Whole Life freeze dried (cooked) food - coming soon

lisamarie12 · Feb 1, 2016

So I found out today that Whole Life will be coming out with a freeze dried cooked ("gently steamed") food for cats and dogs some time in March.

My cats love the WL treats, we use the turkey. A pinch of WL works great on top of food that a cat might otherwise reject, if you're trying to transition to a new food or revive an existing one.

The FD food flavors will be available in chicken, turkey and duck.

I can only hope WL doesn't add too many veggies and fruits, they currently make a chicken topper for cats that includes sweet potatoes, peas and carrots.

Stay tuned...

missmimz · Feb 2, 2016

This sounds interesting! I look forward to more info about the food. Always good to have more FD options.

lisamarie12 · Feb 2, 2016

missmimz said:
This sounds interesting! I look forward to more info about the food. Always good to have more FD options.

I'm excited actually - if WL's food is anything like their treats, I won't need to buy the treats any more as toppers for the cats to eat their food, lol! Actually, I still will need them b/c RC needs a bit of doctoring up but still - it's exciting.

It will be "gently steamed" like Honest Kitchen. Just hoping WL doesn't pack it up with veggies. I didn't know they made a WL topper (currently available in chicken for cats) and that topper contains peas, sweet potatoes, etc.

Anyway, any opportunity I have to add less processed food to the cats' diet, I welcome.

missmimz · Feb 3, 2016

LisaMarie12 said:
I'm excited actually - if WL's food is anything like their treats, I won't need to buy the treats any more as toppers for the cats to eat their food, lol! Actually, I still will need them b/c RC needs a bit of doctoring up but still - it's exciting.

It will be "gently steamed" like Honest Kitchen. Just hoping WL doesn't pack it up with veggies. I didn't know they made a WL topper (currently available in chicken for cats) and that topper contains peas, sweet potatoes, etc.

Anyway, any opportunity I have to add less processed food to the cats' diet, I welcome.

I always wanted to try honest kitchen but it had too many veggies in it so i passed. My cats like the WL treats too, so here's hoping it isn't loaded with veggies

In another thread i was talking with someone about Orijen's new facility they're building in Kentucky. We were speculating that perhaps Orijen would release a FD cat food, as they've had a FD dog food out for awhile. Of course they haven't said anything about it, but it would be nice since in terms of kibble Orijen is pretty good.

lisamarie12 · Feb 3, 2016

missmimz said:
I always wanted to try honest kitchen but it had too many veggies in it so i passed. My cats like the WL treats too, so here's hoping it isn't loaded with veggies

In another thread i was talking with someone about Orijen's new facility they're building in Kentucky. We were speculating that perhaps Orijen would release a FD cat food, as they've had a FD dog food out for awhile. Of course they haven't said anything about it, but it would be nice since in terms of kibble Orijen is pretty good.

Yeah, it's too bad about HK - it's heavy on the potatoes and comes up at over 14% carbs, (Grace). Looking at HK, however, from a company pov, e.g., transparency, customer service and quality of ingredients, they are top notch.

When I emailed HK about the potatoes the response was along the lines of pet food energetics, i.e., that potatoes were a "cooling food", which, as someone who subscribes to pet food energetics, that would be all well and good if we were talking about a protein source vs a carbie veggie. (I don't know if you use Primal, however, on each package of their food, it will indicate either "H" "W" "N" or "C" - hot, warm, neutral or cool as far as the protein source - they follow pfe as well which is based on Chinese medicine.)

HK food texture is really odd though. They were very generous with sending me free samples which I appreciated. Followed the instructions to a tee but the result was soupy - nothing for the cats to bite in to. I read that some people let the mix sit in the refrig overnight and it becomes more of a pate. Others just end up adding meat to the mix.

I ended up giving away most of the HK samples to a customer whose cat had jaw cancer and needed a food that was easy to lap up. But maybe with meat added it could dilute some of the carbs. The cats were definitely interested in HK - the packet pre water was very enticing to them.

That's interesting re: Orijen - I've seen that FD dog food in the store - it doesn't move though nearly as much as their kibble, I think people probably don't know about it.

Anyway, well, yes hopefully WL won't go the carby route of HK.

