Alternatives To Rad Cat?

[riley1]

Just don't buy ground and don't rinse your meat. Keep it as cold as possible while making it. I generally keep everything partially frozen. You can do a partial bake to kill surface bacteria if you want.

Thank you!

 

[lisamarie12]

I ordered EZ Complete.

I’m not sure if I should order the boneless ground turkey organs from Hare Today or just look for ground turkey meat locally. I’ll figure that out (or post a thread) this weekend.

If you are going to use the EZ premix, you only need boneless muscle meat -- not organs, otherwise you will be over supplementing.

I personally am not a fan of using supermarket ground meat for raw meals although I realize others do so successfully.

My concern is that we don't know how often the machinery for grinds are cleaned, while cats do have acidic and short digestive systems to handle a certain amount of bacteria, I'd prefer not to take the risk.

If you decide to use raw grinds other than from a pet food raw supplier, then I would find a local butcher you can trust, inquire about machinery cleaning practices, etc.

Also, make sure the grinds you are purchasing are low sodium, less than 100 mg and ideally without any flavor enhancers. EZ has an entire section on their website as far as what to look for when purchasing raw meat for your kitties.

 

[lisamarie12]

Are there calculators for mixing different grounds to arrive at the 80/10/10? Although I’ll be relying on the EZ Complete and the eggshell for the “bone” but I don’t know if I feed just the ground boneless thigh or if I have to mix with the ground organs. Yeah. I have some reading to do.

Eggshell is also already included in EZ,
you only need boneless muscle meat, that's it, nothing else.

 

[LTS3]

You can look into buying meat from Hare Today or other raw meat supplier. You can also look for chubs of meat fro m an independent pet store. Primal, Bravo, and Oma's Pride are some brands you can find.

 

[lisamarie12]

Vendors like Hare Today do sell grinds but their grinds stay frozen and don't sit out thawed.

HT's safety protocol, since it's specifically for raw feeders, is to grind and freeze immediately.

 

[kittyluv387]

Just don't buy ground and don't rinse your meat. Keep it as cold as possible while making it. I generally keep everything partially frozen. You can do a partial bake to kill surface bacteria if you want.

Question, are you supposed to NOT rinse the meat? Why? I thought that you could.

 

[LTS3]

Question, are you supposed to NOT rinse the meat? Why? I thought that you could.

This was discussed recently: Washing Meat?

 

[sabrinah]

Question, are you supposed to NOT rinse the meat? Why? I thought that you could

Rinsing raw meat has been shown to spread bacteria. And it's not like you're actually rinsing much off since a lot of bacteria is deeper than a rinse can reach.

 

[daftcat75]

I haven’t eaten fowl or flesh (except fish) in too many years for me to feel comfortable with grinding meat and organs myself. I sure hope she takes to EZ.

 

[kittyluv387]

Thank you both! I dont make my own raw but would like to one day, maybe. So it's good to know.

 

[sabrinah]

I haven’t eaten fowl or flesh (except fish) in too many years for me to feel comfortable with grinding meat and organs myself. I sure hope she takes to EZ.

I can relate! The first time I bought her meat I was like "oh god what am I doing? I can't do this!" It gets easier. When the fuzzy creatures get more excited about the raw meat than anything else and start running at the sound of the grinder it all becomes worth it, at least to me anyway.

 

[mschauer]

My concern is that we don't know how often the machinery for grinds are cleaned, while cats do have acidic and short digestive systems to handle a certain amount of bacteria, I'd prefer not to take the risk.

There are USDA regulations that cover how often grinders are cleaned. I'll see if I can find the specifics but it depends on how cold the grinding room is. If I remember correctly even if the room is kept cold the grinders have to be cleaner periodically.

Edit:
Here it is: Sanitation Performance Standards Compliance Guide

Except as specified in (D) of this section, if used with potentially hazardous food, equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be cleaned throughout the day at least every 4 hours.

A "potentially harzardous food" is one that requires temperature control to prevent bacteria growth.

Further down they say the equipement can be cleaned less often if the room is kept within specified temperatures.

