Best commercial raw food?

[Jeni]

Sorry to ask a redundant question here. I've read through this section and I think I'm more confused now!

My predicament: Aniyah wants to eat Royal Canin Babycat 34 and nothing else. No treats, no canned, no raw chicken, not even a different type of dry! Well, she DOES go bonkers over shredded monterey jack cheese but that was an accident!

For one, she's going to be a tub of lard eating this kitten food. More importantly, I've read so many bad things about feeding strictly dry that I wanna cringe

I want to see if I can find a raw commercial food (ground?) that has all the ingredients she needs so that I can start being consistent and really try to get her to switch over. All we have is a Petsmart here so I may need to order online.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Jeni, the following are good options. Do you have any boutique pet stores in your area? They often carry Felines Pride & Rad Cat. If shipping costs are an issue, I'd ask your local Petsmart to start carrying whichever one you choose. Can't hurt.

Felines Pride (bone meat organs) https://www.felinespride.com/
Rad Cat (bone meat organs) http://www.radfood.com/where_to_buy
Raw Advantage http://www.rawadvantagepetfood.com/products.html

Meat only options: Hare-Today https://www.hare-today.com/

 

[Jeni]

Well we have a couple of "boutique" shops but they push Iams so not really where I want to go unfortunately. I may ask Petsmart if they have any or if they can carry one of these brands. I looked at the websites and just hate to invest in 20lbs of food if she's going to let it all spoil. Guess I could always feed it to the dogs Let me ask this, I have seen the raw in a freezer/fridge thing at Walmart of all places. I believe it's labeled dog food though? Does it matter? Don't laugh, I honestly don't know. In order for this to be her meal, do I want meat, bones and organs in it? Can you just fly here and go shopping with me??? Kidding...

 

[WitchyWoman]

I think you have a better chance of getting a boutique shop to carry it for you than Petssmart. Even though shipping is expensive, you can splurge for a small tub of each flavor of either FB or Rad Cat to see if she likes it before committing to a larger order.

I haven't looked at the stuff Walmart carries. Be sure to read the label to make sure there aren't cheap fillers in it. Doesn't matter if it's for cats or dogs as long as it's meat or meat/organ/bone. If you have just meat or meat & bone, you'll have to add in some liver & heart. If it's meat/organ meat, you'll have to add bone or a calcium supplement.

If you post the ingredient list here, I can help if you get confused.

 

[Ashley]

Jeni, all the local boutique shops in my area offered to order whatever it is that we wanted to try. Petsmart, not so much. lol So like Deborah said, you may have more luck there.

Kovu is driving me crazy with the raw. He was eating Nature's Variety Instict (rabbit) SO WELL, and then a tummy virus & won't touch it now. ::sigh:: I've had him for 8 months and have tried a variety of raw diets over the past 8 months & Nature's Variety rabbit was the only one he'd even try to eat. Now we are back to square one.. and eating Blue Buffalo. :;sigh::

If you don't mind, where are you located? If you are near the Tacoma area I have a bag of NV Venison and a bag of Lamb that he has barely made a dent in.. that are just sitting in my freezer...

 

[Jeni]

I think you have a better chance of getting a boutique shop to carry it for you than Petssmart. Even though shipping is expensive, you can splurge for a small tub of each flavor of either FB or Rad Cat to see if she likes it before committing to a larger order.

I haven't looked at the stuff Walmart carries. Be sure to read the label to make sure there aren't cheap fillers in it. Doesn't matter if it's for cats or dogs as long as it's meat or meat/organ/bone. If you have just meat or meat & bone, you'll have to add in some liver & heart. If it's meat/organ meat, you'll have to add bone or a calcium supplement.

If you post the ingredient list here, I can help if you get confused.

Thank you Deborah! I'll look at the stuff Walmart has this weekend and see what ingredients it lists.

Also, I think Aniyah just likes to prove me wrong....I cooked chicken and rice for my human family last night and while I was shredding the boiled chicken, she jumped on the barstool, ran across the bar, nabbed a huge piece of chicken and ran with it. Ate the whole thing so I gave her more . She DEVOURED it and looked at me like "See mom? I do too like chicken! You just need to cook it right!!!" I literally have tried everything I can think of, including boiled chicken, and she has turned her nose up at it all. Little stinker!

 

[Jeni]

Jeni, all the local boutique shops in my area offered to order whatever it is that we wanted to try. Petsmart, not so much. lol So like Deborah said, you may have more luck there.

Kovu is driving me crazy with the raw. He was eating Nature's Variety Instict (rabbit) SO WELL, and then a tummy virus & won't touch it now. ::sigh:: I've had him for 8 months and have tried a variety of raw diets over the past 8 months & Nature's Variety rabbit was the only one he'd even try to eat. Now we are back to square one.. and eating Blue Buffalo. :;sigh::

If you don't mind, where are you located? If you are near the Tacoma area I have a bag of NV Venison and a bag of Lamb that he has barely made a dent in.. that are just sitting in my freezer...

Ashley, thank you so much for the offer but I'm wayyyyyyy far away from Tacoma. West Texas to be exact! I did however do a search on the Nature's Variety just now and low and behold I just found a local GROOMER of all places that actually sells this stuff! I guess my search yesterday didn't have the right wording to pull them up online. Anyway, I'm going to call them and see if they have the raw. If they do, I'm going to go take a look! Thanks for the tip!!!

Also, I hear ya on the picky eating thing! Frustrating to say the least

 

[Samber]

If you can get her on raw then i would suggest buying a grinder and making it yourself. 1 lb of raw costs me about $1.25, a lb of rad cat raw is 10$. the cost savings are huge. my grinder has already paid for itself.


IMO the best way is the do it gradually if they dont take to it right away. just mix it in with the food there used to and increase it over time till its all raw. it may look and sound silly but when i got my kitten i would pretend that im eating the raw food. just got real close to it and made some eating noises. she would run up and smell it then meow and run away. but she got the message that it was food.


Also a thing look for is when the raw was made. not sure if they list that. but that can make a difference. cats do not want to eat old raw food. once mine is thawed it can go max 4 days in the fridge. i usually go thru all the raw i make in 1.5-2 months. i make about 25-30lbs at a time.

Ashley, you may want to find out how old that raw food is. there is a weird smell when its old that is prob a huge turn off for cats. its a faint smell but fresh raw and old raw smell very different IMO. just like if you left meat in the fridge for a long time, it may look good but after you cook it it will prob taste funny.

 

[Jeni]

If you can get her on raw then i would suggest buying a grinder and making it yourself. 1 lb of raw costs me about $1.25, a lb of rad cat raw is 10$. the cost savings are huge. my grinder has already paid for itself.

I very well may do that IF she decides to play nice and eat the raw eventually. I feel like persistence and patience will help her along just fine. On the grinder note...I have a Kitchenaid mixer with a meat grinder actually. Do you think that would be sufficient or should I look into a heavy duty grinder? Never ground bones before

 

[Samber]

You will probably need a new grinder since bone will probably break your current one. i use the tasin but i think some people on this site bought a different one from cabelas or tractor supply for cheaper that worked ok. but from what ive seen majority of people use the tasin. imo i think its best to go with the tasin cause so many ppl use it and its proven.