Honest opinions of this food needed

Raw Instinct
Grain-Free Nutrition for Cats

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
CRUDE PROTEIN (min.) 50.0%
CRUDE FAT (min.) 22.0%
CRUDE FIBER (max.) 2.8%
MOISTURE (max.) 10.0%

OTHER NUTRITIONAL DATA
CALCIUM (min.) 2.985%
PHOSPHORUS (min.) 1.654%
VITAMIN E (min.) 212.1 IU/kg
VITAMIN C* (min.) 50 mg/kg
OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS* (min.) 3.69%
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS* (min.) 0.684%
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.

CALORIES
491 / cup

VITAMINS
CAROTENE mg/kg 11.29
VITAMIN A IU/kg 21753
VITAMIN D IU/kg 1591
VITAMIN E IU/kg 212.1
VITAMIN K mg/kg 1.096
ASCORBIC ACID 50 mg/kg
THIAMINE mg/kg 13.56
RIBOFLAVIN mg/kg 7.77
PANTOTHENIC ACID mg/kg 12.37
BIOTIN mg/kg 0.91
FOLIC ACID mg/kg 0.9
CHOLINE mg/kg 4187
VITAMIN B12 mg/kg 0.23
VITAMIN B6 mg/kg 4.423
NIACIN mg/kg 52.4
IODINE mg/kg 3.99

MINERALS
SODIUM 0.438%
POTASSIUM 0.818%
CHLORIDE 0.584%
MAGNESIUM 0.129%
SULFUR 0.478%
MANGANESE mg/kg 26.35
IRON mg/kg 334.1
COPPER mg/kg 31.98
ZINC mg/kg 289
SELENIUM mg/kg 0.763

AMINO ACIDS
METHIONINE-CYSTINE 1.752%
METHIONINE 1.238%
CYSTINE 0.515%
LYSINE 2.168%
TRYPTOPHAN 0.541%
THREONINE 2.453%
ISOLEUCINE 2.098%
HISTIDINE 1.201%
VALINE 2.385%
LEUCINE 4.135%
ARGININE 3.02%
PHENYLALANINE-TYROSINE 2.202%
TAURINE 0.203%

Raw Instinct Grain-Free Nutrition for Cats is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profile for All Life Stages.

INGREDIENTS
Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat, Tapioca, Pumpkinseeds, Salmon Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Liver Flavor, Chicken Liver, Kelp, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Folic Acid), Sea Salt, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate , Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Apples, Chicken Eggs, Cottage Cheese, Cranberries, Freeze Dried Chicken, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Freeze Dried Turkey Hearts, Carrots, Ground Chicken Bone, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid, Alfalfa Sprouts, Olive Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Sage, Clove

This is the food I am waiting for to try with Zoey it is coated with freeze dried raw ... "grain free??""
I see things I dont like in dry but My vet thinks it looks great ...
I want honest opnions ..

Not a fan of the ingredients myself. Not a fan of "meal" anything myself but at least your first ingredient is "chicken". There is Salmon "Meal", more rendered proteins, and eventually chicken liver. The rest is suppliments and vegtables. Seems like a lot of fillers and added vitamins and minerals that are probably not very bio-available in their processed form. The freeze dried meat is more than half way down and I doubt it accounts for much of anything. More isn't always better when it comes to ingredients. There's some good stuff in there for sure, but a whole lot of stuff that shouldn't be there either in my opinion. Looks like they put a little of anything and everything that isn't a "grain" that anyone may have heard of feeding their pet in the hopes that if you're looking for a certain ingredient, they'll have it.

" meal is the dry rendered (cooked down) product from a combination of clean flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts of whole carcasses"

I wasn't that impressed...seems like my favorite ingredients are near the end, and what's up with the bazillion varieties of egg?

I think there are better options out there for raw, though I realize that's not my area of knowledge.

I say "eh" <G>.

That's a whole lot of calcium/phosph compared to other foods. The Omega 6/3 balance is better than evo's though, but I'm curious as to what the ash content of that food is. Evo is nearly 10%, which is almost double what I feed my girls now.

Overall I like the way it looks much better than evo, but there's some issues with grain free kibble.

How about this one? Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw, one flavor is garlic and grain free:
Beef and Chicken (Cat food) Ingredients: inspected free-range beef, USDA inspected free-range chicken (muscle meat), beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Analysis: crude protein: min 39%, crude fat: min 27%, crude fiber: max 2.1%, taurine: min .06%, moisture: max 3%
Feeding Instructions: Feed 2 steaks/day for every 8 lbs of body weight.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

How about this one? Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw, one flavor is garlic and grain free:
Beef and Chicken (Cat food) Ingredients: inspected free-range beef, USDA inspected free-range chicken (muscle meat), beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Analysis: crude protein: min 39%, crude fat: min 27%, crude fiber: max 2.1%, taurine: min .06%, moisture: max 3%
Feeding Instructions: Feed 2 steaks/day for every 8 lbs of body weight.

Click to expand...

I am interested ... anything to help my dry food junky .... and the only wet food she like is a tuna and beef flavor

Pat and Alex, any idea where I could find "Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw?"

Sharky- I would stay away from the one you posted. It's not the worst I've seen, but as PhantomSr said, I'm not a fan of "meal" either.

