[Ted]

Hello all,

In a few weeks, I'll be picking up my two Bengal kittens (12 weeks old) and they're currently on canned food/kibble.

Eventually during the summer (I'm a teacher and I have it off) I'd like to perhaps consider transitioning them to a raw diet.

I did look at Haretoday.com and saw they have some great ground chicken (bones, organs, etc.) but I see they're on the west coast so I'm thinking about shipping and making sure the food is fresh, etc.

I'm wondering if anybody has any sources on the West Coast (I live in CA) for good raw meat and/or supplements.

Also, on the topic of supplements, does anybody have anything to say about Alnutrin to add to the ground meat?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[koobe]

Are we talking about commercial raw or just raw meat?

If you are talking about commercial raw, then there are actually a few west coast manufacturers:
1) Rad Cats based in Portland, OR
2) Natural Pet Pantry in Seattle, WA
3) Darwin's in Seattle, WA
4) Raw Advantage in Stenwood, WA

Some manufacturers are in the East Coast but available in stores or by reseller:
1) Feline's Pride
2) Primal

If you are talking about raw meat so you can make your own pet food, check out the co-ops in yahoo group.

 

[Ted]

Thanks for the names, Koobe. I'll check them out.

Much appreciated!

 

[dweamgoil]

Ted,

You might also want to check out the place Vividawn found on the West Coast Raw Diet USA - Food for dogs, cats, reptiles, and ferrets.

They have the cheapest shipping rate I have ever seen. It is similar to Hare Today, but not as much selection...not a bad deal. It is not commercial raw though, but ground mixes mostly. You would have to shape the pretty little round patties yourself.

 

[Ted]

Thanks for that, Dweam!

Now I need some clarification... what's the difference between something like that site and my getting ground meat from a butcher?

(Not a sarcastic question, I'm learning. )

Thanks!

 

[dweamgoil]

Not too much in reality, however, some butchers will not sell ground mixes with bones and organs since they cater mostly to people, and even if they do, I can't see them grinding up the entire animal (brains, unbleached tripe, lungs, stomach, etc.). It just depends on what your local butchers have to offer.

The food from Hare Today, for example, is clearly labeled not for human consumption because they throw everything in there...sometimes even fur.

 

[Ted]

Perfect explanation...thanks for your help, Dweam!

So then am I to understand if I purchase from RawDietUSA that I wouldn't need to add any supplements?

They state to let them know if it's a cat so they can make it fine ground, but I would think that chunks may be better so the cats would chew it (better for teeth)?

 

[dweamgoil]

You are very welcome

And just so you know when I got Sasha at 12 weeks, he had been on kibble since he was weaned, he preferred the raw over anything else. I first started mixing a sample bag of kibble with canned...that took like 3 days and then started mixing the raw with the canned for about another 2 days. He began digging out the raw and leaving the canned behind. Kittens know what is good for them.

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Ted - On Monday, when I went to RawDietUSA's actual building, I said I was getting it for my cat, and the guy didn't care about the grinding size. He just gave me whatever they had in stock (after asking "Grams" (older lady at the computer in the office) what the inventory was!).
The inventory changes all the time, as they are a family owned butcher and just package up whatever they've killed that week for customers (local farmers or even individual people raising cows, sheep, etc. can bring them in rather than doing it themselves). They also do wild game, but probably not as much of that in the summer... more like later fall and winter, after hunting season.

You probably won't need supplements, as it's 90% organ. Yes it's ground, and there's very little bone (a few little dime size chunks here and there).

I am going to use it as the organ portion of that meat-organ-bone ratio formula for a raw diet.

I suppose when you email them you can ask specifically to have certain kinds of animals and certain kinds of organ, but then you'll have to wait until they get that type done. For instance, I wanted a beef mix, but they were out, so I got the sheep mix instead.

I hope that helps!

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Oh, and the package DOES say "not for human consumption"

 

[Ted]

Thanks so much, Dawn, for the information.

I can see having that as the main diet and then maybe also providing chicken necks and/or wings...for the bones.

How do your kitties like the sheep?

I was sort of hoping to start/stay with a chicken diet, but I don't see that as an option.

 

[Vivid Dawn]

There's 2 things I see "bad" with an all-chicken diet... no variety of flavor, and no real variety of nutrients. Sure a chicken has a heart, liver, and other organs... but they do taste different and (as far as I would guess) could have different nutrients - or at least amounts, considering the size compared to a cow.

Anyhoo!
Paizly loves it. Zinny finally (a few minutes ago) took a few nibbles. A'course, her "kibble krack bowl" has been empty all day. Nebbie and Xanthe have yet to even bother glancing at it, let alone sniffing or nibbling.
I'll let it sit out for another 20 minutes, then try again just before I go to bed, and then fill the krack ...er, I mean kibble bowl for the night (don't wanna starve the poor things!)

Paizly did give me a little bit of a scare. This is only her second raw meal, so I guess she's not quite used to it. She was eating, then suddenly went into her hiding box and started fussing - I looked in, and she seemed to have trouble with her mouth. I guess she got some of the stringy stuff (vein?) stuck and couldn't swallow it all down totally. She eventually got it, though, and went back to eating.

 

[Muzby]

If as Vivid says, the mix is 90% organ you CAN NOT use this grind as a "main diet" this would make up approx 10% of the diet while you would still need to feed 80%meaty meat & 10% bone.

 

[Muzby]

Also - heart is not an organ, it's meaty meat.

 

[Ted]

Oh! Good to know...thanks!

 

[koobe]

Ted,

I agree with all others said.
Chicken will be easiest to get, but at least (very least) rotate with turkey. When I was living in CA (The Bay Area), I can hardly find anyone to ground a chicken back for me, so I use quail as my bone source. You can find 6 birds of frozen quails in Ranch 99. But you can only get very little bone and I think it is $9 for a pack of 6 birds. Then you also have to throw in organs and livers.

My cats does not eat chicken wings, wingtips, necks, mice etc. So that was my only choice. If your cats eat wings or necks, that will be perfect. I thought about buying a grinder to grind bones for my cats, but when I moved to WA, ground bones for pets are available, so that solved my problem.

There is also a website called WholeFoods4Pets.com. They do have ground rabbits and other food. I am not sure if they ship. They have coarse ground and fine ground.

The problem in my house if that Panther cannot tolerant beef, lamb, sheep and rabbit. So we are limited at our choices. Even so, I rotate them on chicken, turkey, quail, pheasant, cornish hen, duck, rabbit, venison, pork. They are all commercial raw except the venison and pork. I can easily find a pack of ground chicken back, chicken neck here in WA and add meat and organs.

However you want to feed, I do suggest you make your own, buy some commercial raw and rotate meat. So if one source or one meat messed up, you still have a back up.

 

[Ted]

Thanks so much, Koobe...for all that great advice. I especially agree with having a back-up!