rad cat question - first time feeding a raw meal

[mschauer]

It would seem the NV products are very high in fat.

I wouldn't be surprised. I don't remember the ingredients in the others, but in the rabbit I was feeding, I think pork fat was the second ingredient.

I've long been suspicious of the relatively low price of the NV raw products. Being high in fat might explain the price. 

I should hasten to say that being high in fat isn't necessarily bad. In my opinion such a product is lower quality than a product, like Rad Cat, that gets it's calories from lean protein. But anyone who has seen both Rad Cat and NV raw probably already knows Rad Cat is higher quality.

 

[wolcar]

I guess I'm a quality idiot :-(  or I'm just not looking at the food properly.  The rad cat seemed soupy and the instinct was in these little pellet forms but really that's the only difference I noticed just by looking but I don't think I was looking. I'll have to look at the food better.

If Instinct is 65 calories an ounce then that is too  much in my opinion.  I will finish out what I bought but it just seems to high..

 

[wolcar]

I also have to say that when I cleaned the litter box this morning there was one pee ball in there.  I just looked again and there is nothing.  So one cat peed in the last 24-36 hours.  Is there anything to be concerned about here?

 

[emilymaywilcha]

I also have to say that when I cleaned the litter box this morning there was one pee ball in there.  I just looked again and there is nothing.  So one cat peed in the last 24-36 hours.  Is there anything to be concerned about here?

How often do you usually have to clean the box?

 

[mschauer]

I guess I'm a quality idiot :-(  or I'm just not looking at the food properly.  The rad cat seemed soupy and the instinct was in these little pellet forms but really that's the only difference I noticed just by looking but I don't think I was looking. I'll have to look at the food better.

If Instinct is 65 calories an ounce then that is too  much in my opinion.  I will finish out what I bought but it just seems to high..

Rad Cat does have a higher moisture content, 80% vs 68% in the NV. But I calculated that if enough water were added to the NV to bring it up to 80% it would still be 58 kcals/oz. You know I've been obsessed with looking at the calories in cat foods lately because of Mickey. What I've found is that there can be a very large difference in calories between 2 foods and it isn't always easy to determine why the difference given just the information we have from the labels and the manufacturers web sites. It makes me realize how easy it is for us to think we know what we are buying when we really don't.

You don't think the Rad Cat has a fresher, more "meaty" look to it? Maybe that's just my impression. 

I also have to say that when I cleaned the litter box this morning there was one pee ball in there.  I just looked again and there is nothing.  So one cat peed in the last 24-36 hours.  Is there anything to be concerned about here?

I think that's odd but I wouldn't worry unless they don't pee within the next 24 hours or so. Not peeing within 48 hours is cause for concern. 

 

[wolcar]

I will admit that the rad cat looks fresher and more natural to me verse the NV.  My cats don't have manners when I'm getting their food ready. They jump up and down up and down in my face, so it doesn't give me much opportunity to really look at the food.  When I give them a sardine I have to go into the bathroom to open the can and put it in their bowls.  They're crazy.  Maybe I should search the behavior section to fix this. lol  In any case, I'm not a huge fan of the instinct anyway. The cats seem to really like it but I'm not positive I like it. They eat these pellets way too fast.  With the primal they seem to take their time in a focused way. The rad cat they just scarf down like crazy starving cats.  I need a scale or something before I thaw the rad cat out. I got a big tub of it and I'm really not comfortable eyeing portions up. 

It looks like there is activity in the boxes this morning. I will confirm 2 urine balls hopefully in a little when I clean it and all will be right with our world over here.

I pull my hair out trying to understand the labels and the analysis info.  I'm still at the start line of the learning process :-(  I have a notebook that I've been writing things down in and also list calories per ounce of all the foods I've been given them. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I also have to say that when I cleaned the litter box this morning there was one pee ball in there.  I just looked again and there is nothing.  So one cat peed in the last 24-36 hours.  Is there anything to be concerned about here?

