Article - Sales Of Fresh Pet Foods Increasing

[GaryT]

I should also say that he is a bundle of energy and gets really wound up when he plays so he burns a lot of it off.

 

[daftcat75]

The meat itself is not balanced. So no matter what else you feed him, that’s off-balanced. Like a shot of phosphorous with very little calcium. Either reduce it to a treat portion or balance it with a supplement pre-mix. EZ Complete, Alnutrin, TCFeline, Better In The Raw, there’s lots to choose from and most will send you samples.

 

[daftcat75]

I actually keep finding smaller, local companies that do the food similar to Rad Cat (so I keep hearing, as I wasn't here when they were operating) and I'm wondering, maybe this is the case as well in different parts of States, especially in the bigger cities like LA and New York? My source of knowledge is small, independent chain (10 shops in the city) of pet store and they know everything what happens in the raw food world across the State. I'm happy about this as I've almost transitioned one cat to commercial frozen raw but I insist on variety, seeing here what happened to all the cats left without Rad Cat (that name is disturbing to me btw ).. So I keep giving them more brands, hoping that the other cat will find something she likes too.
Therefore I have a question... Is this food decent? It's raw lamb (and my girl likes lamb and I haven't come across it before in raw food), Darwin's:
Natural Selections™ Raw Cat Food:
Ingredients:
Free-Range Meat and Organs (98%): Lamb Meat, Lamb Heart, Lamb Livers
Trace Minerals and vitamins (2%): Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Tomato Pomace, Taurine, Sea Salt, Magnesium Proteinate, Inulin, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E, Zinc Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Iodine, Folic Acid.
Marine Oils (Under 1%):Fish Oil 18/12 EPA/DHA (Derived from sea-harvested wild Sardines)
It seems they use synthetic minerals which in my case might be good, because my girl dislikes something in commercial raw (although she eats raw muscle meat without supplements with huge pleasure) so it might as well be the upgrade from canned. They say they follow AAFCO rules.

I don’t trust anything without at least a little synthetic in it. That’s because there are vitamins that are lost in processing, packaging, transportation, even storage in your freezer. So adding them back in helps counter some of that loss. Calcium, Choline, Magnesium, Thiamine, Maganese, these are all pretty standard, necessary, and safe. This looks like a good recipe. I would feed this to Krista if she liked lamb.

 

[daftcat75]

There are some regional boneless options. But none of them have the distribution that Rad Cat had. So they are basically unavailable to me.

 

[Azazel]

The other thing that Rad Cat had was the lack of bones. It’s very hard to find a good raw food brand that uses sustainably farmed whole organic meats, including chicken and turkey, without bone and without veggies. If anyone knows of a company, please let me know!

 

[GaryT]

The meat itself is not balanced. So no matter what else you feed him, that’s off-balanced. Like a shot of phosphorous with very little calcium. Either reduce it to a treat portion or balance it with a supplement pre-mix. EZ Complete, Alnutrin, TCFeline, Better In The Raw, there’s lots to choose from and most will send you samples.

I only kept feeding the raw beef because the breeder I got him from gave me a tube and said he had been eating it. He has allergies to grains so I cannot give him cheep grocery store catfood. The grain caused him to scratch off a lot of his beautiful coat. That has stopped now that he is off foods with grain. I have never seen a cat in the wild eating a cob of corn. Why is it in their food???

I am trying to do the best I can. I guess it isn't good enuff.

 

[daftcat75]

I only kept feeding the raw beef because the breeder I got him from gave me a tube and said he had been eating it. He has allergies to grains so I cannot give him cheep grocery store catfood. The grain caused him to scratch off a lot of his beautiful coat. That has stopped now that he is off foods with grain. I have never seen a cat in the wild eating a cob of corn. Why is it in their food???

I am trying to do the best I can. I guess it isn't good enuff.

We all try the best we can. Until we know better. Then it's wise to do better.

You don't have to stop feeding it. You only need to take an extra step or two to make sure it is the best you can offer him.

Option 1
Food Fur Life - EZ Homemade raw food for pets!

This is a powder you can add directly to his individual servings. This is probably the easiest. However, EZ Complete does contain digestive enzymes and some cats don't react well to digestive enzymes in their food. My Krista looks like it is her that is being digested (pained, scrunched-up face and crouching) so I can't feed her this one.

