Feeding Both Freeze Dried And Wet?

[paige woodward]

Hi!

So I’m lucky because Tink will pretty much eat anything I put in front of her. The goal for the future is to start having her on raw (Rad Cat or something similar) but for now I just started her on Primal freeze-dried. She goes nuts for it! The only thing right now is I just can’t afford to feed her that exclusively right now.

For those of you who feed both freeze dried and wet, how much of each do you give? Tink is 10 pounds so would be eating 4 of the Primal nuggets if that’s all I gave her.

Thanks!

 

[Neo_23]

Hi!

So I’m lucky because Tink will pretty much eat anything I put in front of her. The goal for the future is to start having her on raw (Rad Cat or something similar) but for now I just started her on Primal freeze-dried. She goes nuts for it! The only thing right now is I just can’t afford to feed her that exclusively right now.

For those of you who feed both freeze dried and wet, how much of each do you give? Tink is 10 pounds so would be eating 4 of the Primal nuggets if that’s all I gave her.

Thanks!

I’m pretty much in the same boat as you, trying to get my kitten on some freeze dried food with his wet. He eats a lot so I’m probably going to be doing mostly wet with some freeze dried until he’s older.

Only 4 nuggets for a 10 pound cat seems too little though. Which varieties are you feeding? Most of them are only about 140 kcal per ounce and an ounce is usually 3-4 nuggets.

I might also suggest mixing it up with different brands. I’m trying northwest naturals right now. It seems quite good and it’s cheaper than primal. Also has less fruit and veggies.

 

[paige woodward]

I’m pretty much in the same boat as you, trying to get my kitten on some freeze dried food with his wet. He eats a lot so I’m probably going to be doing mostly wet with some freeze dried until he’s older.

Only 4 nuggets for a 10 pound cat seems too little though. Which varieties are you feeding? Most of them are only about 140 kcal per ounce and an ounce is usually 3-4 nuggets.

I might also suggest mixing it up with different brands. I’m trying northwest naturals right now. It seems quite good and it’s cheaper than primal. Also has less fruit and veggies.

Hmm, it’s the Turkey one and the feeding guidelines on the back say 4 nuggets for a 10 pound cat. I’ll have to look at the calories when I get home later.
I think I will try a different brand next time though. Where do you get that one? I haven’t heard of it.

 

[Neo_23]

Hmm, it’s the Turkey one and the feeding guidelines on the back say 4 nuggets for a 10 pound cat. I’ll have to look at the calories when I get home later.
I think I will try a different brand next time though. Where do you get that one? I haven’t heard of it.

That’s strange, does it say that on the packaging? I noticed on their website it says to feed 4oz per day for a 10 pound cat, but that would equal about 12-16 nuggets which I think is too much. I think I would aim for about 200 kcal a day with a 10 pound cat (that’s what their feeding calculator on the website suggests too). So if the turkey is 148 kcal per ounce you’re looking at about 5-6 nuggets a day. You can monitor your cat’s appetite and weight and adjust accordingly.

Here’s the website for northwest naturals: Northwest Naturals -
You can use their store locator to find a store near you that carries it. I would suggest getting a small kitchen scale if you’re going to be feeding different brands because most of them are fed by ounces rather than nuggets.

Another brand I have heard good things about but have yet to try is Feline Natural (a bit pricier than NN).

 

[lisahe]

Most independent pet food stores can order any of the brands mentioned in this thread. We feed all three of them, mixing things up in various proportions for the cats... the illusion of variety is important!

How much freeze-dried to feed depends on how much canned food you feed. And on the various foods' calories and your cat's activity level. Kittens and adolescent cats generally eat more than adult and senior cats. In general, though, Neo_23 's thought of around 200 calories for a ten-pound cat sounds about right, at least on average. Our cats are smaller -- about 7 or 8 pounds each -- but very active so I continued to feed them considerably more than 200 calories a day until they were at least three. They're now about 4.5 or so and I don't track their calories at all: their canned foods vary in calories and their activity levels vary, too. I just watch their body profiles and appetites. That works better for everybody than weighing and calculating, and the vet is always happy with their weights.

P.S. neo_23, the four ounce figure for Primal is likely for the frozen food rather than the freeze-dried stuff! It's very easy to get confused with those because the packages look the same!

 

[paige woodward]

Most independent pet food stores can order any of the brands mentioned in this thread. We feed all three of them, mixing things up in various proportions for the cats... the illusion of variety is important!

How much freeze-dried to feed depends on how much canned food you feed. And on the various foods' calories and your cat's activity level. Kittens and adolescent cats generally eat more than adult and senior cats. In general, though, Neo_23 's thought of around 200 calories for a ten-pound cat sounds about right, at least on average. Our cats are smaller -- about 7 or 8 pounds each -- but very active so I continued to feed them considerably more than 200 calories a day until they were at least three. They're now about 4.5 or so and I don't track their calories at all: their canned foods vary in calories and their activity levels vary, too. I just watch their body profiles and appetites. That works better for everybody than weighing and calculating, and the vet is always happy with their weights.

P.S. neo_23, the four ounce figure for Primal is likely for the frozen food rather than the freeze-dried stuff! It's very easy to get confused with those because the packages look the same!

So strange that the bag only says 4 nuggets for a 10 pound cat. Makes sense as to why she’s been begging for more food, I thought she was just being a pig lol. I’ve been primarily feeding the freeze dried but just got some wet food to incorporate as well.

Thanks for your help!