Recommendations for a pre-prepared raw food available in Europe

[nibblerandco]

I've recently moved from North America to the UK and am looking for a pre-prepared raw food with which to supplement my cats' diet, which is a mix of grain-free wet and kibble (the latter because my girl got hooked on dry and I haven't managed to get her unhooked......yet). I don't have time to make my own raw food, unfortunately, and I also can't afford to feed exclusively raw. Back home they used to get Nature's Variety Instinct Raw frozen bites several times per week. Does anyone have any recommendations as to a good brand? I was looking at this company: http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/. Are their products well-prepared, safe, appealing to cats?

Also, any thoughts on feeding raw to a kitten ~12 weeks of age? My adults have previously had no problems with it (in fact, my girl's long-standing mysterious GI issues only cleared up after I switched her temporarily to raw-only). However, I'm a bit leery of giving it to a youngish kitten.

 

[Columbine]

I use Nature's Menu and am very happy with them. My girl isn't mad keen on the frozen range, but I'm still in the early stages of the transition. She adores their freeze dried raw though (sold as treats, but is the same as the frozen food - I checked with them). If it's any help, my dogs ADORE their raw dog food and are thriving on it.

Other UK brands/suppliers are http://www.purrform.co.uk, http://www.nutriment.co/cat-food/, http://www.naturalinstinct.com/, https://www.kiezebrink.co.uk/catego...jYuT3VXvPuyVz_FzDhrjayiw2R2WCrQ7-FhoC0-rw_wcB

I would be happy to use any of these brands myself. The advantage of Nature's Menu and Purrform is that you can easily defrost only what you need instead of having to portion and re freeze a bigger block...though that may not be such an issue when feeding multiple cats.

I know another member here had her kittens on Nature's Menu from the start and they thrived on it. She only switched to Alastair (from Kiezebrink) because of cost.

Hope that helps.

Oh, FYI - http://www.zooplus.co.uk is a fantastic resource for economical but high quality canned food. The brands I use are Thrive Complete and Catz Finefood. Feringa is also good, but my old boy doesn't like it so much. I'm restricted in choices because my girl has a few sensitivities, but there are other good brands there too for less difficult felines Nature's Menu wet food is also very good.

 

[nibblerandco]

Ok, thanks for the suggestions. I've had to completely change their diet as our old staples aren't readily available here, as far as I can see. I do need to defrost small portions even with multiple cats because unfortunately they often hold out for their kibble. (My adult female especially is picky and somewhat strong-willed.)

I already discovered Zooplus. It's great! I didn't know what to order, however. So far we've tried Bozita, which they'll eat when it's freshly opened. However, since they only eat small portions of wet it doesn't stay fresh long, and I've ended up throwing out large amounts. Also, I realized after I'd ordered that it consists largely of pork and beef, which I don't like feeding to me cats because it doesn't seem particularly species appropriate. (Maybe it's fine, I don't know. I'll stick with feathers and floppy ears......and fins....hmmm.)

We've also tried Applaws, which they do like quite a bit, but is only supplementary, and also contains rice.

Currently the biggest hit is Taste of the Wild Canyon River Feline (which comes in little cans). However I'd like to get them on something that looks a little less processed. Simpson's premium looked and smelled great to me, but they had other opinions.

In any case I'll give the canned foods you suggest a try next time I'm ordering.

 

[Columbine]

The nearest to Applaws that I've found is the Thrive. My two go absolutely wild for it! If you wanted to have something like Applaws for treats, Almo Nature Classics are pretty much identical, but work out cheaper.

I avoid large animal meat too - Asha has issues digesting beef, so I'm reluctant to take any chances. I also avoid all gums and carrageenan, as Asha reacts badly to guar gum - again, I don't want to take any chances.

If you don't mind guar gum, the Lily's Kitchen TINS are pretty good, and well liked by mine (the little trays all contain a mix of proteins). Terra Faelis isn't bad either, though it does have slightly random extras in the way of veg. Mine aren't as keen on it, and it seems expensive when compared to Feringa or Catz Finefoods, so I tend not to bother with it. I'm happy to pay more for a food they love, but not so much if they aren't as keen.

