Thoughts About Rawz?

manx

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So I'm almost all out of the Canadian Orijen Cat and Kitten and still hesitant about what to switch my cat too.

I really like how meat rich Rawz is, how traceable the ingredients are, and the high quality. However, Rawz does not have a lot of supplements...or pre-/probiotics. 

Rawz:

Dehydrated Chicken, Dehydrated Deboned Chicken, Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Liver, Turkey Liver,Turkey Hearts, Pea Starch,  Tapioca Starch,  Dried Peas, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseeds, , Dried Tomato Pomace, Salt, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride,Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), Taurine, Citric Acid (Preservative), Rosemary Extract.

From their FAQ:

WHY NO FRUITS, VEGETABLES, OR ADDITIVES?


The benefit of these ingredients is minimal when added to a formula in the micro levels of many foods on the market; some of these micro levels can be almost completely cooked off in the manufacturing process.  We believe in adding fruits and veggies directly to your pet’s food if needed.  Specific to prebiotic and probiotic, if your vet recommends adding these microorganisms, they should be added through supplementation at the correct concentration.

I could live without  the fruits and veggies as cats are obligate carnivores, but the lack of probiotics makes me hestiant. My cat is super picky so if I had to end up supplementing them into his diet, that would be another adventure of finding one he'll tolerate. I'd much rather have it in his food already.

The only other food I found that I liked was the Nature's Variety Duck and Turkey Rawboost

Duck, Turkey Meal, Duck Meal, Chicken Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Montmorillonite Clay, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Carrots, Apples, Cranberries, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite), Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Duck (including Freeze Dried Ground Duck Bone), Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Kelp, Broccoli, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salmon Oil, Dried Chicory Root, Blueberries

I like the salmon oil for his coat, the apple cider vinegar and DL-Methionine for urine pH, and the probiotics of course. The veggies are tolerable. However, the big turn offs are the Menhaden Fish Meal as the fifth ingredient....

I would greatly appreciate any input into which food is better for my cat. And yes, before any says something, he's on a 90% wet diet. This is just snack food. But I want to make sure he's getting good stuff. I'd get the Ziwipeak but he hates the texture...
 

mrsgreenjeens

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If you are only feeding this RawZ mainly as a treat, I don't see anything wrong with it.  My issue with them is that they are saying how great they are and implying by the name that they are practically raw, and yet the only product they have for cats is kibble.  Seems almost like false advertising.  (IMHO, or didn't I read far enough?) 
 
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manx

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Sorry, I phrased it wrong.

I would be feeding it as a treat, he gets a handful in between meals. But my handfuls are somehow different than my parents, whose "handfuls" consist of a full bowl. I try to scoop out the excess when I catch it but I work and go to uni, so I'm not always there. So while it is intended as a snack, I would prefer it be healthy and nutritionally superior so that when my parents feed a ton it won't harm him (he still gets 2 cans a day when I'm gone)

I think Rawz totes itself as a "almost raw" dry food. They had a graph somewhere on their site where they wedged themselves between "super premium grain free dry" and "raw". So they're a sort of a "stepping stone".

Before he was Orijen, my cat was on the Royal Canon Urinary S/O because he was blocked after boarding him at the vet (the vet didnt give him any of his wet food! Gee i wonder what caused the blockage!) . After researching and founding out that food was total crap, we switched to feeding majority wet and Orijen. But now Orijen's Kentucky made version has way to much fish in it....so I need to find an alternative that is the same high quality, meat rich formula. His coat's gotten so shiny and soft...
 

oldgloryrags88

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Heard of it but never tried it. Premade raw is expensive. Have you tried making your own raw food? I did for 2 months. Worked like a charm. My cats did not like store bought raw.

Bonus points to me as I raise and butcher my own rabbits, so whenever I shoot one, I give the heart/lungs/liver to the cats. They love it. Especially Angel.
 
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manx

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Unfortunately he is not solely my cat, he is the "family cat". If it were up to me, all my pets would be on 100% raw.  You're preaching to the converted.  I am working into getting some raw into his diet but first things first. 

