Just a question about what commercial raw you guys use

[sugarsandz]

My vet today suggested trying raw food for Ghost who has a skin problem that is getting worse. She suggested going to a local pet store here that sells a few different brands and also suggested using something like lamb. I need to get him switched soon so I'm trying to research but want some opinions on the brands I can get my hands on.

I'll just list them real quick:

Primal

Rad Cat

Stella & Chewy's

Nature's Variety ( I feed dry from this brand and have used wet but don't know about the raw)

I'm also going to go check out the cat food reviews in the meantime, we are going to go on our raw food adventure tomorrow. As far as making it myself, I'm not ready for that yet but maybe one day if this helps him. Thanks to any advice!

 

[sugarsandz]

I'm thinking Natures Variety to start out with. I will get the raw lamb, it says 65 calories in an oz and one medallion is 1 oz. When we weighed Ghost today he was 14lbs which is way up from before the prednisone. He used to be closer to 11lbs and was still a bit on the thicker side so how much raw would be good to give him. 4 medallions comes out at 220 calories, I just don't want to starve him, the vet does want him to lose those 3 extra pounds though.

He's an old cat that is very inactive if that helps. On another post someone mentioned 15 calories per pound of body weight will work for weight loss which would mean 4 medallions would work if that's really a safe amount. I just want to help him the best I can.

 

[tiliqua]

I can't comment on the other brands, but I use Nature's Variety and I'm happy with it.  One thing to note is that it is quite high in bone - you may want to watch to see if kitty is getting constipated.  It is easy to add a few chunks of muscle meat in on occasion to dilute the bone a bit and very healthy for their teeth to eat chunks of meat. 

It takes a bit to transition cats to raw, depending on the cat - you might need to add some toppers or mix it with canned food to get them to switch.  I found that most of my cats really liked the duck variety so that might be worth trying!  

The Nature's Variety website has a calculator to help know how much to feed:  http://www.naturesvariety.com/feedguide

For the lamb formula and a 14 lb cat it says 4.2 oz for a not very active cat or 4.6 oz for an average activity cat.   

 

[sugarsandz]

I can't comment on the other brands, but I use Nature's Variety and I'm happy with it.  One thing to note is that it is quite high in bone - you may want to watch to see if kitty is getting constipated.  It is easy to add a few chunks of muscle meat in on occasion to dilute the bone a bit and very healthy for their teeth to eat chunks of meat. 

It takes a bit to transition cats to raw, depending on the cat - you might need to add some toppers or mix it with canned food to get them to switch.  I found that most of my cats really liked the duck variety so that might be worth trying!  

The Nature's Variety website has a calculator to help know how much to feed:  http://www.naturesvariety.com/feedguide


For the lamb formula and a 14 lb cat it says 4.2 oz for a not very active cat or 4.6 oz for an average activity cat.   

Thanks so much! Seems like 4 oz is a good starting place then, I can adjust up a little or down a little if he gains or doesn't lose any weight. I'm going to get a bag tomorrow, hopefully this does the trick!

 

[peaches08]

You can feed 15% of the diet as unbalanced raw, so if you feed twice a day then you can feed twice a week completely unbalanced.

Omegas are great for skin and readily available in tinned sardines packed in water. No prep work either!

If your kitty likes raw, you can of course keep kitty on commercial raw. Because of the expense and some ingredients I don't want I made my own raw using meat, premix (and liver if not in the premix), and water.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[andrya]

l make my cats' raw food, but if l had access to Rad Cat here in Canada l would most definitely use it. lt looks to be about as good as it gets for commercial.

We tried the Nature's Variety and the cats wouldn't entertain it - the dog got it all.

They do get both Primal freeze-fried and Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried in their current rotation, but not frozen raw. They like it, it's quick and easy but does contain some carbs.

