooked, she wouldn't eat... instead, she'd make a gesture with her paw as if she's digging in her litter box but next to her plate. So I understood she's telling me it smells bad... therefore, I revised all frozen portions to one-day-servings.

RAW FOOD VARIETY
She doesn't eat lamb or beef (raw or cooked), and I noticed she grew less fond of chicken. Therefore, I revised her menu completely to include quails, rabbits, shrimps, fish fillet and squid. The good things about quails is that each quail serves her two meals per day and the bones are too soft for her. So she'd eat the quail 100% with its organs. She now eats three to four meals per day, one of which is raw seafood. So every meal became more enticing to her.

ORGANS
Her favorite is chicken liver. She'd eat it even if still frozen. This may be satisfying her blood appetite. She gets one serving per day of chicken liver, chicken feet and chicken heart (all raw) with her vitamins supplement. And I add a raw chicken egg too at times.

MENU SUMMARY
One meal of quail, one meal rabbits meat, one meal of seafood and one meal of organs with supplements.

COOKED DIET
Out of curiousity she has to investigate and taste/smell my food still. But she doesn't eat it. I think she's satisfied with her diet now and her tummy is full all day, so she grew less interested to eat what I eat.

She's so happy with her diet now, her stool is perfect, her appetite is high with every meal, her activities and playtime are energetic.

Yes, I spoil her... much. But she feels like she's a child not a cat, and I love her as much.

Glad things are going super for you in the appetite/food department for Snickers. My bengal tries to scratch or cover his food bowl. He's telling me, "I don't want this stuff." It seems to be pretty normal behavior in bengals. I've never had a cat that did that.

Snickers has settled in great! I know many people who treat their cats more like children than just a pet. My Raiden is fasting today waiting on his ultrasound later this afternoon. He is not a happy camper and we have 3 hours to go.

Quasar tries to cover his dish when he finishes eating. He will come back and eat the same food later, so I'm sure it is only a primordial behavioural remnant - hiding his cache so no one else finds it, perhaps?

_________________
~ Kyenta

He scratches the mat that the dish sits on as though he is trying to cover it with (imaginary) debris.

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~ Kyenta

Mine paws at the tile floor and the drawer that is next to his food. He makes it clear he is done with the food! LOL.

I have heard that some of the cats in the wild will cover their food to come back for it later.