Freeze dried raw

[Twinkster]

I have 2 cats both 1.5 yr old.
When we first got them we fed a mix of dry and wet. then the younger of the 2 got sick and loosing weight and we fed more wet to get her to eat, pretty much anything she would eat. At some point we phased out dry not for any specific reason, they seemed to like the wet more. Eventually the younger developed food sensitivities, she would get loose stools etc.
i tried feeding different diets to see what would work and what they both liked. What seems to work is Primal freeze dried raw and tiki after dark foods.
I give them breakfast , then second breakfast before I go to work, but then they are home all day with no food, 8 hrs. Is there a dry food that is better than others that I can leave a little dish out of?
Rosie is about 12lbs but Twinkie is only 6.5 lbs that seems so small to me. She eats , her sister is not eating her food. I know she is on the smaller size probably because she was sick last year.
We where at the vet yesterday he didn't seem concerned about her weight. I can't feel her ribs or anything when I pick her up.

 

[Tobermory]

I feed a combination of freeze-dried raw and canned, but I use Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein chicken kibble for treats. High quality, high protein, very low carb. Mine love it!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi

Is there a dry food that is better than others that I can leave a little dish out of?

this is from a TCS article regarding dry food:

Not all dry cat food is made equal. If you choose to feed dry, you can still try and provide Kitty with healthier choices within this food category. Price is often a factor here as well, with cheaper no-name foods or grocery store brands being cheaper and of lower quality. Yet, even expensive dry cat food labeled as "premium" or "super premium" foods are not necessarily a good choice. As with canned food, you need to read the labels and assess the quality of the food yourself. Opt for dry cat food that is low on carbs and high on protein. The more meat protein in the food the better. Protein derived from plant sources, such as soy and other legumes is less preferable.
Grain-free is a good starting point in identifying a healthier dry food. While grains are fine for humans, they can become allergy triggers in cats. A grain-free food is not by definition high protein, or even low-carb, as they often include other sources of starch. Look for a dry food that is high protein, low carbohydrate, with animal-based protein sources.

That said, I like Blue True Solutions Perfect Coat, Halo Sensitive Stomach Holistic Seafood Medley, and another possibility might be Young Again Zero Mature kibble.

 

[lisahe]

I feed a combination of freeze-dried raw and canned, but I use Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein chicken kibble for treats. High quality, high protein, very low carb. Mine love it!

I second this. One of our cats loves Dr. Elsey's so much it's become the largest part of her diet... after nine years of all wet food! That's not my preference at all but fortunately she's still eating some wet food and she always has a good drink after she eats the Elsey's food. Dr. E's food is lower in carbs (under 3% dry matter) than many of the wet foods we feed so I certainly can't complain about it from that perspective! It's also very calorie-dense, which is good for Ireland, who's always been long and lean.

One other thing: Dr. E's other dry foods have chickpeas in them so aren't as low in carbs.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I leave out freeze dried raw in the dry form over night for my picky eater who doesn't eat enough during the day to maintain his weight. He nibbles on it during the night and then I wash the bowl and use it again the next night. They have a different bowl for their wet and for this over night feeding. I don't see why you couldn't feed them un-rehydrated freeze dried during the daytime, especially if one has food sensitivities.

There is also Instinct Raw Meals, which says it can be served dry or wet. I just bought a bag but haven't opened it yet. The only drawback with this one is that I think it only comes in Chicken. That's all I could find anyway.

 

[Twinkster]

I feed a combination of freeze-dried raw and canned, but I use Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein chicken kibble for treats. High quality, high protein, very low carb. Mine love it!

Thank you I will look that food up , sounds like what I'm looking for

 

[Twinkster]

I leave out freeze dried raw in the dry form over night for my picky eater who doesn't eat enough during the day to maintain his weight. He nibbles on it during the night and then I wash the bowl and use it again the next night. They have a different bowl for their wet and for this over night feeding. I don't see why you couldn't feed them un-rehydrated freeze dried during the daytime, especially if one has food sensitivities.

There is also Instinct Raw Meals, which says it can be served dry or wet. I just bought a bag but haven't opened it yet. The only drawback with this one is that I think it only comes in Chicken. That's all I could find anyway.

Interesting I know they certainly would eat it in any form lol I always figured it should be hydrated

 

[lisahe]

Interesting I know they certainly would eat it in any form lol I always figured it should be hydrated

It's better if it's rehydrated but it's okay to feed small amounts as long as your cats are getting plenty of water from other sources. I've used various freeze-dried foods and chicken treats as mrsgreenjeens does, as a nighttime snack and they work well that way.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Belle loves freeze dried raw. It's too expensive to feed her regularly, but if I had to leave something out for her at night, I'd rather it be freeze dried raw than dry food. I'd also make sure she had plenty of water because I notice she drinks more if she gets a lot freeze dried treats!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Belle loves freeze dried raw. It's too expensive to feed her regularly, but if I had to leave something out for her at night, I'd rather it be freeze dried raw than dry food. I'd also make sure she had plenty of water because I notice she drinks more if she gets a lot freeze dried treats!

I add extra water to all their wet meals just to make sure they are well hydrated.

 

[Cat McCannon]

I add extra water to all their wet meals just to make sure they are well hydrated.

Belle rarely gets freeze dried as a meal. Normally, she gets them as treats while trying to coax her to respond commands, like "sit" or "stand" and sometimes when SWAMBO tells Belle "down" to get her off the table.

I say "commands" but Belle treats them as voice messages she might get around to listening to before deleting.