Dietary Needs for
Siberian Cats
Felines, no matter what size or species, are all
obligatory carnivores. This means, they primarily are
meat eaters.  Thus, we at Keitta Siberians feed our
cats a well balanced, high protein diet of both dry and
wet raw food. We have our own recipe for the 'wet'
food, but the following websites give some great info
about this diet, and how to create your own raw food.
When I went to look at this information, I
was absolutely AMAZED at how many plants
are toxic to our babies. So, I'm just putting
the link here so you can look yourselves!
Foods that are harmful to Kitties
Grapes & Raisins
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Fruit pits/seeds
Macadamia nuts
Dry Foods we feed Keitta Kitties
Raw Diet Information & Recipes
Disclaimer: These are very high-end brands that we use. We are not paid for advertising by the companies. There
are other excellent dry foods out there as well. To take a closer look at ingredients in various dry food, go to
http:\\www.petfooddirect.com and click on the dry cat foods. Not all of their brands are high-end, but you are able
to read what is in the food without a MAGNIFYING GLASS!!!!!
Taste of the Wild
Rocky Mountain Formula
Orijen
Life's
Abundance
The brands that we use are equivalent to a raw diet, only in a dry form.
It is ESSENTIAL to have plenty of water available for your kitty.
We like to mix some of the brands together to vary the taste for our cats - also
because the kibble sizes and shapes are different it is easier for our kittens to
start out picking out the smaller kibble pieces, and for the variety. Just one of any
of these is fine to get for your kitty.
These dry foods are more expensive because of their formulas.  However,
because they contain extremely high protein levels (as Orijen mentions - 75%
meat, 25% vegetables/fruits, 0 grains), your kitten/cat will not eat as much, so
the food will last longer. The grocery store cat food varieties have lower protein
and higher carbohydrates (cats LOVE them, just like we love our CARBS!!), and
will tend to put on fat.
Your Siberian will not reach maturity until they are 5 years of age. There are different
opinions on how long to feed a kitten formula. We recommend feeding the kitten formula
until their second birthday (or the second BD of your youngest cat), and then switching over
to the adult formula. (Some people feed kitten formula through year four!! The products
themselves only recommend until 1 year old - but your Siberian needs this longer as they
are still developing their skeletal and muscular systems.
When you first look at what goes into making your raw diet, it can be very overwhelming
(as well as disgusting to some people). But as some of the articles mention, when you
cook the food, it denatures a lot of the protein structure which your cat needs. Cooked
meats are o.k. as treats, but not as a complete diet to replace a wet food serving.
Remember - a cat's gastrointestinal system is very much different than ours
Still, it looks overwhelming to purchase all the ingredients needed
for vitamins & mineral additives (which are critical to balancing out
the raw diet). We found a product that has everything you need in it
already, ready to add to your raw food. This is the product we
recommend, however, there are probably others out there as well.
(you can read about this product on the petfooddirect website as well.)
Chocolate
Alcohol
Caffeinated Beverages (coffee, tea, cola)
Bread Dough or Yeast
Raw eggs * see above under Raw Food
Raw fish
Too much liver
We include fresh raw eggs in our formula as well. There is some controversy regarding
this - some recommend shell and all (which we do) - others recommend just the yolks.
Supposedly the whites of eggs can deplete Biotin in cats.  With the amount used,
however, eggs in this case are not harmful due to the balance of the other additives.
Further reading - this site will explain why these products are not good
for Kitty.
March 15, 2011
Harmful Plants
Missing Link Super
Food Supplement
Feline Formula
[0.5lbs]
Water
One thing is always a given - your kitty loves you for who you are, not by what you can
buy them (altho' a little fluffy toy every now and then keeps them happy :)
Water is a CRITICAL need for your kitty. Keep plenty of fresh water available,
near their food bowls, at all times. Now, they may want to supplement their water
intake at your bathroom sink, or the kitchen sink, or in the bathtub, etc., etc. But
their main water hole is by their food. A fresh bowl of water, changed daily, is all
they ask.
For those who do have a little bit extra to spend (or save up for a birthday gift or
X-mas gift for Kitty), there are many various water fountains available at around US
$30 - $40. Some examples I've placed below. The thing that is nice about these is that
because water is circulating, it helps replenish oxygen into the water, keeping it
fresher, longer. Your kitty will be fascinated by the moving water, often preferring to
drink from the moving water rather than the bowl it empties into. It is great for
multi-cat households.  
Drinkwell
CatIT
PetMate
Note: there are multiple other brands than just these three.
Just an FYI - if you live in an area where your water is really 'hard' - [has a lot of minerals in it]
- it is better to fill up at the grocery store with filtered water to use with these fountains.
Three important notes:
1. When combining raw ingredients, you must keep an impeccably
clean workspace. Cleaning before and after with a very dilute bleach
solution/spray will help kill bacteria.
2. We NEVER feed our kitties anything that we would not be cooking
and serving for ourselves!!!!  In other words, we don't use 'old',
spoiled, or rancid meats.
3. We recommend the Tasin electric meat grinder TS-108 1200
