Thoughts On Balanced Blends Raw/steamed Cat Food?

[Show Me Your Kitties]

I found this a while ago and thought it looked pretty good.

They offer raw and gently steamed meals, and are also boneless.

Balanced Blends Pet Food

I was curious what everyone else's opinions on it are. Does it seem like a good raw food brand? I'm still trying to find a brand I want to try on my boys. I figured steamed would be a gentle way to transition them, so I liked that option. Wish they had more protein variety, though.

Anyway,

 

[Azazel]

It looks pretty decent as far as commercial raw foods go. May be a good alternative for someone whose cat can’t eat bone. I calculated the percentage of calories from protein/fat for the turkey variety and I get 50/50 which is higher in fat than I’d like but decent compared to other commercial foods. I’m also not sure why there’s an extremely long list of supplements in the ingredients list. My guess would be that whatever type of processing they do to the raw meat to kill the bacteria probably also affects the nutrients? Not sure though - they have the same long list of supplements for the raw and steamed varieties. Anywho, I think this brand would be fine to add in to a rotation of other brands.

 

[daftcat75]

It's really odd they include mineral oil instead of a nutritive oil. It's like they added hairball gel to their raw and steamed foods. I still might give this a try.

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

It looks pretty decent as far as commercial raw foods go. May be a good alternative for someone whose cat can’t eat bone. I calculated the percentage of calories from protein/fat for the turkey variety and I get 50/50 which is higher in fat than I’d like but decent compared to other commercial foods. I’m also not sure why there’s an extremely long list of supplements in the ingredients list. My guess would be that whatever type of processing they do to the raw meat to kill the bacteria probably also affects the nutrients? Not sure though - they have the same long list of supplements for the raw and steamed varieties. Anywho, I think this brand would be fine to add in to a rotation of other brands.

Is there a commercial brand you would recommend? I'd like to start out with commercial to see if my boys would even like raw.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

It's really odd they include mineral oil instead of a nutritive oil. It's like they added hairball gel to their raw and steamed foods. I still might give this a try.

Is mineral oil bad?

 

[daftcat75]

Is mineral oil bad?

No, it's not bad. It's non-nutritive meaning it won't break down and it will pass through the cat unchanged. This will provide a lubricating effect which should help with hairballs and constipation if your cats have trouble with either. If they don't, well, it may have a laxative effect. There is psyllium husks in this food too which would counteract that effect. You'll have to try this food to find out how it may work out with your cats.

 

[Azazel]

Is there a commercial brand you would recommend? I'd like to start out with commercial to see if my boys would even like raw.

Thanks for the reply!

I think this one is fine for that purpose. I can’t think of any brand that I would recommend. Northwest Naturals is one I used to feed and is pretty decent. It has bone though. Are you planning to transition to homemade raw? Or to a full commercial raw diet?

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

No, it's not bad. It's non-nutritive meaning it won't break down and it will pass through the cat unchanged. This will provide a lubricating effect which should help with hairballs and constipation if your cats have trouble with either. If they don't, well, it may have a laxative effect. There is psyllium husks in this food too which would counteract that effect. You'll have to try this food to find out how it may work out with your cats.

Yeah I guess it's just something I should just try on them and see if it causes loose stools or not. I had issues with their poop for a while after adopting then and they are going normally now so would like to keep it that way lol

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

I think this one is fine for that purpose. I can’t think of any brand that I would recommend. Northwest Naturals is one I used to feed and is pretty decent. It has bone though. Are you planning to transition to homemade raw? Or to a full commercial raw diet?

I would like to eventually feed homemade raw. Probably buy meat from Here Today and add the supplements, but right now commercial works best. I don't want to go full raw diet yet, anyway, just add some to their current diet along with their canned and see how they do. I just want to make sure I find a good brand.

 

[Azazel]

I would like to eventually feed homemade raw. Probably buy meat from Here Today and add the supplements, but right now commercial works best. I don't want to go full raw diet yet, anyway, just add some to their current diet along with their canned and see how they do. I just want to make sure I find a good brand.

I would say if the main goal is to get the kitties on a primarily homemade raw diet then you don’t necessarily have to switch to commercial raw first. You can just start giving raw treats here and there to see how they do. But, if you want them to be on a commercial raw diet for a while before transitioning then go ahead and give this food a try. In my experience, my cats seem to process fresh raw meat from the butcher differently than commercial raw. I don’t know if it’s because of the HPP processing some companies do, or the added supplements, but their poop is much more odorless, smaller, and drier on fresh human-grade raw meat. So I think that either way, you’ll have to start giving some pieces of human grade raw meat at some point to see how they handle it. Giving a piece of gizzard, heart, or even a chunk of breast or thigh every day or so is a good way to get their system accustomed and to see if they like it.