 

[ritz]

I started out feeding Primal commercial raw (I now feed frankenprey). I got a variety package of Primal to figure out if Ritz would even eat raw, and what flavor(s) she might like. Turned out, everything!
Ritz liked Rad Cat; it has the same texture as a lot of canned foods and it is single source protein as are some varieties of Primal. This is important if your cat is allergic to a certain protein. For example, some raw feeding might be composed of: meat/protein from beef; kidney from lamb; liver from chicken.
For me personally, I found Primal a bit high in carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits) (but I'm an either/or; black-white type of thinker, doer). Ritz didn't like the texture of some of Nature's Variety's products, but NV does frequently send coupons if you sign up. I got one or two sample size bags free.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[sugarsandz]

You can feed 15% of the diet as unbalanced raw, so if you feed twice a day then you can feed twice a week completely unbalanced.

Omegas are great for skin and readily available in tinned sardines packed in water. No prep work either!

If your kitty likes raw, you can of course keep kitty on commercial raw. Because of the expense and some ingredients I don't want I made my own raw using meat, premix (and liver if not in the premix), and water.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

What do you mean by unbalanced raw lol, I am already lost ! also my vet does want me to feed sardines so I'm glad you also mentioned this! I was going to go get some raw today but I've come down with a cold or something and didn't want to spread it so it might be a few more days, that just means I have more time to look.

 

[tiliqua]

By unbalanced raw, we mean raw meats that aren't the correct 80% meat, 5% liver, 5% other secreting organ and <10% bone.  To feed a frankenprey or homemade ground raw diet, you need to make sure you have all of these ratios correct in order to feed a balanced diet.  However, if you are feeding canned or commercial raw you can feed up to 15% of the diet as 'treats' and other things without worrying about balancing those ratios.

So, if you are feeding commercial raw twice a day then two meals a week can be something else - maybe some raw chicken meat, gizzard, heat, liver, chicken necks, beef or pork chunks... whatever you have on hand.  It is good to see what your cat will eat and chunks of meat are great for dental health and keeping jaws strong.  Things like chicken / poultry heart, gizzards, necks or wings are very healthy for cats and not very expensive, so feel free to add some of those in as snacks and see if they will be eaten.  Often, to start you will have to slice raw meat into very thin pieces to get a cat to eat it if they aren't used to raw meat as food. 

 

[laralove]

What do you mean by unbalanced raw lol, I am already lost ! 

Cats need a balance of muscle, organs, skin, fat, bones, etc. as they provide various vitamins, minerals, calories, and the rest. When they catch prey in the wild, they get all that and more. So when feeding raw, you can give 15% of the diet where you're just giving them whatever... breast meat, dark meat, liver, chicken wing tips, whatever! But when you're feeding more than 15% raw, you want to make sure they're getting that full balance of nutrients by either providing all the various parts in the correct ratios (called frankenprey/prey model raw) or by supplementing the meat with the necessary nutritional supplements (vitamins, taurine, fish oil, etc.). 

 

[sugarsandz]

Thanks for clearing that up Tiliqua and LaraLove that's good to know, I always have extra raw meat. Plus it stretches the commercial raw even if it's just a tiny bit!

 

[tiliqua]

 
Thanks for clearing that up Tiliqua and LaraLove that's good to know, I always have extra raw meat. Plus it stretches the commercial raw even if it's just a tiny bit!

I'd highly recommend doing this - it is very healthy for teeth and it is by far my 4 cats favorite meals (I feed mostly frankenprey).  I can get duck / chicken / goose etc liver, gizzard, heart, necks and other stuff like tongue and feet for very cheap - same with beef / pork liver, heart, kidney, tongue.  Some of it is kind of gross to chop up but incredibly healthy for cats and they love it.  If you are feeding Nature's Variety, it tends to be a bit high in bone so it is great to offer other meat / organs as snacks.

 

[sugarsandz]

There's a great ethnic food market here that carries many of the animal parts you listed and they are reasonably priced. My husband loves livers and gizzards so I'll have those on hand lol.

 

[laralove]

Ah, I didn't think about checking the ethnic markets for meat.... something to consider. I recommend, if you decide to do your own balanced raw at any point, using beef heart. I made my first big batch of balanced raw for Oliver today, and I purchased a package of chicken hearts and gizzards. Ugh. Six little hearts in the whole package. So not okay. A fraction of what I needed. Beef heart has more taurine (essential for cats) and packs are larger, so would be the better deal. 

