Starting Cold Turkey

[tobytyler]

We had a lovely family dinner tonight....

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• tobytyler
• Nov 9, 2012

Too bad mommy wasn't invited....

After dinner it's a movie on Animal Planet...........

it's Friday Nite! 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hmmm..... wonder if cats like frog legs?

I know some cats eat frogs....

They say it tastes like chikin....

It does!  I know from personal experience

I might have to go to MY Asian market and pick some up now.  You've whet my appetite

 

[tobytyler]

It does!  I know from personal experience

I might have to go to MY Asian market and pick some up now.  You've whet my appetite

I have never tried them, but  maybe?   The durian was interesting, but I can't say I would do it again.  That is some stinky stuff. Sometimes I get things there and then don't actually eat them because I get less than adventurous once I get home. 

But more importantly, how do you cook them and do your cats like them raw?  What's amazing is the prices and unusual things, like whole really really  fresh chickens with the feet and head and that red thing that waddles still attached.   What I go for is the incredibly fresh seafood selection, oh and the teas and spices and fruits and vegetables..maybe I will make a trip down this weekend.  Now I'm hungry!

 

[catspaw66]

Oh man - another one with an accessible asian market!
So... will you be teaching them to use silverware then? Or you won't be doing sit down meals together...

Cats would do better with chopsticks, I think.

 

[tobytyler]

Cats would do better with chopsticks, I think.

Yes, especially with the Asian food.  Plus, if you're thinking what I'm thinking (as any true PLAer would)....wouldn't they make the perfect disecting tool?  I love things that do double doodoo, er duty!  I still haven't stooped to that level though, yet!

 

[tobytyler]

OK, this is rather bizarre.  I got almost what was left of the Rad Cat from Chow Down last week.  The only kind I didn't get was the lamb, as I still have most of a 16 oz container in my freezer and it is on hold for now.   I still have not gotten a freezer, BTW, but this is a slow time of the year and the cabins have a refrigerator/freezer, so I have been using one of the cabins to store food in the freezer.  So all the food went into that freezer and I've been getting it as I need it.  When I bought it, it was stacked up, both Turkey and Chicken in 8 &16 oz tubs. I didn't check each individual container.

Today, when I went to get more food from the freezer, I noticed that looking through the top, it wasn't completely filled, like maybe a big air bubble.  Oh dear, when I opened the lid, part of the Rad Cat had been used

 This is a 16 oz tub, and was frozen solid.  It had to have been at least partially unfrozen to take out what was used!  

The real bummer is that I was counting on having this before going back next Wed. for my case order of Rad.  So I am going to run out.  Crap! 

I know if I got a container of ice cream home, and found out it had been sampled (except this was a bit more than a sample more like a meal!) I wouldn't eat it. 

  I honestly don't know what to do

 

[ldg]

Call the store! I know getting your money back isn't really the issue - but I wouldn't use it, I don't think. The problem is that you don't know for how long it was defrosted. Man, what a bummer!

 

[tobytyler]

Just talked to the store.  They were super nice and appologized.  They don't have any more 16 oz, so they are going to give me two 8oz exchanges. 

But now I gotta make another trip this week

What concerns me is the person I spoke with, who wasn't the owner, told me they don't use it in the store and if anything is returned it is thrown out and not put back in the freezer.  She said maybe it was quality control and the tub didn't get filled right.  No no no,  you can see where a big scoop was removed with a spoon.  Agreed didn't know if it had been thawed, so don't use. 

Should I contact Rad Cat?  Am I over reacting?  I don't know that I trust anything now that came out of that freezer, and I'm wondering if maybe that was what was wrong with the lamb

 

[ldg]

Interesting question. But if you can see a scoop was taken out of it, then I don't know that Rad Cat can do anything about it - sounds like a problem at the store.

But with the lamb, you would have seen some missing! It sounds to me like someone returned it, and the store didn't toss it.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Wow, that is totally bizarre!  I have to admit...my cats have been rejecting Radcat lately.  But I only have lamb here, and they've been eating it for months now, so I just figured they are sick of it.  I've had to toss several ounces of it because I'll defrost it and set it out for them and no amount of toppers or begging on my part will seal the deal.  So...now I've got about 9 24oz containers  (plus some smaller packages (6 oz each) that I already separated out)   in my freezer just waiting for time to pass before trying it again. 

