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"Stella & Chewy's"

post #1 of 21
9/9/11 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, I went to Centinela Feed and Pet supplies today. I usually buy my pet's food there because I don't like Petco and Petsmart for the way they house and sell small animals.

Anyway, I always found the staff at Centinela very knowledgeable, but today they surprised me. The sales lady/girl suggested "Stella and Chewy's" frozen food for my cats. Problem is this food is for dogs. She said her own cats eat it, it's absolutely fine for cats, many customers buy it for their cats over Nature's Variety.

Has anybody ever heard of this? It is "certified safe raw, pathogen free"
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post #2 of 21
9/9/11 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MiLu View Post
Hmm, I went to Centinela Feed and Pet supplies today. I usually buy my pet's food there because I don't like Petco and Petsmart for the way they house and sell small animals.

Anyway, I always found the staff at Centinela very knowledgeable, but today they surprised me. The sales lady/girl suggested "Stella and Chewy's" frozen food for my cats. Problem is this food is for dogs. She said her own cats eat it, it's absolutely fine for cats, many customers buy it for their cats over Nature's Variety.

Has anybody ever heard of this? It is "certified safe raw, pathogen free"
Here's their website Stella and Chewy's. Dogs can eat what cats eat, but cats shouldn't necessarily be eating what their carnivorous cousins have for dinner. Stella and Chewy's dog food product have several fruits and veggies in them and are created specifically for dogs... I, personally, wouldn't feed this food to my cats.

AC
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post #3 of 21
9/9/11 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you, AC. I really know nothing about raw food and I know you do, so I trust you completely.
Plus, if it was really ok for cats to eat, why wouldn't they advertise it as such. Too bad they don't make the food in a cat formula and sell it to dog owners as well. One product, two types of clients
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post #4 of 21
9/9/11 at 6:09pm
Thread Starter 
I may be completely wrong about this but I seem to remember reading that what makes dogfood unsuitable for cats is that it doesn't contain Taurine? Do I have that right?

I just looked at the ingredient list for Duck Duck Goose, a freeze-dried flavor and Stella's Super Beef, a frozen flavor, and I noticed is that it does indeed contain Taurine. I suppose the question is how much.

I will contact the company to find out what they say
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post #5 of 21
9/9/11 at 6:19pm
That's right. Dogs can synthesize taurine, cats can't. Meat contains taurine, but it is diminished by heating - which is why canned or home-cooked diets have to add taurine back in as a supplement.

Cats are obligate carnivores (and dogs are arguably omnivores), so the addition of fruits and vegies kind of makes the "raw" part moot for cats. No advantages to raw fruits and vegies for cats, and they're probably hard on their digestive systems.
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post #6 of 21
9/9/11 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
But since even the good canned cat foods contain ingredients like apples and carrots and yet they cost more (per sales person, I haven't checked the prices yet), maybe this is a legitimate option after all? Although, now that I think about it raw fruits and veggies might be tough.

I will have to sit down at the computer when I get home. Doing research and comparing ingredients and such is not much fun on the phone
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post #7 of 21
9/9/11 at 6:38pm
Yes, most canned foods do. Veggies anyway. I don't think I've ever seen a fruit in cat food. Well - cranberries, but those are added to lower the pH for urinary tract health.

But most veggies are moot. For instance, carrots. Cats don't have the digestive enzyme necessary to convert beta carotine into Vitamin A. So carrots are a filler that provides some fiber. I feed canned cat food, but I choose the food based on the proteins first. Then I eliminate options based on the rest of the ingredients. I usually wind up with sometimes some barley, sometimes some rice, often carrots or peas. If the carrots and peas are easy to pick out (like in Weruva), I pick them out before giving the food to the cats.
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post #8 of 21
9/9/11 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MiLu View Post
Thank you, AC. I really know nothing about raw food and I know you do, so I trust you completely.
Plus, if it was really ok for cats to eat, why wouldn't they advertise it as such. Too bad they don't make the food in a cat formula and sell it to dog owners as well. One product, two types of clients
I appreciate the sentiment, Milu. Of course, you're still conducting your own due diligence and making your decisions based not just on what I would or wouldn't do, but based on an agreement / understanding of the reason behind my decisions, right?

- - - - - - - - -
Hah! I started this post right after you posted yours and then got sidetracked, came back just now to finish and save it without seeing all these other posts. Love it! CLEARLY, you are doing your own due diligence!

AC
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post #9 of 21
9/9/11 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MiLu View Post
But since even the good canned cat foods contain ingredients like apples and carrots and yet they cost more (per sales person, I haven't checked the prices yet), maybe this is a legitimate option after all? Although, now that I think about it raw fruits and veggies might be tough.

I will have to sit down at the computer when I get home. Doing research and comparing ingredients and such is not much fun on the phone
It's a "legitimate" option for the pet food companies for multiple reasons - including lower costs than if they included more real meat (never mind quality meat) and adding stuff that looks good to cat owners is a long-used and popular marketing ploy - but not so much for the cats who have to eat it.

AC
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post #10 of 21
9/9/11 at 9:50pm
I'm not sure what to think about this myself.
Nature's Variety's foods also are for cats and dogs http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/chicken, but when commercial raw is discussed here, it is always brought up as a great option.
Nature's Variety has veggies as well, so to say you shouldn't feed Stella and Chewy's because of this is also a moot point.

As long as Stella and Chewy's meets AAFCO guidelines, I say go right ahead.
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post #11 of 21
9/9/11 at 10:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
I'm not sure what to think about this myself.
Nature's Variety's foods also are for cats and dogs http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/chicken, but when commercial raw is discussed here, it is always brought up as a great option.
Nature's Variety has veggies as well, so to say you shouldn't feed Stella and Chewy's because of this is also a moot point.

