Feline's Pride raw

Who here feeds Feline's Pride raw? http://www.felinespride.com/products/catfood.aspx It was mentioned to me that Nature's Variety contains too many fruits and veggies and can cause constipation becauseof the high bone content. A fruit/veggie free raw such as Feline's Pride was recommended. For those who feed Feline's Pride or other smiliar brands, what are your thoughts on the food?

Is Feline's Pride only available through the online web site? Can a store specially order the food from the Feline's Pride company? I'd rather not pay shipping/handling because that is going to be $$ and I worry about the food spoiling in the summer even inside a freezer box. Is the food in already portioned out nugget or patty shapes for easy feeding?

Is it easy to transition cats over to Feline's Pride? One civie is quite finicky about food. He used to like NV chicken but now won't eat it, only the beef. He won't eat Primal Pet anymore. My rescue civie was a challenge to get her off the dry junk and onto raw but it was done :thumbup She will only eat NV chicken, though, maybe Stella and Chewy's chicken. I'm kind of hestitant to try a different brand of raw and have neither cat eat it even with an attempt at very slow transition nailbite_smile

 

Hi,
I have been researching raw cat food the past few days. I just downloaded the newly revised book, "What Your Cat Should Eat" by Jean Hofve, DVM. Here's the synopsis from her website littlebigcat.com :
What Cats Should Eat ($9.95) Newly updated as of February 2011–now more than 30 information-packed pages tell you what you need to know about feeding your cat: what pet food labels mean, the differences among types of food (dry, canned, raw), how your cat should eat for optimal health, how to shop for your feline companion, and how to get your cat to switch to a better diet. Includes our veterinarian-formulated recipe for homemade diets as well as an expanded and updated (2011) list of Dr. Jean’s “approved brands” of canned, dry, and frozen/freeze-dried/raw diets, as well as supplements for homemade diets. Newly added appendices include Supplements that Every Cat Needs (including specific product recommendations), and Resources.

This vet, Dr. Jean, recommends a raw food called Rad Cat. I had never heard of it, but you might want to check it out. I think the website is radfood.com

I just yesterday bought a small bag of Nature's Variety Chicken medallions and fed it to my sugarcat, Tessie Lou, and her civvie, T.J. They both really like it. I agree it has lots of fruit and veggies, but I don't know if that's such a bad thing. T.J. tends toward constipation, so I will be watching the litterbox closely. My vet has Tessie on Purina DM canned, but I think it's too high carb for her, so that's why I'm on the search for something better.





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i've fed it in the past. not for awhile as it's just easier for me to get other varieties locally and they were one of the most expensive.

unless they've changed things in the last year or two they have distributors across the country. if you could find one close to you then you could avoid the shipping costs. i don't know of any stores that carry it but my vet's clinic used to when Dr. Hodgkins owned it. (they carry other brands now)

it comes in tubs, not patties or medallions. basically think of a big ice cream tub full of raw food

as far as transitioning, i can't help with that as mine will eat anything i put down in front of them for the most part.
:smile:

 

Thanks

I'll look into the Rad Cat raw. I've heard of it. Looks like one pet store I frequent sells it. I'll see if the other closer pet store can get it in as well. They're good at special ordering products for customes.

Most foods have the fruits and veggies listed towards the end of the ingredient list. They usually make up a small part of the food. Some people are ok with it, others are flat out against feeding any amount of fruit and veggies. I was briefly a member of a raw cat food board where all the people there were strongly adament about feeding only a Frankenprey diet, not using a recipie or using a pre-mix (heaven forbid) commerical raw.

I think the DM canned has 7% carbs which isn't bad. But the ingredients are pretty awful and the food is really expensive. A better quality commerical canned or raw food would be a much better choice.

I'll need to get one of those 1 oz ice cream scoops to measure out the food then. Neither cat will eat more than 1 oz in a sitting.

 

I supplement my seniors' food with Feline's Pride rather than feed it exclusively. I blend it with Merrick's Turducken variety (1 can to 1 cup of FP). They also have other food available throughout the day.

I have a very picky senior, Tigget, who LOVES it, especially the chicken. If you have cats who are used to a canned diet, I think they will eat it without a problem. I don't leave it out for them though, as it spoils quickly. They have to eat it all or I refrigerate it. It lasts up to 3 days in the frig OK and must be covered or it dries out. I thaw out a tub, mix it with the Turducken and refreeze it in baggies till I need it. It keeps fine that way, but try to get all/most of the air out of the baggies so it won't get freezer burn.

I can speak for their shipping quality, even in hot weather. If I pay for the faster USPS shipping, they usually send it 2 day Fed Ex, but that may be the part of the US I am in, the Midwest. I have received it at worst slightly thawed on the edges when not shipped that quickly. In hot weather it's advised to pay for an extra ice pack.

