Natures Variety Instinct Raw Bites Chicken

[zoneout]

So I picked up a bag of Raw Bites at Petco.   Its frozen raw food that is processed to look like kibble.  It was about $12 for 20 oz so is cheaper than Rad Cat which I was loving but couldn`t afford at $16 a pound.   Well the cat reluctantly ate it the first day and then wouldnt touch it after that so I wound up throwing out most of it.   So much for being cheaper.   Anyone try this stuff?   I was a little taken aback that the color of the bites was tan but if you mush them open they are nice pink on the inside.   Shouldn`t they be all pink?   And then its only 5% fruits and veggies but why even bother - it could be this is why the cat wont eat it.

 

[stephanie42]

re: 5% fruit and veg, according to nature's variety:  

Why is there 5% vegetables and fruits in your raw formulas?

The percentage of fruits and vegetables in our Raw Frozen Diets is meant to mimic what dogs and cats would eat in the wild (fruits and vegetables would be present in the stomach of their prey). Our fruits and vegetables provide beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that promote health and well-being.

mine wouldn't eat it unless it was at least room temperature.  i would sometimes leave it to thaw in the fridge, set it on the counter about 30 minutes before feeding time, and mush it up with some warm water.  they still weren't thrilled.  that's one of the reasons i moved to freeze-dried raw; i could use tepid or warm water to rehydrate and it would be at a palatable temperature to my cats.

 

[lisahe]

Our cats don't like Nature's Variety raw chicken (or beef, for that matter) much, either: one will eat it every now and then if I mush it with water but she obviously doesn't like it much. The other just walks away. They both love Primal frozen and freeze-dried raw food, though. (I mix up batches of beef/salmon and turkey that last for several days; they'll even eat that right out of the refrigerator.) Every now and then I give them Stella & Chewy's, which they like, and they love Rad Cat turkey, though I don't give it to them very often because it's so expensive. 

 

[slykat12]

I buy Natures Variety Instinct Raw Chicken Patties rather than bites and I have to starve my 8 mo kitten or mix it up with canned to get her to eat it. Oh ya and it I hand feed her she may try some.  When she was 2 months she gobbled those bites no problem but I switched to the patties as I thought they were cheaper and assumed they were the same formula.

Currently I try a little parmasian cheese or bonito flakes to get her to the bowl. So far not working. I feel your pain.

 

[2ketzels]

very interesting...with all this talk of raw, I have been inspired to look into better food - altho I don't think finding raw in canada is easy, by no means.

so...this week i began by switching from Friskies wet plus Blue dry (my paeon to health) to giving them wet Ultra. it's tough going with Miss Kitty but Boy eats ANYthing. Miss Kitty is still on strike so i would appreciate any helpful hints for one who was always a finicky eater, tends to be too slender and...who tends to throw up if she gets too eager in one sitting (I add Baby formula probiotic sprinkles)       

 

[sugarloafin]

I am new here. Found my way searching for more information on this food from other cat guardians. My cats just started this food 4 weeks ago. They don't love it. They do eat it. Definitely not excited like they were for freeze dried, or canned. What is bugging me though is the smell of the litter area since they started eating this. I have never had an issue with a smelly litter area. We use Dr. Elsey's and it's always kept it smelling fresh. We have cleaned the boxes and started fresh and as soon as one of them went it was stinky again. Anyone else have this issue on this food? I have a 15 month old Devon Rex Dobby and a 11.5 month old Cornish Rex Libby. Oh and it doesn't really smell like poo but the smell isn't good in anyway.

 

[jclark]

My cats never really took to the NV Chicken which I find surprising because even the canned chicken smells really good to me.

As for the color NV uses process to sterilize/pasturize the exterior of their raw food. I suspect this process and freezing cause the exterior color change.

 

[slykat12]

That is really odd because raw food creates less feces and in addition the feces is usually LESS stinky. Although I love NV dry and NV canned pork I need to try a different  commercial raw as my cat just hates it unless I mix it with canned.