Hare Today freeze dried

[sjbvelez]

I just saw on an older (April 2024 I think) thread that Hare Today makes freeze dried raw options now! So cool!

On that thread, someone mentioned that since the rabbit option includes all of the organs, there was no need for added supplements. I'm wondering how many people are using the Hare Today freeze dried foods and whether or not you add a supplement like Alnutrin? It would be nice not to have to, although if I try the Hare Today freeze dried it would be part of a rotation of foods for my cats, and right now they only get commercial/complete freeze dried meals.

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

Yeah! I'm glad Hare Today has expanded their freeze dried options, though I wish they used a bit less bones for cats. I really like that their ground rabbit is the entire rabbit with all of the organs, minus the stomach and fur. That's the closest mix I've found that uses more than just liver, heart, and kidney. I wish they would make a version that's does contain the head and fur too. I've been slowly trying to get my cats to accept whole prey as food, but it's slow going. True Carnivores up here, thankfully has ground whole quail which is very helpful. Hopefully one day in the future we will have ground and freeze dried foods for our cats that are literally whole prey via using the entire rabbit, mouse, quail, rat, Guinea pig, etc.

I also like that the Hare Today freeze dried foods dont contain anything added as well. You dont have to worry about too much of any vitamin/mineral supplement being added. I do wish their other ones (namely chicken, duck, and turkey since they're smaller animals) used more organs though. Only rabbit uses the pancreas, thymus, lungs, head (eyes and brain) etc. It's the inclusion of all organs, blood, meat, etc that would make the food truly complete without a need for using supplements to make up for missing nutrients.

 

[Cat McCannon]

We rotate Belle between different wet foods and Fresh Pet which is a complete raw meal. Also included in the rotation is raw chicken innards (liver, heart, gizzards) which isn’t complete. We don’t worry about that because she’s getting everything she needs from the complete meals. My thought is, if you’re rotating food, it won’t hurt to occasionally give your cat something that isn’t a complete meal.

 

[sjbvelez]

Thanks Cat McCannon ! That is what I was thinking as well.

I do wonder, though, if I could simply toss the required amount of Alnutrin into the bag of Hare Today freeze dried. I think the freeze dried makes 1 lb. when rehydrated, and the Alnutrin measurements are for 1 lb. increments. The Hare Today freeze dried is pretty much ground up into a powder, so in theory it would mix in well. In theory .

If I try the Hare Today, I might just start with no supplementation and keep it as a somewhat infrequent rotation. I do like that they have some novel proteins (with no fillers), and at least the rabbit is pretty much whole prey model (everything except the fur, stomach, and intestines).

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Why not just call Hare Today and ask them. When I used to buy from them, they were always very nice to talk to.

I would be leery about adding supplements if they are NOT needed. It's possible to give too much of a good thing, and personally, I suspect they are not needed.

 

[sjbvelez]

I did email Hare Today before coming to The Cat Site forum. I was impressed with how responsive the owner! Definitely seems like a great company to work with. However, she did say the freezing process reduces some of the nutrient values and the addition of Alnutrin is still recommended.

I was under the impression that freeze drying retains most of the nutrient values. It even says on the Hare Today website that it retains an estimated 97%. So I'm not sure. I agree that I wouldn't want to over supplement, as some of those vitamins are fat soluble, not water soluble.

Given that their freeze dried rabbit is a whole prey model, AND I plan to include as part of a rotation with commercial, complete diets, I don't think I'm going to worry about adding the Alnutrin. If I try one of the other proteins (they have freeze dried goat!!!!) that aren't as close to whole prey, I'll toss in the supplement.