F3 Savannah cat food recommendations

Macenroe82

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
4
Purraise
3
Hello,
New member here and also the proud new owner of an F3 Savannah kitten named Nova.
He just turned 14 weeks old on Saturday.

We're looking for any other higher generation Savannah cat owners, to provide recommendations on cat food.

Nova is currently on dry Blue Wilderness Kitten formula, mixed with wet Blue Wilderness kitten, salmon or chicken formula.
In addition, he also receives cooked chicken breasts ever other day or so.

Savannah cats have specific dietary needs.
Grain-free food is one of them.

We have also heard from breeders that a raw diet is beneficial for them.

There's a plethora of information from companies all claiming theirs is the best. But really, they are only looking to sell their product line.

So hearing from another Savannah owner and their recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and looking forward to hearing back.
 

Attachments

Kieka

Snowshoe Servant
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
11,394
Purraise
19,964
Location
Southern California
Welcome! Nova sure is a handsome little guy. :heartshape:

I don't think we have very many Savannah owners here. But we have a lot of concerned and active cat owners. I would imagine that Savannah's probably have a slightly different nutrition profile but along the same lines of high protein, moderate fat and low carb. Grain free doesn't mean low carb; but the label can help narrow down your search. A lot of grain free foods have peas and potatoes to substitute and the binder to make them shelf stable. Wet foods tend have have fewer carbs then dry since they don't need a binder. But you still have to be mindful of the label since some companies have taken to adding pea protein to up the protein content cheaply; but cats can't use plant protein so it's just a farce.

Blue Buffalo has one of the highest fat contents in their kitten food lines. Which your guy probably needs to keep up with his growth. I'd probably feed him as many cans of wet food as he will eat with dry kibble out between. Using our typical kitten recommendation of they grow fast and you don't want them hungry. You can also look for an all stages food for one that is higher in protein and fat then the typical adult labeled food. Many of our members just feed all stages to all their cats and just adjust the portion based on age (kittens getting more and adults a steady amount based on their metabolism and activity).

If you are interested in feeding raw, and honestly with a Savannah's more wild roots and larger size raw probably would be better. We do have a raw sub forum with a ton of information including how and where to source meats. If you know what you are doing with raw you can end up with a better product then you will find in any store and it can often be cheaper if you shop smart. I don't do raw because of time and I am scared of not doing it right but we have a lot of members who swear by it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Macenroe82

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
4
Purraise
3
Thank you very much!
I never heard of brands cheating with pea protein before.
That is something I will definitely be on the lookout now.

We love Nova so much already.
Even though he has only been with us for a very short time, we fell in love with him at first sight.
He is part of the family for sure.

I was actually just reading up online about feeding raw and how it is highly recommended for Savannahs.
I sent my wife a link to a raw feeding video suggesting that we should look into it more.

We just want to be able to provide the best for all our pets.

In addition to Nova being on 2 types of Blue Buffalo, we also have two other cats on another Blue Brand and a German Shepard pup on yet another Blue brand.
So were buying 4 different brands of Blue at the pet store.

I should ask them to send us some discount coupons haha.

Again thank you for the recommendations and what to look out for.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Macenroe82

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
4
Purraise
3
Here’s to 20 years being a healthy kitty!
May your baby have many more loving years.

The more I’ve read today about feeding raw, it sounds like not only Nova would greatly benefit, but also our 2 DSH - Rocky and Adrienne.
They are both 10 years old, brother and sister.
Adrienne was diagnosed with cancer back in May.
She was just skin and bones. We thought for sure that she wouldn’t make it.
But that girl has been through a lot in her 10 years.
She got out one day when she was 5. We thought she was lost forever.
A little over a year later, I found her picture posted on the local found pets page.
Filled with worms and had a chest infection.
We got her to the vet and back running at full steam.
Then at the beginning of this year we noticed her appetite slowly decreasing.
Eventually she Wouldn’t eat anything.
We finally got her in to the vet. They told us she had cancer.
They told us that she most likely wouldn’t recover.

I said no matter what, we still have to try.
She spent some time at the vet getting treatment and back to healthy.
Before long she made a full recovery.
Now she doesn’t stop eating haha.
She has packed on the pounds and is happier than ever.

Sorry for the tangent, but ya, raw diet may just be the way to go for all our cats.
 

Kieka

Snowshoe Servant
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Sep 6, 2016
Messages
11,394
Purraise
19,964
Location
Southern California
Definitely check out Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food for tips if you are going raw. We have some really knowledgeable members on the subject who have been raw feeding for years. It is one of those things you want to fully research and do right.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
Welcome, Macenroe82 Macenroe82 ! We've been feeding our cats raw food almost since we adopted them. They have tetchy digestive systems so raw and homemade cooked foods work really well for them so they cat eat maximum meat without the thickeners and fillers that are in so many canned foods. (And even, sorry to say, some commercial raw foods.) We avoid anything with the afore-mentioned peas as well as potatoes, grains, lentils, and other legumes.

