Cheapest Feeder To Raise? (For Cat)

[BallPythonWannaBe]

I raw feed my cat and I'm looking to breed some type of feeder to supplement her meals. While I won't be producing all of her food this way, it will be a large portion so I'm looking to raise as many feeders as possible. I rent (so limited space) and live in city limits, so I'm limited to indoor feeder animals (No rabbits, mostly due to renting). I'm having trouble deciding which of these to feed, so I'm looking at what would be cheapest *long term* to raise and what would produce the most "feed" for money spent. I do own pet rats already and have bred them before but looking at multiple options. Not considering start up cost at this point as long term upkeep matters more to me at this time.
Considering:

Button Quail
Coturnix Quail
Rats
Mice

Quail would be more effort during the chick stage but I'm not including my time as a part of the budget. I enjoy doing it, so I don't "pay" myself for my time.

Any thoughts appreciated! Also other suggestions are welcome.

[GoingPostal]

Does she eat all those feeder options? I've never had a cat I could get to eat rats. Mice so so but are such a small meal that it takes 3-4 adults to be one meal, that usually ends up messy as my cats leave the intestines and will sometimes puke fur if they get too much in a day. Pinkies are a hit but that's hardly worth it. Quail makes a decent meal, I usually pluck somewhat for less mess but they have been well accepted by all my animals at all stages of life. I've only bred mice and rats, prefer rats but it's a lot of worth, smell and mess.

[Animallover3541]

I raw feed my cat and I'm looking to breed some type of feeder to supplement her meals. While I won't be producing all of her food this way, it will be a large portion so I'm looking to raise as many feeders as possible. I rent (so limited space) and live in city limits, so I'm limited to indoor feeder animals (No rabbits, mostly due to renting). I'm having trouble deciding which of these to feed, so I'm looking at what would be cheapest *long term* to raise and what would produce the most "feed" for money spent. I do own pet rats already and have bred them before but looking at multiple options. Not considering start up cost at this point as long term upkeep matters more to me at this time.
Considering:

Button Quail
Coturnix Quail
Rats
Mice

Quail would be more effort during the chick stage but I'm not including my time as a part of the budget. I enjoy doing it, so I don't "pay" myself for my time.

Any thoughts appreciated! Also other suggestions are welcome.

I would caution feeding an exclusively raw diet as many vets recommend against it due to disease risk and the difficulty in ensuring the diet is balanced. At the very least, try to ensure that you consult your veterinarian on ways to make sure you are providing a balanced diet and lowering the disease risk to an extent. Personally I would just switch to wet canned food with the occasional boiled quail or chicken.

Here are a couple articles regarding raw food diets in cats:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-p...w-food-in-cats
https://www.purina.com/articles/cat/...-diet-for-cats
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6849757/

Best of luck to you and your fur baby!

[Bogertophis]

Not only that but as a renter, I hope you know that mice are smelly- raising them indoors, the odor can permeate & might "cost you" with your landlord. Rats too, not sure about quail. And I hope you're not feeding live...?

[BallPythonWannaBe]

Not only that but as a renter, I hope you know that mice are smelly- raising them indoors, the odor can permeate & might "cost you" with your landlord. Rats too, not sure about quail. And I hope you're not feeding live...?

Definitely not, cats are brutal with their food. I'd never give a cat a live animal. Any animals would be euthanized with the most humane method, CO2 or cervical dislocation.

[BallPythonWannaBe]

Does she eat all those feeder options? I've never had a cat I could get to eat rats. Mice so so but are such a small meal that it takes 3-4 adults to be one meal, that usually ends up messy as my cats leave the intestines and will sometimes puke fur if they get too much in a day. Pinkies are a hit but that's hardly worth it. Quail makes a decent meal, I usually pluck somewhat for less mess but they have been well accepted by all my animals at all stages of life. I've only bred mice and rats, prefer rats but it's a lot of worth, smell and mess.

She does eat all of the above. I'm leaning towards some rats and coturnix Quail at this point. More variety, eggs from the quail and they're technically edible for humans too just not a ton of meat on them. Button quail are a close second but they're much smaller than coturnix, slightly larger than a jumbo mouse in size.