Should I switch to raw or get better quality canned?

[pinkeed]

I own 3 cats so food can get expensive. I have one 13 year old, one 2 year old, and one 11 week old kitten.

The 2 older kitties are on a quarter of a can of Trader Joe's wet food per meal plus some dry from PurinaOne. The older was is not very active, the younger one is super active. They eat twice a day.

The kitten is on Purina kitty chow dry food right because that's what the breeder had her on. I am adding some Wellness wet food kitten formula in with that. She is underweight, but eats 4 times a day. I want to try to get as many calories as I can into her.

I'm wondering if it would be better to just switch them all over to raw or is it better to buy a higher quality canned. The only places I know that are close to me for this are petco or petsmart, otherwise I'd have to buy online.

What would I be looking at costwise? I'm looking for a complete diet. What brands would you recommend for commercial raw? Type?

Other info: All cats are on pumpkin. The kitten and the younger cat have diarrhea issues, the pumpkin helps. The kitten is very gasy and has super smelly poop (yes she has been to the vet).

I'm not sure how I feel about bones in the raw though, too many cats I have known have had to go to the vet because of them.

 

[feralvr]

I feed both commercially made raw and grain-free canned foods to most of my cats. I use Rad Cat, Stella and Chewy's, Nature's Variety to name a few. I also like to use freeze dried varieties - always rehydrate those types of raw. For canned - I use EVO, Core, Natural Balance, Soulistic and even Fancy Feast pates to name a few. There are SOOOO many brands to choose from nowadays, it can make your head spin. :lol3: I am sure others will chime in here as well.

This cost comparison article by one of our member's LDG - should help you figure out spending http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and...y-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/ AND also this one by the same writer http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat-part-2

And this one.... (should keep you busy for a bit... ) packed with info. to cover most of your question. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263955/helpful-resources-raw-home-cooked-cat-food-forum

 

[LTS3]

Are you looking at freeze dried raw or frozen raw or something else? A bag of frozen raw will take up space in your freezer while a bag of freeze dried raw can sit in a cabinet or shelf. Dehydrated and air dried raw food can also sit in a cabinet. Air dried raw food is probably the most expensive. Ziwi Peak is one such brand and costs about $16 for a 14oz bag (!).  Dehydrated raw food such as The Honest Kitchen is the next expensive. A 2 lb box of The Honest Kitchen is about $30 but you do get a lot of meals from it (it's a powder that you have to mix with water before serving). Frozen and freeze dried raw are about the same in cost.

I don't think Petsmart stores sell raw food of any kind. The web site does have raw food listed, though. At Petco you can find Nature's Variety Instinct frozen and freeze dried raw food. There's a coupon for both kinds here.

Do you have any independent pet stores in the area? Many sell raw foods of various brands. Stella and Chewy's is a good brand that you can only buy at independent stores.

The bones in commerical raw food are uncooked and really small and unlikley to pose any health risk. To be extra sure, check the food before you give it to your cat, especially frozen raw medallions. It's cooked bones that sends many pets to the vet because the cooked bones splinter very easily.

Your kitten may benefit from a high calorie supplement. There are some you can buy at pet stores in paste or gel or treat form. Kitten milk replacer may also be high in calories. Ask your vet about these first.

 

[furmonster mom]

Generally speaking, most folks transition to canned before moving on to raw anyway, so... 

 

[ankitty]

I switched to all canned food before trying out raw, because I thought it'd be easier and also I wanted canned food as backup after switching to raw. Now I'm thinking I probably won't go 100% home made, and I'll rotate home made, commercial raw, and canned food in different brands so that there will be enough variety. I feed mostly Nature's Variety Instinct cans (chicken, turkey, duck, and rabbit), Nature's Logic (thought my cats don't like it too much), and started trying out frozen raw (Primal, Instinct, Stella & Chewy, and Rad Cat). My cats don't like Instinct raw too much, but go crazy with Primal and Rad Cat. Also tried Stella & Chewy freeze dry and they went crazy too. I'm going to try commercial ground meat/bones/organs chubs (Primal, Halshan, Smallbatch), adding supplements to save some money. Since switching all wet food, my cats' fur became so soft and beautiful. I think Nature's Variety Instinct canned food helps my cats' poop firm up. Also, adding probiotics really helped. 