I need the dry food to satisfy my parent's old fashioned need for it. He is still getting more wet than dry but I would like a good quality dry as well. 

So, Rawz or Nature's Variety?
 

oldgloryrags88

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I'm not preaching anything....I gave a suggestion. My cats do not eat just raw. I use freeze dried, raw, kibble, and canned.

I like Nature's Variety Instinct to answer your question.
 
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manx

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I'm not preaching anything....I gave a suggestion. My cats do not eat just raw. I use freeze dried, raw, kibble, and canned.

I like Nature's Variety Instinct to answer your question.
Oh no, I didn't mean that in a rude or mean way. Just meant that I agree that homemade raw is a better nutrition plan and diet for all cats, and I wish I could do it myself.
Are you wanting to switch to just raw or switch back to kibble? I thought Rawz was just raw food?
Rawz is a dry kibble consisting of dehydrated meats and few carbohydrate fillers or fruits and veggies.

Raw vs Rawz

I could live without the fruits or veggies as cats are obligate carnivores, but Rawz uses flaxseed oil instead of a fish oil. I've read that flaxseed oil isnt as biologically readily absorbed since they're carnivores. I'm also not happy about the lack of probiotics, as my cat is super picky and if I had to end up supplementing those in, that would be another adventure...

But Nature's Variety has fish as the fifth ingredient, and we all know how fish isn't good for cats in excess. I'm unsure if the amount of fish in the NV is safe for cats.

My cat is on a mostly wet diet. He gets two 3oz cans a day plus a small handful of kibble between meals. I am looking to transition from Orijen dry as the new Kentucky made formula has too much fish. In the future I also hope to add raw into his diet.
 

oldgloryrags88

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Oh no, I didn't mean that in a rude or mean way. Just meant that I agree that homemade raw is a better nutrition plan and diet for all cats, and I wish I could do it myself.

Rawz is a dry kibble consisting of dehydrated meats and few carbohydrate fillers or fruits and veggies.
Raw vs Rawz

I could live without the fruits or veggies as cats are obligate carnivores, but Rawz uses flaxseed oil instead of a fish oil. I've read that flaxseed oil isnt as biologically readily absorbed since they're carnivores. I'm also not happy about the lack of probiotics, as my cat is super picky and if I had to end up supplementing those in, that would be another adventure...

But Nature's Variety has fish as the fifth ingredient, and we all know how fish isn't good for cats in excess. I'm unsure if the amount of fish in the NV is safe for cats.

My cat is on a mostly wet diet. He gets two 3oz cans a day plus a small handful of kibble between meals. I am looking to transition from Orijen dry as the new Kentucky made formula has too much fish. In the future I also hope to add raw into his diet.


Oh. I misunderstood and took that as being rude for my suggestion, so my apologies. :)


I am not worried about fish. Unfortunately, I can't really recommed anything but may I ask why they're against you making him raw food? How old are you? if you don't mind me asking, if yeah just don't answer or PM. Is he your parents' cat?
 
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manx

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No problem!

The biggest issue is we have limited space in the freezer and fridge. We can barely fit a frozen pizza in there, so keeping mass quantities of frozen meat in there would be impossible along with our food.

Our house is too small for a sperate freezer in say the basement or such.

My parents are interested in doing freeze dried raw though, as it shelf stable and we can store it anywhere. We have even recently decided on switching our chihuahua to a freeze dried raw/wet food mixture. I do plan on getting my cat to eat rehydrated raw in the future, I just need to get the picky little turd to eat it lol!
 

oldgloryrags88

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No problem!

The biggest issue is we have limited space in the freezer and fridge. We can barely fit a frozen pizza in there, so keeping mass quantities of frozen meat in there would be impossible along with our food.

Our house is too small for a sperate freezer in say the basement or such.

My parents are interested in doing freeze dried raw though, as it shelf stable and we can store it anywhere. We have even recently decided on switching our chihuahua to a freeze dried raw/wet food mixture. I do plan on getting my cat to eat rehydrated raw in the future, I just need to get the picky little turd to eat it lol!


LOL. :D

What about a good quality canned food?
 
