Basic Raw Food Question

[bridget graham]

Hi all,

I'm just about ready to start introducing raw food to my cats but I accidentally bought the wrong Bravo! food. The stuff I bought doesn't have any of the supplemental ingredients that would make the food "complete" or "balanced". My question is this: are there products on the market that contain the basic supplements that need to be added to meat and eggs in order to make balanced cat food? I can get vitamin E, taurine, etc., and add them individually to raw food but I would like to find a product that is designed to be mixed with the meat for cats. I am competent enough to measure capsules, oils and powders but I would prefer not to. It would be nice to have all of the extras consolidated into one product.

Thank you for your help!

 

[catspaw66]

Hello and welcome to TCS.  I have asked a moderator to move your post to the Raw Feeding forum.  You will get more people who feed only raw there.

 

[raintyger]

They are called premixes. I used a product called TC Feline once. Sorry, but it was last fall, and I don't remember much more.
 

 

[bridget graham]

catspaw66, thank you for moving the post. I noticed after I posted that there's a raw forum.

Raintyger, thank you so much! That completely answers my question!

 

[mschauer]

Alnutrin is another popular premix.

 

[peaches08]

I liked Better In The Raw as well as the other options mentioned.

 

[harleydiva]

I use Alnutrin.  Cats like it, and will even go after the bag when it is out.  The Bravo food which is already supplemented is Bravo Balance.  I used it for a while until I started mixing my own with Alnutrin.  The downside of the Balance product is that it only comes in three varieties....Chicken, Turkey, or Beef.  They are formulated for dogs and cats....so I would add additional taurine....I fed raw chicken hearts with it to provide more taurine.

The cats actually prefer the mixes I make over the Balance.....but it is a good product.  The other big advantage to mixing your own is that you can rotate the protein and offer more variety.  I prepared beef, turkey, quail, rabbit, chicken, and pork this month.  

 

[vball91]

In addition to the ones already mentioned, there's also Wysong's Call of the Wild and BalanceIT.

 

[bridget graham]

You have all been very helpful. I'll look for those brands when I go to the feed store. Unfortunately, I tried feeding my cats the Bravo! this morning and they wouldn't eat it at all. Maybe because it was cold. They've been eating BFF food for the last week and they love it. I left the raw food out so maybe they became curious about it, I'll check on them in about an hour.

 

[harleydiva]

You have all been very helpful. I'll look for those brands when I go to the feed store. Unfortunately, I tried feeding my cats the Bravo! this morning and they wouldn't eat it at all. Maybe because it was cold. They've been eating BFF food for the last week and they love it. I left the raw food out so maybe they became curious about it, I'll check on them in about an hour.

My guys don't like it cold.  Try putting some in a plastic bag, and warming up in a bowl of warm water.  You can also stir in a little hot water to warm it up.  

Many cats don't necessarily recognize it as food initially.  You might try putting some of the BFF on top, or mixing a bit of raw into the BFF for several days, gradually increasing the amount.  "Toppers" also encourage them to try it....like crumbling some freeze dried chicken on top, for example.  Some cats love parmesan cheese.  I was lucky....my three transitioned in just 3 days, but many people have gone through a much longer process.  Don't give up....it may be a bit of a process.

 

[vball91]

I'm not sure you're going to find any of the pre-mixes in a feed store, but it doesn't hurt to look. I've never seen any at a store and had to order online.

You might try mixing the raw with the BFF food they like at first. It might take them a while to recognize it as food. Raw is not as smelly as commercial foods.

 

[bridget graham]

OK, good idea, I'll try mixing it later today. I live in Austin and I go to Tomlinson's and it's a pretty sophisticated feed store so they might have something. Otherwise I'll order online. Thank you!

 

[harleydiva]

OK, good idea, I'll try mixing it later today. I live in Austin and I go to Tomlinson's and it's a pretty sophisticated feed store so they might have something. Otherwise I'll order online. Thank you!

Here is another store in Austin that appears to carry a variety of raw food....

http://www.barknpurr.com/Frozen-C448.aspx

 

[bridget graham]

Oh yes! I've been there.

 

[bridget graham]

Three days! What were they eating before?