Also, just saw the inside of gizzards for the first time today. 

 

 

[tiliqua]

 
Ah, I didn't think about checking the ethnic markets for meat.... something to consider. I recommend, if you decide to do your own balanced raw at any point, using beef heart. I made my first big batch of balanced raw for Oliver today, and I purchased a package of chicken hearts and gizzards. Ugh. Six little hearts in the whole package. So not okay. A fraction of what I needed. Beef heart has more taurine (essential for cats) and packs are larger, so would be the better deal. 

Also, just saw the inside of gizzards for the first time today. 

 

Ethnic markets are great, as are butcher shops.  I have a wonderful butcher shop that will get me anything and cut it to whatever size I want - they will also give me ground bone for free.  The only downside is that they have more red meat - beef, lamb, pork, bison, goat, wild boar etc and only chicken.  So you can't get the nice fowl variety that is good to feed cats, but you can get 'other' secreting organs and you can get lots of variety of meat / organs.  Beef heart is high in taurine but the best you can do is feed a variety - so don't give up on chicken hearts, a butcher can probably get you how every many you want. 

It is pricier, but to get the other kinds of fowl, I've found a local farmer that sells at a farmer's market - they have cornish hens, duck, goose, giunea fowl, turkey and a couple heritage varieties of chicken.  Buying meat / whole birds is pricey but things like heart, gizzard, liver, tongues, feet and necks are very reasonably priced - so that is a good way to add variety and more healthy gizzard / hearts.  Generally all of this is sold by the pound.  I really like supporting local farmers so I've actually enjoyed sourcing various types of meat for the cats - I can also stock up for myself and buy healthy veggies at the same time.  

 

[laralove]

 
It is pricier, but to get the other kinds of fowl, I've found a local farmer that sells at a farmer's market - they have cornish hens, duck, goose, giunea fowl, turkey and a couple heritage varieties of chicken.  Buying meat / whole birds is pricey but things like heart, gizzard, liver, tongues, feet and necks are very reasonably priced - so that is a good way to add variety and more healthy gizzard / hearts.  Generally all of this is sold by the pound.  I really like supporting local farmers so I've actually enjoyed sourcing various types of meat for the cats - I can also stock up for myself and buy healthy veggies at the same time.  

I really wish I had more income. I live by several farms and from May through August, my neighborhood hosts a Saturday evening farmer's market. I'm also a minute walk from an organic/local market. It's just all so pricey! 

 

[raintyger]

You feed raw food by % of pet's weight, not by calories. Primal has a calculator:

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/education/calc

Ethnic markets are great, especially Asian. Here's what I found at my Asian market, all regularly stocked:

Quail

Venison

Goose

Rabbit

Duck

Plus Asian markets have quail eggs, which are kitty sized. Quail eggs also have more nutrients because they have a higher proportion of egg yolk. They are also less prone to salmonella.

A local Mexican mart sells fresh kill (meaning that sometimes you have to wait) pigeons and chicken.

 

[ldg]

Just wanted to pop in to say, when you transition, you may want to weigh your kitty weekly for a few months. While raw feeders fed by body weight %, not calories, that's just because it can be difficult to know how many calories are in what we're feeding. But weight gain is related to calories - raw fed or not. :lol3:

Raw food is - or seems to be - more nutritionally dense, and with a higher bioavailability. So my 14 pound cat only needs three 1.2 ounce meals a day. !!!! Yet I have a 7.25 pound cat that eats just about the same. So individual metabolism plays a role (as my 14 pound cat and my 7.25 pound cat are my most active cats!).

So it's really best to keep track of weight regularly for some time, until you figure out where things settle in.

 

[laralove]

Arg. That's going to require I make another purchase. Oh, wallet... 

Maybe I could train Oliver to stand on one leg and balance himself on my tiny kitchen scale. That seems reasonable, yes? 

 

[andrya]

@LaraLove    Don't laugh! That's how mine get weighed!

Well, not exactly. But l get a huge stainless bowl and tare it back to 5lbs, then l put the cats in it, weigh them and add 5lbs.