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manx

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Yup, like I said he gets mostly wet, two 3oz cans a day.

The brands he eats are Merrick, Koha, Nature's Variety, Weruva, Fancy Feast Classic, and sometimes Performatrin Ultra.

The dry food is mainly a snack between wet food meals and to sate my parents who think a cat needs dry food to be happy lol. But I still want it to be high quality and safe for him to eat
 

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There is Nature's Variety Instinct kibble with freeze dried raw in it. Have you tried that? My cats love it.
It's just the NV Instinct Orignal dry food with NV freeze dried raw bits mixed in. You can buy any dry food and mix freeze dried raw into each serving.

To the OP, how about air dried raw? It's raw food but air dried. It's crunchy just like regular dry food. ZiwiPeak is one brand but it's awfully expensive for a little 12 oz bag. For an actual diet, it's not worth buying but if you're just feeding it as treats or mixed in with canned or dry food it might be worth it. The Real Meat is another brand but I'm not sure how much that costs.

Dehydrated raw food like The Honest Kitchen may be an option. It's powder so it's shelf stable. Because it's powder you have to rehydrate it in water for a few minutes before serving. Eating dry powder is difficult and messy and just not very appealing, not to mention it will dehydrate the cat because the powder will suck up moisture from inside the body. Some cats just don't like dehydrated raw food, though. The carb content is on the high side which many people (well those who are interested in nutrition and read Catinfo.org and TCS and other web sites) don't like.
 
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manx

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My cat won't touch the air dried stuff. He won't touch any non-wet food that doesn't have that satisfying crunch, which is why finding treats or edible supplements for him is such a chore :c

I once had a free sample of the grain free honest kitchen and made it for my cat. He wouldn't even give it the dignity of a sniff.

I think for now, I'd like a recommendation on the Rawz vs Nature's Varety dry food. I can figure out getting raw in his diet later. It's just that I am literally about to run out of this bag of Orijen in a few days and I need to know which food is better.

Also @missmimz  stated in a different thread that freeze dried raw is bad to eat dehydrated as it's high in ash and phosphorus...does this apply to freeze dried raw food only, or the treats as well?
 
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oldgloryrags88

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My cat won't touch the air dried stuff. He won't touch any non-wet food that doesn't have that satisfying crunch, which is why finding treats or edible supplements for him is such a chore :c

I once had a free sample of the grain free honest kitchen and made it for my cat. He wouldn't even give it the dignity of a sniff.

I think for now, I'd like a recommendation on the Rawz vs Nature's Varety dry food. I can figure out getting raw in his diet later. It's just that I am literally about to run out of this bag of Orijen in a few days and I need to know which food is better.

Also @missmimz
 stated in a different thread that freeze dried raw is bad to eat dehydrated as it's high in ash and phosphorus...does this apply to freeze dried raw food only, or the treats as well?

I have never used Rawz. I like Nature's Variety Instinct. So I vote for that. ;)

I don't know about the freeze dried raw being high in ash or not. I would have to ask my vet...I don't give it often. Are there any other brands you like/were thinking of? Just curious.
 

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Also @missmimz  stated in a different thread that freeze dried raw is bad to eat dehydrated as it's high in ash and phosphorus...does this apply to freeze dried raw food only, or the treats as well?
As a treat, you can fleave the freeze dried raw (and treats) as is. That is, not rehydrated in water. For a meal, you should rehydrate the food first. For those stubborn cats who won't eat rehdyrated freeze dried raw, you just feed it dry and encourage water intake as much as possible.
 

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If you are only feeding this RawZ mainly as a treat, I don't see anything wrong with it. My issue with them is that they are saying how great they are and implying by the name that they are practically raw, and yet the only product they have for cats is kibble. Seems almost like false advertising. (IMHO, or didn't I read far enough?)
They use HPP (high pressure processing) to kill bacteria in their raw food. Then I think they freeze dry it or something so you buy it dry.

Rawz now has canned varieties(not raw).Theyre about $2.25 on the shelf at my loal pet store. My cats like most of the chicken flavors.
 
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