Rad Cad Raw Turkey Alternative?

[SavannahLuv]

Last week I was very disappointed to find out that Rad Cat is going out of business. I purchased all of the turkey my local pet store had in-stock, but unfortunately it will only be enough to last approximately another 3.5 weeks. I am now at a loss on how to proceed since Shango is super picky and I don't have much time to figure this all out.

After the nightmare I went through approx. 1.5 years ago with Darwin's changing their formula I am not looking forward to having to change Shango's food yet again. After my very expensive experience dealing with Darwin's, I am not even willing to try them again (they have forever lost my business). Any suggestions on another commercial raw brand in turkey that is similar to Rad Cat? I was purchasing the Rad Cat turkey for $9.99/lb (no additional shipping cost since it was local).... I am looking to find a replacement food that is the same price or cheaper.

In the past I have tried Nature's Variety and Primal raw frozen food and they both ended up resulting in me cleaning up a lot of cat vomit. Grinding my own really isn't an option I'm able to commit to at this time.

I've been considering freeze-dried brands, but whenever I tried giving Shango Stella & Chewy's in the past he would not eat it when re-hydrated. I now just use it as treats since he likes it dry. Is there a trick to getting cats to eat freeze-dried food after it has been re-hydrated?

He LOVES all of the treats I buy him from Fresh is Best. I see they also offer a freeze-dried cat food: https://www.freshisbest.com/natural-pet-food/cat-food-freeze-dried/turkey-cat-food-freeze-dried.html. Does anyone have experience feeding it to their cats? I just don't fully understand how the 8 oz of freeze-dried is equivalent to approximately 2 lbs of raw food when it states to re-hydrate by adding 1 cup of water to 1 cup of dry food. Since 1 cup is 8 ounces, wouldn't that only be 1 lb of food? If that is the case, this is not an affordable option for me. I'm sure more water could be added, but Shango doesn't like his raw food to be too runny.

I am also considering Hare-Today. I just don't like that in order for it to be the most cost effective, I would need to purchase the full 55 lbs to fill the box to help balance out the shipping cost since the shipping is so expensive. After being stuck with almost 50 lbs of Darwin's turkey that Shango refused to eat that I ended up giving away for free, I just hate keeping that much food in the freezer in fear of Shango one day deciding he's not going to eat it. I'm also confused that I would still need to add a supplement to their ground food.... I thought that by feeding the proper meat/bone/organ ratio, a supplement was not needed.

If a supplement is going to be needed regardless, wouldn't it be significantly cheaper and more convenient to buy ground turkey from the grocery store? That is originally what I purchased when he stopped eating Darwin's and used it to transition him to Rad Cat turkey. It was only about $3.50 lb. Is there a supplement to add that makes up for the missing organ and bone ratio to make the human ground turkey a complete diet for cats? That would be more convenient that having to rely on having frozen raw food shipped.

 

[DumaLove]

There are a few problems with feeding human grade raw pre-ground turkey from the grocery store. First is it almost always has way too much sodium for cats. It should be NO more than 100mg per 4 ounce serving. Most I’ve seen have at least 200mg if not more. It also usually has “natural flavorings added” but doesn’t say what that actually is. Often it includes rosemary which can cause seizures in cats that are prone to seizures. Also it is pre-ground (usually before it arrives in the store around here) and sits on the shelf at a not necessarily stable temperature so it has a huge opportunity to grow bacteria. It’s assumed it would be fully cooked for human consumption.

I don’t recall where you live, but on the east coast the shipping is free or not too expensive to get pre-ground balanced turkey/bone/organ here: https://www.wefeedraw.com/products/turkey-bone-in
It is very good quality and all you really need to add is a source of Omega 3 like salmon oil or some sardines. You could also add a multi vitamin supplement like Mazuri for whole prey or Kitty Bloom or Alnutrin if you are worried about fully balancing it. I would do that if it were me if you don’t rotate through several proteins.

 

[DumaLove]

Also as far as Freeze Dried goes I only have one cat on that, and I have to grind it up in the food processor first so it is a powder. Then at feeding time I rehydrate it with very warm water and let it sit until it becomes pate canned food consistency. That is the only way he likes it.

I also mix three different specific brand/protein choices for him. SO he may be just a little bit SPOILED!!

 

[Ninja-n-Bear]

There is another brand of pre-made raw that I know of, it's called Northwest Naturals. They make a turkey formula - both frozen chunks and freeze dried. It's an Oregon-based company, so I don't know about availability everywhere, but it's good stuff.

Have you thought about trying a little bone broth instead of water for rehydration? Primal makes a turkey one...

Our boys have done really well on Alnutrin (w/eggshell) so far, agree with supplementing when feeding an exclusive protein source.

 

[SavannahLuv]

There are a few problems with feeding human grade raw pre-ground turkey from the grocery store. First is it almost always has way too much sodium for cats. It should be NO more than 100mg per 4 ounce serving. Most I’ve seen have at least 200mg if not more. It also usually has “natural flavorings added” but doesn’t say what that actually is. Often it includes rosemary which can cause seizures in cats that are prone to seizures. Also it is pre-ground (usually before it arrives in the store around here) and sits on the shelf at a not necessarily stable temperature so it has a huge opportunity to grow bacteria. It’s assumed it would be fully cooked for human consumption.

