Ziwipeak Air-dried Cat Food

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I received a free sample of the chicken flavor: ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Free-Range Chicken For Cats | Ziwi Pets and I was wondering what everyone's opinion of it was.

I was drawn to their claim of how "gentle air-drying process naturally preserves the nutritional value of 96% Meat, Organs, Bone and New Zealand Green Mussel".

It sounds way healthier than normal kibble. The only downside I see with it is the low protein (38% min for the chicken), but since my boys get about three wet meals a day (Rawz and Tiki Cat After Dark) and eventually I plan on only giving them some dry at night once they are old enough to stop free-feeding (I also want to go raw), I figured the low protein wouldn't be a big deal. If the dry was all they ate, then I'd see an issue, but you guys are more experienced in cat nutrition than I am.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this food? I don't know yet if my boys will like it since they are sleeping (I gave them a few pieces as a treat and they ate it, but not sure how they will feel about it in the bowl), but if they do, I don't want to buy a bag if the food would somehow cause harm to them.

I've tried Dr. Elsey's, but they avoided their bowls like the plague when it was in there. Same with Rawz's dry.

:thanks:
 

Azazel

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I recall that the Venison version is actually pretty decent in amount of animal protein and low in carbs. I think as far as dry foods go, it's probably one of the best on the market. But again.. it's dry and lacks moisture so not ideal.

It is also really dense in calories so you'll want to pay attention to how much you're feeding because weight gain can happen fast.
 
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I recall that the Venison version is actually pretty decent in amount of animal protein and low in carbs. I think as far as dry foods go, it's probably one of the best on the market. But again.. it's dry and lacks moisture so not ideal.

It is also really dense in calories so you'll want to pay attention to how much you're feeding because weight gain can happen fast.
I try to only give them enough dry for the day, and then some for the night. I don't like filling it to the brim because then it sits there for days and encourages them to eat more than I want. Once they no longer need to be free fed, I'll only give them dry at night.

Thanks for the reply.

Is feeding large prey like lamb and venison okay for cats? I've been trying to keep their proteins to what they would most likely hunt outside, but that also makes my options low.
 

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I try to only give them enough dry for the day, and then some for the night. I don't like filling it to the brim because then it sits there for days and encourages them to eat more than I want. Once they no longer need to be free fed, I'll only give them dry at night.

Thanks for the reply.

Is feeding large prey like lamb and venison okay for cats? I've been trying to keep their proteins to what they would most likely hunt outside, but that also makes my options low.
I give venison and lamb occasionally. I think feeding a variety of proteins is a good idea for ensuring a variety of nutrients. Venison is usually better sourced and considered to be a “cleaner” meat because it’s typically not farmed but rather hunted.
 
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I give venison and lamb occasionally. I think feeding a variety of proteins is a good idea for ensuring a variety of nutrients. Venison is usually better sourced and considered to be a “cleaner” meat because it’s typically not farmed but rather hunted.
Ah okay. So far the boys eat turkey, chicken, some fish here and there, duck, and rabbit. So they do get a variety, but trying to avoid bigger game can be hard so maybe I'll add some into their rotation.
 

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Ziwi Peak is awfully expensive, around $20 for a 14 oz bag :eek:
 

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Actually some kibble is really good if you look at the ingredients in Natural Balance Grain Free (we use salmon & chickpea) Indoor Cat food the protein is high, the bad fat is low and it has extra vitamins and omega which is really important. I had not yet heard of air dried, I'm curious about it also because with canned food a lot of the nutrients are boiled out. Of course the best test is the test of time-if your cats live healthy into their 20's that is a good indication that the food and activity has been of good quality. This girl of mine also loves to munch on a little bit of live green foliage or grass daily, but her favorite is baby rose petals. I just float the tiny roses in her water bowl. In the summertime she has barrels of fun if I add ice cubes which I think she thinks are some strange fish toy!!!
 

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Actually some kibble is really good if you look at the ingredients in Natural Balance Grain Free (we use salmon & chickpea) Indoor Cat food the protein is high, the bad fat is low and it has extra vitamins and omega which is really important. I had not yet heard of air dried, I'm curious about it also because with canned food a lot of the nutrients are boiled out. Of course the best test is the test of time-if your cats live healthy into their 20's that is a good indication that the food and activity has been of good quality. This girl of mine also loves to munch on a little bit of live green foliage or grass daily, but her favorite is baby rose petals. I just float the tiny roses in her water bowl. In the summertime she has barrels of fun if I add ice cubes which I think she thinks are some strange fish toy!!!
Is this the food you’re referring to?:
Limited Ingredient Diets® Indoor Salmon & Chickpea Formula | Natural Balance