NVI cans are expensive (about $100 per month for 2 cats), and that's why I'm thinking about eventually going to home made. But, if you can get Amazon deliver to you, their Subscribe & Save program can give you additional 15% off for 5 items. If I buy chubs and add supplements myself, it'll be about $60 per month for 2 cats, and if I cook myself even lower. 

 

[pinkeed]

I guess it depends on how much they will eat too. How much raw food do you feed a cat a day? How long does the bag/container last? Is one type better than another?

I do have some local pet stores by me, but they only carry dog food. No cat. There is one by the Trader Joe's, but it's all canned from what I remember.

In terms of canned food it looks like Soulistic would be better than Trader Joe's, though a bit more expensive.

 

[ankitty]

I used this list when looking for better food. 

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/

My cats eat about 1 large can per cat a day, and I'm still figuring out how much raw they eat, but probably about 4 to 6 oz per cat a day. So, 3lb bag should last 4 to 6 days, I guess.

 

[starbuk]

If you can, my suggestion is to feed prey model raw.  It is cheaper than commercial raw with all the benefits.  You can just buy chicken, beef, pork at the store and feed that as meat.  You will need kidney and liver and maybe one other organ as well as bones from chicken wings.  I am not sure about the cat bone stories you have heard but raw bones are perfectly acceptable for cats to eat.  Cooked bones are brittle and can cause problems but raw bones are essential for a complete diet.  Feeding prey model raw is difficult and there is a lot of info online about what type of mix of meat, bone and organs the cats will need.  The little one can go to raw without much, if any, transition period required.  The older ones may object and it can take months to switch them.  What I am getting at is that it is not a simple process but one that will take commitment.  I wholeheartedly believe that wet is better than dry and commercial raw is better than wet and prey model raw is better than commercial, so do what you are comfortable with.  If you would like more info please PM me or post more questions here.  There is a Yahoo Group called Raw Cat that is an excellent source of information.  On the cost side, commercial raw is more expensive than wet food but prey model raw is cheaper than commercial.  Fancy Feast costs about $0.19 per ounce on Amazon while a pound of chicken will cost about $4, so $0.25 per ounce.  Commercial raw has shipping costs that increase the price and even without shipping typically costs more than meat you find at the market or from a local farm.  Your cats behaviors will change for the better from better bowel movements to nicer coats to more energy.  I suspect your diarrhea issues will subside once you switch her over to raw.

 

[pinkeed]

Thank you everyone for the advice and very helpful links. I bought some cans of Weruva for the cats to try, skipped on the fish ones cause I have a cat that hates it. I also bought some primal frozen raw and the store gave me samples of honest kitchen dehydrated raw since they were out. It turns out the store by Trader Joe's sells a lot of the brands mentioned above. I'm a bit far from it, but can stop there after work (since it's closer to there). Hopefully it will help the poop problems.

 

[lisahe]

How much raw food do you feed a cat a day? How long does the bag/container last? Is one type better than another?

I do have some local pet stores by me, but they only carry dog food. No cat. There is one by the Trader Joe's, but it's all canned from what I remember.

In terms of canned food it looks like Soulistic would be better than Trader Joe's, though a bit more expensive.

We feed our cats a lot of the same foods as @ankitty, also mixing canned and raw: our cats also love Primal, Rad Cat, and Stella & Chewy's. They each get about three "loaves" of freeze-dried Primal a day, a decent size serving of Rad Cat, and a can or two of something else. They are small junior cats but they're pretty active so they eat a lot!