watt if you plan on grinding your own meat. The price is about US$170
on Ebay. This sturdy grinder is able to grind small bones which is a
major component of the raw diet's nutritional value for your Sib.
[Check Amazon.com - different brand - same machine - US$99]
Tasin Electric Meat Grinder
& Sausage Stuffer  
TS-108 1200 watt
Switching foods or changing diets
Many people do not want to continue with the exact foods we recommend, and this is fine as
long as the other product/s you choose are comparable. (Again, go to PetfoodDirect to do
your comparative shopping and research).  However, you kitten or cat's gut is used to the
foods they have been eating. Thus it is recommended that you switch over to your food
products SLOWLY, over a couple of weeks. We help a bit with this by sending some of the
dry & wet foods we have been feeding in your take home 'care' package when you pick up
your kitten. Switch only one food at a time, i.e. the dry food first, then the wet, or vice
versa. Failure to slowly change diets WILL result in diarrhea for the kitten, and a mess for
you to clean up. [Many a Siberian parent has had to give the proverbial "butt bath", which is
unpleasant for all parties involved!!!]
When switching dry foods, start adding and mixing in small, but gradually increasing
amounts of the new dry food, until you finally have them on the new food.
Something that may help when switching diets, is to add acidophyllis to the wet food. You
can buy these capsules at any vitamin & supplement section of a nutrition section of a
department or grocery store. Open the capsule and pour about 1/2 of its contents (about
50 mg) into the food once/day. OR you can try to give your kitten a teaspoonful of plain
yogurt, with no additives, including no sugar. This contains the needed acidophyllis and may
be a tasty treat for your kitten. Acidophyllis helps to replenish the 'good' bacteria they
have in their guts that help to digest food.
If your kitty already has diarrhea, a good, gentle remedy recommended often by
Veterinarians, is pumpkin. You can buy this in a can.
(MAKE SURE IT IS PLAIN AND DOES NOT CONTAIN SPICES)
Give one tablespoonful per day until stools become normal. Your kitten may lick it right off
the spoon, since they seem to think this is a tasty treat. It adds enough fiber to their diet
to firm up and normalize stools.
Pumpkin is not always available, so you can use the following as substitutes: Summer or
Winter Squash baby food; Sweet Potato baby food
Oops!!!
more links and
updated info on raw
diets coming soon...
Make sure you turn up your volume for this one...
My Vet says my Siberian is FAT !?!
Ask your vet if he is familiar with the Siberian breed
before pronouncing this conclusion as accurate.
"Wholesome nutrition is the key to maintaining a healthy immune
system and resistance to disease....The requirement for
essential nutrients increases during periods of rapid growth or
reproduction and also may increase in geriatric individuals,
because immune function and the bioavailability of these
nutrients generally wanes with aging." - W. Jean Dodds, DVM
Siberians are big boned, big muscled felines. They have physical qualities referred to
in the breeding community as 'heff' and 'cobby bodies'. The ideal Siberian is built low
to the ground, body build like what I refer to as a 'brick' (or as I like to call our stud
Stitch, 'he's a brick - house - he's mighty, mighty, and lettin' it all hang out...').
Siberians are shaped like a pear, and have a soft, flabby 'beer belly'. Much of the
pear shape is because the hind leg muscles are very large - if you straighted them
out, they would be a little longer than the front legs. This is what provides the
gravity-defying jumping ability of this breed, even with a large body.
Now, if your Siberian is starting to look a little more egg shaped, then, yes, your
Siberian needs to lose some weight! But the rest is what this cat is made of, and
putting a 1 - 3 year old Siberian 'on a diet' while they are still growing is not a good or
healthy idea.
If you are feeding high quality cat foods to your kitty as we recommend above, being
overweight should not be a problem. If you feed grocery store brand cat foods that
are high in carbs, than your kitty WILL overeat (that cat food is TASTY), because
they will not get as full as quick.
If your Siberian starts to look egg-shaped, THEN he/she is too fat!
Careful, doc, my kitty is PURR-ITTY
sensitive about his weight...
Do not serve other meats raw, in
particular fish or pork
only refrigerate what raw food you will
be feeding to your kitty within a 2, and
at most 3 day time period - keep the
rest in the freezer
Ten Pet Food Myths Debunked by
Click HERE to find out the TRUTH to the following MYTHS:

1. The best foods are those the veterinarian sells such as Royal Canin, Purina  
Veterinary and Hill's Science Diet.

2. Dry food cleans a dog's or cat’s teeth.

3. Pets do better eating food designed for their life stage
(e.g., puppy/kitten, and senior formulas)

4. Table scraps and other "people food" are bad for dogs and cats.

5. Only complete and balanced meals should be fed to cats and dogs.

6. Feeding raw food is dangerous due to the risk of Salmonella and E. Coli.

7. Dogs and cats should not eat grains.

8. Ash content is an important guideline in choosing a cat food.

9. Changing formulas or brands of pet foods is hard on a dog or cat’s digestion.

10. It is fine for dogs and cats to eat each other's food.
Snickers likes her
Sweet Potato even
tho' she doesn't
have diarrhea~!!!
Caution - you never know what may be
tempting to your Siberian - these
yummy glazed donuts caused a
hyperactive kitty chase thru the
house for hours from a sugar blitz
by the offending Siberian thief!