Feeding Dehydrated Raw Without Rehydrating

[trisha422]

So my cat decided that she suddenly hates the Primal brand dehydrated nuggets that she's been eating for the past year.
I bought the Vital Essentials and Northwest Natural brand today with the same result.

I discovered that she will eat it if it's dry and not rehydrated with water.
Is this going to be an issue at all?
Or is there no harm in eating it dry?

For some reason I'm worried it'll cause constipation or something.
**I also tried sprinkling some dry crumbs on top of the rehydrated part and she would only lick off the top.

 

[lisamarie12]

I wouldn't give any freeze dried raw without reconstituting it, other than a small piece or two occasionally as a treat but not as a meal. Cats don't eat anything dry in
nature, just because it's raw it would still be too dehydrating (which is one of the reasons why kibble isn't recommended) and you don't want to risk any urinary tract blockages.

Have you tried any freeze dried meat treats as toppers, e.g., Whole Life, Bravo, Pure Bites? A couple of toppers crumbled on top of the food may help.

Assuming also you were rotating proteins? Cats can get tired of eating the same thing consistently.

 

[trisha422]

I wouldn't give any freeze dried raw without reconstituting it, other than a small piece or two occasionally as a treat but not as a meal. Cats don't eat anything dry in
nature, just because it's raw it would still be too dehydrating (which is one of the reasons why kibble isn't recommended) and you don't want to risk any urinary tract blockages.

Have you tried any freeze dried meat treats as toppers, e.g., Whole Life, Bravo, Pure Bites? A couple of toppers crumbled on top of the food may help.

Assuming also you were rotating proteins? Cats can get tired of eating the same thing consistently.

Yea, very true on the dehydrating. Oh why do felines have to be so picky?!
She doesn't like red meat so I switch between turkey and chicken.

I guess I'll go with my original plan of feeding wet can food until she gets a taste for the rehydrated raw again.
Thanks for your input!!

 

[Sallysoo]

It is not okay to just feed the freeze dried without rehydrating them, esp they are the kitty main meal. Same with my kitty who likes the primal freeze dried as it is. Thus, I gave it as a dry treat only. Occasionally as a small meal, I can only add a little bit of water to it as he doesnt like it when soak with a lot of water. His daily main meal is raw meat diet. Wet canned 1-2 times a week. It is important that kitty gets their water mostly from their main food, even though fresh water is readily provided for them too

 

[lexiconby]

how do you know feeding dehydrated food is bad? did you call the food supplier to confirm or do you have first hand knowledge on this? yes, it's true that cats don't eat dry food in the wild, but cats also don't eat canned wet food in the wild also. they also don't eat the long list of chemicals on the ingredients in cat food nor large animals like beef, salmon, turkey, lamb because it's not their prey so how can you say it's not okay to feed your cat un-reconstituted raw freeze dried food? do you have proof that eating dehydrated food will significantly increase UTI?

i understand that's what the directions say on the package so i'm not saying what your saying doesn't have merit. i am merely raising a question which stems from how i was raised (which is to question everything).

 

[LTS3]

Well most anything dehydrated readily soaks up liquid, right? Like a dry sponge. So if dehydrated food is eaten as is, it'll start absorbing fluids from inside the stomach and intestines, drawing water from other parts of the body. That can cause dehydration which in turns causes concentrated urine which is more likely to have concentrated bacteria and crystals and stuff that could cause a urinary issue. Cats have a low thirst drive so they're not going to drink a ton of water to keep themselves hydrated.

Small amounts of dehydrated food and treats are ok. Feeding only dehydrated food without adding extra water per the instructions may cause issues.

 

[zeiter]

Well I have 4 bengals that have been on feline natural without rehydrating for 8 years now . One week they have freeze dried, next week frozen raw patties from Tollden farms, alternating. When fed frozen raw, they barely drink at all. When fed freeze dried without adding water, they drink a lot. End result, amount of urine in the litter is the same in both cases. No more, no less.

 

[zeiter]

By the way, the moisture content of Feline Natural freeze dried is 8 %, it is higher than all other freeze dried and similar to some kibbles like Farmina 8 %. Kibbles are normally 10 %. Also I remember contacting Primal regarding feeding freeze dried without rehydrating, and they said I can do with or without water, but nutrition is absorbed optimally WITH WATER.