Thinking about trying raw commercial?

[sillywabbit]

Hi, since I've been here I have read so many posts by cat owners who feed their kitties raw, and they all look soooo amazingly healthy. But making it myself is out of the question. I'd worry too much.

So here goes , I have some questions for those of you in the know?
1.) canned raw? Any such thing? If so how much?
2.) freeze dried. how does that work?
3.) just how safe from salmonella and E. coli is raw commercial cat food? Where is it made?

Thanks so much.

 

[laurag]

I have one cat that agrees to it. I've used several bags of Stella and Chewy's which is a freeze dried raw. They do a process on it that protects kitties and people from salmonella and e-coli and test each batch. They post the results of the tests for the batches on their website. The food is made in Wisconsin.  I've also just purchased a bag of Primal freeze dried raw and it is made in California.

I think the idea of freeze drying is supposed to help quell dangerous bacteria. 

you can also purchase commercial raw food that is simply the ground up meat and with vitamins and minerals added in tubs that look look like cottage cheese containers. They are in the freezers at some pet food stores.

I've purchased a small container of Rad cat turkey to see what the Boo cat thinks. And frankly, what I think.  The freeze dried stuff is pretty acceptable to handle from a person standpoint. You mix it with warm water to re-hydrate and then serve to the cat. He likes it because it is warm and it makes a nice broth...but the broth will have some blood apparent in it. The other cats do not like it at all.

 

[sillywabbit]

Where do you buy the freeze dried stuff? As for the blood, the few times I fed my cat raw hamburger (he was so averse to most cat foods when I first brought him home) he scarfed every bit down, including the blood, so maybe it wouldn't bother him. And I suspect he's eaten mouse a time or two as a baby, or at least been around adult cats who did. (His parents belong to a feral cat colony, partially fed only). The first play mouse he ever got, he displayed a very appropriate " killing" technique.

Thank you for your help. Robbie's "fat" enough, 13 pounds, but getting lethargic. when I feed him real meat, his energy zooms. He has this cheap dry he likes, but oh boy, I can really tell when he's been eating it over his better dry, just from how he gets...slow. So while I may not be able to feed him all raw all the time, I'm interested to see how he does if I offer it once in a while. If he likes it enough, I would give it to him exclusively. It all depends.

 

[laurag]

I bought it at Mud Bay, which is a local small chain pet food store. I would imagine that if there is a specialty pet food store that carries premium brands they would have it. Amazon.com has it. Stella and Chewy's. Both dog and cat food. They also have the Primal.

 

[ldg]

Hmmm... I don't know what you're seeing, but I very much doubt it's blood. The meat processing in the US bleeds the animals. There is some trapped in organs when feeding homemade, but... :dk:

As to the pathogen-free foods, it's not the freeze-drying. It is a process called High Pressure Pasteurization. The topic is discussed by Dr. Becker: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/22/sterile-raw-pet-food.aspx

There are a number of companies providing HPP foods. Nature's Variety frozen raw (and freeze dried), Stella & Chewy's (that only has freeze dried for cats, but has frozen raw for dogs. The S&C for dogs wirks for cats as it is supplemented with taurine, though it is 5% veggies n stuff), Primal's poultry products are HPP (frozen or FD), and Bravo is now using HPP.

Rad Cat uses tubs, but most use "chubs," patties (looks like hamburgers), or "medallions" (smaller and usually a little bit drier).

But unless a company is using HPP, the freeze dried products aren't "safer" than the frozen products.

While there have been recalls of raw foods, they've all been from salmonella found in batch testing, not because of reports of pets getting sick. That is in contrast to kibble, where usually lots of pets get sick before a product gets pulled from shelves. Kibble is responsible for far more problems with salmonella.

 

[harrylime]

That "blood" is actually myoglobin, the same thing you get when you cut into a rare steak.

