Why does my cat like Rad Cat's chicken so much better than my own chicken recipe?

My normal 10lb chicken mix is 8lbs ground chicken w/ bones/organs, 1lb ground chicken breast, 1lb ground chicken organs, and then a squirt of salmon oil right before serving. Everything comes from Hare-Today and there's Alnutrin mixed in.

I ran out of chicken this week so I bought some Rad Cat to hold us over. Tamago has never been a big eater... she'll come running for treats, but not usually for her regular meals. Only about 1 out 10 meals will be completely fully eaten. But I'm realizing that she DEVOURS the Rad Cat. I always considered it comparable to what I was serving. What do you think Rad Cat has that my recipe doesn't? Any thoughts? 

It could be any number of reasons, but I wouldn't take it personally !

These are the ingredients in RadCat Chicken. Maybe she is a kelp addict Or maybe because it doesn't have Alnutrin.
Certified organic, free-range chicken thigh and leg meat, certified organic, free-range chicken heart, certified organic free-range chicken liver, filtered water, organic egg yolk, organic eggshell calcium, organic kelp, organic dulse, gelatin, organic psyllium husk powder, wild Alaskan salmon oil, manganese gluconate

Also, RCC is different; some cats like different-ness just because it's, different.
You could try mixing the two and see how Tamago reacts.

If your recipe and Rad Cat's are quite similar, it could be texture. I've found my kittens to be the opposite, though. They used to like RC a lot, until I introduced a different brand local to my area that has a much more chewy grind. RC is very high in moisture (which is excellent), but I personally rather pay for more meat than water (which I can add on my own). 

Another thought: My cats are not fond of fresh fish oil in their raw food. I found better results if I mixed all their supplementation ingredients together first (including fish oil), then combined it with the raw meat and keeping it stored in the fridge for a while before serving worked out better. 

Hmmm, I feel like I remember reading somewhere that fish oil degrades in the freezer, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I have a pump bottle of salmon oil so it's not a very precise measurement. Do you just do the math of how many servings you're making (in my case, 10lbs of meat + alnutrin and 5 cups of water) and then just pump like... 100 pumps of oil into the mix?

HarryLime said:

 
Hmmm, I feel like I remember reading somewhere that fish oil degrades in the freezer, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I have a pump bottle of salmon oil so it's not a very precise measurement. Do you just do the math of how many servings you're making (in my case, 10lbs of meat + alnutrin and 5 cups of water) and then just pump like... 100 pumps of oil into the mix?

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Most bottles will give an estimate of how much of their product is in one pump.  Maybe that will help you calculate how much you need to add?  I use fish oil capsules and follow Dr. Pierson's recommendations for how much to add per 3 lbs of meat/bones.

You're right, it's 1/2 teaspoon per pump.

I guess what I'll do for this next batch is, weigh my pot empty so I know how much that weighs... make the slurry of water and alnutrin, weigh that, and then add that weight to the 10lbs of meat, then divide that all by 3 (ounces per serving) and then that's how many pumps I'll shoot into the pot.

Yeah, if you're going to add the fish oil before freezing, it's best to add Vitamin E to prevent oxidation. I'd use Dr. Pierson's ratio (http://www.catinfo.org) for how much E to add per what amount of total food, given she also adds the fish oil prior to freezing.

LDG said:

Yeah, if you're going to add the fish oil before freezing, it's best to add Vitamin E to prevent oxidation. I'd use Dr. Pierson's ratio (http://www.catinfo.org) for how much E to add per what amount of total food, given she also adds the fish oil prior to freezing.

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I read through it, (as I've done many times before) and I don't see the connection of Vitamin E preventing oxidation of specially the fish oil. Can you explain further? Thanks.

HarryLime said:

 
I read through it, (as I've done many times before) and I don't see the connection of Vitamin E preventing oxidation of specially the fish oil. Can you explain further? Thanks.

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This isn't the best, but explains it a little.  I'll post another if I find one.

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w99/fishoil3.html

Well, I'm not finding where I got that, but in looking for it, I am reminded that with PUFA's, the vitamin E requirement goes up. The AAFCO has recommendations on how much E needs to be added per XYZ amounts of EPA+DHA (the omega 3 PUFAs in fish oil), but another study found it isn't as much as they recommend:

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/6/1613S.full

For the information on fish oil oxidizing easily:

Summary http://www.omega3innovations.com/blog/is-your-fish-oil-rancid/

Study http://journals.cambridge.org/downl...59a.pdf&code=c358ca98aebef2c86ca4bcf617ba24df

Short explanation of what they're talking about in the study (WHY fish oils (PUFAs) oxidize so easily): http://biology.stackexchange.com/qu...ily-oxidized-when-theyre-incorporated-in-cell

Nothing to do with freezing E with fish oil. But why E should be used along with fish oil:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20000410/exercise-vitamin-e

Another plain English explanation: http://kristinselbygonzalez.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-vitamin-e-and-omega-3-connection.html

So I can't find the information I thought I was looking for, but it is important to include vitamin E if using fish oil when it may be subject to oxidation before it enters the body.

This doesn't answer the question, but does it help?

Yes! Thank you for that thorough response.

Do you think the Alnutrin itself contains enough Vitamin E to make it "safe" for me add the fish oil BEFORE freezing?

Just topping this thread to see if anyone else has some ideas. I wonder if she doesn't like the bone? 

I don't have an answer for you but my girl, Kali, is not really "into" food either and it's a chore to make sure she finishes her entire meal. But when I serve Rad Cat (all flavors, chicken, turkey and lamb) and she licks her bowl CLEAN.

She never did that with any other food, not even canned. I don't know what it is about their formula but it does seem irresistible to cats.

Very glad to read your post about your girl Kali licking the bowl clean on Rad Cat.  Based on our current weight issues with our youngest boy (even our older boy could stand to lose a 1/2lb) I'm considering making a bulk order for the Rad Cat chicken to introduce into their meals slowly -- unless they take a huge interest in it upon thawing. 

I don't have the space or facilities to yet perform the making of raw meals balancing everything just right so I'm thinking I might dip my toe into the waters with the Rad Cat brand since so many here talk about great experiences with it.

bluebird gal , I always recommend Rad Cat when new raw feeders are ready to begin the transition. It is one of the best commercial raw foods for cats (in my opinion). It is pretty pricey to feed as a main meal source but if you can swing it (or at least during the transition), it makes for a smooth process.

Abby2932 said:

@Bluebird Gal, I always recommend Rad Cat when new raw feeders are ready to begin the transition. It is one of the best commercial raw foods for cats (in my opinion). It is pretty pricey to feed as a main meal source but if you can swing it (or at least during the transition), it makes for a smooth process.

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More good news in support of giving it a try!  Thanks Abby.

Bluebird Gal said:

 
More good news in support of giving it a try!  Thanks Abby.

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Our cats love Rad Cat, too, particularly turkey. I only serve it as a treat (maybe two or three times a week) because of the price, though I recently realized that one local store seems to sell it considerably cheaper than the other.

Neither of my cats will touch Rad Cat I got free 1 oz samples to try from the pet store once. My Aby who usually eats anything that he can get his mouth on took one sniff of the food and walked away. My other cat is just picky anyways. Maybe my cats are just oddballs

LisaHE said:

 
Our cats love Rad Cat, too, particularly turkey. I only serve it as a treat (maybe two or three times a week) because of the price, though I recently realized that one local store seems to sell it considerably cheaper than the other.

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More good news.  I will stock up on some when we are back in Dallas/Fort Worth in October as we will have access to a ton of pet/specialty pet store foods.