Prepackaged Raw

[kittys mom]

I've been trying this for a while now and I've come to the conclusion that feeding raw is a big headache.  So many people say it's so easy once you get the hang of it...but...maybe I'm deficient because it's not getting any easier....have been feeding raw over a year now.

I thought I had it all figured out.  I was feeding Chicken and Turkey from Woody's Pet Food Deli (in Minneapolis).  Bought it unsupplemented (my vet told me I didn't need to supplement), in bulk, divided it up, froze it...was really getting the hang of it.  Started wondering about the white, white poops I was seeing in the litterbox....did more research....started getting Woody's with supplements...did more research...now worried that Woody's has too much bone content....seeing constipated cats....added miralax daily....started shopping around for other raw sources....

Tried the Darwin trial (the cats LOVE it)...but it's SO expensive....did not supplement this at all...*think* that was correct....

Tried My Pet Carnivoire (the cats think it's fine but don't LOVE it)....but not sure I've got the right process there either...Bought whole ground chicken and turkey delight....decided both needed supplements (have Alnutrion)....decided the turkey doesn't include secreting organ....adding pancreas to it now....adding miralax to both the chicken and the turkey delight....

Thinking about trying HareToday....but not sure....Thinking about RadCat...but not sure about that either...

I need something economical AND not too time consuming.  I am feeding 6 cats....and 3 dogs.  With the Woody's, to feed cats all raw and dogs some raw, I was going through about 100lbs a month.  Sourcing meat locally and doing home grinding probably not gonna happen.  Having enough trouble keeping up with the time demands using pre-ground.  We have not yet managed to get all cats chewing food (they won't even eat chunks of chicken breast added to their ground)...so can't really go to parts....yet....working on it.  

Having trouble adding other meats as well....we do well with quail, cornish game hen, and pheasant....but Duck makes cat A vomit, Rabbit makes cats B and C vomit, beef is a regular vomit fest....not agreeing with cats A, B, C, or D.

Thinking about continuing Woody's, as it seems most economical, and trying to add something to it to bring down the bone content...more meat, organ, and liver...not sure what concentrations to add though.  I believe the Woody's is supposed to be 10% - 15% bone.  If I buy 100 lbs, do I add 10lbs meat, 1/2 lb liver, 1/2lb organ?  Will that make it the bone content lower?

Also....just random....the Darwin that the cats love? It's SO red compared to my woody's food.  Can't figure out why it's so red....has anyone else noticed this?  Is it just the bone content difference?

Help please.  

 

[Kat0121]

My cats have tried:

Stella and Chewy's frozen and freeze dried. They ate both but with no enthusiasm. 

Primal raw. This went over better than S&C but not much

Nature's Variety raw. Huge fail. They would not eat it

Rad Cat. Huge success. They inhale this stuff. I would feed this exclusively if I could afford to. They get it here and there along with the canned. 

I have never tried any other brand because the Rad Cat was such a big hit. I don't think any other kind would do as well. All 3 cats are very picky eaters and raw is too expensive to toss when they decide that they hate it

I'd suggest giving RC a try. I just wish they had duck available. 

 

[lisahe]

 
My cats have tried:

Stella and Chewy's frozen and freeze dried. They ate both but with no enthusiasm. Our cats aren't wild about S&C, either, though they like a little mixed in with Primal meals. They seem to like freeze-dried more than frozen. 

Primal raw. This went over better than S&C but not much Our cats love Primal: we feed them two meals of it a day, making blends of pork, chicken/salmon, and turkey. The company will send samples. Also: Primal makes frozen and freeze-dried; our cats used to eat a mixture but then decided they didn't like frozen anymore.

Nature's Variety raw. Huge fail. They would not eat it  Ditto! Our cats just don't like it. (And I think it smells weird.) Lots of cats seem to like it, though.

Rad Cat. Huge success. They inhale this stuff. I would feed this exclusively if I could afford to. They get it here and there along with the canned. Our cats also love Rad Cat: I'm lucky to be able to buy it at relatively cheap price ($12.99 for the largest size) but still only feed a small snack/meal of it a day because we only serve turkey and chicken and the cats get bored with their foods easily. I also wish Rad Cat made duck! One other thing about Rad Cat: they're starting to process their poultry foods to kill bacteria. Some cats apparently don't like the "new" food. I have yet to see it so don't know how our cats will respond.

Good luck! It sounds like you have some complicated food issues to work around.

 

[mschauer]

 
Thinking about continuing Woody's, as it seems most economical, and trying to add something to it to bring down the bone content...more meat, organ, and liver...not sure what concentrations to add though.  I believe the Woody's is supposed to be 10% - 15% bone.  If I buy 100 lbs, do I add 10lbs meat, 1/2 lb liver, 1/2lb organ?  Will that make it the bone content lower?

You can use this calculator to figure out how much meat and organs to add to get the bone content down : calculator

 
Also....just random....the Darwin that the cats love? It's SO red compared to my woody's food.  Can't figure out why it's so red....has anyone else noticed this?  Is it just the bone content difference?

Help please.  

I used Darwin's at one time and I also noticed that it is very red. It could be because they use a lot of heart which has a lot of blood or maybe the processing method they use just results in a lot of blood being included.

Here's a link where we discuss Darwin's : http://www.thecatsite.com/t/255836/darwins-chicken-bone-content-phosphorus-level-on-dry-matter-basis

Note that, as I said in that thread, I don't think there is reason to not use Darwin's. It's just good to be aware of it's composition.

The difference could be the bone content of Woody's. It's possible the 10-15% bone content Woody's claims isn't very accurate and that it is actually higher. You're right that your cats poop shouldn't be very. very white.

Edit: I just checked the Darwin's web site and it seems they have changed the composition of their chicken food at least. They used to say (if you called, it wasn't on their web site) that they only used chicken necks as the source of muscle meat. Now they say there is at least some thigh meat :

Chicken Backs, Chicken Necks, Chicken Gizzards, Chicken Thigh Meat , Chicken Livers, Chicken

Hearts,

That's quite a change. I wonder if the price has gone up. I don't remember what I used to pay but it was pretty cheap.

 

[missmimz]

I feed 9 cats raw. 1 only eats boneless, 1 only eats Rad Cat. Rad Cat is really expensive so i can't really afford to feed all of them RC. I've found the easiest way to keep up is buying in bulk from HT and making as much food at one time as I can. I also use Alnutrin so I don't have to worry about adding all the right supplement amounts. Raw is always going to be more work than canned, but I feel better about feeding raw and my cats do better raw. With that said, you have to decide what works for you.