I don’t recall where you live, but on the east coast the shipping is free or not too expensive to get pre-ground balanced turkey/bone/organ here: https://www.wefeedraw.com/products/turkey-bone-in
It is very good quality and all you really need to add is a source of Omega 3 like salmon oil or some sardines. You could also add a multi vitamin supplement like Mazuri for whole prey or Kitty Bloom or Alnutrin if you are worried about fully balancing it. I would do that if it were me if you don’t rotate through several proteins.

Thanks, very helpful info! I will avoid human grade store turkey and only consider using it if I need a temporary solution to help in transitioning foods.

I live in South-West Colorado.... looks like zone 2 so no free shipping; however, the flat rate of $40.00 is very reasonable compared to alternatives. I haven't heard of this company before, but so far I'm liking what I see.

Shango currently gets 8 oz of raw turkey as his primary diet (4 oz am, 4 oz pm). As a midnight snack before bedtime, I give him either 1 pouch of Weruva's Pumpkin Lickin chicken or 1 3oz can of Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Rabbit Wet (they recently changed their formula to include pea protein which caused him to stop liking the turkey flavor he used to eat and start eating the rabbit again... only limited ingredient. He won't eat the regular rabbit that also has I think pork protein). As treats he gets Stella & Chewy's duck, duck goose and Fresh is Best (duck hearts, duck giblet rounds, duck liver, chicken breast, chicken neck). He gets a little variety in proteins, but mostly just turkey. He's picky and prefers duck/chicken treats, but won't eat them raw like he does with the turkey. About once a month I also try to give him a can of sardines. I recently learned he doesn't like the sardines in water, only the sardines in oil. It's been an expensive process, but he's slowly getting me trained in what foods are acceptable.

 

[SavannahLuv]

There is another brand of pre-made raw that I know of, it's called Northwest Naturals. They make a turkey formula - both frozen chunks and freeze dried. It's an Oregon-based company, so I don't know about availability everywhere, but it's good stuff.

Have you thought about trying a little bone broth instead of water for rehydration? Primal makes a turkey one...

Our boys have done really well on Alnutrin (w/eggshell) so far, agree with supplementing when feeding an exclusive protein source.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like Chewy has several bone broth options. Even if not used to re-hydrate, I might try it out as a treat or food topper just to see if he likes it.

I haven't heard of Northwest Naturals; however, my pet store has always been great at special ordering items for me they don't usually keep in-stock. I like that it doesn't have the fruit/veggies like a lot of the other commercial raw has.

 

[DumaLove]

Thanks, very helpful info! I will avoid human grade store turkey and only consider using it if I need a temporary solution to help in transitioning foods.

I live in South-West Colorado.... looks like zone 2 so no free shipping; however, the flat rate of $40.00 is very reasonable compared to alternatives. I haven't heard of this company before, but so far I'm liking what I see.

Shango currently gets 8 oz of raw turkey as his primary diet (4 oz am, 4 oz pm). As a midnight snack before bedtime, I give him either 1 pouch of Weruva's Pumpkin Lickin chicken or 1 3oz can of Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Rabbit Wet (they recently changed their formula to include pea protein which caused him to stop liking the turkey flavor he used to eat and start eating the rabbit again... only limited ingredient. He won't eat the regular rabbit that also has I think pork protein). As treats he gets Stella & Chewy's duck, duck goose and Fresh is Best (duck hearts, duck giblet rounds, duck liver, chicken breast, chicken neck). He gets a little variety in proteins, but mostly just turkey. He's picky and prefers duck/chicken treats, but won't eat them raw like he does with the turkey. About once a month I also try to give him a can of sardines. I recently learned he doesn't like the sardines in water, only the sardines in oil. It's been an expensive process, but he's slowly getting me trained in what foods are acceptable.

You could try Sardines in tomato sauce also, many cats LOVE the tomato sauce. It’s a small enough amount that it won’t affect them even though it is veggies, and it is a umami flavor that the majority of cats love.

 

[DumaLove]

There is another brand of pre-made raw that I know of, it's called Northwest Naturals. They make a turkey formula - both frozen chunks and freeze dried. It's an Oregon-based company, so I don't know about availability everywhere, but it's good stuff.

Have you thought about trying a little bone broth instead of water for rehydration? Primal makes a turkey one...

Our boys have done really well on Alnutrin (w/eggshell) so far, agree with supplementing when feeding an exclusive protein source.

We tried Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Turkey and it was awful. It didn’t even smell like meat or other FD foods. It kind of had a yeast like smell. Maybe it was just a bad bag??

 

[Ninja-n-Bear]

We tried Northwest Naturals Freeze Dried Turkey and it was awful. It didn’t even smell like meat or other FD foods. It kind of had a yeast like smell. Maybe it was just a bad bag??

Hmm, could have been an old bag. I have had customers say it doesn't last as long as S&C's once opened, some cats won't eat the end of the bag.

 

[Ninja-n-Bear]

I like that it doesn't have the fruit/veggies like a lot of the other commercial raw has.

Ditto. I make my own food usually, but as an alternative Rad Cat was my go to, sad to hear they are done.