question about ingredients

[emilymaywilcha]

I went to several raw food manufacturer websites - Ziwipeak, Primal, Nature's Menu, Paw Naturaw, and Rad Cat - to find out if they really are, as they claim, 100% meat. None of them are. Ziwipeak and Rad Cat are the only two without fruits. Ziwipeak has pumpkin seeds, so only Rad Cat has no vegetables either. Both companies add something called husk, kelp, parsley, and oil that is not from fish. Can someone explain it? These are companies that brag about their products being 100% meat and designed for plant-avoiding carnivores.

Unless Hare Today puts no parsley, oil, or kelp in its chicken recipes I have to agree with everyone who says Rad Cat is the best raw food for cats because everything else has at least one vegetable. Luckily, Rad Cat is sold at my local organic pet store, so I know I can give my cat an almost purrfect raw food if she is willing to eat it.

 

[Willowy]

Hare Today is just ground-up whole animals. Nothing added. Which is why it's not AAFCO approved. Usually they have to add something in order to meet AAFCO standards. Up to you whether you think that's important or not.

For instance, pumpkin seeds are high in zinc. Kelp is rich in many vitamins and minerals. I would rather see them use whole-food sources of vitamins than use synthetics. . .IF the nutrients from those whole-food sources are bio-available to cats. I'm nott sure how to determine that.

 

[ldg]

I went to several raw food manufacturer websites - Ziwipeak, Primal, Nature's Menu, Paw Naturaw, and Rad Cat - to find out if they really are, as they claim, 100% meat. None of them are. Ziwipeak and Rad Cat are the only two without fruits. Ziwipeak has pumpkin seeds, so only Rad Cat has no vegetables either. Both companies add something called husk, kelp, parsley, and oil that is not from fish. Can someone explain it? These are companies that brag about their products being 100% meat and designed for plant-avoiding carnivores.

Unless Hare Today puts no parsley, oil, or kelp in its chicken recipes I have to agree with everyone who says Rad Cat is the best raw food for cats because everything else has at least one vegetable. Luckily, Rad Cat is sold at my local organic pet store, so I know I can give my cat an almost purrfect raw food if she is willing to eat it.

Emily, they have to include SOMETHING if they want to state they are AAFCO "complete and balanced." Hare Today does not claim to be "complete and balanced." That's comparing apples and oranges, so to speak.

Bravo provides many frozen ground meats or ground meat & bones without anything added. But again, they do not claim those are AAFCO complete and balanced.

And where do you see any vegetables in Nature's Menu?

Nature's Menu quality is based upon our use of the finest, freshest ingredients possible. All Nature's Menu diets are composed of approximately 80% muscle meat, 20% organ meats, and are packaged in 1/4 lb. patties--12 per bag. Using the most current information and drawing upon lengthy experience, our two veterinary nutritionists have formulated a superior blend of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements which is added to the diets to exceed the daily recommended nutritional needs of dogs and cats in all stages of life.

http://www.naturesmenu.com/site/493564/page/126491


The link to the vitamin and mineral analysis, provided at the bottom of the page above:

Ingredients

Calcium Carbonate, MonoCalcium Phosphate, Maltodextrin, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Lysine, Potassium Iodine, Sodium Selenite, Dried Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae, Live Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Bacillus subtillis, Lactobacillus fermenturn, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Riboflavin, dl-Menthionine, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Biotin, d-activated Animal Sterol (source of Vitamin D3).

http://www.naturesmenu.com/site/493564/page/270161

Some of the companies use kelp or whatever instead of supplements - but they're basically minute amounts. There are some companies like Nature's Variety that have a long list of fruits and veggies - but the TOTAL is 5%, and they use those to meet AAFCO "complete and balanced" claims rather than a list of supplements.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

The AAFCO needs to go out of business. "Complete and balanced" for a cat means muscle, heart, gizzard, lung, tripe, liver, kidney, and bone. Actually it would include the brain too, but we all know nobody would buy one. Why hasn't the AAFCO figured out by now cats have absolutely no use for any plant-based ingredients, especially when the whole prey model is used in a recipe?

 

[ldg]

Because the AAFCO is BIG business. :lol3:

 

[emilymaywilcha]

When I looked up product information on the NM website, the ingredient list ended with "click on Vitamin and Minerals tab for more ingredient information," or something like that. In other words they have to add supplements just like all the companies that cook cat food. There is no Vitamins and Minerals tab to click on. With a website like that, I can't feel comfortable with only seeing animal products listed for a cat food's ingredients. Isn't the whole point of feeding raw meat to avoid the need for supplementation? I know when liver is high on the list, they don't need a vitamin A supplement, and if it has bones, there is no need for a vitamin D or calcium supplement.

 

[ldg]

Re: Nature's Menu, I don't know where you see that. If you click on the tab "Our Meat Diets" (provided in the first link in my post), you get the quote I posted. As you scroll down through the proteins, you get to the bottom, where there is a link to the vitamin/mineral ingredients/analysis, the link I also provided in my post. :dk:

As to your question, "Isn't the whole point of feeding raw meat to avoid the need for supplementation?" it depends.

Most people, I think, feed raw because it's species-appropriate. We don't know what we're killing by cooking. We don't know much about cat's overall nutritional needs. No doubt about it, live whole prey has what they need.

However, most people don't feed live whole prey, we give them meat, bones, and some organs. It's not fresh kill, it's not usually an animal they'd naturally prey upon. They don't naturally eat ground food. Some choose to try to "adjust" for that, others don't. Everyone has different approaches to supplementation. :dk:

 

[emilymaywilcha]

Re: Nature's Menu, I don't know where you see that. If you click on the tab "Our Meat Diets" (provided in the first link in my post), you get the quote I posted. As you scroll down through the proteins, you get to the bottom, where there is a link to the vitamin/mineral ingredients/analysis, the link I also provided in my post.

I clicked on the PRODUCTS tab, then selected the Organic Chicken Diet to see its ingredients. This is what I found:

Organic Chicken Diet - Twelve 1/4 lb. Patties (discount with 60 lb. order via phone)

Product By-line --------- Pricing ---------

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$14.50 [/font]

Product Description ---------

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Made with certified organic, free-range chicken, organically fed, no growth horomones, no antibiotics, no preservatives added. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ingredients: Chicken muscle, chicken heart, chicken liver, see the Vitamins & Minerals Tab to see further details. [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guaranteed Analysis for Chicken Diet: [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Crude Protein....Min. 20% [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Crude Fat........Min. 12% [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Crude Fiber......Max 1% [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Crude Moisture...Max 72% [/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nature's Menu meets and exceeds the standards set by AFCO for both dogs and cats. The vitamin and mineral analysis is available upon request. [/font]