Today I went to get some raw diet stuff for my kitties (mostly for Paizly, but I figure I'll feed it to everybody else too - Zinny, Nebbie, Xanthe)
So far my new meat supplier is great!
When I first called a couple weeks ago, the guy on the phone wasn't much help other than "Oh, we just put all the 'leftovers' in a chub', but wouldn't tell me what the "leftovers" were, exactly. Oh well, better than kibble and mush being eaten now!
So I drive (an hour!) up there (and an hour back). The guy at the front counter was very friendly and helpful! Finally got told what I wanted about processing (not cooked, bleached (for tripe), added preservatives, etc.) I got a list of all the stuff they offered, and the pricing. I wanted beef "mix", but they were out. So I got two lamb varieties. They were out of rabbit too, so I'll just wait until next time. When I had asked about what was in stock, he had to ask "Grams"... who was an older lady, and I assume the "Grandma" of the family. Love it when I can support little local family businesses
He said his dad (who I guess makes some of the deliveries) would be willing to meet me at a freeway off-ramp in my own city, so I wouldn't have to be driving up all the time! YAY! I'll still have to see about this. Really, I don't mind driving a couple hours once a month or so, if it'll help the kitties be healthier.
The place is a little tin building on a farm. There were chickens and a turkey and a couple cats. And three kittens... they were semi-feral, and one had a goopy eye, but otherwise they looked quite alright... probably because they're being fed raw
The guy at the front counter said this stuff is what he gives his dog.
This is what I got:
5 lbs "Mixed" - Mixed Proteins with Organs and Bone (Liver, Heart, Kidney, Pancreas, up to 2% lung if available) ... Mixed proteins is a combination of animals cut that week. It will contain Beef and Lamb, and may contain Buffalo, Elk, Venison, Antelope, Wild pig (in small amounts), Goat, etc. This is an excellent, cheap, method of keeping a varied diet for your animals.
5 lbs "Lamb" - Ground Lamb/Goat with organ and bone (Heart, liver, kidney, spleen, up to 2% lung if available) ... There is virtually no difference between Goat and Lamb. They are currently combined to be one product.
5 lbs "SIB" - 'sheep in a bag' - green tripe, heart, liver, kidney, lung, spleen, trachea, gullet, tongue, and cheek meat. Green tripe has been shaken out, ground, and frozen. It will still contain some of the greens.
15 lbs of meat for $25. Average of $1.66/lbs and that'll last me 2 weeks. So it's about $50 a month. Way better (healthier and cheaper) than what I'm feeding now at $4 a day which Paizly throws up nearly every time.
If anybody in the western section of the US wants to try them, here's the website:
Raw Diet USA - Food for dogs, cats, reptiles, and ferrets.
Shipping is about $14, which I suppose isn't too bad, considering they do 2-day and pack it with dry ice to make sure it stays frozen.
Now for the question:
I know that I need to feed 1/4 lbs per cat per day (my cats weigh about 9 pounds each (Zinny is 8.9 and Paizly is 9.4), and 3% of that is 1/4 pound of meat). Buuuut, since this meat is all ground up and mixed together, should I feed it only once a day and try to feed the other 2 meals that complicated ratio of organ, muscle, bone formula? Or will this pre-packaged mixed stuff be okay for all 3 meals every day?
Also, now that I have a job and work 1-6, I need to figure out a feeding schedule. Here's what I was thinking:
7am, Noon, 7pm
or
7am, 7pm, 10pm
Would it be better to have the first two meals closer, or the last two? I really can't feed right in the middle of the day, as I'll be 20 miles from home ;p
Or maybe I could just feed at 7am and 7pm...but I think maybe 3 smaller meals might be better? Augh! I dunno how to do this! *sob* What did I get myself into? LOL
The chubs are still frozen solid, so I'll have them in the fridge another day or two before I can get them portioned into smaller baggies to put in warm water. I think in the meantime I'll try chicken gizzards again (which last time - also the first time - nobody even looked or sniffed at! Nebbie batted hers around a couple times, then went off to do something else! Oiy!)