Soulistic's foods are pretty fish-based and many of them are high-carb so I don't feed much of them. One of our cats loves their Autumn Bounty, though, so I give it to her as an occasional treat, just not with all the sauce!

Thank you everyone for the advice and very helpful links. I bought some cans of Weruva for the cats to try, skipped on the fish ones cause I have a cat that hates it. I also bought some primal frozen raw and the store gave me samples of honest kitchen dehydrated raw since they were out.

I hope those foods help! If things still aren't quite right... one thing about Weruva: the potato in some of their foods gives one of our cats problems. (She's the one that has a tendency to get gassy and barfy.) Our cats love some of Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen foods, though they're pretty low-calorie so might not be the best to feed a little kitten!

Good luck!

 

[pinkeed]

Hi again! I'm looking for some advice on feeding commercial raw. I wanted to try making my own raw food, but my husband won't hear of it. He doesn't like me spending an hour or more in the kitchen for the cats and would rather spend the extra money. Is there a way to do this and cut down on the cost of feeding raw without using a grinder or spending a long time in the kitchen? Is there an option where I could maybe just add the supplements to something? What are the more affordable commercial brand raw foods? Is what I have them on already the best option cost wise?

Right now the kitten gets 4 tbsp of the honest kitchen prowl one day and 1/2 cup of primal turkey pronto or nature's variety rabbit 3/4 cup. Plus, she gets 1/4 a can of whatever the older cat is having that day. Currently, she's been eating 3 times a day and weights 2.5 pounds.

The 2 year old gets the same thing as the kitten, but no canned food and instead of primal pronto gets 4 of the nuggets every other day. I also add a little bit of Canidae grain free hard food every meal.

The oldest cat gets half a can of either Soulistic, Weruva, or Trader Joe's plus some hard food. I have noticed that she seems interested in the primal though.

All get pumpkin for their poo issues at each meal. The kitten needs to be on only soft food because it is the only thing that has stopped her rectal prolaspe.

 

[LTS3]

Is there a way to do this and cut down on the cost of feeding raw without using a grinder or spending a long time in the kitchen? Is there an option where I could maybe just add the supplements to something? What are the more affordable commercial brand raw foods? Is what I have them on already the best option cost wise?
 

You could do ground raw meat with a premix. Depending on the specific pre mix you use, you use either boneless ground raw meat or ground raw meat that has bones and organs. Some pet stores sell chubs/rolls of ground raw meat so you don't need to grind anything yourself. Buying raw meat from Hare Today or other smilar online places is also an option but shipping can be costly. Most premixes call for a X amount of ground raw meat mixed with X amount of water and X amount of the premix powder. Just mix it all together, portion into containers, and freeze. It shouldn't take more than half an hour to do.

The premixes I am aware of are TC Feline, Better In the Raw, Alnutrin, My Natural Cat, Fresh and Oasis Feline T.

Nature's Variety Instinct brought back the raw medallions for cats. A bag has about 43 one ounce medallions which I find more conveient and eaiser to feed than the Raw Bites. Stella and Chewy's may still be hard to find in stores (there's a thread about this). I've seen Vital Essentials at the pet store. I'm not sure how much this brand costs.

 

[ankitty]

Depending on where you live, you can try ground meat/bones/organs chubs or packages from Primal, Bravo, Smallbatch, Halshan, or Oma's Pride, and add supplements either premix or ones that Dr. Pierson recommends (taurine, vitamin B and E, fish oil, etc.). 

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/9

http://www.bravopetfoods.com/cat_frozen_basics.html

http://smallbatchpets.com/cats/ (blends)

http://www.halshan.com/Complete_Diets.html (one with no veggies)

http://omaspride.com/

I found that if I only use Smallbatch chicken chubs (bulk order), my monthly cost would be about 1/2. And this way, cooking doesn't take a long time at all. 

