new to raw - it's seems overwhelming!

[dhammagirl]

Hi.  I have three cats.  We've previously moved from dry, to grain-free, to grain-free canned, now I'm trying raw.  One of my boys is overweight, about 20 pounds, and I'm hoping that a quality raw, high protein diet will help him feel more satisfied.  Plus, I just have to be more strict with his food.  I just recently (this week) got some Nature's Variety Instinct Raw bites, chicken, which he loves. That's all I could find locally.  But that stuff has fruits and veggies in it.  The chick at my local pet supply was going on about how that makes it balanced, and cats need it, and it would be in the prey's tummy.  Well, I don't agree, and I'm finding info, especially at catinfo.org, that says otherwise.  Then she was saying cats need dry food to clean their teeth.  sigh.  I don't want to argue, I just want you to have more raw options.  I've spent hours online reading and researching types of pre-prepared raw food, like Feline's Pride and Rad Cat. Then there's freeze-dried.  They all seem rather expensive.  And several, like the Primal Mix, insist on putting fruits and vegetables in there. 

I'm vegan, but I'm totally ready to make raw cat food. They're obligate carnivores.  (Don't get me started on the craziness and cruelty of folks who try to make their cats vegan!!)  But, I don't have a grinder, and am not likely to get one.  I ordered some TC Feline supplement powder (trial size)  to add to boneless ground meat.  So, off I go to the store thinking it'll be snap to get some plain ground turkey or chicken.  Hah!  I look at the labels, and most of them have added ingredients like vinegar and rosemary extract or the more mysterious "natural flavorings"  ***?  I did finally find some organic ground chicken with no added stuff, supposedly, for $6.98/pound. 

I've been surfing and reading a lot on this site and love the hands-on info and real life experiences.

I've looked at the sites Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore to get ground meats.  It looks like that will be less expensive, and probably better quality. 

   So, I guess what I'm looking for is some folks opinions regarding the products of these two. And maybe about Primal Grinds.  Hare Today's ground products have that high bone content, which seems like it'll take a bit more calculating and work mixing to get a balanced food - PITA.   My Pet Carnivore ground products have a good ratio of meat, bone, and organ, but I still think I'd want to add some supplement, but, of course, a supplement for meat with bones and organs, so the

TC Feline wouldn't do.  Maybe Alnutrin, along with fish oil.  I do understand about using different proteins.

sigh.   It seems the more I learn, the more there is to learn!  I'm getting overwhelmed, and obsessed, with doing this.  For now, we've got the NV Instinct Raw Bites, I'll soon get the TC Feline supplement powder and add that to the expensive organic ground chicken, and then I'll have a rough idea of how the kitties and I like this homemade raw diet thing. 

The other two kitties don't care for the Instinct Raw, but they're more picky.  My sausage boy Zeke will eat just about anything, including dog food.  He'll be the main raw consumer for now, and I'll try to get the other two on board gradually. ( In the meantime, they get Fancy Feast Classic Pate, chicken with liver.)

Thanks for any feedback and info!                   

May All Beings Be Happy!

 

[crazy4strays]

Your story sounds like mine! I went from dry to grain free dry to all canned, and am now looking into homemade.

I also am vegetarian and don't plan on buying a meat grinder. I'll be following your thread!

 

[Columbine]

You might find these threads helpful[thread="298296"][/thread][thread="272287"][/thread]

The first one has a link to a bone ratio calculator designed by one of our most knowledgeable raw food members (@mschauer), along with instructions on how to use it

 

[LTS3]

Avoid Feline's Pride if you can. Many people have reported orders not being delivered or delivered but unfrozen and at an unsafe temperature and lousy customer service. There is a thread about it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/291787/experience-with-felines-pride

I feed the NV raw medallions to my cats (apparently a special order item at the independent pet store I frequent). The fruits and veggies make up a very small part of the raw so I'm not concerned about it. I also add in some raw that has a pre-mix added to it.

Yeah, avoid the supermarket meat that has been enhanced with flavorings and other stuff. A butcher shop or organic market or buying direct from a farm would have plain raw meats with nothing added. I buy chubs of raw meat from the independent pet store. Check your local independent pet stores for chubs. Bravo and Primal are two brands you can find. I can buy Hare-Today chubs at a local pet store.

Freeze dried raw works great to transition cats over to raw. It has a stinky smell which cats like and the texture is similar to dry food.

 

[dhammagirl]

Thanks for the replies.

After doing lots more reading and some number crunching, I think I've decided what I'll do.

