Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets

[mikameek]

So, I bought some Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets for Mika and I followed the instructions on the back of the bag to add 1 tablespoon of water per nugget. I did 2 nuggets at first to see how Mika liked them but the nuggets aren't absorbing the water?

It said to wait a minute and then mash into a pate food. It's been 5 minutes and the nuggets are still hard. Should I add more water? What's up?

 

[mikameek]

Never mind! I found a video explaining what I was doing wrong! Doesn't seem like Mika is interested in it though.

 

[Kieka]

My guys love some flavors of primal and snub others. It could be just the flavor. Did you try just dry? I crumble the nuggets and feed dry as a treat or topper to their wet.

 

[mikameek]

I got her a flavor I thought she would adore because it’s her two favorites out together: Beef and Salmon. I haven’t tried the just dry, but I just bought her Orijen’s dry food in the red meat flavor. She ate some of it but didn’t seem too impressed. :/

 

[Kieka]

My guys did not like the beef and salmon either.

 

[mikameek]

My guys did not like the beef and salmon either.

Hm, okay, well, the place that I got the bag from only had the 14 oz beef and salmon and the other flavor they sold was turkey. Mika has never liked turkey in all her life, not once. So I really doubt that will go over. I may find some other foods to hold her over till Monday or Tuesday when I get back to school and go to a different store out there. The places near me out there have much bigger selections for food in their specialty stores.

 

[KarenKat]

We feed the Primal Rabbit Nuggets, and Olive goes crazy for them. I haven't tried any other flavors. I tend to add more water than they recommend, the 1 Tbsp never seems like enough water...

 

[molly92]

I have to rehydrate the freeze dried nuggets generously. Rehydrating with some kind of broth instead of water might make them more appealing! I've used Primal's bone broth and goat's milk for that, but you could also use any other pet-friendly liquid.

The store I worked at and got primal from was a Pet Supplies Plus, and our return policy was that if a bag of food was more than halfway full, the customer could return it for a full refund. This was a franchised location so policies do vary, but if you have a local store that does something like this it could be very useful! Also primal would send us free samples occasionally, so ask the employees if they have any on hand.

You should be able to return the Orijen regardless of the store's policy, because Orijen's company provides refunds to the store if a customer doesn't like the product. They just have to fill out a form.

 

[KarenKat]

PetFoodExpress also refunds unused food for any reason ... not sure if you have those nearby.

 

[MargoLane]

Keep trying! It can take cats a long time to get into raw. Did you mix with a current favourite wet food to help her get into it?

My cat loves the primal! I also rehydrate generously, sometimes with a goats milk probiotic supplement.

 

[mikameek]

We’ll keep trying! I’m a little stumped with the beef and salmon because she especially loves those flavors together and separate. I used cold water to rehydrate so my next step is to try it with warm water to see how that goes over. I’m also going to try it just dry alone.

 

[KarenKat]

Olive loves Rawz Beef, but rejected other beef foods. She hates all Hound & Gatos, but is enamored with their Gamebird. I think the recipe can be more important than the specific protein, especially with processed foods like Primal or canned food.

 

[Gizmobius]

When I fed Primal freeze dried nuggets, I crumbled them up first before adding warm water. I found they're almost impossible to rehydrate if you just leave them in brick form.

 

[lisahe]

When I fed Primal freeze dried nuggets, I crumbled them up first before adding warm water. I found they're almost impossible to rehydrate if you just leave them in brick form.

Yes, I think so, too. We also crumble them.

Also:
-Beef and salmon was never a favorite here, either.
-Turkey is easier to crumble.
-Our cats like pork best; that one's harder to crumble.
-Warning: crumblability varies by batch so the above may not be relevant.
-Many cats don't initially recognize raw food as food so be persistent.
-Toppers can help.
-Our pickier cat likes freeze-dried best when I make it very soupy and then crumble more food on top. Our other cat will eat anything!
-The cats really love Primal when I rehydrate it with thin chicken broth, made from just boneless chicken meat.

Good luck on the next try, mikameek !

 

[mikameek]

When do I decide that she’s just not going for it? When does it come to she’s not going to eat it vs she doesn’t recognize it as good?

 

[RajaNMizu]

Raja's dinner tonight was Primal beef and salmon nuggets. I wound up adding more warm water than suggested to the already crumbled bricks. She inhaled it. She's always been a pretty good eater, not terribly picky and has a good variety but sheesh, she was excited for dinner tonight! Mizu won't even come near it.

 

[KarenKat]

I know Olive approves of her food extra when she starts purring instead of meowing impatiently for her food. She does that with the Primal freeze-dried rabbit. I also add more water than suggested.

 

[RajaNMizu]

When Mizu started enjoying her kibble more than wet food, I had picked up a bag of Stella and Chewy's Duck, Duck, Goose for the nights when everyone was being picky about their food. Raja always enjoyed it. Now that everyone is sorted out and eating wet regularly, I had picked up a bag of freeze dried for treats last week. I can barely get it into a bowl and rehydrate it fast enough for Raja. Got me thinking...maybe she'd prefer this? So we're trying it out.

 

[neely]

I had good luck with Stella & Chewy but alternate with Primal when I'm running low on S&C. Carleton loves turkey so that's not a problem. However, I use warm water and make sure the mixture is soupy - he literally gobbles it up in seconds.