How expensive is raw food?

[coastiecat]

I have heard so many great things about raw food here on this website. Once we get Shelby out of her cone and she is all healthy and happy again, I am going to try to switch them to a raw food diet. I think zyrtec for her allergies and a raw diet for her food allergies will help her tremendously! I think when I first start out I will try a raw commercial food like Nature's Variety, and then maybe switch to homemade raw. 

About how much a month would it cost to feed two cats on a raw diet? 

 

[ritz]

I think raw for food allergies is a great way to go.

Regarding cost, it really depends on what you feed your cat and to a degree where you shop.  I guess I average for one cat anywhere from 50 cents to $1 a day.  Ritz has expensive tastes.

Supermarkets geared to international clientele can be cheaper than main stream grocery stores.  Although they don't have as many 'clearance' sales, they do have a greater variety of organ meats.

Check Craig's List or the internet to see if you have a local B.A.R.F. group.  They cater mainly to dog owners who feed raw, but you might be able to get some deals.  Ask any hunters if they have any left over meat from last year they'd be willing to give you.  (In some states, it is illegal to sell game meat you hunt.  But not if you give it away for free.)  .  My nephew is a hunter and he occasionally gives me goose or venison.

Finally, some mail order companies offer decent sales on meat, like Hare Today.  I occasionally order from them if they are having a sale on a protein I can't easily find in the USA, like llama or certain organs.

The general rule of thumb is to rotate among at least three proteins, i.e., chicken, turkey, pork, beef.  (I understand that the price of beef is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years.)  Ritz is an adventurous eater, she'll eat anything, including tripe or goat.

Chicken is cheap, and often goes on sale.  I rarely find turkey on sale.  I frequently find pork and beef on sale, 30% to 50% off.

By sale I mean:  marked down because it is at or near its sale date.  For example, I bought sirloin steak, boneless for $3.00 a pound.  Ritz eats 3.2 oz of meat a day, another roughly .8 oz of organs and bone.  That is less than $1 a day for one cat--and we're talking SIRLOIN STEAK.  Chicken would be 1/2 to 1/3 of that.

I will say that I have bought bone-in meat, and wasted a lot of it; essentially you're paying a lot for food you can't use (bone in beef and pork are usually too hard for cats to eat).  Most of the bone in chicken can be used, except maybe the thigh bone.

Also I find I throw away a lot of fat in the fattier meats, like lamb or certain cuts of pork.  Or, I save/freeze the parts I don't use and give it to the feral/stray cat colony I take care of.  (Only one will regularly eat raw.)

You do have to invest in a good scale.  And get some decent knifes.  There seems to be less waste if you cut slightly frozen meat, versus defrosted meat.

It also really helps if you have a freezer you can take advantages of sales.  (I don't have one due in part to electrical load issues.  But I do use my brother's freezer.)

I don't use a lot of supplements except Krill Oil and egg yolks.  In many grocery stores you can get two bottles of, for example, Krill Oil, for the price of one.  Same with probiotics.  And I eat cooked egg whites as a source of my own protein, so I save a yolk or two for Ritz.

PS:  sorry about the highlight, Ritz is bugging me for (raw) veal and my attention

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you are planning on feeding Nature's Variety, then just shop around to find the best deal, but be aware that the prices can vary greatly.  For instance, sometimes I feed Primal rather than homemade raw.  (for those emergency times when it's just easier to open a bag and pull out a couple of frozen nuggets to thaw than an entire larger bag of raw...whatever).  Anyway, I can find Primal ranging anywhere from $17.95 to $26.95 for a 3 lb bag.  And I'm talking local stores.  Then there's the internet where you can usually get it cheaper, but have to pay extra for shipping frozen.  AND, then it depends on how much your cats eat.

But, for a quick comparison, check out this article, written by one of our members:  http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and...y-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/

And while you're at it, have you checked out our Raw Resources Thread?  The above article is from that thread.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

 

[jclark]

It really depends on the weight and activity level of the cats. Also some raw types are more nutritionally dense than others (Ex. Nature's Variety Lamb vs. Duck).

 

[sugarsandz]

It depends on how much your kitties eat.  I started my old cat Ghost on raw food recently because of possible food allergies, I use the Nature's Variety raw lamb medallions.  I got them at Petco, the bag I bought was like $25.00 and will last two weeks for him once he is eating only that food.  So for us it ends up being $50.00 a month for just Ghost. 

I know that Nature's variety makes dry and wet food to add into the diet if you can't do only raw, I've been giving Ghost Nature's Variety Instinct limited ingredient turkey because I couldn't find lamb in thee l.i.d. so the raw lasts longer. 

Ghost weighs about 14 pounds but needs to drop a little weight so he's getting a smaller portion, I give him 2 medallions and a little dry food each day along with half a sardine.  When he is on raw only, he'll get 3 1/2 medallions and I'll adjust it more or less depending on his weight. 

 

[washu]

It costs about $70-$80 a month to feed my 4 cats. I have been buying ground whole chicken, turkey, duck and rabbit from My Pet Carnivore. I live close enough to pick up at HQ so I don't pay shipping.

 

[peaches08]

I feed homemade raw, and like Ritz I buy meat on sale or sell-by dates. I buy chicken thighs at $0.99/lb and pork almost that cheap if buying sell-by. I buy the supplements from www.iherb.com. To feed 3 cats twice a day it costs me under $1/day. I'm hoping to add more variety soon.