Forthglade also looks pretty good to me, but I haven't tried it because it's not available locally, and I tend to just order in from Zooplus. If you have a Pets at Home store nearby, their own brand - Wainwrights - looks pretty good too, though the trays look better than the pouches imo. There's a store opening near me soon, so I'll probably get some to try out on my two.

Sorry if this is too much information - I did a LOT of research into food brands in March after rescuing Asha.

I tend to stay away from American and Canadian imports, simply because the prices tend to be so inflated by the time they land here, and I'd rather stick closer to home and save the air miles!

One last thought on raw - a company called http://www.finerbynature.co.uk is supposed to be getting Oma's Pride/ O Paws freeze dried raw food in (re branding it as Purr). It was due to be stocked from the beginning of the summer, but they're clearly having difficulties getting it through DEFRA testing (the stage they were at when I emailed them in May).

There's also a British made kibble brand that looks very similar to Orijen but is significantly cheaper (due to no air miles)http://www.edenpetfoods.com. I use their dog food, and it really is great. They do sample packs too.

Lastly, a couple of Zooplus tips - subscribe to their Savings Plan, and get 7% off every order. If your order is over £75, enter the code STOCK-UP for an extra 3% off (not a lot, but it all adds up )

*End of lecture* :catguy:

 

[nibblerandco]

STOCK-UP, excellent! Thanks for that tip! I'm already on their savings plan.

One thing I did notice moving here is that it's a lot easier to find high-quality wet food without carrageenan in it. I had the cats on Wellness back home. They really liked it but the carrageenan bothered me. I see that my ToTW has guar gum in it. Interestingly the kitten vomited twice when she first ate it (and avoided it for a while after). She is primarily on kitten food but I let her have samples of everything. She does eat small portions of ToTW now with apparently no trouble.

We have tried Almo Nature and they do like it. For kibble they are currently having Meowing Heads. (I know this has rice in it, but I originally had trouble finding a grain-free dry food. I also read something about Meowing Heads having excess sodium, and I noticed that the % carbs is not declared on the bag, which concerns me.) I'm not wild about kibble, period, with or without grain, but they love it so much and hold out when I don't serve it. I'll look into Eden Pet Foods

Thanks for the input. There's no such thing as TMI, IMO, though I may not digest it all in the first read (pardon the pun).

 

[Columbine]

Feel free to come back to me if you want any other help. I know how lost I am with American foods on this site - it must be a nightmare trying to find equivalents/substitutes for old favourites!

If you're getting the Meowing Heads from Zooplus, the Eden is considerably more expensive. For Zooplus options, my first choice would be Purizon, followed by Applaws and then Feringa.

*shutting up now*

 

[nibblerandco]

Thanks! Yes, it's been difficult to get oriented, and I'm still not happy with the menu I've set for them. I've had another episode of vomiting (this time my adult female) in response to Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline (which has guar gum, interestingly). The Canyon River Feline hasn't caused any problems yet (and I don't see any guar gum on the label). They used to be on Wellness, but that's exorbitant here.

I'm going to try some of the foods you've suggested above and come back if in need of more help.

 

[Columbine]

Good luck! I hope you can find something they like that likes them back :cross:

 

[nibblerandco]

We tried the Purizon. It's quite a hit! Beat Meowing Heads hands down in side-by-side taste tests. I see it has more moisture too (9% vs 7% -- not much, but every bit helps). Still haven't sorted out the wet and raw but one thing at a time. 

 

 

[Columbine]

We tried the Purizon. It's quite a hit! Beat Meowing Heads hands down in side-by-side taste tests. I see it has more moisture too (9% vs 7% -- not much, but every bit helps). Still haven't sorted out the wet and raw but one thing at a time. :catguy:  

So pleased that you've at least found one food that's a hit

 

[nibblerandco]

I wouldn't have tried it if you hadn't pointed it out so thanks for the recommendation. 

  Was on sale too - 3 bags for the price of two. 