 

I checked the shipping prices for Feline's Pride. A 2.5 pound sample of the food will cost $52.12 for express delivery and $14.35 for priority :shock: And that's after the $18.48 pre-ship price :shock: That's too expensive for my budget. The nereast distributor is in NY. I'll have to ask if the pet store here can order the food from there. If it's still cost prohibitive, I may have to try the Rad Cat raw since the pet store sells that. Or buy it from OnlyNaturalPet.com.

Both cats will eat canned. I limit it to snacks, though. My Aby has a stinky gassy butt problem if he eats too much canned :shock:

 

I think I heard somewhere that Feline's Pride might have had a change in ownership in the last couple of months. Don't know if it would have any impact on the product, but...?

I wonder how the Rad Cat cost compares to the NV for you? I don't think the NV is too expensive, but I don't have to pay shipping as it's local here. Since you were on the raw food board, what is the thinking on the raw food that has no supplements in it, like NV? I'm talking about Vitamin E, etc.? Is it because all they need is in the natural ingredients?

I know about stinky gassy butt. That's what Fancy Feast does to my Tessie Lou. Phewwww! :lol:

 

Perhaps you're thinking of Feline Future which makes a pre-mix? That had a change in ownership and the product has been renamed TC Instincts.

The Feline's Pride web site doesn't say anything about a company change.

3 pound bag of NV beef is $16.69. I think the chicken is about the same. NV often has coupons for the raw food and the pet store has a 5% discount on all raw food if you use their store discount reward card.

OnlyNaturalPet.com lists Rad Cat as $13.49 for the 24 ounce containers. I'm guessing the pet store price is about the same, and without the shipping cost :smile:

Those people follow the "prey model diet" which is basically feeding only raw meat, organs, and bones in the same ratio of a mouse's body (80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% other secreting organ). By feeding this method, no additional vitamins and minerals are needed. Mention commerical raw and you get tons of nasty replies :shock:

 

Yes, it did change ownership. The original owner of Feline's Pride, Shelby, unfortunately passed away a few months ago.

His brother and other family members and investors moved the operation into a much larger warehouse and have gallantly forged ahead to continue Shelby's dream of providing a good raw food to cat owners everywhere.

It is a good product, but I agree that it is expensive if you have multiple cats. For me, with just Tigger, I find it cheaper in the long run. He would get so finicky and I would find myself throwing out canned food and trying yet again another brand hoping it would be 'the one'. Also trying to find one that was low in carbs, we would end up with a lot of unused canned cat food. I gave a lot away to friends and to Lynette's shelter in Chicago.

Plus with feeding the raw there was the added bonus of Tigger being in much better health because of it. It has been a little over three years since we switched. Oh, and no smelly poops is a good thing too.

P.S. The Rad Cat food people were starting out about the same time when I started looking into feeding raw food. They are on the west coast and they nicely sent me some samples to feed Tigger. They were packed in dry ice and arrived frozen in their little containers. I remember at the time that the only reason I didn't choose them was because the food had a high fat content but looking at their website now it doesn't seem to be the case (well, except for the lamb). So if you give it a try let us know what your kitties think. Nice to have other choices.

 

Yes, I downloaded a $3 coupon for the bag of raw that I bought for $12.75, so that was a good price for 48, 1 oz medallions. So Rad Cat is probably too expensive for me, esp. when you add in the shipping to the midwest. Still, I would be interested in what you think of it, if you decide to try it.

The founder of Feline's Pride just passed away, and his brother is taking over the company. Here is a link to a blog I found by Googling Feline's Pride:
http://feline-nutrition.org/the-blogs/f ... f-a-friend He sounds like a great guy and hopefully the company will continue his legacy.

I sure didn't know that about the prey model diet. Interesting! I don't understand why they are so down on all commercial raw food though. Some of us just don't like the idea of grinding up our own raw meat. I'm practically a vegetarian and even handling the thawed NV medallions makes me a little queasy.

 

Pamela,
We must have been posting at about the same time. Do you feed 100% Feline's Pride to tigger then? How much does he eat daily? I heard that kitties need less raw food because it is so satisfying to them. Do you find that to be true? Tessie Lou currently puts away about 10 oz of food daily and she badly needs to lose weight. I'm hoping once I get her transitioned off Purina DM and on to 100% raw, she will eat fewer calories and start to lose.

 

Did not know that :smile:

Exactly but these people seem to think that if you can't feed raw "their way" then you're not fit to even own a cat (one of the rude responses I received) cat(2)_steam

If that is true, then it doesn't apply to my Aby :razz: He's a bottomless pit :shock: Like right now. He just had 2 NV nuggets and some Prowl and he's still talking his head off and being annoying because he wants more food :shock: I'm going to feed him another nugget and hopefully that will be enough to satisfy his tummy. Fortunately he's so active that I'm not worried about him getting fat from all the food he eats.

 

Yes, I do, at least with Tigger. He eats 3 ounces morning and then at night. He is hungry at about +5 or +6 and wants something more so I feed bits of cooked chicken then for a treat, about 1/4 cup of small chucks of chicken to hold him off until dinner/or breakfast, but that is about all he seems to require.