 

[fhicat]

Hi, since I've been here I have read so many posts by cat owners who feed their kitties raw, and they all look soooo amazingly healthy. But making it myself is out of the question. I'd worry too much.

So here goes , I have some questions for those of you in the know?
1.) canned raw? Any such thing? If so how much?
 

Not exactly canned, but during Jed's transition, I bought Feline's Pride. It was available in one store in the whole city, and rather expensive ($2-$3 per 6 oz), but it's the closest to Dr. P's recipe. They sell it in 1lb or 2.5 lb tubs, like those cottage cheese tubs you find in grocery stores. You can order direct from their website, but I'm guessing with shipping it'll come out to around the same price.

 

[pezkat]

Our Petco just started carrying smaller 'trial size' bags of Nature's Variety frozen raw.  They had one other brand that was a smallish bag for cats but it had fish.  I think they had several freeze-dried ones as well.

 

[cesg]

~~1.) canned raw? Any such thing? no  to can food, they have to cook it..

2.) freeze dried. how does that work?

they freeze dry the food, you mix it with water, some have texture and consistency that cats like, some do not.  The only way to know is to buy it and make it. Personally I find FD way way more expensive than the commercial raw I am feeding..

3.) just how safe from salmonella and E. coli is raw commercial cat food? Where is it made?

each one is made in their own facilities.  each one sources their ingredients from different locations.  Some tout local ingredients, some tout organic, etc.  You need to do the research. Raw food is under much more scrutiny than regular commercial foods, and as previously mentioned the recalls on the raw has always been due to third party testing done after shipment, and not because a cat got sick.  I feed Bravo and it was under recall because a third party testing tested positive, after they had two negative tests on the batch..

 

[ldg]

Actually, there are commercial frozen raw foods that are guaranteed pathogen-free. Bravo is now one of them. Nature's Variety - all but the Buffalo, I believe? And the poultry proteins of Primal are. All of Stella & Chewy's freeze dried and frozen raw dog foods (which can be fed to cats; veggies are 5% like NV, and it is supplemented with taurine). And now Bravo - don't know if it's all lines, or like Primal, just the poultry lines of proteins.

But they are treated with a process called High Pressure Pasteurization: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/22/sterile-raw-pet-food.aspx

 

[marianb]

I just bought a bag of Stella & Chewy to see how my cats would like it. One of them devours it like he's been starved for a week and the other one turns up his little nose at it.  Cats, eh? 

 

[ldg]

Well, when most transition to raw, it takes some time. The smell of raw food - even the HPP stuff - is not as strong as kibble or canned food. Some cats don't recognize it as food.

Traditional methods of introduction include mixing a small amount into the current canned food being fed, then just slowly increase the amount of raw vs. canned.

When introducing raw to adult cats, it seems that most take several months to fully transition - some more, some less. It really just depends on our level of interest in having them eat raw (when they don't take to it at first).

 

[scubacat]

Well, when most transition to raw, it takes some time. The smell of raw food - even the HPP stuff - is not as strong as kibble or canned food. Some cats don't recognize it as food.

Traditional methods of introduction include mixing a small amount into the current canned food being fed, then just slowly increase the amount of raw vs. canned.

When introducing raw to adult cats, it seems that most take several months to fully transition - some more, some less. It really just depends on our level of interest in having them eat raw (when they don't take to it at first).

We adopted a nearly 3-year old cat last week. I am lucky as she has taken to a commercial raw (Natures's Instinct) and wet (grain free high quality) diet like a champ, but when I do try new varieties I sometimes find I need to crush a freeze dried treat (Orijen Tundra is popular) on top to spark her interest...one is plenty enough. Then she eats it all! Now she meows for her food even without toppers. So I also advocate trying toppers for sure to see if that works.

Took her to the vet today too and was pleased she is quite alright with a wet/raw diet and indeed is a strong advocate (despite there being typical vet diets in the waiting room). She is the "cat whisperer" at that office so that might help!