Hi all,

I went into a local store today that sells their own brand of raw cat food. Assuming that my cats will eat it (a big if), do you think that this looks like a good, complete food? I still plan to give dry food to graze on throughout the day, and possibly wet occasionally as well.

I do realize I could make my own, but I hardly make food for myself so...


Venison, boneless
USDA inspected New Zealand Venison Meat, Venison Heart, Venison Liver, Calcium Citrate, Kelp,
Psyllium Husks, Salmon Oil, Taurine, Chicken Egg Yolk, Vitamin B complex

Crude Protein Min. 21.2%
Crude Fat Min. 3.2%
Crude Fiber Max. 0.7%
Moisture Max. 72.4%
Kcal per lb 497


Rabbit w/bone
USDA Rabbit Frames (Meat and Bone), Kelp, Psyllium Husks, Salmon Oil, Taurine, Chicken Egg Yolk, Vitamin B Complex

Crude Protein Min. 17.5%
Crude Fat Min. 10.2%
Crude Fiber Max. 1.4%
Moisture Max. 68.3%
Kcal per lb 757


Chicken (boneless)
Boneless USDA Chicken Thigh, Chicken Heart, Chicken Liver, Calcium Citrate, Kelp, Psyllium Husks, Salmon Oil, Chicken Egg Yolk, Vitamin B Complex

Crude Protein Min. 17.5%
Crude Fat Min. 9.8%
Crude Fiber Max. 1.0%
Moisture Max. 71.2%
Kcal per lb 708


Turkey (boneless)
Boneless USDA Turkey Thigh Meat, Turkey Heart, Turkey Liver, Calcium Citrate, Kelp, Psyllium Husks, Salmon Oil, Chicken Egg Yolk, Vitamin B Complex

Crude Protein Min. 19.7%
Crude Fat Min. 4.2%
Crude Fiber Max. 1.0%
Moisture Max. 75.4%
Kcal per lb 576

I did a quick Google search to see if I could locate any information on the standard nutrients for raw feeding and didn't find anything. There are many manufacturers of raw food for cats. I'm hoping someone with raw feeding experience might know more than I do. This company has added vitamins, which is probably good.

The key to raw feeding is whether the cat will like the food!

I'm not really an expert as far as raw food, but the one ingredient that to me seems to be missing is bone meal or egg shell. I'm surprised by that omission. I do like the fact that each one is single-protein though. I think throwing the kiitchen sink (meat-wise) into each meal is a mistake.

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The little monsters 3

Seems the OP has posted two threads under the same subject... I already responded yesterday to one but can't find it. Here's my answer again:

Why pay companies for branded raw food when you can provide your cats the raw food diet hassle-free at a cheaper price. Here's the menu for Snickers:

TOP FAVORITES MEALS
1) Quails (with bones)
2) Shrimps (cleaned)
3) fish fillet (any raw fish, tuna, salmon... etc)

4) rabbits (with bones)
5) chicken (with bones)

SNACKS / APPETIZERS (once a day or once every two days)
1) chicken heart, liver, gizzard and feet
2) raw egg (chicken egg or quail eggs)

DESSERT (occasional)
1) Dairy-free ice cream (for fun, not for nutrition)

PLANTS
1) mint, catnip, catgrass, lemon grass (I don't add it to the food, she just eats/plays with the plants)

With the above raw diet, Snickers is always happy with her diet, no diarrhea, very healthy, gains weight... etc. And for me, no headache to grind anything and no need to add supplements.

I'm not sure how I accidentally posted it twice I'm glad that one of them got removed, as I couldn't figure out a way to delete it.

Wow, Snickers eats better than I do - lucky girl! I never thought about some of those chicken parts as snacks - thanks for the great suggestions!

I'm too scared to give bones that aren't ground up. But I also thought it was strange that some of these pre-made formulas were boneless. The woman told me that they added calcium to those to make up for it. I do wonder if it's enough though, my breeder told me today about a cat that got brittle bone disease from eating a raw diet that was lacking in that area.

Masala tried a little bit of the chicken one yesterday as a late night snack, but completely ignored the turkey.

Why do you say that raw food needs to be frozen for 3 days prior to serving?

I'd say that the freezing for 3 days only applies to non human grade food

If I buy fresh chicken drumsticks that I can eat then I have no qualms about feeding them to my cats, the only non human grade food I buy is whole (complete plucked bird) minced chicken which comes from the human food chain (usually egg farms) but is not sold for human consumption - this is frozen when I buy it, so no problems there.

While it's great when one wants to feed a raw diet, it's best when you are actually mixing it up yourself so YOU know what went into it. You can buy it from the pet store just like manufactured canned food, which is much easier to disperse. You open the can and spoon it into a bowl.

I understand you not wanting to risk your kittens health, i just cant see what freezing would do for the safety of the food for a pet.
I definitely wouldnt keep it in the fridge for too long and freezing allows you to buy in bulk and then portion out so that it wont stay in the fridge for too long, however any bacteria that was there before freezing will still be there when it comes out.
Im switching Aiko to a mix of raw and high quality biscuits at the moment, i was going to wait a bit longer however i ran out of her wet food the other night and i had a sample of raw, whole animal food that a local little pet store makes in the freezer. I defrosted it and she loved it, so i have just bought 500g more from the pet store and will see how we go. I will be buying 1-2kg at a time and likely freezing in 500g batches which she will get through in 2.5-3 days :)

Aiko has some lovely natural glitter so hopefully it gets even more pronounced with the new diet :)

I've been letting Masala try small amounts of the raw food as treats. He'll try a tiny bit, but only if I heat it up until it's practically cooked, otherwise he'll walk away immediately. I might try mixing small amounts into his wet food soon.

I've been watching some tutorials, but he's not really convinced yet.