Mixing Raw Food Brands?

Ashley&Cats

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hello,

My flame point ragdoll kitten who is 4 months old now weighs 5lbs 6 oz has been eating less and less the past 2 days since I have gone back to giving them the original raw meat source I started him on Primal chicken and salmon.

I had him on chicken and salmon for a good 2 weeks then tried to turkey which he hated wouldn't touch it, so I tried pork which was his favourite then to duck which he also loves but is very expensive meat source and then the beef and salmon which he hated and wouldn't touch so I went back to the chicken and salmon and he will eat it if I sit beside him and put little pieces of it right in front of him SOMETIMES but most of the time his either sniff and lick then walk away or just sniff and walk away. I even tried mixing it with the duck I still have and he wouldn't touch it. He has eaten 2 nuggets today and he usually eats 4!

I'm wondering if I should just go out and get him some pork again? It says on Primal that you should have a rotation of 3 different meat sources and right now Pork and Duck are the only two he really loves and the chicken and salmon is a hit or miss.

I also have a different brand of raw food that I got for free as a sample. I have plain beef and turkey dinner. I'm wondering if it would be okay to try him out on this by mixing a small amount in with his chicken and salmon or duck? I want to be able to give him more of a variety in meat sources so since he doesn't like anything else in Primal I was hoping I could add another brand of raw to the mix.

Questions:
1) should I continue to push the chicken and salmon and hope that he eats it or should I just go out and exchange it for pork?
2) is it okay to mix 2 raw food brands together?
3) is it okay to mix different types of raw meat formulas together? I've been doing this for a while but I want to triple check that it's okay.
4) people with cats on commercial raw... what do you do to give your cat a variety of meat options?

Any tips tricks and advice would be very much appreciated!!
 

ghostly

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Yes, it is fine to mix raw food brands together as long as you are not throwing different meals and mixes of brands and proteins at him all the time. What we do for our boy, in rotation:
  • Primal rabbit
  • Primal freeze-dried duck, just because he can't have fish or chicken (gives him the runs) and despises the pork now. I don't generally like the freeze dried over the raw (we add water but it's just not the same!) but it adds another protein source for him
  • Radcat lamb or venison, when we can afford it, he DEVOURS anything Radcat
  • Steak. Plain old steak. Whenever we get steak for dinner, maybe once a month, he gets his own little raw portion chopped into chunks he can chew and eat. Helps his teeth. It just the steak without any fat, just the meat. This adds another some variety and he is obsessed. We do not do unbalanced meals like this regularly as we are concerned about missing vitamins and nutrients.
  • Sometimes he gets chicken necks which don't give him the runs, strangely
  • Orijen freeze-dried boar, for treats, which for some reason he will eat but not the pork Primal?
This is working very well for him so far.

I don't usually like fish for cats, I have an older cat that is a fish ADDICT now and I wish I never gave it to her lol, but it sounds like yours maybe just might not be a fishy guy so that's actually good for you!

Don't get caught up in the hype switching his proteins all the time. I have seen some people advocating for switching proteins at every meal and I don't see the necessity for that. We do one bag (which usually lasts about three weeks) and then switch to a different bag. With the Radcat we just do one big container and then go to something else. Some months we do rabbit twice if it's on sale. The little steak buffets he gets just once in a while. Sometimes cats are just particular and you have to weasel with them about the best food source. Good luck!!
 

lisahe

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We mix things up, too! Some cats are sensitive to frequent food changes but ours like it: they get bored and cranky if we feed them the same thing two meals in a row. They get various combinations (all in one meal) of freeze-dried Feline Natural (chicken/lamb), Primal (pork), Northwest Naturals (turkey), and a bit of Stella and Chewy's (chicken), plus a daily snack of either turkey or chicken Rad Cat. Most of the rest of their diet is homemade cooked meat balanced with EZ Complete, with a can of something tossed in every other day or so.

G ghostly is so right about sometimes having to "weasel" with cats about their food! I, too, wish you good luck!
 

orange&white

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I make "from scratch" raw mixes and regularly rotate beef, chicken, pork (pork does seem to be the favorite). They'll get turkey again in a month or so when Thanksgiving prices make it really affordable.

My kitten is a bit fussy. For a while I thought she just didn't like beef very much because she eats so much less than she does with the pork or chicken mixes. After I set up a calories/ounce spreadsheet, I realized that my beef mixes are almost 50 calories per ounce, compared with low-40's for other proteins. She just gets full faster from the fattier beef and doesn't eat as much...but she ends up with about the same calories per day.

Do the commercial brands have calorie counts? Protein/fat ratios and calories (in addition to plain old finicky-ness) can make a difference.

And yes, it is fine to rotate brands and proteins when you like.
 

maureen brad

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RadCat also has Pork. most stores don't carry it on the shelf but, they will order it for you. My son works at a pet food store , I get 50% off and while I make the great majority of their food or buy from HT I have my son get two large Rad Cat Pork a month. My 3 cats love that. I also use Primal FD Pork sometimes, but, quality is not consistent. I swithc up their food a lot. Recently one of my 3 started getting finicky (even rejecting rabbit!) Hate it when they get picky, I find rotating 5 proteins is the key to prevent boredom.The only food all 3 had a problem with is Lamb.
 

lisahe

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RadCat also has Pork. most stores don't carry it on the shelf but, they will order it for you. My son works at a pet food store , I get 50% off and while I make the great majority of their food or buy from HT I have my son get two large Rad Cat Pork a month. My 3 cats love that. I also use Primal FD Pork sometimes, but, quality is not consistent. I swithc up their food a lot. Recently one of my 3 started getting finicky (even rejecting rabbit!) Hate it when they get picky, I find rotating 5 proteins is the key to prevent boredom.The only food all 3 had a problem with is Lamb.
I wish our cats liked Rad Cat pork! Only one did, so I'm not feeding it. Our two cats have gotten finicky lately, too, so I've had to bring back Primal pork, which I'd sworn off because it's so inconsistent. They were thrilled to have it back. Oddly, it seems that at least some of the finickiness is based on location: the two cats seem to want to switch dining areas. Hmm.
 

maureen brad

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Cats are so funny. One of mine will only eat if he is served on the counter. That only works for breakfast and lunch. At dinner he wants to eat at the back door.The other 2 will eat anywhere. My cats all reject the Primal nuggets. They will only eat Primal freeze dried Porkif served as a dry treat. Sometimes they turn up their nose at that too. When I go to buy it I squeeze the bag a little to make sure it is not hard as a brick.
 
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