The only redeeming thing about this whole thing for you, TobyTyler, is that the 8oz containers will defrost quicker than the 16 oz one would, if that helps defray your anger

.  Not much consolation, but it's all I got

 

[tobytyler]

I do remember the woman who checked me out told me she feeds her cats Rad Cat every other day.  She was my first suspect. So that was untrue that no one in the store uses it.   But the container was right there when she checked me out, why wouldn't she have known she had stuck a partially used container in there and gone out of her way to check that it wasn't going out the door?  And if they are that lax, who knows, maybe the lamb had been defrosted at some point and put back in

The only other thing is, they have a separate area for kitties up for adoption.  Do you think any of them could have snuck out at night and gotten into it?

 

[tobytyler]

Wow, that is totally bizarre!  I have to admit...my cats have been rejecting Radcat lately.  But I only have lamb here, and they've been eating it for months now, so I just figured they are sick of it.  I've had to toss several ounces of it because I'll defrost it and set it out for them and no amount of toppers or begging on my part will seal the deal.  So...now I've got about 9 24oz containers  (plus some smaller packages (6 oz each) that I already separated out)   in my freezer just waiting for time to pass before trying it again. 

The only redeeming thing about this whole thing for you, TobyTyler, is that the 8oz containers will defrost quicker than the 16 oz one would, if that helps defray your anger

.  Not much consolation, but it's all I got

Actually, I ordered a case of 24 oz tubs, I believe that is the size. They arrive on Wed.   I know, even the 8 oz containers take a few days to defrost in the fridge!  I like it when it still has the icy crystals.  Oh, don't you just hate having to toss it!

 

[tobytyler]

So does this sound about right, or should I be measuring more carefully and making sure they are getting everything they need? I have always been more the kind of mom that guesses on serving sizes according to what they usually eat.  I don't own a scale. Right now I am feeding four meals through out the day.  One meal now equates to 8oz rad cat for all three cats. 

Cricket weights approx. 9 lbs.  Clancy, the horse, is 10.25 lb and will be seven months old in two days

Rufus is only 3 weeks younger than Clancy and he is 7.25 lbs.  Rufus added 3/4 pound in two weeks.  Clancy added 1/2 lb since he got neutered recently.

In addition to the four meals of Rad Cat, where 8oz is split according to what each cat will eat, and they end up all switching bowls anyway, I also give Cricket his chicken wing every day or so.  I am also going to introduce more prey.  Since I have the Fortiflora anyway, I typically sprinkle only a tiny amount, maybe one packet daily, over their food.  They do not need the Fortiflora as a topper and will eat either way.  Occasionally I will swap out a meal of Stella and Chewys.  All dishes are licked clean and I make sure Cricket eats at least a good portion of his meal.  I don't usually watch them finish the entire meal, but I pick up the bowls within about fifteen minutes or so.

I probably will need to look at other alternatives to this very expensive habit of theirs, BTW, or at least get a second job

   Here I am eating ramen noodles and they are dining on turkey tar-tare.   I just realized the case of 24 oz tubs isn't even going to last for a week.

 if there are only 6 to a case?  So I am going to have to supplement with prey and other meats from the Asian market. 

I read about all these things being weighed and measured and added and so forth, and I wonder if I am doing this right as a lazy parent?

 

[ldg]

Given two of your kitties are still growing, it sounds like you're feeding the right amount. At some point in the next 3-6 months, the kittens' appetite might taper a bit. The main thing is to make sure that Cricket is stable in his weight. :nod:

And with commercial, you really don't need to add anything! Personally, and I just wrote this in otto's thread, but I'd still be giving my cats a probiotic daily, the omega 3 supplement daily, and I'd be using the egg yolk lecithin. But if Cricket doesn't have an issue with hairballs - and the kittens are young enough to not have one, and on raw probably won't ever develop one - then I'd probably skip the egg yolk lecithin in your shoes.

But to cut costs, if you're going to include some home made, once you get over 15% of their total diet, you do need to worry about balancing meat with organs and calcium. :nod: It's not hard - and easier done once you're already used to feeding raw.

 

[tobytyler]

So I go to down to Chow Down to pick up my case of 24 oz tubs.  I swear...they didn't get a delivery today and won't until next Wed.

Somehow, they just happened to have 10 8oz tubs and a case in the freezer on hold for someone else.  I was just there Mon. returning the used Rad Cat they sold me, and picked up all the Rad Cat except the lamb then.  Somethin ain't right here...

Meanwhile my cats just consumed lunch and there is nothing but maybe 2 Stella's meals left.  Oh. and they're all out of the Stella's except for the small pouches.

  So I got the 10 tubs that will last 3 days and drove a little bit away to their competitor: Dogma. 

I had never been there given the name thinking it would be geared toward dogs - as is so popular here in Colorado.   But I figured they would probably at least carry Stella and Chewy's.