I hope Fluff is okay.

goholistic · Feb 3, 2016

I'll be interested to see what Whole Life comes up with. Please keep us posted if you find out anything more!

It's unfortunate that HK is so high carbs. Sebastian, my really sensitive kitty, seemed to do really well when I was mixing HK with a canned food (wouldn't eat it alone). It's very calorie dense. That coupled with the carbs helped him put on a little weight. However, I suspect the carbs also spiked his glucose as he starting drinking like mad. This concerned me, so I stopped HK and the excessive drinking stopped after several days.

He's also on pred and probably particularly sensitive to things that might elevate his glucose. He's getting supplemented home-cooked at the moment, but I would love to have a commercial option available as a back-up.

Potatoes are also a nightshade vegetable, which some consider to be inflammatory and sometimes avoided in certain human and pet conditions.

missmimz · Feb 3, 2016

Originally Posted by LisaMarie12

I hope Fluff is okay.

Thank you for thinking of Fluff

he's doing ok his only real symptoms at this point are vomiting and a slight increase in his appetite. I hope he'll remain stable until early March when he goes for his treatment.

lisamarie12 · Feb 4, 2016

GoHolistic said:
I'll be interested to see what Whole Life comes up with. Please keep us posted if you find out anything more!

It's unfortunate that HK is so high carbs. Sebastian, my really sensitive kitty, seemed to do really well when I was mixing HK with a canned food (wouldn't eat it alone). It's very calorie dense. That coupled with the carbs helped him put on a little weight. However, I suspect the carbs also spiked his glucose as he starting drinking like mad. This concerned me, so I stopped HK and the excessive drinking stopped after several days.

He's also on pred and probably particularly sensitive to things that might elevate his glucose. He's getting supplemented home-cooked at the moment, but I would love to have a commercial option available as a back-up.

Potatoes are also a nightshade vegetable, which some consider to be inflammatory and sometimes avoided in certain human and pet conditions.

That's unfortunate re: HK. Did you contact HK about that? I would consider letting them know Sebastian's reaction. It's possible that if they get enough feedback re: concern over the carby potatoes, maybe they'll omit or replace with something else. I mentioned to the person I had an exchange with at HK, why not use more pumpkin instead of potatoes? She said she would pass on the info. They are a small enough company that they may take overall feedback into consideration.

When you consider companies that are removing carrageenan due to customer concerns, the same could be with the potatoes.

Btw, are you using Balance It for Sebastian's home cooked meals? I am thinking of possibly ordering boneless rabbit from Hare Today and would be interested in Balance It since I want a single source protein recipe (vs having to use a premix that has e.g., chicken liver, etc.).

My IBD Molly really has shown little improvement, other than much better stools, she still has that horrible "digestive odor" (per how the vet explained it due to "any type of digestive disease") in her stools and hasn't gained any weight. The vet wanted to increase her steroid, budesonide to 4 times a week but I'm concerned about steroids and the immune system. She gets it 3 times a week.

I may look into Vitality Science. Anyway, no rush responding, just curious if you are familiar with Balance It. I can research it, see if it's appropriate for raw.

Thanks!

goholistic · Feb 4, 2016

LisaMarie12 said:
That's unfortunate re: HK. Did you contact HK about that? I would consider letting them know Sebastian's reaction. It's possible that if they get enough feedback re: concern over the carby potatoes, maybe they'll omit or replace with something else. I mentioned to the person I had an exchange with at HK, why not use more pumpkin instead of potatoes? She said she would pass on the info. They are a small enough company that they may take overall feedback into consideration.

When you consider companies that are removing carrageenan due to customer concerns, the same could be with the potatoes.

Btw, are you using Balance It for Sebastian's home cooked meals? I am thinking of possibly ordering boneless rabbit from Hare Today and would be interested in Balance It since I want a single source protein recipe (vs having to use a premix that has e.g., chicken liver, etc.).

My IBD Molly really has shown little improvement, other than much better stools, she still has that horrible "digestive odor" (per how the vet explained it due to "any type of digestive disease") in her stools and hasn't gained any weight. The vet wanted to increase her steroid, budesonide to 4 times a week but I'm concerned about steroids and the immune system. She gets it 3 times a week.

I may look into Vitality Science. Anyway, no rush responding, just curious if you are familiar with Balance It. I can research it, see if it's appropriate for raw.

