store bought raw food? which one is best (if any)

This is a dedicated place for all of your questions and answers about Raw Diets. There are also some really cool groups like "Raw Fed" on the topic you can join. This forum is for people who already know they like the raw diet or sincerely want to learn more. Please remember that you are receiving advice from peers and not professionals. If you have specific health-related questions about your cat's diet, please contact your vet!

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lucky

1170718

Purred: Mon Oct 31, '11 3:52pm PST


	as we finally moved to the us i wanna start transitioning the cats to raw food. in total i currently have 5 cats under my roof, my three adults ones and my two foster kittens (who are 6 and 5 and are up for adoption if anyone from the RI knows anyone who is looking). i know for sure that the two kittens plus at least one of my adults will have no issues with raw meat. my main issue is my oldest one, lucky, who is 6 and when we tried raw a few months ago back home she gave me a cold shoulder. she does eat fish, like salmon, when i buy sushi. but chicken throat were not her thing. i'm thinking of buying pre-made raw food because some of the companies have the meat all ground up in patties so that may help transition her, and because i have yet to figure out where i can find fresh meat and poultry that are safe (no antibiotics no added stuff, just clean meat) and fairly cheep (i am but a lowly brook college student). regarding the store bought raw food: i am concerned about all the added ingredients they put in there, like in nature's variety. also as i've mentioned i'm a college student so money is tight especially with 5 cats to feed. so store bought food is not an option in the long run as it costs me about 3.5 times more then buying dry cat food (Orijen) and yes i know raw food is better, but my cats need cat litter too. is there anyone from RI or the area that would be willing to direct me to where fresh meat can be bought? or maybe be willing to just guide me on the road to raw?

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Merlin - An Angel- Forever

*Poof*

Purred: Mon Oct 31, '11 5:17pm PST


	Try a butcher shop or a natural/healthy/organic grocery store like Whole Foods. Some people get fresh killed meat from hunters who have extra to share Here are some web sites with info about raw food and recipies: http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood http://www.catnutrition.org/index.html http://feline-nutrition.org/index.php You can't go wrong wtih a big name brand like Nature's Variety or Stella and Chewy's or Primal Pet. There are smaller raw food companies out there that are good, like Feline's Pride and Raw Advantage and Rad Cat. Some brands have fruits and veggies, which some people feel are unncessary. Other brands are just meat and bones and organs.

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Finnegan- (Finney)

I am a- CARNIVORE! Not a- Cornivore!

Purred: Mon Oct 31, '11 10:41pm PST


	Stella & Chewy's is a very good brand also and if you'd like to read up on some instructions on raw feeding you can go to this page on my website: http://ibdkitties.net/rawinstructions.html. Congratulations on your move here and on wanting to feed your kitties a better diet.

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Shade

My name is not- Kittyfloss!

Purred: Tue Nov 1, '11 4:13am PST


	Hi Lucky, welcome to the U.S.! Feeding pre-made raw will be more expensive than making it yourself or feeding a frankenprey or prey model raw diet. Since you are a college student, I would suggest not going that route if you are trying to save money, except maybe for transitioning purposes. While it is ideal to feed the prey model diet using meat from grass fed, antibiotic free, free range animals it isn't really practical, even for those of us in a double income family. Those meats are hard to find and more expensive. You definately want to avoid meat with any sort of additive. For instance, last night I picked up a package of turkey breast and saw that it had salt and sugar added to it, definately a no-no! Go to the local grocery stores and just look for fresh chicken, beef, lamb, pork, whatever fresh meat they have. If you live in an area with not so great stores, the liver and organs might be harder to come by. Many people also shop in ethnic stores for variety. Just look around and see what you can source before you leap into the raw feeding. It's also ok if you chould decide to maybe feed 1 meal a day of canned and 1 meal a day of raw, just don't feed kibble and raw. I hope that I helped a little. Feel free to ask more questions. Purrs, Shade

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Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.

Purred: Tue Nov 1, '11 8:11am PST


	Welcome Lucky! Shade's right, premade raw is not really as economical as do-it-yourself. DynaCat's mom and I wrote some helpful hints for raw feeding if you want to brush up on some options: http://ibdkitties.net/rawinstructions.html There's some info about ground raw vs. Frankenprey and how to get started. As you're on the east coast you could get raw ground and Frankenprey from Hare-Today. It's expensive to ship it, but it's all pasture-fed and hormone/antibiotic-free if that's a big concern. And in the long run I believe it's cheaper than organic meat from a place like Whole Foods. Check with any local GreenMarkets if you have them. Their meat may not be cheap but maybe you could work out a deal for some trim or something. Good luck and let us know if you have any questions!

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Pandora's Pride

got cute?

Purred: Tue Nov 1, '11 8:41pm PST


	We don't eat all raw, but we get some; Meowma gets Blue Ridge Beef Kitten Grind and Chicken. If you get them by the case when BRB comes to a cat show near you, it is MUCH cheaper, and cheaper than grocery store meats as well.

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lucky

1170718

Purred: Wed Nov 2, '11 4:53pm PST


	thanks everyone, the major concern will definitely be finding where to buy raw meat that won't kill my account. right now I am paying about 100$ for two 15 IB bags of Orijen, and that lasts me for about 1.5 to two months tops, if i weight their daily portion. is i can stay of a similar amount per month then i should be OK financially, mostly because my two youngest are foster kittens (BTW if you know anyone looking to adopt..) so my overall costs would go down a bit once they are adopted. also another issue is that i don't have a car, so it's hard for me to drive to different locations to buy the meat, so i really need a place that delivers. if anyone has any more recommendation of places that deliver raw meat that can be fed to the cats that would be awesome. also i don't think we'll do a prey like model anytime soon, even though i know it is much better for them.

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Merlin - An Angel- Forever

*Poof*

Purred: Wed Nov 2, '11 5:22pm PST


	http://www.hare-today.com/ is a popular online source of raw meats and organs for pet food.

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Shade

My name is not- Kittyfloss!

Purred: Thu Nov 3, '11 4:30am PST


	Definately hare-today.com. I buy their meat all of the time, but be fore-warned, shipping is expensive for frozen products, between $20 and $30 and I live only 1 state over from PA. Check out the meat/bone/organ grinds though. You can check out onlynaturalpet.com. They carry NV Instincts frozen raw, Rad Cat, and the Primal Formula (too many veggies for me though). Purrs, Shade

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lucky

1170718

Purred: Thu Nov 3, '11 8:36pm PST


	thank you all! I will check hare today more thoroughly during thanksgiving break when finals will be over and done with. also, any advice on what kind of whole fish is best to feed, i see they have some choice of whole fish in there, though the idea of giving my cats whole mice or rabbits is hard to swallow (no pun intended), i am quite cool with the idea of a whole fish. any advice of which one is the best choice to take?

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