Questions about Stella & Chewy's

[vball91]

I've been testing a few of the non-fish flavors of S&C's small cat packages. She won't touch the Turkey. The Duck/Goose one is very hit or miss, but she will eat the chicken one pretty reliably, so I am considering buying a big package of the chicken. However, I read that it's a different texture, bigger chunks? My question is do those chunks still shred up the same as the smaller packages if you crumble it between your fingers? I ask because Aria will only eat it if I shred it and then rehydrate. If I just rehydrate the bigger chunks, she won't eat them, little miss fussy that she is. Also, how long will a big bag last once opened. I only feed the S&C's in rotation, so a small package lasts 2-3 days.

I am also interested in trying the S&C's Lamb dog patties on her but same concern here. Will those shred/crumble? Thanks!

 

[harleydiva]

The only place around here I can get S&C only carries the dog products.  I bought a big bag of the chicken for dogs.  The pieces are bigger....I just crumble them up in a bowl before I rehydrate.  My guys initially did not like freeze dried, now they have decided it is ok.  I also sometimes crumble up one of the small patties as a topper (one between 3 dishes), or to just add to the meal......they like it this way too.  I think the dog varieties might be cheaper???  Only one I have used is chicken.  It's kind of weird.....they like the freeze dried chicken, but the raw chicken is not the favorite.  

 

[vball91]

Good to know they do crumble. How long does it take you to go through a big bag? Any problems with freshness?

Yeah, mine doesn't like cooked chicken, is meh on raw chicken, but likes the S&C's FD?? Cats are strange creatures!

 

[harleydiva]

I have had a big bag for almost 3 months now...it is still fine.  I don't use it very often.  Originally, they didn't like it....but now they think it is wonderful.  I very occasionally give it as a meal.....usually if the other stuff isn't thawed.  More often now....I crumble a patty as a topper if I'm feeding a protein that isn't a favorite.  k9cuisine has a sale going right now....I will probably order some.  The only disadvantage I can see to buying the dog product is that I don't think it has added taurine.....but I feed chicken hearts and they get plenty of taurine from the Alnutrin in the ground mixes.  

 

[vball91]

The S&C's dog varieties do contain taurine, but they also contain some fruits and vegetables that the cat varieties don't. I just looked up the ingredients and realized that the dog varieties all seem to have cranberries, so I guess I'll stick with the cat varieties even though they're more expensive. I wish there were lamb and venison cat varieties.

 

[harleydiva]

The S&C's dog varieties do contain taurine, but they also contain some fruits and vegetables that the cat varieties don't. I just looked up the ingredients and realized that the dog varieties all seem to have cranberries, so I guess I'll stick with the cat varieties even though they're more expensive. I wish there were lamb and venison cat varieties.

I may try the cat ones....but I wish they would make more that doesn't include fish.  Why does everyone think cats need fish??

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm pretty sure the cat varieties contain fruits and vegies too.  I thought the main dfiferences between the cats and dogs were the size and shapes of the patties, aside from the flavors.  I just ordered the rabbit, so am kind of excited to try it!  Should get here by end of the week.

 

[vball91]

Here's the cat Chick, Chick, Chicken Dinner ingredient list:

Chicken (Ground with Bone), Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Here's the dog Chicken Dinner ingredient list:

Chicken Ground with Bone, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Organic Cranberries, Organic Spinach, Organic Broccoli, Organic Beets, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Organic Carrots, Organic Squash, Organic Apples, Organic Blueberries, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Monohydrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.
 

I highlighted the different ones in red. I don't know what the percentage is for these fruits and vegetables, probably low, but my concern was mostly for the cranberries although it's probably too little to worry about.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well I'll be darned!  Either I'm losing my mind (very possible

), or they changed their formula, OR, I have it confused with their frozen.  Sorry 'bout that. 

 

[goingpostal]

I feed the dog and cat freezedried to my ferrets sometimes, my cat so far will only touch the cat turkey version and only dry.  For the dog versions they are supposed to be under 5% veggies/fruit, the duck and rabbit shred really nice, the beef and chicken are harder but crumble, the lamb you kind of have to tear up.  Haven't dealt with venison yet. 

