Freeze dried and kibble okay?

Hi, I feed my cats mostly grain free wet food. I give freeze dried as treats. I also leave out a little kibble at night. I usually feed all wet but I got some grain free kibble samples that I wanted to use up. I have a very hyper kitten who needs the nutrition and their diet is about 90% wet so I'm not worried about weight or hydration at this point. I also won't be buying more kibble after I run out.

My question is, is it okay to feed freeze dried and kibble at the same time? I read recently that you shouldn't mix raw and kibble. Since it's a minimal amount of their diet, will it be okay? Or should I only use one?

They don't eat very much kibble at all. Half a cup will last one cat at least a week. Freeze dried is limited to 10-30 pieces a day (Stella and Chewys). Thanks!

Yes, it's ok.   Are you mixing the Stella and Chewy's and the kibble in the same bowl?  Is that what you're wondering about?  I think it probably digests at a different rate, but since it's such a minimal amount, even if that's what you're doing, it should be ok. 

BTW, I also feed a good quality canned food for meals, then freeze dried raw as treats.   I just don't feed any kibble.  I've rec'd some kibble samples in their litter (of all places ), but mine don't remember what kibble is anymore, so I don't want to remind them .  Besides, I put some Wysong Epigen 90 out one day to try that on them for vacation time, and NONE of them would touch it

Thanks! No, I don't put them in the same bowl but they might eat both types of food in the same day. My 8 year old ate kibble all her life (high quality and was all I can afford since I got her in high school) and seems to miss kibble. She does love her canned though. My 11 month old ate kibble before he came to me but probably remembers his mice days on the streets. He likes raw meat and vastly prefers canned.

I was thinking of trying Epigen just to see how they liked it!

Thanks so much for the answer. I just found out about not feeding raw and kibble today and wanted to make sure I wasn't harming my kitties.

Btw, if you're not supposed to feed raw and kibble, then why are raw boosts and mixers a thing?

I'm going to let someone else tackle your last questions.  I'm not even sure what a raw boost and mixer IS

(I USED to feed REAL raw, but two of mine started balking at it, so I decided to switch back to canned )

I don't know if it'll upset their tummies feeding kibble and then also raw at the same time. I suppose for two separate meals you can but I don't know about feeding it at the same time in the same bowl.

Ruaryx said:

Btw, if you're not supposed to feed raw and kibble, then why are raw boosts and mixers a thing?

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Are you referring to the Nature's Variety Raw Boost supplement and Raw Bites Meal / Mixer? The NV supplement can be sprinkled on all types of food: dry, canned, raw. Kind of as a way to add a little extra nutrition and to make food more appealing. The Raw Bites Meal / Mixers are just freeze dried raw food that can be served as is or in additon to other food.

A small amount of freze dried raw food fed at the same time as dry food would be ok. Maybe mix less than a teaspoon of dry food with the freeze dried food.

LTS3 said:

Are you referring to the Nature's Variety Raw Boost supplement and Raw Bites Meal / Mixer? The NV supplement can be sprinkled on all types of food: dry, canned, raw. Kind of as a way to add a little extra nutrition and to make food more appealing. The Raw Bites Meal / Mixers are just freeze dried raw food that can be served as is or in additon to other food.

A small amount of freze dried raw food fed at the same time as dry food would be ok. Maybe mix less than a teaspoon of dry food with the freeze dried food.

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Thanks. I don't actually mix the food. I just feed them both in the same day at seperate times.

I think the "don't feed raw and kibble at the same time" is a myth. Yes, raw is fresh food that is mostly protein, and it does require a more acidic environment to digest it. Carbs make things less acidic. But I eat sandwiches with meat and bread - I don't get a stomach ache. :dk: A lot of people switch from kibble to raw, and overlap the foods - and their cats and dogs aren't getting sick or acting nauseous from eating both.

The theory, however, goes like this: raw is digested more quickly than kibble. Feeding raw and kibble at the same time slows down digestion of the meat, and thus exposes the cat to potential pathogens because it isn't being washed in that very acidic stomach bile and then moved along rapidly.

A vet questioned this myth. This is in no way actually scientific, but it is very interesting: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/292791/digest-this-kibble-may-actually-digest-faster-than-raw

I never thought raw food digested faster than kibbles, in fact the opposite, I've noticed my cats stay fuller longer and aren't nearly as hungry as they used to be, always wanting to eat more kibble. I thought the experiment was a really neat idea especially with all the pictures. I didn't like feeding kibble because its dry, for cats too dry. Anyways though, I am afraid of tummy upsets as my kitties have delicate tummies and if they eat too rich of food, upset tummies.

Thanks for the feedback.  I was looking at some freeze dried brands and read in one of the feeding instructions that they didn't recommend feeding both raw and kibble.  I don't know how scientific it gets though.  Anyways, my kitties seem to be acting normally and none have had diarrhea or anything.  They both don't get very much kibble at all either, so I'm just being a worry wart.  Thanks for all the advice.  

I am thinking of transitioning my cat onto Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost, which is freeze dried mixed with kibble. ThIs would be roughly half of their diet along with canned wet. So is the general consensus that it is ok?