I have been researching this for some time, the transit time of food. But I have nothing to back it up data-wise except for what I have read.

How much does she weigh? That is a lot of food, but I am not a feline nutritionist by a long shot. I know that Tigger gained muscle mass when we switched him to raw three years ago and maintains his weight now at almost 15 pounds. Before his diabetes diagnosis he was plainly looking fat from free feeding dry food all day even though he got out and exercised.

 

How much does she weigh? That is a lot of food, but I am not a feline nutritionist by a long shot. I know that Tigger gained muscle mass when we switched him to raw three years ago and maintains his weight now at almost 15 pounds. Before his diabetes diagnosis he was plainly looking fat from free feeding dry food all day even though he got out and exercised.[/quote][/quote]

Sorry, Pamela, I don't know how to highlight your post like you do mine. Anyway, she weighs almost 17 1/2 lbs. That is great about Tigger gaining muscle mass. Do you know about what % fat is in the Feline's Pride? My vet is anti-fat--says high fat food interferes with the insulin absorption. That's one reason she is so pro-Purina DM. It's only about 28% fat. But I hate the liver and by-products in it, not to mention the menadinone (sp?) which I just read in Dr. Hofve's book in a synthetic Vitamin K that is potentially harmful.

 

Hi squeem3, I think those raw food board people are a little too radical in their thinking. I'm just trying to find the best quality food for the best price I can afford. I didn't know it was gonna be this tough. Sheesh! :lol: I have compared Nature's Variety, Rad Cat, and Feline's Pride and for me, I can't afford either Rad Cat or Feline's Pride cause of the shipping ($10/day for 2 cats!), but I can afford the NV ($4/day for 2 cats--no shipping cost), so I'm leaning toward that. It might have too many veggies and fruit, but I think it's better than Purina Dm, which has mystery liver as first ingredient, then by-products, and oat grain. Also, the book I just read by Dr. Jean Hofve says that Purina sources its meat from China--yuk, and scary (remembering the food recall in 2007). I have a call in to my vet to discuss pros and cons of DM versus commercial raw. We'll see what she has to say about it.

 

You can compare the percent of calories from fat (dry matter basis) in Janet's old chart for the Purina DM...

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html

...and for the Feline Pride and Nature Variety in her newer chart - scroll to the bottom:

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

You will see that the percent of calories from fat is the lowest for Feline Pride's turkey for example.

 

Same here :smile: For now, it's NV for the two civies. I have 7 bags in my freezer :shock: Once the stockpile dwindles down a bit, I'll get some Rad Cat to try. Personally, I don't mind the fruits/veggies since they make up only a small portion of the food. I was thinking of using a pre-mix with my own store purchased raw meats. However, my kitchen knife skills suck and I'm likely to injure myself attempting to cut up raw meat

My vet is fine with me feeding my cats raw food :smile: He knows that I do a lot of reading into various pet things like diet and, with my previous cat, FD, so he pretty much lets me do whatever :smile:

 

Still haven't heard back from my vet re starting the NV, but I had a great phone conversation with one of the owners of Rad Cat yesterday. She was surpised and very happy to hear their food had been recommended in a new book written by a prominent vet on the west coast. She said I made her day.

Anyway, she said their meat is all locally sourced (Oregon), and free range. Their raw chicken is 65% protein, 26.5% fat, <1 % carbs. That is the lowest fat content of the raw food brands I researched. They have only been in business for 6 years, and she said they are still a small company, but growing. They have a couple distributors now on the east coast (Pennsylvania and NY, I think), and are looking hard for a midwest distributor. In the meantime, she said to buy from onlynaturalpet.com and they ship out of Colorado. I hope they get a distributor in the midwest so I can try it. I really was impressed with her passion for cats' nutrition and producing a high quality product.

I also talked to a Nature's Variety rep. She gave me incorrect percentages on the food (the protein, fat and carbs didn't add up to 100%). She said the fruits and veggies only make up 5% of the recipe, which is similar to the contents of a rodents stomach. Does that sound right? I personally don't think it's a big deal either, since the first 5 ingredients are high quality meat. I'm going to stick with it for now, that is, unless Tessie Lou starts putting on more weight. nailbite_smile

 

Good info, thanks Sandy.

I wonder does she know about Janet's famous food charts? If she would like to submit the info on her food she could be added. From Janet's information page:

"If you have "as fed" information (not so-called "guaranteed" or label values) . . .

. . . And you'd like me to add them to the food tables, please e-mail me at binky dot cat at sbcglobal dot net. At the very least, I need "as fed" values for protein, fat, and carbohydrate. It would also be helpful to have "as fed" values for phosphorus, fiber, water, ash, and calcium, along with calorie information. I cannot use any number which is labeled "maximum" or "minimum", because it is by definition not an accurate value."

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

 

That's a great idea, pamela. I will send her an email with the link and invite her to submit their info.