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

I would say if the main goal is to get the kitties on a primarily homemade raw diet then you don’t necessarily have to switch to commercial raw first. You can just start giving raw treats here and there to see how they do. But, if you want them to be on a commercial raw diet for a while before transitioning then go ahead and give this food a try. In my experience, my cats seem to process fresh raw meat from the butcher differently than commercial raw. I don’t know if it’s because of the HPP processing some companies do, or the added supplements, but their poop is much more odorless, smaller, and drier on fresh human-grade raw meat. So I think that either way, you’ll have to start giving some pieces of human grade raw meat at some point to see how they handle it. Giving a piece of gizzard, heart, or even a chunk of breast or thigh every day or so is a good way to get their system accustomed and to see if they like it.

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, would it be okay to give them the organs that always come in that bag inside the turkey? Been wondering that recently.

 

[Azazel]

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, would it be okay to give them the organs that always come in that bag inside the turkey? Been wondering that recently.

I'm not sure if those ones have added salt or other seasonings. If they do, then I don't think that would be a good idea. Organs are really cheap and most butchers can easily get them for you.

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

I'm not sure if those ones have added salt or other seasonings. If they do, then I don't think that would be a good idea. Organs are really cheap and most butchers can easily get them for you.

True, didn't think of that I'll have to buy some organs next time I go to the store and see if they would like it. Is there any prep involved before giving them raw as a treat? Such as rinse the meat beforehand? Sorry just bombarding you with questions but you seem very knowledgeable and experienced.

 

[Azazel]

True, didn't think of that I'll have to buy some organs next time I go to the store and see if they would like it. Is there any prep involved before giving them raw as a treat? Such as rinse the meat beforehand? Sorry just bombarding you with questions but you seem very knowledgeable and experienced.

No worries at all! I asked a lot of questions when starting off too.. actually I still ask a lot of questions, hah.

I don't think most people rinse off their meat, but I usually just rinse the organs. There's no harm in doing so, so I figure why not. When I used to give gizzards as a treat I would rinse off the entire package, then freeze them individually. You can use cookie sheets to separate them in the freezer, or if you don't mind spending a bit of extra time, you can wrap each one individually in seran wrap and then freeze them in a ziplock bag. I also usually cut the gizzards in half depending on the size before freezing. Some of them are too big for a single treat.

When feeding, be prepared that your cats might want to drag the meat around. Mine aren't too messy, so I just lay out some paper towels and wipe the floor after, but you'll have to see what your cats do when you offer it to them. Just start with really small pieces and once you get a sense of whether your cats will chew the meat you can work your way up to chunks.

If you do end up transitioning to a homemade diet you can then just incorporate the hearts/gizzards that you were giving as treats into the actual diet. This is what I do now.

P.S. Even though we are referring to gizzards and hearts as organs here, note that they are technically considered muscle meat when preparing a homemade diet - you probably don't have to worry about that yet, but just thought I'd give a heads up.

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

No worries at all! I asked a lot of questions when starting off too.. actually I still ask a lot of questions, hah.

I don't think most people rinse off their meat, but I usually just rinse the organs. There's no harm in doing so, so I figure why not. When I used to give gizzards as a treat I would rinse off the entire package, then freeze them individually. You can use cookie sheets to separate them in the freezer, or if you don't mind spending a bit of extra time, you can wrap each one individually in seran wrap and then freeze them in a ziplock bag. I also usually cut the gizzards in half depending on the size before freezing. Some of them are too big for a single treat.

When feeding, be prepared that your cats might want to drag the meat around. Mine aren't too messy, so I just lay out some paper towels and wipe the floor after, but you'll have to see what your cats do when you offer it to them. Just start with really small pieces and once you get a sense of whether your cats will chew the meat you can work your way up to chunks.

If you do end up transitioning to a homemade diet you can then just incorporate the hearts/gizzards that you were giving as treats into the actual diet. This is what I do now.

Every time I think I know a good amount about cat nutrition, I always find more info and things I never even considered. Thanks for taking the time to help out.

Does freezing the organs kill any possible bacteria?