I'll get a variety of boneless ground meats from Hare Today, and some ground mouse, which includes bones and everything, and some chicken necks for chewing and teeth cleaning.  I have no idea how chicken necks or mouse meat will go over with the kitties; I'll just have to try it and see.

Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium is much much cheaper than either TC Feline or Better In The Raw pre-mixes.  Dividing the cost of the pre-mix by how many pounds it says it'll make it works out to, approximately, (this is just the cost of the pre-mix, not including the meat):

TC Feline - $2.20 per pound

Better In The Raw - $1.67 per pound (if purchasing the 2 pound bag of mix @ $66.95)

Alnutrin (with calcium) - $0.50 per pound

With Better In The Raw and TC Feline I'd need to add raw eggs, an additional cost and also an item that I do not personally consume.  Alnutrin contains egg.

Also, Better In The Raw only comes in a formula using beef liver.  Whenever I've tried canned food with beef, it's been snubbed, so I'm concerned that they would be more likely to reject food with beef liver in it.

Even figuring in the cost of ground chicken or turkey organs with liver at $3.29 a pound, it's still cheaper to go with the Alnutrin. 

I want to do the best for my fur babies, but we're not wealthy!  Costs must be considered.

I'll use the Alnutrin with the boneless ground meat, some ground organs with liver, and maybe some salmon or krill oil for EFA's.    The ground mouse won't need any Alnutrin - the mouse is expensive, but I'm curious to see how it goes over.  I might get some whole ground quail.  Then I can supplement the boneless supplemented food with whole carcass ground food.

Has anybody tried the whole carcass ground cavies (guinea pig)?

Now the only thing I'm still working on is how much to feed, since I don't know the calorie content of the raw food.  I found somewhere, now I can't find it again (aarrgh!), that recommended feeding 2% - 3% of the ideal body weight daily, in ounces.  So, for my overweight cat, 20 pounds, who my vet wants us to aim for getting him to 14 pounds, 3% of 14 would put him at about 5.8 ounces of food daily.  He's not very active, despite our attempts to get him to play.  She advises allowing him 225 calories/day.

I searched this site for more info on how much raw to feed, but didn't find any clear answers. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

 

[royblazer]

Originally Posted by dhammagirl  

Now the only thing I'm still working on is how much to feed, since I don't know the calorie content of the raw food.  I found somewhere, now I can't find it again (aarrgh!), that recommended feeding 2% - 3% of the ideal body weight daily, in ounces.  So, for my overweight cat, 20 pounds, who my vet wants us to aim for getting him to 14 pounds, 3% of 14 would put him at about 5.8 ounces of food daily.  He's not very active, despite our attempts to get him to play.  She advises allowing him 225 calories/day.

I searched this site for more info on how much raw to feed, but didn't find any clear answers. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

I'm not sure which source you were looking at, but here is one: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/holis...aw/8/raw-food-feeding-guidelines-summary.aspx

 

[dhammagirl]

Thanks Royblazer!

I had gotten my calculation wrong anyhow.  oops.

 

[ftmba]

Originally Posted by dhammagirl  

Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium is much much cheaper than either TC Feline or Better In The Raw pre-mixes.  Dividing the cost of the pre-mix by how many pounds it says it'll make it works out to, approximately, (this is just the cost of the pre-mix, not including the meat):

TC Feline - $2.20 per pound

Better In The Raw - $1.67 per pound (if purchasing the 2 pound bag of mix @ $66.95)

Alnutrin (with calcium) - $0.50 per pound

With Better In The Raw and TC Feline I'd need to add raw eggs, an additional cost and also an item that I do not personally consume.  Alnutrin contains egg.

Also, Better In The Raw only comes in a formula using beef liver.  Whenever I've tried canned food with beef, it's been snubbed, so I'm concerned that they would be more likely to reject food with beef liver in it.

Even figuring in the cost of ground chicken or turkey organs with liver at $3.29 a pound, it's still cheaper to go with the Alnutrin. 

I want to do the best for my fur babies, but we're not wealthy!  Costs must be considered.

I'll use the Alnutrin with the boneless ground meat, some ground organs with liver, and maybe some salmon or krill oil for EFA's.    The ground mouse won't need any Alnutrin - the mouse is expensive, but I'm curious to see how it goes over.  I might get some whole ground quail.  Then I can supplement the boneless supplemented food with whole carcass ground food.

I was looking at the same pre-mixes and came to a similar conclusion, thanks for the numbers

 

[missmimz]

I buy boneless meats from Hare Today and add Alnutrin with eggshell calcium, mix with water and done! It works well for my cats and it's really the "easy" way to make raw. Sometimes i add organs sometimes I supplement with freeze dried organs.