 

[bridget graham]

I can't believe these cats. I tried mixing a tiny amount of the raw food in with the BFF and they wouldn't eat it. My six month old kitten didn't go for it, that's kind of a surprise. This is going to take much longer than anticipated so I will get some Weruva because they shouldn't eat fish-based food for much longer.

If I add a premix in with the food will it change the smell of it enough that they'll be interested in it?

 

[harleydiva]

Three days! What were they eating before?

They were eating grain free canned....I had already removed the dry food a couple weeks before.  I started with Nature's Variety medallions for a couple of weeks, as that was the only thing I could find locally.  Then I found a source for Bravo, so switched to Bravo Balance, which they liked better as it is more "meaty".  In the meantime, I was talking to several folks online about making my own with ground meat/bone mixes and Alnutrin.  I found a supplier (My Pet Carnivore) who delivered to my area once a month....and made the switch.  After starting the homemade.....the cats wouldn't eat the Bravo anymore......thank goodness for the dachshunds, who will eat anything.....they finished the Bravo.

I was pretty lucky....2 of my three ate the raw immediately.  One held out for 2 days (I had to take him in the other room and give him some canned).  On day 3, he decided if the other guys were eating it, it must be okay, and he never looked back.  Toppers were necessary for quite a while, and I still use them on meats that aren't on the favorite list.  Crumbling freeze dried chicken/turkey on top goes a long way with my guys. (absolutepettreats.com has good stuff at a good price). I also discovered that they liked raw green tripe....so added a little of that to their food sometimes.  

My guys were 6, 7, and 8 months old when we started....so their youth probably helped.  I also fed them a variety of canned foods before, so they weren't hooked on anything particular.  They rarely got fish, so no fish addiction.  

 

[vball91]

If I add a premix in with the food will it change the smell of it enough that they'll be interested in it?

I only have experience with Call of the Wild, but most cats seem to like it. My cat loved the COTW so much that she licked it all off and left the raw behind the first time I gave it to her!

 

[bridget graham]

They were eating grain free canned....I had already removed the dry food a couple weeks before.  I started with Nature's Variety medallions for a couple of weeks, as that was the only thing I could find locally.  Then I found a source for Bravo, so switched to Bravo Balance, which they liked better as it is more "meaty".  In the meantime, I was talking to several folks online about making my own with ground meat/bone mixes and Alnutrin.  I found a supplier (My Pet Carnivore) who delivered to my area once a month....and made the switch.  After starting the homemade.....the cats wouldn't eat the Bravo anymore......thank goodness for the dachshunds, who will eat anything.....they finished the Bravo.

I was pretty lucky....2 of my three ate the raw immediately.  One held out for 2 days (I had to take him in the other room and give him some canned).  On day 3, he decided if the other guys were eating it, it must be okay, and he never looked back.  Toppers were necessary for quite a while, and I still use them on meats that aren't on the favorite list.  Crumbling freeze dried chicken/turkey on top goes a long way with my guys. (absolutepettreats.com has good stuff at a good price). I also discovered that they liked raw green tripe....so added a little of that to their food sometimes.  

My guys were 6, 7, and 8 months old when we started....so their youth probably helped.  I also fed them a variety of canned foods before, so they weren't hooked on anything particular.  They rarely got fish, so no fish addiction.  

Oh shoot, am I getting them hooked on fish? I didn't know they could become addicted to it. It's only been a week so I'll change it up.

 

[harleydiva]

Oh shoot, am I getting them hooked on fish? I didn't know they could become addicted to it. It's only been a week so I'll change it up.

Some cats get hooked on fish....not all.  Mine actually don't particularly like it....probably because they rarely saw it.  I do give them water packed, salt free sardines once a week (on top of their regular food) for omega 3.  The rest of the time I use salmon oil.  Some cats don't like salmon oil, but are okay with krill oil.  I get Lake Kronch (sp?) salmon oil which they accept with no issues.  

My guys love chicken hearts....try cutting up a small heart on top of their food and see if they will eat it.  I feed them several times a week when I have them....they are a great source of taurine.  (BTW...kitchen scissors make the cut up job much easier than trying to use a knife.)  They also like gizzards, which are good for chewing for teeth cleaning, and a source of glucosamine and chondroitin for preventative joint care.    I had to cut up both hearts and gizzards initially....now I can throw them on top of the ground food whole.