Lotus Raw

[Rylka]

I visited a specialty pet shop today, and when discussing commercial raw food options with the clerk he told me that Lotus had bought RadCat's recipe for raw food and that was what they were selling. Comparing ingredient lists they look similar but not *exactly* the same. Either way, Lotus does use egg shells instead of bone, so it may be a decent option for people looking for boneless commercial raw?
Does anyone know anything about this brand or their possible connection to RadCat? Experience feeding it?

 

[Azazel]

Interesting, I hadn’t heard of this brand before. It is indeed boneless and looks like a decent alternative to Rad cat. I’m not sure about how much truth there is to them buying Rad Cat’s recipe. The ingredient list is similar but not the same. I also think that Rad Cat would have notified consumers if they had given up on trying to re-establish as they had been doing regular updates on their Facebook page until this past summer. Thanks for posting this though, it looks like a good option for kitties needing boneless meat. But, the phosphorus levels are not very low so it’s still not good for kidney cats the way that Rad Cat was.

 

[LTS3]

Here's the web site:

Lotus Pet Foods

www.lotuspetfoods.com

And the virtual brochure which may take a couple of seconds (eternity in Internet time ) to load:

virtual2

Available Sizes: 24oz, 16oz, 3.5oz RAW FOOD FOR CATS Meats with no added hormones or antibiotics NO Vegetables or Fruits Limited Ingredient

www.yumpu.com

I would be willing to give the food a try. It has novel proteins which is good for Leroy's sensitive IBD tummy. The store locator says the brand is sold at a local pet store but whether they carry the new raw food is questionable.

 

[Rylka]

Yeah, it's always a toss up. I would call first.

 

[neely]

Does anyone know anything about this brand or their possible connection to RadCat? Experience feeding it?

A friend of mine from a dog forum works part-time at a pet store and uses Lotus for her pets. She recommenced it to me after we adopted our cat and I was trying to transition him to a better food than what he was fed in the shelter. Our cat would only eat two of the many different brands I tried and Lotus was one of them. The reason I decided not to use it was because only one store which was not near us carried this brand. The store where we buy our food was willing to special order it for us but I didn't want to take the chance of the order not coming in, back order problem, etc. If you'd like I can try to pm the person I mentioned above and ask for her opinion.

 

[Rylka]

neely I dont want to put you to any trouble. I brought it up because it seems like so many people have been searching for a Radcat replacement and I was really surprised when the clerk brought it up. From my searching on this forum, Lotus seems like a good brand so even if it isn't the exact same formula, maybe it's a good alternative for people who need commercial raw with eggshell as a calcium source.

 

[neely]

I dont want to put you to any trouble. I brought it up because it seems like so many people have been searching for a Radcat replacement and I was really surprised when the clerk brought it up. From my searching on this forum, Lotus seems like a good brand so even if it isn't the exact same formula, maybe it's a good alternative for people who need commercial raw with eggshell as a calcium source.

Honestly it's no trouble at all. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to help. I just don't know when I will hear back from her due to the holidays, etc. but I will try to pm her. And, yes, I have also heard Lotus is a good brand.

ETA: I just sent her a pm so will wait and see if I hear back soon.

 

[daftcat75]

I don’t think Rad Cat is selling its formula. I also don’t think their formula is that unique that it can’t be copied. I think what made Rad Cat so popular is that they were particular about the cuts they used (for example, the turkey was thigh meat and/or leg meat rather than simply ground turkey), the quality of the meats used, and the quality control in their production. I bought three bags of Stella and Chewy’s Selects. First those were very chewy which my toothless cat did not appreciate. It was like a shredded texture rather than a slurpable grind. But of the three bags, only one of them passed her sniff test. S&C Selects has some kind of quality control issue if only 1 in 3 bags was considered edible. I don’t like those odds. Of the four months or so that I fed Rad Cat, I don’t think there was ever a tub she rejected. Only if I mishandled it like trying to feed from a fridge thawed portion past its time.

I like that Lotus comes in a 3.5 oz size. Krista and I can certainly try it. But unless one (preferably two or more) of the local stores wanted to carry it regularly, I can’t consider this for a full time food. Besides, I finally got my own homemade operation going and Krista approved!

 

[neely]

I dont want to put you to any trouble.

So I heard back from my friend on the dog forum I mentioned - good news is she replied last night, bad news is she's retired from the pet store and not up on the latest changes. However, she told me she feeds her cat Lotus canned food and he loves it. Not sure that directly answers your question or is much help but I tried.

 

[She's a witch]

I’ve seen Lotus canned but never tried it as they use peas and also smaller cans (5.3oz) which bugs me My usual shop doesn’t carry the raw version because they have no space for it in the freezer, even if they doubled its size recently - that is somewhat good news as selection is pretty big. But I found another shop that has it and I’ll be happy to try it- thanks Rylka for letting us know!

 

[She's a witch]

ok so we tried the Lotus for breakfast and it was pretty obvious NO from both of my cats I knew that my girl would not touch it as soon as I opened the container: lots of freezer burns even if I deliberately chose a big tube, and very, very fine texture, that looked nothing like raw meat to me and to her - she likes small chunks (and by small, I mean few milometers small). It didn't smell like raw meat either. It's also very watery, compared to raw food we're accustomed to. To me it seems they use the same grinders they use for their pate style food, as it really looked smoothly grounded. My boy has surprised me when he licked it and went away - he usually eats any raw without being fussy He eventually had some when I topped it with some of his freeze dried treats.
I'm not giving up, I'll offer it again with some other raw. But in the end, maybe it's good as I really should start preparing their food myself instead of looking for more commercial options

 

[daftcat75]

I had my misgivings about Lotus with the inclusion of yeast and grass. Krista usually likes yeast (both s. boulardii and nutritional yeast) but sometimes can't be bothered. Grass just sounds like a recipe for regurgitation.

Krista has been having some gut and butt issues. I am not certain if she has issues with turkey, the protein, or my last batch was wrong (which it was!) I didn't remove the hearts' weight of thigh meat before adding the calcium to balance. So it's about 20% more meat than the calcium was meant to balance. And the liver spun around the auger, making pink slime, with barely any of it cutting through. This is why I make 1 lbs batches. Once I am no longer making mistakes like these (and I can get enough turkey hearts from the local butcher), I would like to make full batches and feed her more raw. She enjoys my homemade a lot. Like dancing around and getting pushy. It is so much easier to get her to clean her plate with my homemade raw over the Rawz rabbit which she is currently eating.