Question re: Natures Variety Commercial Raw food

leapoffaith03

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
53
Purraise
1
Location
Des Moines, IA
Hi, all! :wavey: I am looking at switching my Sam from an all wet food diet to all raw. He has IBD and is incredibly picky on top of that. He was eating NV Instinct rabbit and duck wet but has suddenly started turning up his nose and won't eat it (never thought I'd see the day, especially with the rabbit). I am getting frustrated with canned food as I can't seem to find many without carrageenan, by products, or 5 million veggies he doesn't need (and can be sensitive to).

So re: the Natures Variety raw- I know this is similar to feeding a "dry" food- dumb question, but is the moisture content the same in the raw as it is in canned? Sam is 12 and at his last blood panel, his kidneys were in great shape, which I credit a lot to being on a wet diet his whole life. I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible- I am looking to completely feed only the raw and no more canned- will he still be getting the same amounts of water? Thanks so much! :wavey:
 

peaches08

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2013
Messages
4,884
Purraise
290
Location
GA
I can't answer the question re the moisture content, but what about adding water to the food?  I make my cats' raw and I add at least twice as much water as it says to because I'm paranoid about urinary issues and males (and I lost my soul kitty to CRF).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

leapoffaith03

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
53
Purraise
1
Location
Des Moines, IA
Yeah, I could definitely add water- I'm now researching Rad Cat and it seems to look pretty awesome (and VERY wet).
 

andrya

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
2,561
Purraise
147
l've heard only wonderful things about Rad Cat. Unfortunately we can't get it up here. l'm a raw feeder but l make my own (mostly). My cats wouldn't eat the lnstinct, and apparently it has too much bone which may cause constipation. 
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,145
Purraise
4,965
Location
Maine
So re: the Natures Variety raw- I know this is similar to feeding a "dry" food- dumb question, but is the moisture content the same in the raw as it is in canned? Sam is 12 and at his last blood panel, his kidneys were in great shape, which I credit a lot to being on a wet diet his whole life. I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible- I am looking to completely feed only the raw and no more canned- will he still be getting the same amounts of water? Thanks so much!
I often check moisture contents on food packages and company Web sites... Nature's Variety raw is generally drier (e.g. chicken medallions are maximum 65% moisture) than most canned foods (e.g. Nature's Variety canned duck is 75% moisture). When I give the cats "formed" frozen raw foods like Nature's Variety and Primal I mush them and add a little water because the cats prefer it that way and I want them to get more water.

Our cats love Rad Cat! I give them a little turkey and chicken sometimes as a treat.
 

jclark

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
353
Purraise
66
Obviously the cats have water available to them so I would not worry about insignificant differences in moisture content between canned and raw. It's a moot point IMO.
 

2crazykittens

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
134
Purraise
23
Location
Ontario
I am new at feeding raw but I have tried my kittens on NV raw chicken and beef flavors. To be honest, the medallions did seem drier than canned food. Beef was very dry. You could add extra water to it if you want to. I have switched over to Primal raw food because it seems a bit better moisture wise. (I have only tried the Turkey formula so far). The cats both seem to love the primal brand way better than the NV raw.
Also if you are able to get Primal raw, it is pretty comparable in price to the NV.

If you do choose to go with the NV raw, I would suggest the chicken or duck raw as both have more moisture in my opinion. I have fed my dog the NV raw varieties and both that I listed seem more wet than the beef or other varieties.
 

jclark

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
353
Purraise
66
I am new at feeding raw but I have tried my kittens on NV raw chicken and beef flavors. To be honest, the medallions did seem drier than canned food. Beef was very dry. You could add extra water to it if you want to. I have switched over to Primal raw food because it seems a bit better moisture wise. (I have only tried the Turkey formula so far). The cats both seem to love the primal brand way better than the NV raw.
Also if you are able to get Primal raw, it is pretty comparable in price to the NV.





If you do choose to go with the NV raw, I would suggest the chicken or duck raw as both have more moisture in my opinion. I have fed my dog the NV raw varieties and both that I listed seem more wet than the beef or other varieties.
I would also like to remind member that you could be paying more $$ for raw/canned because it contains more water since it contributes to transportation costs (weight).
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,145
Purraise
4,965
Location
Maine
 
I am new at feeding raw but I have tried my kittens on NV raw chicken and beef flavors. To be honest, the medallions did seem drier than canned food. Beef was very dry. You could add extra water to it if you want to. I have switched over to Primal raw food because it seems a bit better moisture wise. (I have only tried the Turkey formula so far). The cats both seem to love the primal brand way better than the NV raw.
Also if you are able to get Primal raw, it is pretty comparable in price to the NV.

If you do choose to go with the NV raw, I would suggest the chicken or duck raw as both have more moisture in my opinion. I have fed my dog the NV raw varieties and both that I listed seem more wet than the beef or other varieties.
Same here, 2crazykittens: both our cats love Primal but one isn't interested in NV. The other, who loves any and all raw food, will eat it, very happily, if I mush it with extra water. I feed a mix of Primal beef/salmon and turkey, both freeze-dried and frozen and with extra water, varying the proportions slightly so it's not always exactly the same. After a month or two, everybody's still happy! Best of all for me, I seem to portion out their food better than canned so there's almost zero waste.
 
Top