Thank you ... the meal isnt an issue as I have studied it well... I am more concerned with the extras like seeds , alfalfa , liver in a dry food , clay and dairy ... I have decided to pass on this but yes freeze dried may well do good for the little dry food junky

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

How about this one? Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw, one flavor is garlic and grain free:
Beef and Chicken (Cat food) Ingredients: inspected free-range beef, USDA inspected free-range chicken (muscle meat), beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Analysis: crude protein: min 39%, crude fat: min 27%, crude fiber: max 2.1%, taurine: min .06%, moisture: max 3%
Feeding Instructions: Feed 2 steaks/day for every 8 lbs of body weight.

Click to expand...

I like this one way better than the first. I'd take frozen raw food over freeze dried however but this is still a great improvement over the almost any standard dry kibble. I have heard that a lot of cats don't tolerate beef well when transitioning from kibble to raw but your cat may. It's also recommended that the meat and organs in a meal be from the same meat source. Never really found out why. It'd like to know what they are calling "fortified" as that makes it sound like they are adding suppliments but maybe not. Not sure about beed bone, most raw bone fed is chicken, turkey, rabbit, or other small animal. I'm sure it would depend on what part of the bone. Not many cats eating cow bones I'm sure. Almost every other large commercial raw food supplier has the same plethora of veggies and ingredients as the first batch you listed. If they would better list the quantities I wouldn't feel so bad.

This site has a similar composition but it's stated as 95% meat and organs and 5% veggies. That's just fine in my books. But you have to order in bulk. 24lbs a shot is a LOT if your cat won't eat it.
http://www.sitstay.com/store/edibles/food1.shtml

If you are really concerned about feeding your cat a good raw meaty diet, do a search for BARF in google and consider doing it yourself. Then you know exactly what's in your cats food. It's also cheaper that way. I'm currently investigating this method for myself as my preground is a little pricey and I'm starting see the benifits to unground meaty bones.

With all that said, I wouldn't have too many reservations about feeding this food to my cats but I wouldn't get too much at first to make sure they can tolerate the beef okay. Either way, it looks like you are willing to put some time and effort into getting the best food for your cats that meets your needs and theirs and any improvement from the cheap kibble they could be getting from someone else is good in my books.

Originally Posted by CherokeeDreams

Pat and Alex, any idea where I could find "Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried raw?"

Sharky- I would stay away from the one you posted. It's not the worst I've seen, but as PhantomSr said, I'm not a fan of "meal" either.

Click to expand...

I can't get the company website to come up at the moment, but one place that sells it online is here:http://natureofthepet.stores.yahoo.n...lachewys1.html This is a 9 patty package, so not a huge amount to trial.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I can't get the company website to come up at the moment, but one place that sells it online is here:http://natureofthepet.stores.yahoo.n...lachewys1.html This is a 9 patty package, so not a huge amount to trial.

Click to expand...

Looks intresting ... a bit pricey but for Zoey I would try it.. I like no grain since the other freeze dried I have seen had unidetified cereal fines...

Originally Posted by PhantomSr

I like this one way better than the first. I'd take frozen raw food over freeze dried however but this is still a great improvement over the almost any standard dry kibble. I have heard that a lot of cats don't tolerate beef well when transitioning from kibble to raw but your cat may. It's also recommended that the meat and organs in a meal be from the same meat source. Never really found out why. It'd like to know what they are calling "fortified" as that makes it sound like they are adding suppliments but maybe not. Not sure about beed bone, most raw bone fed is chicken, turkey, rabbit, or other small animal. I'm sure it would depend on what part of the bone. Not many cats eating cow bones I'm sure. Almost every other large commercial raw food supplier has the same plethora of veggies and ingredients as the first batch you listed. If they would better list the quantities I wouldn't feel so bad.

This site has a similar composition but it's stated as 95% meat and organs and 5% veggies. That's just fine in my books. But you have to order in bulk. 24lbs a shot is a LOT if your cat won't eat it.

http://www.sitstay.com/store/edibles/food1.shtml

If you are really concerned about feeding your cat a good raw meaty diet, do a search for BARF in google and consider doing it yourself. Then you know exactly what's in your cats food. It's also cheaper that way. I'm currently investigating this method for myself as my preground is a little pricey and I'm starting see the benifits to unground meaty bones.

With all that said, I wouldn't have too many reservations about feeding this food to my cats but I wouldn't get too much at first to make sure they can tolerate the beef okay. Either way, it looks like you are willing to put some time and effort into getting the best food for your cats that meets your needs and theirs and any improvement from the cheap kibble they could be getting from someone else is good in my books.

Click to expand...

My 18 yr old loves raw beef ... the animal with its organ s is an enzymatic thing but I add those for the other two anyhow...

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I can't get the company website to come up at the moment, but one place that sells it online is here:http://natureofthepet.stores.yahoo.n...lachewys1.html This is a 9 patty package, so not a huge amount to trial.

Click to expand...

Great. Thanks!

Originally Posted by sharky

My 18 yr old loves raw beef ... the animal with its organ s is an enzymatic thing but I add those for the other two anyhow...

Click to expand...

I don't think it's an issue for a lot of cats, and rarely an issue with a cat already on a raw diet, just a transition thing when the cat is used to dry food. One of my cats is a little picky with what she eats, my new kitten will try pretty much anything that I would expect a cat to like. Tigger would actually eat anything. And I do mean anything, the only things he didn't try to ingest were carbonated or alcholic beverages. This ended up being his downfall as he managed to get his paws on a lilly flower.