Lo and behold, while they don't carry a big selection of raw (for cats at least) they can get Rad Cat special order once or twice a week, and at a better price.  But what's really awesome is, they carry a raw dog food brand that is made right here in Colorado:  http://untamedpetfoods.com/raw-frozen-food/    

This stuff looked good.  They will custom make the meat and organs into food for cats which they are doing for a few of Dogma's cat customers...I can work directly with them or I can go through Dogma.  What do you think???

Meanwhile I picked up two 12 oz pkgs. of Stella's for $3.99 each less than Chow Down.  They are maybe 5 miles away from each other and as close as the nearest Walmart

 Ain't if funny how things work out?

We are going to try the Super Beef-A-Licious and Chick Chick Chicken to get us through until we get our Rad Cat  order, supposedly next Wed  from Chow Down.  Meanwhile Dogma is going to try to get a Rad Cat order in by the weekend.  Oh and they also had some snacks I picked up in the dog section:  Chicken and Venison raw treats, 100% Grass-fed Buffalo Bites, and Dry Roasted Venison Bites, plus freeze dried turkey breast, just for cats.

 

[ldg]

OK - an annoying and round-about way to get there - but everything happens for a reason, IMO! What a great find! What I wonder is... why can they get Rad Cat once or twice a week, but the other store can't? :dk: Well - good customer service wins out!

I laugh every time I see the freeze dried meat, fish, or organ treats marketed for "dogs" or "cats." If they're JUST freeze dried meat, organ, or fish - why not have feeding instructions for both on the package, and not leave out half the market? :dk: So funny!

As to the Untamed food (love the name!), if I'm understanding it right, their foods all have 15% veggies. IMO, that's too much for a cat, but appropriate for a dog. :dk:

 

[tobytyler]

OK - an annoying and round-about way to get there - but everything happens for a reason, IMO!

What a great find! What I wonder is... why can they get Rad Cat once or twice a week, but the other store can't?

Well - good customer service wins out!

I laugh every time I see the freeze dried meat, fish, or organ treats marketed for "dogs" or "cats." If they're JUST freeze dried meat, organ, or fish - why not have feeding instructions for both on the package, and not leave out half the market?

So funny!
As to the Untamed food (love the name!), if I'm understanding it right, their foods all have 15% veggies. IMO, that's too much for a cat, but appropriate for a dog.

They actually called today and will have my Rad Cat tomorrow

 Talk about customer service.  The other place (5 minutes away) told me they can't get it until wed.  Yeah, everything happens for a reason

 AND I got a bit more info on the Untamed.  They are in the process of developing a cat line.  LDG, you should be their consultant! Nonetheless, they will custom make what ever I want, so I can get just the meat and organs, no veggies.  I will have to supplement.  But if I can get Rad cat for a decent price on a consistent basis from these guys, that will give me time to do more research.

 

[tobytyler]

Oh no, I think I have created three FortiFlora addicts

  I was sprinkling it on Cricket's food to get him to eat more, and they share dishes through out the meal, and now they want it all the time.  If I don't put it on, little Rufus looks at me with these big eyes and waits til I sprinkle it on before he will eat.

Is it OK to just continue w/Fortiflora or should I switch to a better one and will they like it as well?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Oh no, I think I have created three FortiFlora addicts

  I was sprinkling it on Cricket's food to get him to eat more, and they share dishes through out the meal, and now they want it all the time.  If I don't put it on, little Rufus looks at me with these big eyes and waits til I sprinkle it on before he will eat.

Is it OK to just continue w/Fortiflora or should I switch to a better one and will they like it as well?

You can actually try just "fake" sprinkling the Fortiflora on it.  Sometimes that works

.  Just open up the package so they can smell it, then pretend like you're sprinkling it on...works for some kitties.

Or try using some of that freeze dried stuff you picked up today.   Usually if you rub a couple of pieces together you can get some of it to powder, depending on the brand. 

 

[tobytyler]

You can actually try just "fake" sprinkling the Fortiflora on it.  Sometimes that works

.  Just open up the package so they can smell it, then pretend like you're sprinkling it on...works for some kitties.

Or try using some of that freeze dried stuff you picked up today.   Usually if you rub a couple of pieces together you can get some of it to powder, depending on the brand. 

Gosh you are clever!  It worked

  More of the cat psychology at work here, lol.

Now I am worried about feeding them jerky after reading about the issue with jerky from China that was never even recalled.  These all say Made in the US but now I'm seeing that doesn't matter.  These did come from a pet supply store, not Sams or Costco.  Anyone know more?  BTW, I did give Cricket a tiny piece of the venison and turkey jerky and he loved it!