I want to start feeding commercial raw

I am new to owning cats. A stray Calico showed up on my porch serval months ago and decided to stay. She had two kittens in July who are now 10 weeks old. I have a thread about this in the pregnant cats section.

I have been feeding them all fancy feast canned and kitten chow. Since my dh and I have decided to keep them I decided I should do some research on the best diet for cats. I feed my Yorkie Stella and chewies freeze dried raw along with a little EVO grain free kibble. Because my dog only weighs 5.5 pounds this is very affordable. I would like to feed a similar diet to the kittens and their mom.

I am guessing that I should mix a little of the freeze dried in with the can food and increase the amount of raw gradually until they are eating 100% raw. I would do the same with the dry food until they are eating all EVO. I would forgo the dry altogether except I need them to be able to eat this when I am gone 10 hours a day at work. I have read that the dog and cat versions of the Stella and Chewies are the same so I can feed the cats the same that I have for my dog. Is this correct? Should I continue to offer can food occasionally and or is there a preferred brand that is better than fancy feast? Thank you.

The Stella and Chewy's dog foods contain a lot more fruits and veggies than the cat foods. But they do contain taurine as well. If you don't mind fruits and veggies in the cat's diet, then you could feed the dog food. Some people add in a little extra taurine to the dog food to make sure that the cat is getting enough.

Fancy Feast Classics ( Gourmet) is fine to feed There's nothing wrong with feeding it. If your cat likes it, then feed it.  If you feel that a better quality brand would be better, there are lots of brands you can find in the pet store. Some people here feed a mix of both canned and raw food.

We feed our cats a combination of canned and raw foods and it works out really well for them and for us: I think they're eating about 60% commercial raw food, the rest canned. The like their raw foods best; they get Primal, Stella & Chewy's, and Rad Cat.

The canned brands they eat are Nutro Natural Choice, Weruva Cats in the Kitchen, and Tiki Cat, with occasional "variety meals" from Soulistic, Merrick LID, and Hounds and Gatos. I agree with LTS3, too, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding Fancy Feast Classics!

Ok thank you for the responses. I will continue with the fancy feast as that is what they are used to. So far they are loving the raw. They had about 25% mixed with their dinner and breakfast this morning. They licked the plate cleaner than I have ever seen it.
Thanks.

If you are going to use a small amount of Stella & Chewy's freeze dried dog food for your cats, I would do this very short term. Aside from the higher content of veggies and fruits, there is also olive oil in the food.

Cats really don't digest plant matter well at all. I used S&C's FD rabbit for a few days several years ago when I was transitioning my cats away from kibble.

When I contacted SC to find out if they might make a FD rabbit formula for cats at some point, I was chewed out (no pun intended, he, he) when I told the customer service rep that I was giving my cats the dog version of the FD rabbit.

If you compare e.g., SC's chicken for dogs, alongside their cat chicken food, you'll see the difference.

There may also be a difference in some of the supplements that are used between the two.

Good luck.

LisaMarie12 said:

If you are going to use a small amount of Stella & Chewy's freeze dried dog food for your cats, I would do this very short term. Aside from the higher content of veggies and fruits, there is also olive oil in the food.

Cats really don't digest plant matter well at all. I used S&C's FD rabbit for a few days several years ago when I was transitioning my cats away from kibble.

When I contacted SC to find out if they might make a FD rabbit formula for cats at some point, I was chewed out (no pun intended, he, he) when I told the customer service rep that I was giving my cats the dog version of the FD rabbit.

If you compare e.g., SC's chicken for dogs, alongside their cat chicken food, you'll see the difference.

There may also be a difference in some of the supplements that are used between the two.

Good luck.

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I did buy a bag of the turkey flavor freezes dried for cats, but I was just wondering if I could use some of the other protein types that I already have for my dog. I thought I had read in a thread or article that some of the flavors were identical in ingredients. It might have been for another brand as I have been researching Primal, and a few others.

I want to get some other protein types so that I can provide variety for them. I was thinking about trying the chicken and salmon next. I am encouraged by how well the kittens and their mom have been eating this thus far. Tomorrow I plan on upping the amount of raw to 50% since there have been no digestive upsets.

I remember reading your thread and I think that mama cat won the lottery finding your family[emoji]128157[/emoji]. From rags to riches and so very loved and taken care of. Truly warms my heart [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Thank you @LotsofFur  . Claire has been such a blessing to my husband and I. She and her kittens, Milo and Mimosa, have brought so much joy and love to our home. They helped my dh figure out that he was a cat lover all along and just didn't know it...lol.

