Primal, New Freeze Dried: Duck / Rabbit For Cats

lisamarie12

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For those feeding Primal freeze dried food:

Two new Primal freeze dried proteins for cats hit our store today (in NYC) -- duck and rabbit, both single proteins.

The new products still are not on Primal's web site nor on Primal's Facebook page so I'm not sure what the Calcium / phos and other nutrient values are other than the GA listed on the bags for protein, fat, etc.

For those avoiding carrots: unfortunately the duck contains carrots, rabbit doesn't.

Price point: the duck is retailing for the same price (both 5.5 oz and 14 oz bags) as Primal's other poultry proteins as well as pork and beef, the rabbit has a higher price, comparable to Primal's venison.
 

lisahe

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Thank you for the report, L lisamarie12 ! I can't believe they put carrot in the duck food. I just cut out Primal pork because it's been too inconsistent... I'm sorry to lose a food the cats have liked pretty well over the years but I don't like the changes Primal has made to their foods.
 
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lisamarie12

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Thank you for the report, L lisamarie12 ! I can't believe they put carrot in the duck food. I just cut out Primal pork because it's been too inconsistent... I'm sorry to lose a food the cats have liked pretty well over the years but I don't like the changes Primal has made to their foods.
Yeah, I totally understand. Not sure why they had to add carrots to the duck and the chicken food.

I've only been using the venison lately, so far so good, it's been consistent as far as palatability and one of the few foods I don't have to add a topper to.

We can't use the duck because Mikey can't have carrots and he's allergic to rabbit.

That's too bad you've had to cut Primal out. How is it going with NN? I wish I could try it but because of the eggs in NN's food we can't. :(
 

lisahe

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I don't get it about the carrots, either! Even without that, though, I'd have cut Primal because of the several batches the cats refused to eat.

They like the Northwest Naturals turkey that I feed them along with Feline Natural chicken/lamb. I may try the chicken NN, too. I'd still like to have another freeze-dried food or two that they'd like. Something without m. clay and carby vegetables!
 

maureen brad

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Thanks for letting us know. I didn't know Primal had Venison. I have to ask my store why they don't carry it. I do want to try the rabbit.
I usually buy the pork and they like that . Last week I decided to get the turkey , they used to like it. Not one of the three would touch it.
I agree Primal has issues with consistency.I don't feed much commercial but like to have fd on hand.
 
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lisamarie12

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LisaHE: Definitely, I understand. I don't have a problem with the MC and as far as the veggies, the cats still produce little stool waste on Primal although Mikey less so because he also eats HT homemade raw (and Molly won't). It's too bad there aren't many FD options, the others that are out there are, e.g., Steve's, Small Batch - are for both cats / dogs and I definitely would prefer one for cats only.
 
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lisamarie12

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Thanks for letting us know. I didn't know Primal had Venison. I have to ask my store why they don't carry it. I do want to try the rabbit.
I usually buy the pork and they like that . Last week I decided to get the turkey , they used to like it. Not one of the three would touch it.
I agree Primal has issues with consistency.I don't feed much commercial but like to have fd on hand.
Primal has had the venison at least a couple years. My cats really like the venison, again - no topper needed. My only complaint (and it seems to be a prevalent one re: Primal's FD venison), the nuggets are hard as a rock. They can be broken apart with your hands but not as easily as the other proteins. What I ended up doing is just using a deep, glass measuring jar and pestle. I like the measuring jar because I can see how much water I'm adding but also, to feed two cats, I can add several nuggets and just pound away. I asked Primal about this, why the venison is so tough. I was told the meat is so lean, there isn't much fat to break it up. Anyway, I'm pleased with it. Wish I could try the rabbit but Mikey is allergic.