As long as Stella and Chewy's meets AAFCO guidelines, I say go right ahead.
There's enough of a difference between the ingredients of Stella and Chewy's raw foods and Nature's Variety Instincts' raw foods for me to be more comfortable with Nature's Variety. That doesn't mean the other food can't be fed, it just means I wouldn't do it had I the choice.

Of course, my preference is always no grains, no fruits and no veggies... or as close to that as one can get, so I wouldn't actually feed either of these if I had to feed commercial and could get my hands on a "clean" product.

BTW, for those who aren't aware, Nature's Variety Instincts raw foods for cats and dogs are currently exactly identical.

AC
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post #12 of 21
9/9/11 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy View Post
There's enough of a difference between the ingredients of Stella and Chewy's raw foods and Nature's Variety Instincts' raw foods for me to be more comfortable with Nature's Variety. That doesn't mean the other food can't be fed, it just means I wouldn't do it had I the choice.

Of course, my preference is always no grains, no fruits and no veggies... or as close to that as one can get, so I wouldn't actually feed either of these if I had to feed commercial and could get my hands on a "clean" product.

BTW, for those who aren't aware, Nature's Variety Instincts raw foods for cats and dogs are currently exactly identical.

AC
What are the differences that make you choose NV over S&C?

And yea, that's what I was trying to get across. I know people were criticizing a couple of 95% canned foods because their dog and cat foods were identical, and I just was confused why NV isn't also criticized because of this.
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post #13 of 21
9/9/11 at 10:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
What are the differences that make you choose NV over S&C?

And yea, that's what I was trying to get across. I know people were criticizing a couple of 95% canned foods because their dog and cat foods were identical, and I just was confused why NV isn't also criticized because of this.
Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken:
Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone, Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Stella and Chewy's Chicken:
Chicken Ground with Bone, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Organic Cranberries, Organic Spinach, Organic Broccoli, Organic Beets, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Organic Carrots, Organic Squash, Organic Apples, Organic Blueberries, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Monohydrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

AC
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post #14 of 21
9/9/11 at 10:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy View Post
Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken:
Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone, Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Stella and Chewy's Chicken:
Chicken Ground with Bone, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Organic Cranberries, Organic Spinach, Organic Broccoli, Organic Beets, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Organic Carrots, Organic Squash, Organic Apples, Organic Blueberries, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Monohydrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

AC
XP
I can See the differences, but what specifically do you like better about NV? Because it doesn't use supplements?
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post #15 of 21
9/9/11 at 11:02pm
I'm wondering, too, because they look very much the same to me as well. NV lists 15 fruit/veggie/herb ingredients, S&C lists 9. Except for the supplements, there's not much difference. Going purely by ingredients, I'd probably pick the S&C if I were trying to choose a frozen food for my pets, although I do like the salmon oil and eggs in the NV. Explain it to a poor confused cat feeder, please!
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post #16 of 21
9/9/11 at 11:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
XP
I can See the differences, but what specifically do you like better about NV? Because it doesn't use supplements?
Yes, the list of additives in the Stella & Chewy's is one reason, as is the slightly higher fruits and veggies content (they start as the 4th ingredient instead of the 6th) although that may be evened out by the greater variety of fruits and veggies in the NV. Also, Stella & Chewy's doesn't say their food is ok for cats. Since they'd make more money if they marketed it for both cats and dogs, it would be logical to assume there's a reason they're not.

I try not to actively recommend any particular commercially-produced raw foods, and the fruit and veggie content is one of the reasons (see the Nature's Variety raw thread). As I've said before, I wouldn't feed either of these to my cats.

Which one a commercial feeder chooses will have to depend on their own comfort levels with these companies and not any preference of mine.

AC
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post #17 of 21
9/10/11 at 2:35pm
Okay, now I'm REALLY confused because S&C does make raw for cats so I'm not sure why we are bothering to argue about their dog food..

But either way... AC, even though fruits and veggies may be higher up the list, Stella and Chewy's food actually has MORE protein than Nature's Variety. 50% vs NV's 40%. And while 34.4% of NV is ash and carbs, only 13.34% of S&C is ash/carbs!
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post #18 of 21
9/10/11 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
Okay, now I'm REALLY confused because S&C does make raw for cats so I'm not sure why we are bothering to argue about their dog food..

But either way... AC, even though fruits and veggies may be higher up the list, Stella and Chewy's food actually has MORE protein than Nature's Variety. 50% vs NV's 40%. And while 34.4% of NV is ash and carbs, only 13.34% of S&C is ash/carbs!
All of my comments are in reference the frozen raw products. Stella and Chewy's does NOT sell a frozen raw product for cats, only a freeze-dried product. At this time, I don't know enough about the freeze-drying process to comment on those types of products, at all.

AC
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post #19 of 21
9/10/11 at 7:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy View Post
All of my comments are in reference the frozen raw products. Stella and Chewy's does NOT sell a frozen raw product for cats, only a freeze-dried product. At this time, I don't know enough about the freeze-drying process to comment on those types of products, at all.

AC
Ah, I see. I didn't know it mattered.
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post #20 of 21
9/10/11 at 9:18pm
I didn't see it mentioned (I may have missed it, as I skimmed the thread) - but Stella & Chewy's has a cat formula freeze dried now.

I feed NV pre-made raw to the dog, but have also fed S&C freeze dried & NV freezie dried. She prefers NV, but also really enjoys the S&C. So to me it's a toss up b/w the two.
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post #21 of 21
9/11/11 at 9:36am
My understanding is S & C's freeze dried are less than 5% veggies, and the cat versions are 99% meat/bone/organs. It's a pretty popular choice at the raw fed ferret forum I'm on, as are NV's and AFS diets. I don't have any experience with the frozen diets.
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