Oddly enough, when mine first went on raw, their peeing went way down too.  I was shocked and worried!  But after awhile it leveled out and now each one pees about once per day.  And poops about once every 2 days ( much smaller poops )  I still think it's strange that they don't pee as much as they did on kibble, but apparently mine drank lots while on kibble, plus I had a 4th cat then who had CRF and he generated LOTS of pee, so it was like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[wolcar]

hmm I wonder what that's about.  This morning there were two urine balls in the litter so I'm happy about that :-)

 

[auntie crazy]

How are your kitties doing now, Wolcar?

...  My cats don't have manners when I'm getting their food ready. They jump up and down up and down in my face, so it doesn't give me much opportunity to really look at the food.  When I give them a sardine I have to go into the bathroom to open the can and put it in their bowls.  They're crazy.  Maybe I should search the behavior section to fix this. lol ...

I pull my hair out trying to understand the labels and the analysis info.  I'm still at the start line of the learning process :-(  I have a notebook that I've been writing things down in and also list calories per ounce of all the foods I've been given them. 

How many meals a day are you offering? Cats should be eating at least three times a day; four, if you can manage it. Feeding them less often might explain some of their behavior at meals times - they may be just that hungry.

As for the analysis, I'm way more laid back than most of the folks on this board. I've been prey model feeding my six kitties using the 8 / 10 / 5 / 5 guideline and rotating through various cuts of seven different proteins (including whole live crickets) for a few years now. Bac when I started, I calculated the total amount of meats, bones and organs I'd need for three meals a day using 3% of the combined weight of my cats. At each meal, I split that total amount of food into six portions, allocating slightly less for the smallest cat and the one that gains weight easily and slightly more for my high metabolic cat, and call it a day.

The crickets, along with one sardine and half an egg, are weekly treats not included in the meal totals.

If I were feeding commercial raw, I'd still have done the same thing: picked an amount to split between them and then rotated the kinds of foods I fed. The only difference is I'd probably rotate through as many raw products as I could possible incorporate into their diet, since quality control wouldn't be under my control. (When I was still feeding canned, my cats ate 21 different flavors every week.)

I'm a grandmother today and didn't, while feeding my kids, attempt to calculate precisely how much of any given nutrient they needed, and I really don't see the need to do it with my kitties. I watch their body condition and stools and let that information guide me; although, at this point, I know them so well I haven't had to make any changes in a while.

This isn't to say there's anything wrong with getting that focused on the nutrient profiles of the foods our furchildren are eating, just that I'm... too lazy, I guess, to make that kind of effort, given my confidence in the overall health of what I'm feeding. (If it's of interest, here's my weekly menu: Prey Model Raw Menu Example.)

Best regards!

AC

 

[wolcar]

My cats are doing really well on this raw diet so far.  I'm rotating right now between 3 different flavors of Primal, some NV (which I don't like and just using up what I bought) and some rad cat. They just love it.  I started adding water to their primal, though.  I put a little bit in the dish then smoosh up their servings.  I noticed that it really slows their eating down.  And the little bits that float around in the water are lapped up b/c god forbid we leave anything in the dish. I even caught Ulysses licking the wall above his bowl. lol  There is still no weight loss but I'm noticing some huge energy level changes in my Ulysses. He just busted out in a sprint down the hallway in a kitten type fashion with a toy in his mouth.  This made me extremely happy.  He's always required me or Gus (his brother) to play.  He never really played by himself. Perhaps he's feeling more motivated :-)  I've been feeding them 3 times per day.  They just always get excited about eating. 

I'd love to feed them raw the way some of you folks do, the prey model way, I guess you call it.  I just can't yet bring myself to buy and prepare meats like that.  I haven't had meat in my house since I've been an adult (only 35 so not a terribly long time. lol).  This transition to raw is more of a transition for me as I'm sure whatever I put down for them to eat they will eat.