Good luck with it. :)
 

maureen brad

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Lisamarie, I asked my local store about the Venison today. Because they have limited shelf space they are not carrying it. My son works there so I get 50% off and, obviously, I am not going to another store.I have noticed that Primal FD varies, sometimes the nuggets crumble easily and sometimes they are hard as rocks.
It is to bad Mikey is allergic to rabbit my cats love rabbit. I feed 99% Hare Today and make sure I stock up on the rabbit. My cats love the venison chunks, rabbit and, I just tried the Llama, they went nuts for it.It is expensive though so they will never get to much of it.
 

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Thanks for the info on consistency issues with Primal. I was thinking of trying my cats on that and Feline Natural, as well as the NV raw market that I already use for cat sits. I love giving them the HT homemade food, but it's just so much work and with my job getting more demanding, it's getting harder to keep it up. Using Alnutrin with 1 lb chub sizes might help, but it doesn't solve the problem of high bone content so it's hard to avoid the mixing/portioning routine. I wonder if Tracy would consider making proportioned mixes for cats?
 

lisahe

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sophie1 sophie1 , the cats and I have been happy with Feline Natural as well as Northwest Naturals. They seem more consistent than Primal and I like their ingredients better, too! Like L lisamarie12 , I wish there were more freeze-dried options for cats. Ours seem to prefer freeze-dried to frozen (unless the frozen is Rad Cat) and freeze-dried is so ridiculously convenient!
 
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lisamarie12

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Thanks for the info on consistency issues with Primal. I was thinking of trying my cats on that and Feline Natural, as well as the NV raw market that I already use for cat sits. I love giving them the HT homemade food, but it's just so much work and with my job getting more demanding, it's getting harder to keep it up. Using Alnutrin with 1 lb chub sizes might help, but it doesn't solve the problem of high bone content so it's hard to avoid the mixing/portioning routine. I wonder if Tracy would consider making proportioned mixes for cats?
What about the whole carcass grinds? I think if I remember though from some of your other posts that you do the whole carcass grinds? Those are 10% bone and less, I think the quail with fur is 8%.

I love HT, I understand though about time constraints although it doesn't seem to take much time to portion and mix supplements after I do a partial thaw on the chubs (and I only do the 1lb chubs just because it's less time consuming for a partial thaw and to mix), it takes me about one hour.

Tracy always says in her newsletters how busy she is, and how much harder it is for her now that she's older, I doubt she would do chubs for cats only. Deboning is labor intensive.
 
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lisamarie12

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Lisamarie, I asked my local store about the Venison today. Because they have limited shelf space they are not carrying it. My son works there so I get 50% off and, obviously, I am not going to another store.I have noticed that Primal FD varies, sometimes the nuggets crumble easily and sometimes they are hard as rocks.
It is to bad Mikey is allergic to rabbit my cats love rabbit. I feed 99% Hare Today and make sure I stock up on the rabbit. My cats love the venison chunks, rabbit and, I just tried the Llama, they went nuts for it.It is expensive though so they will never get to much of it.
Before we had Mikey allergy tested, I had sampled a one lb chub of HT's boneless rabbit - and supplemented with EZ. Wow, that was my first taste (well, not my taste, the cats) and I was so impressed with the quality of that rabbit meat, as well as two others that I received a sample of, I was sold on HT.

We do two of the whole carcass grinds. I only regret that only one of my cats will eat HT, the other won't eat any thawed raw.

Llama meat? How interesting!
 

dorimon

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What about the whole carcass grinds? I think if I remember though from some of your other posts that you do the whole carcass grinds? Those are 10% bone and less, I think the quail with fur is 8%.
Keep in mind that all of the HT whole-carcass grinds include the thyroid gland. If you're using a supplement premix (such as Alnutrin), you might be over-supplementing iodine.

That said, the whole-carcass rabbit, quail, mouse, and cavy have all been hits in our household, and they all have an appropriate ratio of meat/bone/organ. I add individual supplements (taurine, fish oil, vitamin B, vitamin E, eggs), mix, portion, and freeze.
 
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