Commercial Raw is not what I thought

riley1

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Hi everyone!

Just read some really shocking information!  I got my new cat 2 years ago & wanted to feed her raw food.  The vet said fine but not to use grocery store meat because it has high bacteria content.  Well, I have been feeding her Nature's Instinct for most of the two years thinking it was the very best food for her.  Not so!!! The information is at the bottom of this chart for raw:  http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Yes, her food does not contain many carbs but the fat content is outrageous!! Higher than the canned food I started with.  I could not figure out why she is fat when eating this supposed natural food!

Okay, so can you guys tell me how you get away from the bacteria of the store food?  Is adding pure meat to her Nature's Instinct a good idea?  Any information will be appreciated!
 
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riley1

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So you don't have to refer to the chart:  Chicken Nature's Variety Raw Calories 25% protein, 74% fat, 1% carb. 
 

Willowy

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Cats handle fat very well. It usually doesn't contribute to obesity in cats, although, yes, fat has more calories than protein or carbs. So as long as you're feeding the right amount of calories the fat content shouldn't be a problem.

You could feed a homecooked diet (properly supplemented) or sear the outside of the meat if you're worried about bacteria. But cats also handle bacteria pretty well so a lot of people don't worry about it.
 
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riley1

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Thank you!  Searing the meat is a good idea.  Maybe I could just add lean meat to her diet to adjust for the fat.  It bothers me that this food is so expensive & contains more fat than canned food. Not sure I am ready to make all of her food.
 

missmimz

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A lot of raw feeders use grocery store meat. The way to avoid the most bacteria is to buy the freshest meat you can find in whole pieces, like chicken breast, or thigh, and then either partially debone and put in your grinder or cut into chunks, supplement, and feed, just do NOT buy or feed any pre-ground meat. 

The second option is to buy pre-ground from a company that supplies raw meat specifically for raw consumption, like Hare Today. I buy all my cats meat pre-ground from HT. Never had a problem.

The third option is to buy better quality pre-made raw, which would be something like Rad Cat, or Small Batch, or there are a few others depending on where you live. 

I see you're in WI, check out fresh is best

http://www.freshisbest.com/
 
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riley1

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Thank you for all the information!  Actually, Rad Cat is a little better with about 50/50 ratio leaning toward the fat side.  I am sure you know how messy the stuff is!  LOL  I did not know about Hare Today which looks really interesting.  Do you know if the shipping contributes to the bacteria problems?  I am right outside Milwaukee so I am very interested in Fresh is Best.  They do not have a lot of info on their website so I sent an email requesting ratios on protein/fat.  Thanks again for the info and tips!
 

missmimz

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Thank you for all the information!  Actually, Rad Cat is a little better with about 50/50 ratio leaning toward the fat side.  I am sure you know how messy the stuff is!  LOL  I did not know about Hare Today which looks really interesting.  Do you know if the shipping contributes to the bacteria problems?  I am right outside Milwaukee so I am very interested in Fresh is Best.  They do not have a lot of info on their website so I sent an email requesting ratios on protein/fat.  Thanks again for the info and tips!
HT flash freezes the meat right after they grind it, so it has significantly less bacteria in it than grocery store meats do. They also source all their meats locally from other farmers or raise their own. I personally don't use grocery store meat and only use RC and HT meats. 

I buy a lot of Fresh is Best's freeze dried turkey food and treats. They are a very good company and they are very responsive. I wish I could get their froze food locally. 
 

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If you add more than 10% pure meat it will unbalance the diet . If you want to add any amount of meat to NV without riskng unbalancing the diet you need to add in a pre-mix. I do this with HT chubs and Alnutrin. I mix a spoonful of the mixture into each NV medallion.

My cats have been eating NV raw for over 5 years. None have had any health issues from the food (obesity, etc). I feed NV because it's the only brand of raw my cats will eat. I tried feeding just chubs of meat with a premix before but netiher cat got full on the food.
 

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So you don't have to refer to the chart:  Chicken Nature's Variety Raw Calories 25% protein, 74% fat, 1% carb. 
Actually that calorie ratio sounds about right.  I don't see the problem.  Why do you want to mess with a perfectly good food?

Note that calories and grams are not 1:1 equivalent.  Carbohydrates and protein both have 4 kcal/g, and fat has 9 kcal/g.  So the fat content is about 32% by weight which is in the right range for a cat.  Keep in mind that when there are no carbohydrates in the food, you have exactly two choices left for energy sources:  protein and fat.

You can make your own cat food with grocery meat if you like - check out catinfo.org for a recipe that involves partially cooking chicken thighs, to get some of the raw benefits while dealing effectively with surface bacteria. 
 
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