As zed xyzed zed xyzed says about raw food, the hygiene aspect is important. That's why I only feed commercial raw but make cooked food for our cats. I'm not sure where you live or what your food options are but there are lots of things to consider with commercial raw foods: some are treated with high-pressure processing to kill bacteria and some have bone, which can cause constipation in some cats (like one of ours!).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

Macenroe82

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
4
Purraise
3
Thank you everyone for the help so far.
I’m glad I signed up here.
I will definitely be checking out each and every recommendation.
I’m completely sold on raw feeding now.

I think I will start with a small amount of raw chicken liver to see how Nova takes to it, then go from there to slowly adding more and various types.
 

zed xyzed

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
3,786
Purraise
3,740
Location
Toronto Canada
Thank you everyone for the help so far.
I’m glad I signed up here.
I will definitely be checking out each and every recommendation.
I’m completely sold on raw feeding now.

I think I will start with a small amount of raw chicken liver to see how Nova takes to it, then go from there to slowly adding more and various types.
Please don't feed her raw food meant for human consumption. It is processed with the understanding that it will be cooked. If you are going to feed raw I would only feed commercial raw that has been treated by pascalization (placed under tremendous pressure) to kill all pathogens before freezing. Pascalization - Wikipedia
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
I think I will start with a small amount of raw chicken liver to see how Nova takes to it, then go from there to slowly adding more and various types.
Yes, very small amounts of something can also be a good way to start. Definitely be careful with liver, though, since too much can apparently cause diarrhea! 😱 (I looked it up because liver is high in vitamin A, which would also mean cats shouldn't get too much at once...) An article on organ meat from Feline-Nutrition.

(That site, by the way, is a great resource on raw feeding, one of my favorites on raw food and health.)
 

Azazel

Time spent with cats is never wasted.
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
2,844
Purraise
3,465
Please don't feed her raw food meant for human consumption. It is processed with the understanding that it will be cooked. If you are going to feed raw I would only feed commercial raw that has been treated by pascalization (placed under tremendous pressure) to kill all pathogens before freezing. Pascalization - Wikipedia
I will have to disagree with this post. I make my cats’ raw food and I purchase only high quality human-grade meat from the butcher (no added sodium or anything else- just fresh raw local meat). My cats are all very healthy and doing great on it. There are pros and cons to HPP processing, but there are also lots of advantages to knowing the source of your meat and buying fresh whole cuts. I prefer to have complete control over what I feed my cats.

If you are purchasing meat from a reliable source and your cat is healthy then there should be absolutely no problem in having bacteria in the meat. Cats can handle it - they have short and acidic digestive tracts to handle all kinds of bad bacteria that humans can not handle.

As for feeding a raw diet, you should decide first whether you want to make your own food or purchase commercial raw. I prefer to make my own because I don’t like not knowing the quality of the ingredients that go into my cats’ food and how that meat was handled. I also have noticed a huge difference in overall health when my cats eat my homemade raw food versus when I fed commercial raw.

However, if you decide to do homemade raw you need to do your research to make sure that you’re making it properly so that you don’t risk malnutrition. It takes a lot more than just feeding random raw pieces of meat. Most people add supplements to their recipes. A good website to read is feline-nutrition.org.

I might also suggest starting with a cut of muscle meat rather than liver. Liver is very rich and usually you only want to start with a very tiny amount of it. Muscle meat is a better treat to start with. Chicken hearts and gizzards cut into pieces are great treats.
 

monsta

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Feb 10, 2021
Messages
2
Purraise
0
i have an F1 savannah (8 months old today) 13lb he gets fed all raw - its a mix of hare,horse,liver, and bone thats mixed into a big frozen sausage - so its completely ground up - its ordered online. he also eats raw chicken breast cut up into cubes - you want to stay away from traditional cat food - you want your cat to have the best possible raw nutrients - that way he./she will grow as genetically dispositioned - my previous savannah was an F4 male and weighed over 20lb fed on a raw diet too

This is Nero our 8 month kitten - hes huge already :D
 

Attachments

donkeyslong

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
May 9, 2022
Messages
18
Purraise
66
i have an F1 savannah (8 months old today) 13lb he gets fed all raw - its a mix of hare,horse,liver, and bone thats mixed into a big frozen sausage - so its completely ground up - its ordered online. he also eats raw chicken breast cut up into cubes - you want to stay away from traditional cat food - you want your cat to have the best possible raw nutrients - that way he./she will grow as genetically dispositioned - my previous savannah was an F4 male and weighed over 20lb fed on a raw diet too

This is Nero our 8 month kitten - hes huge already :D
I see this is a old thread, but if you don't mind me asking what website do you order from. Love your f1 cat, looks amazing. Here
20220527_194109.jpg
is the kitten that I have. He is only 3 in a half months old.
20220527_193346.jpg
VideoCapture_20220527-193548.jpg
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
I see this is a old thread, but if you don't mind me asking what website do you order from. Love your f1 cat, looks amazing. Heres the itten that I have. He is only 3 in a half months old.
If you're asking about where to buy raw meats from, Hare-Today.com is a popular web site. Mypetcarnivore.com is another one.
 
Top