Option 2
A Guide To A Balanced, Homemade Cat Food - Alnutrin Supplements

Pick up some beef liver from the supermarket. Place the unopened chub in a baking dish and run under cold water for 15-20 minutes rotating it occasionally. Thaw it just enough to be able to mix the liver and powder in but doesn't need to be completely thawed. Mix a couple pre-measured packets of the Alnutrin plus the liver into the meat, reportion into single or daily portions, and refreeze.

You're lucky because your guy likes red meat. That opens you up to a lot of other meat choices. In the freezer section, you should be able to find lamb, bison, wild boar, and venison in 1 lbs packs. Just make sure they are not salted, seasoned, cured, or enhanced in any way. Water thaw these long enough to mix in a packet of Alnutrin and the required amount of liver. Now you have lots of raw options for him. He's going to love the addition of liver!

 

[GaryT]

I just used my digital scale and weighed his portion of raw. I feed him 1.9 -2 oz a day of the raw beef. Plus a quarter can of wet Taste of the Wild and about 1/3 can of Purrfect Bistro pate (beef, rabbit, duck, or chicken). He also has dry Taste of the Wild venison out all day. He eats about a quarter cup of the dry.

 

[GaryT]

I just went to the Blue Ridge page and grabbed this info on what I am feeding Theodore. I get the 2pound tubes in a case of 15. He gets the ground beef kitten grind. And recommended serving size as per the site (I am below this). I had bought Kitty Bloom vitamin powder but it has cheese in it so I stopped(possible lactose intolerance). Also, my vet said not to add them because he would get too much and cause problems. Could be part of the reason he was scratching off his fur. That has stopped now.
Kitten Mix (Cats)
Ground Beef, Ground Chicken, Ground Beef Heart, Ground Beef Liver, Ground Chicken Bone

Protein- 18.57%
Fat- 6.85%
Fiber- .32%
Ash- 1.39%
Moisture- 73.52%
Calcium- 145 mg/100g
Phosphorus- 216 mg/100g
1298 kcal/kg

 

[GaryT]

Kitty Bloom
Kitty Bloom VM 900+3
"Formulated with 15 Vitamins, 10 Minerals and Taurine, Kitty Bloom VM 900+3 is a best-selling supplement for feline diets, including homemade raw diets! Kitty Bloom VM 900+3 is a concentrated powder form with real cheese, so it's great for finicky eaters. Proven safe and effective with millions of cats and with all types of diets."

 

[GaryT]

I feel like I do the research and I am still wrong...I really don't know what to do now. Is what I am feeding OK? I have always done what the breeder and vet recommended for every cat I have ever owned. I was not as good with my first cat. I bought cheep food. I thought I was getting better. (I used to feed my first cat "Tender Vittles" which I hear now was bad.)

 

[daftcat75]

I just went to the Blue Ridge page and grabbed this info on what I am feeding Theodore. I get the 2pound tubes in a case of 15. He gets the ground beef kitten grind. And recommended serving size as per the site (I am below this). I had bought Kitty Bloom vitamin powder but it has cheese in it so I stopped(possible lactose intolerance). Also, my vet said not to add them because he would get too much and cause problems. Could be part of the reason he was scratching off his fur. That has stopped now.
Kitten Mix (Cats)
Ground Beef, Ground Chicken, Ground Beef Heart, Ground Beef Liver, Ground Chicken Bone

Protein- 18.57%
Fat- 6.85%
Fiber- .32%
Ash- 1.39%
Moisture- 73.52%
Calcium- 145 mg/100g
Phosphorus- 216 mg/100g
1298 kcal/kg

This is much better than just the raw beef. This has heart, liver, and bones. You're probably okay with this without any additions. That still looks like too much phosphorous to me but at least there is calcium in this. I don't know if I would split hairs over that but maybe someone else on this forum might have some input. Don't add anything else to this. It would be too difficult to figure out what to add anyway.

You asked what we thought of this, and we told you. That's how these forums work. You never learn if you never ask. But once you do know better, it's on you to choose what to do with that knowledge.

 

[GaryT]

I just did not realize that there are many different blends even from BRB. I was steered to the "Kitten Grind" and thought all were the same. I stand corrected. I was adding Kitty Bloom to the raw for the first month. Then he scratched off all of his mane and all around his neck. It could have been the cheese (lactose intolerance) or it could have been the over amount of nutrients. He was also getting "Breeder's Edge Foster Care Feline Milk replacement" powder mixed with water every morning ( 1 tablespoon mixed with enuff water to make a thick milk). I stopped the milk and the kitty bloom and he stopped scratching.

Thanks for the info.