 

 

[citrineblue]

http://www.naturalinstinct.com/categories/cat-food/

http://www.nutriment.co/cat-food/

The above two are complete foods, Below is a link to Felini Complete at Zooplus which is a supplement to add to raw meat.

http://t.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/supplements_specialty_cat_food/vitamins/155860

 

[Columbine]

nibblerandco FYI - just tried Purely pouches and Wainwrights round trays (both from Pets at Home). Both are a big hit with my guys - especially the Purely. Might be worth a look

 

[samus]

For what it's worth, my cat has less vomiting issues when I feed her beef than bird. Maybe because she's mostly eaten chicken and fish all her life and only rarely beef.  And she's so much more excited about eating beef (she was borderline anorexic for a while.... I think she was tired of people calling her fat).

She's doing pretty well on Terra Faelis, but be warned that they have issues with overfilling their cans and when you open one, it might spurt out a little.... I got a variety pack and about 60-70% of the cans did it. I emailed the company with worries about food spoilage (botulism....) and they said it's a problem with the filling process. Seems like less of a problem with the 400g cans than the 200g. (And last time I checked, the 400g cans weren't available on Zooplus and the price on the Terra Faelis website is about half the 200g can price per kg.)

Terra Faelis is one of the only brands I've found here that has single (meat, ignoring the whey or bee pollen or whatever) protein foods and low enough phosphorous for a CKD cat. They also just launched a kitten food line recently.

 

[nibblerandco]

Thanks you guys for these replies. Sorry not to have responded earlier - I've been focused on work and trying not to get distracted! 

I've got them on natures:menu meaty treats to get some raw into them for now, and I discovered that they like the Bozita tetrapacks much better than the large cans. They definitely have a preference for the varieties with less beef - the further down the list the more likely they are to eat it. Individual taste I guess...

I'm still having issues getting my adult female to eat wet food. She'll have a few bites and then wait (and whine) until I serve her kibble. The other two quite like the Bozita (I think it's turkey) tetrapack (but not the rabbit). It's a shame as she used to be such a good eater of wet and raw. I think she got hooked on dry while we were away at Christmas last year, and I'm worried about the impact on her kidneys of eating predominantly kibble long-term. I got a fountain for her but she doesn't drink from it any more than from the bowl, unfortunately. Next time I buy food I think I'll try some of the wet varieties suggested above, and also get around to reviewing your recommendations for and actually ordering some frozen raw. She used to LOVE that stuff...

 

[meowlifestyle]

I live in Switzerland and feed 80% home prepared raw.  The other 20% I use  the highest quality canned food I can find. I really like Josera and Solid Gold, both German cat food companies with great ingredients. My cats have no reactions when switching between raw and Josera.

I know Josera (also called Kyli) is available from zooplus. I can only recommend the wet food.

 

[Columbine]

If cost isn't too big of an issue, Thrive Complete seems to be kitty crack! (at least, that's what my guys tell me :lol3: ). Definitely worth trying if you need to get your girl into wet again. They're very like Applaws, but are grain free and complete. The only downsides are cost and limited flavours. The Nature's Menu wet food is also a favourite in this house, along with Catz Finefood. I'd say those are my guys' top three

 

[samus]

 
I live in Switzerland and feed 80% home prepared raw.  The other 20% I use  the highest quality canned food I can find. I really like Josera and Solid Gold, both German cat food companies with great ingredients. My cats have no reactions when switching between raw and Josera.

I know Josera (also called Kyli) is available from zooplus. I can only recommend the wet food.

Do you get Josera/Kyli from zooplus? I don't see anything but dry food on zooplus.de and .ch.

 

[meowlifestyle]

You're right they only seem to have the dry online. That's strange.  I buy it from QualiPet https://www.qualipet.ch/

 

[jennyr]

I live in France but I buy all my foods through Zooplus. My lot all love Bozita tetrapacks, though the reindeer flavour made them vomit. I have noticed it is not available any more. I also buy the Smilla grain-free to give some variety. My daughter, who lives in the UK, uses Nature's Menu for her post-pancreatitis cat, who is doing very well on it.