When you feed the egg do you just put a raw egg in their dish with the rest of their food? The whole egg, whites and yolk? This is good for them?  I've read on here some mentioning this but haven't inquired about it.

 

[auntie crazy]

Yes, you can feed raw eggs by just dumping them in a bowl. If your cats like plain egg, you won't have to do anything more, but if not, you can mix the raw egg with the foods they're already eating.

Just a caution, however - a whole egg might be a bit too much for any one cat to eat and might result in a bout of soft or runny poo, so I'd suggest you feed one cat the egg white one week and the other cat the yolk, then swap it the following week (this is what I do with mine).

I'm enjoying reading your posts and watching the changes in your kitties, Wolcar! Especially Ulysses; it's just so exciting to see.

AC

 

[katecat]

The Rad Cat is the best quality raw food I have seen. I add a heaping teaspoon of canned pumpkin, and they love it!

 

[sjshores]

I like the rad cat a lot better..... so do my cats!  The NV smells like rancid meat to me.  My picky eater, LoveBug, would only eat NV if he was REALLY hungry and I'd have to leave it out longer than I'd like with raw meat just to get him to eat it.  He licks the plate clean with the rad cat.  My Peanut girl would eat them both but likes the rad cat better too.  She only has one kidney working kidney (was born with one so small it really doesn't work), so think the rad cat with bone meal is better for her than NV with ground bone.  I do add a little organic pumpkin in tho because I have Persians.

 

[katecat]

My cats get fed 1/3 cup twice a day. They eat their food in about five minutes and seem to love it. I used to add pumpkin, but no longer do - though I see nothing wrong with doing so. 

 

[anne with cats]

I have always thought that the egg white messes with the biotin, can't absorb. One website said if whole egg is fed, the yolk should offset any problems. A lot of people cook the whites, and feed the raw yolk. Also, on another topic, but cats with CKD can't metabolize as much phosphorus, and the cooked egg white combined with their food can sort of offset the phosphorus by not feeding as much canned food or even a raw mix. Oh, I love the Rad Cat! I truly think that company as the right Idea about raw. The only thing I would add is a little extra Taurine because it might be less potent after freezing.

 

[Kristi01]

I have never feed raw, but I'm considering it after reading your posts. Which brand is a good one to stay worth? Rad cat? Or something else?

 

[orange&white]

Rotating products is always a good idea.

Rad Cat is the premium brand since they use grass-fed and free-range meats, if you're budget can stand it. Other pre-mixed and balanced products are good too.

A medium cost alternative is to buy whole carcass grinds from a company like Hare Today. Those grinds usually have too much bone, so you have to do a little work to add some extra boneless meat and a little extra liver.

You can also get a supplement pre-mix like Alnutrin or EZ-Complete, which you mix into grocery store boneless meat.

Homemade raw, using a recipe like the one at Feline-Nutrition.org is extremely affordable, but more work for you.

 

[lisamarie12]

I have never feed raw, but I'm considering it after reading your posts. Which brand is a good one to stay worth? Rad cat? Or something else?

Answers pet food, raw for cats, is excellent, similar to Rad Cat, also free range meats but with fermented goat's milk and rich in digestive enzymes. They don't utilize HPP on their poultry products.

 

[Kristi01]

Rotating products is always a good idea.

Rad Cat is the premium brand since they use grass-fed and free-range meats, if you're budget can stand it. Other pre-mixed and balanced products are good too.

A medium cost alternative is to buy whole carcass grinds from a company like Hare Today. Those grinds usually have too much bone, so you have to do a little work to add some extra boneless meat and a little extra liver.

You can also get a supplement pre-mix like Alnutrin or EZ-Complete, which you mix into grocery store boneless meat.

Homemade raw, using a recipe like the one at Feline-Nutrition.org is extremely affordable, but more work for you.

Thank you very much