Thanks!

No, I didn't contact HK. I figured they'd want some kind of proof by way of blood tests. I never took Sebastian in for testing when it happened. It was all my intuition and best guess based on close observation. I keep a log of everything he gets on a daily basis...when things start and stop, etc. Introducing HK was the only thing that had changed, so I could only assume that was the problem.

Yes, I am using Balance It for his home cooked, specifically the Carnivore Blend[emoji]174[/emoji] for Dogs & Cats, which is meant for meat only diets (no carbs). For whatever silly reason, their feline specific supplements are meant to be used with recipes that include a carb or veggie. That was always my problem, too...I can't use a premix that has possible allergens in it because I need to be able to control ingredients and observe his reactions. While I like that U-Stew for Cats has taken a "whole food" approach, unfortunately there's just too many things in there that Sebastian can react to. I suspected awhile ago, even before all his GI problems began, that he's allergic to barley grass. The Balance It Carnivore Blend does specify "No Chinese Origin Ingredients" on the product page. I think this is new. I don't remember seeing it before. And, of course, no animal ingredients either for those that need to control proteins.

I was a little nervous about going 100% home cooked with Balance It. I don't know why. It's probably better than most canned foods. And it was developed by a veterinarian. I've already emailed them a million questions, and they're always very helpful. I was doing a little research to see what I could find about others using Balance It exclusively. I couldn't find much, except people complaining about vets charging for "custom recipes" when you can get free recipes on the site (I just ignore those comments) or that the founder is from UCDavis (who cares!..as long as it's properly formulated). The only beneficial feedback I found was that someone said it seemed a little low on taurine. Well, that's an easy fix. I just add 1/64 teaspoon (the "smidgen" measuring spoon) of extra taurine once a day.

Their new recipe generator (FREE Autobalancer EZ) is more complex and takes some playing around with to get what you want.

lisamarie12 · Feb 4, 2016

GoHolistic said:
No, I didn't contact HK. I figured they'd want some kind of proof by way of blood tests. I never took Sebastian in for testing when it happened. It was all my intuition and best guess based on close observation. I keep a log of everything he gets on a daily basis...when things start and stop, etc. Introducing HK was the only thing that had changed, so I could only assume that was the problem.

Yes, I am using Balance It for his home cooked, specifically the Carnivore Blend[emoji]174[/emoji] for Dogs & Cats, which is meant for meat only diets (no carbs). For whatever silly reason, their feline specific supplements are meant to be used with recipes that include a carb or veggie. That was always my problem, too...I can't use a premix that has possible allergens in it because I need to be able to control ingredients and observe his reactions. While I like that U-Stew for Cats has taken a "whole food" approach, unfortunately there's just too many things in there that Sebastian can react to. I suspected awhile ago, even before all his GI problems began, that he's allergic to barley grass. The Balance It Carnivore Blend does specify "No Chinese Origin Ingredients" on the product page. I think this is new. I don't remember seeing it before. And, of course, no animal ingredients either for those that need to control proteins.

I was a little nervous about going 100% home cooked with Balance It. I don't know why. It's probably better than most canned foods. And it was developed by a veterinarian. I've already emailed them a million questions, and they're always very helpful. I was doing a little research to see what I could find about others using Balance It exclusively. I couldn't find much, except people complaining about vets charging for "custom recipes" when you can get free recipes on the site (I just ignore those comments) or that the founder is from UCDavis (who cares!..as long as it's properly formulated). The only beneficial feedback I found was that someone said it seemed a little low on taurine. Well, that's an easy fix. I just add 1/64 teaspoon (the "smidgen" measuring spoon) of extra taurine once a day.

Their new recipe generator (FREE Autobalancer EZ) is more complex and takes some playing around with to get what you want.

All very interesting info, thank you for taking the time to respond, esp re: BI. I'll have to explore it a bit, esp if I use it with raw but we'll see, thank you!

I agree re: U-Stew, a fine product but b/t the beef liver and eggs plus whatever meat is used, there could be three separate proteins. I just want a single protein, or minimum two if eggs are included. Anyway, thanks!

Whole Life freeze dried (cooked) food - coming soon

lisamarie12

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missmimz

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goholistic

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