 

[stella n chewys]

We at Stella & Chewy’s are so glad to hear how well your cats enjoy our products!

The dinners for cats in the single serve portion bags are identical to those in the 12oz bag—the only difference is the 12oz bag has not been pre-crushed.  You can easily break up the nuggets from the 12oz bag prior to rehydrating them with cool or warm water so they become the same consistency as the single serve dinners. 

The dinners for dogs are not complete and balanced for a cat's nutritional needs and so we would always suggest using our freeze-dried dinners for cats on a full-time basis.  However, if you wish to use the dinners for dogs occasionally in a cat’s overall diet, we leave that up to you.  Our dog diets contain fruits and vegetables whereas the cat diets do not, and our cat diets do include higher levels of taurine to meet cats’ needs.  

Please feel free to visit our website   http://www.stellaandchewys.com/contact.php.

 

[otto]

The cat formulas do not contain fruits and veggies. It's one of the main reasons I first tried S&C, it was the first raw I ever fed.

Queen Eva won't eat it, if it starts as crumbs, so I continue to buy the 12 oz size bags.

I use the chicken, and the duck&goose. I haven't tried the turkey.

It takes more than a "minute" for the water to absorb, when using the formed nuggets. For one meal for Queen Eva, I put 10 nuggets in a small saucer with about 2 tablespoons of water. Let it sit for about five minutes, then I start mashing/crushing the nuggets, it takes another three minutes before it is completely saturated.

The company is wonderful and responsive should you ever run into any problems. I am really happy with the product, and the ground up bone in the S&C foods is the only bone Mazy and Queen Eva get, their digestion has been unable to handle fresh (previously frozen) bone, like Jennie gets.

 

[vball91]

I did email Stella & Chewy's customer service to ask if they had any plans to introduce cat versions of the lamb, venison, and rabbit dog dinners, and sadly the answer was no. They said these were relatively new dog varieties, and while they may introduce cat varieties if the cat market expands, but they had no current plans to do so. Just FYI in case anyone else was interested.

 

[harleydiva]

We at Stella & Chewy’s are so glad to hear how well your cats enjoy our products!

The dinners for cats in the single serve portion bags are identical to those in the 12oz bag—the only difference is the 12oz bag has not been pre-crushed.  You can easily break up the nuggets from the 12oz bag prior to rehydrating them with cool or warm water so they become the same consistency as the single serve dinners. 

The dinners for dogs are not complete and balanced for a cat's nutritional needs and so we would always suggest using our freeze-dried dinners for cats on a full-time basis.  However, if you wish to use the dinners for dogs occasionally in a cat’s overall diet, we leave that up to you.  Our dog diets contain fruits and vegetables whereas the cat diets do not, and our cat diets do include higher levels of taurine to meet cats’ needs.  

Please feel free to visit our website   http://www.stellaandchewys.com/contact.php.

Stella and Chewys....if you are listening......many cat people will not feed fish.  We need more options that do not contain fish!!!!

 

[vball91]

HarleyDiva, email them. Maybe if they hear from enough people, they would consider it. I did give them a few reasons why fish is not preferred as a regular menu item for cats, but who knows if they're listening.

 

[stella n chewys]

Hi Everyone,

We are always available to answer questions you may have and truly value your feedback.  Please don't hesitate to contact us directly in the future with any thoughts/concerns/comments.

Thanks!

Stella & Chewy's

 

[harleydiva]

I ordered a couple of large bags of the S&C freeze dried cat mixes from k9cuisine (they have it on sale by the way).  The only S&C I had used in the past was the dog, chicken version.  The cat version came in small chunks, rather than the little "patties', and seems to be much "softer".  It also rehydrates much faster, and crumbles easier.  I'm kind of glad i didn't order the individual pre-crushed bags, as I'm not sure they would like it.  I'm still using the dog patties to crumble into the food as an enticement.  I opened the bag of turkey cat food today, and gave it to them for lunch......everyone cleaned their dish.