 

[daftcat75]

I can relate! The first time I bought her meat I was like "oh god what am I doing? I can't do this!" It gets easier. When the fuzzy creatures get more excited about the raw meat than anything else and start running at the sound of the grinder it all becomes worth it, at least to me anyway.

What kind of grinder do you have? What kind of grinders are available? Is there something easy like a food processor or is it a bloody mess with a hand crank just like I'm picturing it?

I think I'd rather start with the Hare Today chubs.

 

[jinjjaa]

If you are going to use the EZ premix, you only need boneless muscle meat -- not organs, otherwise you will be over supplementing.

I personally am not a fan of using supermarket ground meat for raw meals although I realize others do so successfully.

My concern is that we don't know how often the machinery for grinds are cleaned, while cats do have acidic and short digestive systems to handle a certain amount of bacteria, I'd prefer not to take the risk.

If you decide to use raw grinds other than from a pet food raw supplier, then I would find a local butcher you can trust, inquire about machinery cleaning practices, etc.

Also, make sure the grinds you are purchasing are low sodium, less than 100 mg and ideally without any flavor enhancers. EZ has an entire section on their website as far as what to look for when purchasing raw meat for your kitties.

Hi Lisa! My cats who both have FLUTD urinary crystals in the past are both on beef radcat. We only have a week left so I’m freaking out...all of the formulas I have found online contain bone. Which they were actually fed natures variety when they developed FLUTD...
Is the EZ premix ok for FLUTD cats? Do you recommend a place to buy the ground meat that is bone free? Thank you so much!!!

 

[jinjjaa]

Hi Lisa! My cats who both have FLUTD urinary crystals in the past are both on beef radcat. We only have a week left so I’m freaking out...all of the formulas I have found online contain bone. Which they were actually fed natures variety when they developed FLUTD...
Is the EZ premix ok for FLUTD cats? Do you recommend a place to buy the ground meat that is bone free? Thank you so much!!!

I saw that haretoday has ground beef - is that “muscle meat” that I could mix with Ez to make them food that is similar to the radcat brand? Thank you so much ..

 

[Tobermory]

I saw that haretoday has ground beef - is that “muscle meat” that I could mix with Ez to make them food that is similar to the radcat brand? Thank you so much ..

Is this the Hare Today product to which you’re referring?
Product | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow
If so, then yes. That’s muscle meat—no bone, no organs. You’d use that and add the correct amount of EZ Complete as per the directions on the bag, and that’s it!

 

[daftcat75]

I despise FedEx! And yet I still ordered from Hare Today. That's how much I love my cat.

If my calculations from before are correct, 9 lbs should make 6 x 24 oz. With 2 day shipping to allow for the lazy, liars who say they attempted delivery when they didn't, it still came out to about the same as 6 tubs of Rad Cat.

 

[Tobermory]

I despise FedEx! And yet I still ordered from Hare Today. That's how much I love my cat.

If my calculations from before are correct, 9 lbs should make 6 x 24 oz. With 2 day shipping to allow for the lazy, liars who say they attempted delivery when they didn't, it still came out to about the same as 6 tubs of Rad Cat.

HT is in Pennsylvania and I’m in Oregon, and it took the promised three days to arrive. The good news is that it’s so well packed that the chubs were still frozen.

 

[daftcat75]

HT is in Pennsylvania and I’m in Oregon, and it took the promised three days to arrive. The good news is that it’s so well packed that the chubs were still frozen.

The biggest problem I have with Fed Ex is they waste my entire day and at the very end of the day, they post a missed delivery exception. But I was home all day.

And I get it. There's a gate in my community. Get your lazy butt out of the truck and dial my number on the squawk box. I chewed out customer service last time and called the driver a liar. So they had someone call me back the next day and say he tried the gate and so I said, okay, he's lazy and a liar because I know he didn't try the gate.

I will be looking for an alternative to H-T if I can avoid Fed Ex.

 

[Saf]

I'm UK based and the options for commercial raw cat food are quite limited but if you start googling raw dog food the options increase dramatically. You just have to have to make sure they're veg free and are in the right 80-10-10 proportions. And you can just add a few supplements like fish oil, taurine etc.