My boys love Tiki Cat After Dark, which has chunks of heart, liver, and gizzard mixed into the shreds, so I don't think chewing will be an issue. I could be wrong, but they seem to prefer chunky foods over pate most of the time. They also eat freeze-dried hearts for treats. Sometimes I rehydrate them, but that probably isn't the same as store-bought.

I hope they don't drag the meat around, my mom would have a fit She just about jumped out of her skin when I bought a bag of whole freeze-dried minnos. Sadly the boys didn't like them so I scarred my mom for nothing lol

 

[Azazel]

Every time I think I know a good amount about cat nutrition, I always find more info and things I never even considered. Thanks for taking the time to help out.

Does freezing the organs kill any possible bacteria?

My boys love Tiki Cat After Dark, which has chunks of heart, liver, and gizzard mixed into the shreds, so I don't think chewing will be an issue. I could be wrong, but they seem to prefer chunky foods over pate most of the time. They also eat freeze-dried hearts for treats. Sometimes I rehydrate them, but that probably isn't the same as store-bought.

I hope they don't drag the meat around, my mom would have a fit She just about jumped out of her skin when I bought a bag of whole freeze-dried minnos. Sadly the boys didn't like them so I scarred my mom for nothing lol

Bacteria will be inactive while the meat is frozen, but freezing doesn't get rid of any bacteria. Raw meat will always have a certain amount of bacteria in it. But, cats' digestive systems are made to handle it. Of course, cats can get sick from bacteria from any kind of food, they aren't immune to illness. But, in my experience the chances of it happening from a homemade raw diet are slim.

I have noticed that my cats drag their meat a lot less if I give them space while eating. If I get too close to one of my cats he grabs his meat and runs the other way - he's very territorial over his meat!

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

Bacteria will be inactive while the meat is frozen, but freezing doesn't get rid of any bacteria. Raw meat will always have a certain amount of bacteria in it. But, cats' digestive systems are made to handle it. Of course, cats can get sick from bacteria from any kind of food, they aren't immune to illness. But, in my experience the chances of it happening from a homemade raw diet are slim.

I have noticed that my cats drag their meat a lot less if I give them space while eating. If I get too close to one of my cats he grabs his meat and runs the other way - he's very territorial over his meat!

Ah okay, I think when Teddy's bacterial infection clears up and he's back to his old healthy self I'll see if the little fur-turds want to try some raw organs.

My boys have never shown any kind of territorial behavior when it comes to their food, but maybe raw would bring that out lol

 

[Azazel]

Ah okay, I think when Teddy's bacterial infection clears up and he's back to his old healthy self I'll see if the little fur-turds want to try some raw organs.

My boys have never shown any kind of territorial behavior when it comes to their food, but maybe raw would bring that out lol

If you have a cat that has a weak immune system you can also use Dr. P.'s partial baking method on her website. (catinfo.org). The slow transition to raw meat is also important to give cats who have been eating processed food for a long time to build up healthy gut bacteria and prepare their tummy. Using some probiotics may help too.

Try to get meat as fresh as possible. I order my meat from 2 different places - a butcher and a turkey farm. I always call ahead and place an order for the amounts that I want and ask that they call me immediately when it's ready. I let them know that I'm making food for my cats and I want the meat to be as fresh as possible and the employees have always been really helpful.

 

[Show Me Your Kitties]

If you have a cat that has a weak immune system you can also use Dr. P.'s partial baking method on her website. (catinfo.org). The slow transition to raw meat is also important to give cats who have been eating processed food for a long time to build up healthy gut bacteria and prepare their tummy. Using some probiotics may help too.

Try to get meat as fresh as possible. I order my meat from 2 different places - a butcher and a turkey farm. I always call ahead and place an order for the amounts that I want and ask that they call me immediately when it's ready. I let them know that I'm making food for my cats and I want the meat to be as fresh as possible and the employees have always been really helpful.

The vet believes he might have Plasma Cell Pododermatitis. It's clearing up, but who knows if it'll flare up again. He was taking probiotics every day before he started his antibiotics. Once he is done with that he'll be put back on. I recently put him on L-Lysine. But I'll have a look on that site. I've been there before but it's been a bit.

Hopefully, my butchers are as helpful. I'll make sure the meat is fresh.

 

[lisamarie12]

This looks pretty good to me, especially for a boneless raw. I would order it in a nanosecond if the raw /steamed food didn't use eggs, which one of my cat's can't have. But otherwise I wouldn't hesitate.