Looks like a good portion of that protein is not animal-based, since it’s high in peas, which are an inflammatory for most cats. Also, the protein amount listed on the label is the as fed amount. To get a true value of the amount of calories from protein, you need to compute the percentage of calories that are coming from each calorie source. Based on my calculations, the values should be:

Protein:31%
Fat: 25%
Carbs: A whopping 43% :eek2:

Just to give you a sense of how these values don’t reflect an obligate carnivore’s natural diet. Here’s the composition of a typical mouse:

Protein: +50% (entirely based on animal meat by the way, no plant-based protein from peas)
Fat: 30-40%
Carbs: <10%

I would say this food has too much plant based protein, not enough fat, and way too much carbs. And also lacking in moisture.

Pet food companies love to deceive you by not even listing the carb amount and making you think that 30% protein is high and fat is bad for cat’s. Cats do pretty well with fat actually. It’s the carbs that are the culprit for most health issues.

Canned foods are by far healthier for cats. The nutrients don’t get boiled out. If anything, dry food is over processed much more than canned.

Not saying all this to put down your food choice, but to help educate pet parents to be able to read ingredient labels.
 
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Is this the food you’re referring to?:
Limited Ingredient Diets® Indoor Salmon & Chickpea Formula | Natural Balance

Looks like a good portion of that protein is not animal-based, since it’s high in peas, which are an inflammatory for most cats. Also, the protein amount listed on the label is the as fed amount. To get a true value of the amount of calories from protein, you need to compute the percentage of calories that are coming from each calorie source. Based on my calculations, the values should be:

Protein:31%
Fat: 25%
Carbs: A whopping 43% :eek2:

Just to give you a sense of how these values don’t reflect an obligate carnivore’s natural diet. Here’s the composition of a typical mouse:

Protein: +50% (entirely based on animal meat by the way, no plant-based protein from peas)
Fat: 30-40%
Carbs: <10%

I would say this food has too much plant based protein, not enough fat, and way too much carbs. And also lacking in moisture.

Pet food companies love to deceive you by not even listing the carb amount and making you think that 30% protein is high and fat is bad for cat’s. Cats do pretty well with fat actually. It’s the carbs that are the culprit for most health issues.

Canned foods are by far healthier for cats. The nutrients don’t get boiled out. If anything, dry food is over processed much more than canned.

Not saying all this to put down your food choice, but to help educate pet parents to be able to read ingredient labels.
Thanks for all the helpful info! The dry food my boys are currently eating (Solid Gold) has chicken as the fifth ingredient. The first four ingredients are chicken meal, potatoes, canola oil, and peas. The stuff is crap IMO, but it's what the foster mom fed them and I thought I could easily change it since they didn't sound finicky.

But my boys will literally eat cardboard before any new dry...ziwi is currently sitting in the bowl being a cat repellent like all the other failures before it lol

I wish I could just give them canned and raw but I don't think I have the money for their growing kitten appetites :sigh:
 
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Actually some kibble is really good if you look at the ingredients in Natural Balance Grain Free (we use salmon & chickpea) Indoor Cat food the protein is high, the bad fat is low and it has extra vitamins and omega which is really important. I had not yet heard of air dried, I'm curious about it also because with canned food a lot of the nutrients are boiled out. Of course the best test is the test of time-if your cats live healthy into their 20's that is a good indication that the food and activity has been of good quality. This girl of mine also loves to munch on a little bit of live green foliage or grass daily, but her favorite is baby rose petals. I just float the tiny roses in her water bowl. In the summertime she has barrels of fun if I add ice cubes which I think she thinks are some strange fish toy!!!
Rose petals? That's interesting!
 

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Yes, rose petals. The only cat I know of that absolutely loves them. One day recently she did get into the indoor garden of medicinal marijuana and ate some bits of leaf and I thought she had switched her affections to that as a favorite, but then she went right back to the rose petals as her vegetation of choice. Good thing I think.
I like to eat rose petals too, as they have a sweetness to them, and are good in salads, and chocolate (the chocolate NOT for Cat).
 
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Yes, rose petals. The only cat I know of that absolutely loves them. One day recently she did get into the indoor garden of medicinal marijuana and ate some bits of leaf and I thought she had switched her affections to that as a favorite, but then she went right back to the rose petals as her vegetation of choice. Good thing I think.
I like to eat rose petals too, as they have a sweetness to them, and are good in salads, and chocolate (the chocolate NOT for Cat).
Huh, well better rose petals than something bad for her lol
 
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