They are family members now so they need to have a nutritious diet. We have fed our dog raw foods since she was a little over a year old and she has been super healthy and is thriving so I decided to research this for the cats and kittens.

Milo and Mimosa are growing up so fast and I figured now was the best time to get them started on a good diet. Here is a recent photo of them just waking up from a nap.


and Claire always making sure they are staying out of trouble.

Thanks for those photos, @Jeapa507! What a sweet bunch of cats!

I think it's a great idea to feed multiple protein sources. Our cats alternate between the three kinds of Stella & Chewy's poultry foods and like them all: they don't often get them as a full meal. I tend to feed them a little S&C in and as a topper for their Primal, which they like even better. Though they'll eat just about anything with a nugget of S&C on the top. Cats!

Jeapa507 said:

I did buy a bag of the turkey flavor freezes dried for cats, but I was just wondering if I could use some of the other protein types that I already have for my dog. I thought I had read in a thread or article that some of the flavors were identical in ingredients. It might have been for another brand as I have been researching Primal, and a few others.

I want to get some other protein types so that I can provide variety for them. I was thinking about trying the chicken and salmon next. I am encouraged by how well the kittens and their mom have been eating this thus far. Tomorrow I plan on upping the amount of raw to 50% since there have been no digestive upsets.

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Nature's Variety Instinct freeze dried raw are exactly the same ingredients for dogs / cats but not freeze dried SC or Primal.  Primal also contains a higher amount of vegetable matter in their FD for dogs.

Here is a comparison:

SC FD chicken / canine:

https://www.stellaandchewys.com/products/dog-dinners/chewys-chicken/freeze-dried/

SC FD chicken / feline:

https://www.stellaandchewys.com/products/cat-dinners/chick-chick-chicken/freeze-dried-dinner/

Primal FD chicken / canine:

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/detail/c/14/id/51

Primal FD chicken & salmon / feline:

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/detail/c/14/id/54

Instinct FD chicken / canine:

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-freeze-dried-meal-or-mixer-chicken-formula-dogs

Instinct FD chicken / feline:

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-freeze-dried-meal-or-mixer-chicken-formula-cats

I'm glad to hear your kitties are enjoying the food. You might want to try SC's duck, duck, goose if you want to vary the proteins a bit.

Jeapa507 said:

and Claire always making sure they are staying out of trouble.

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• jeapa507
• Sep 11, 2015

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Oh! Those cute little baby faces, adorable!!!

It's a wonderful time to introduce new foods to kittens as they aren't "set in their ways" - really sweet pics of mom cat as well!

It's looks like SC removed the olive oil, or at least from their chicken formula for dogs but I would still try to begin incorporating the SC's you got for cats.

Claire and her kittens are doing well on transitioning to freeze dried raw. They should be on 100% raw by tomorrow. I've been phasing it in a little quicker than what I have read is recommended because there haven't been any negative reactions.

I have a question about feeding fish. My research has led me to question whether it is a good idea to feed fish on a regular basis. I am wondering if Salmon is as bad as Tuna or other types and would a chicken and salmon flavor added to the rotation be bad?

I am interested in hearing others opinions on this subject.

Thank you.

Jeapa507 said:

Claire and her kittens are doing well on transitioning to freeze dried raw. They should be on 100% raw by tomorrow. I've been phasing it in a little quicker than what I have read is recommended because there haven't been any negative reactions.

I have a question about feeding fish. My research has led me to question whether it is a good idea to feed fish on a regular basis. I am wondering if Salmon is as bad as Tuna or other types and would a chicken and salmon flavor added to the rotation be bad?

I am interested in hearing others opinions on this subject.

Thank you.

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A lot of people limit how much they feed their cats fish due to the mercury levels and uti related problems. Also, fish can be addictive to some cats, making it harder to get them to eat other proteins. Fish is also a common food allergy for cats. Anyways, I try to limit feeding fish to once a week at most. I'm not sure about salmon vs. tuna, but I've heard that sardines have less mercury because it's lower on the food chain (mercury gets more concentrated as it travels up the chain). So, personally I would not add it to the rotation but would save it for special treats. Good luck.

Further on the salmon question: our vet's pretty anti-fish but she thinks a little salmon is okay. Or at least better than tuna. Our cats get very small amounts of salmon in their Primal chicken/salmon food every day and an occasional can of Tiki's chicken/salmon. I do occasionally give them a can of something from Weruva with tuna (usually chicken/tuna/salmon) but that's very rare!