 

[maureen brad]

I have 2 cats and I find feeding raw saves money over high quality canned food. If you are only feeding commercial raw, depending on where you live that may not be the case. The only complete balanced raw food I know of that is boneless is Rad Cat. No way I could afford to feed 3 just Rad Cat.If there are other commercial raw foods that are boneless I am sure someone else will chime in.

 I feed some Stella and Chewy's Freeze dried, Primal Pheasant, occasional Rad Cat and I order the majority of my food from Hare Today. I feed both boneless with Alnutrin premix and bone in with Alnutrin for meat and bone.

I have cooked some meals at home but dislike doing that ( I am lazy and 2 of my cats don't like it) I feed grinds and chicken necks, gizzards and my cats love venison chunks from HT.

I also like Dr. Pierson's recipe BUT I find ordering from HT even including shipping costs less than the price of meat where I live.

 If by chance you live in CA. Pet Food Express has a year round deal where for every 3 of one category of food you buy ( Raw) the 4th is free. That is a great deal and if you can get it you could save a lot of money

 

[lisahe]

What are the more affordable commercial brand raw foods? Is what I have them on already the best option cost wise?

Right now the kitten gets 4 tbsp of the honest kitchen prowl one day and 1/2 cup of primal turkey pronto or nature's variety rabbit 3/4 cup. Plus, she gets 1/4 a can of whatever the older cat is having that day. Currently, she's been eating 3 times a day and weights 2.5 pounds.

The 2 year old gets the same thing as the kitten, but no canned food and instead of primal pronto gets 4 of the nuggets every other day. I also add a little bit of Canidae grain free hard food every meal.

The oldest cat gets half a can of either Soulistic, Weruva, or Trader Joe's plus some hard food. I have noticed that she seems interested in the primal though.

All get pumpkin for their poo issues at each meal. The kitten needs to be on only soft food because it is the only thing that has stopped her rectal prolaspe.

We feed a lot of Primal freeze-dried, with a little Stella & Chewy's mixed in. The cats love those and we mix the flavors to give them variety. I serve them a medium-sized portion of Rad Cat every day, too, and they love that even more. Primal and Rad Cat cost roughly the same where I am... it definitely pays to shop around: one of our local stores sells Rad Cat much, much cheaper than the other.

Our cats also eat canned food... I think they're at about 60% raw, 40% canned, which seems to work well for everybody. Their canned foods are mostly Weruva, Nutro Natural Choice, and Tiki.

 

[pinkeed]

I'm in IL, if that helps.

It seems like I need to look into pricing, I think that will be the determining factor. So adding a premix to meat from Hare Today or a chub would be a complete diet? I'm thinking that might be a good place to start or maybe I can find the balanced diets cheaper somewhere, but I'm worried that the shipping will be too much.

I think the typical cat eats 5 to 6 oz's a day?

 

[LTS3]

I'm in IL, if that helps.
 So adding a premix to meat from Hare Today or a chub would be a complete diet?

I think the typical cat eats 5 to 6 oz's a day?

Yes, adding a premix to the raw meat results in a complete diet

Just make sure you use the correct type of premix for the raw meat you buy. I made the mistake of using ground meat with bone and organs with a premix that calls for boneless meat

I'm waiting for the correct premix to arrive so I can make up a new batch of food.

6 oz is about average. Check the premix or commerical raw diet package for calorie amount per serving size and then feed your cat accordingly. Most cats need 2o to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day.

 

[pinkeed]

So far with shipping charges added, it looks like I am better off with commercial (used hare today and pet food direct for chubs). Unless, I can find a local source. Do any chain stores carry raw meat that's antibiotic free, etc.? Maybe whole foods?

 

[ankitty]

You can go to the websites I posted above and go to the links "where to buy" or "store locator" or similar, and enter your zip code. Smallbatch and Halshan are probably not available in your area, but Primal, Bravo and Halshan are. You can also request your local store to order. In my area (Southern California), Primal chicken chub is about $7 to $8 for 2LB. 

 

[pinkeed]

I didn't realize they took requests. I'll look into that. Thanks!