How Much Does the Raw Diet Cost You?

[harrylime]

@HarryLime I sprinkle 1/2 a capsule of the probiotics over their ground raw twice a day (breakfast and dinner). I actually incorporated the probiotics before the raw food (while they were still on canned) to help reduce the chance of tummy trouble during the transition to raw.

The egg yolk I mix in their Tuesday and Thursday ground dinner. You can actually feed it completely separate if your cat will eat it. Malibu would lick every drop of the egg yolk out of a bowl but Kali won't so I just mix it into their food and they both gobble it up!

Great, thanks for the info. Do you think the probiotics could be put into the 10lb+ mix that I make before I freeze it in batches?

 

[abby2932]

Someone emailed a probiotic manufacturer one time asking if they can be frozen and all they said was that they recommend putting them in the refrigerator instead. I'm not sure if freezing affects the probiotics or not but I just mix it in per serving along with the fish oil.

I love how I spend so much time preparing cat food and add in supplements and then pop a hot pocket in the microwave for myself!

 

[ldg]

The probiotic manufacturer I contacted with the question said they won't remain viable if frozen unless they were encapsulated in a specific process to keep them viable once frozen. So no, probiotics have to be added at meal time.

 

[maureen brad]

I am just starting out with the raw feeding. If you happen to live close to a Pet Food Express they sell a commercial raw foods. I am going to start with Primal Grinds and mix my own supplements. At PFE you buy 3 foods and the 4th is free. This is true of any of their foods.It is a great deal. They only sell the 2 lbs chubs but that saves me at least $10 . Just a thought.

 

[chevs]

I feed my 2 cats homemade raw for $40 a month. So $20/month for each cat. I live in Boston, and thanks to our high Asian population, there are a lot of Asian groceries, which is where i buy all my cat meat. Since its sold for humans its obviously human grade meat. My cats get chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, pig hearts, pig kidney, chicken liver, pig liver, beef liver, duck gizzards, chicken feet, chicken necks, duck feet. There are of course other meats and body parts but these are what I buy. I buy nothing that costs over $2.99 a pound. Pig hearts are the most expensive item on this list. The muscle meat portion of their diet is 50% heart. I do a soy-free fish oil supplement which I get from vitacost. I only need to buy a couple bottles per year so I don't worry about the cost. Its under $15 a bottle and is the only supplement I use. I also got a free chest freezer on Craigslist after like 2 weeks of looking. I don't grind, as gizzards and chx hearts are easy for the cats to chew themselves and I just chop up the pig hearts into big strips. Very affordable and not that much work. Totally worth it.

 

[harrylime]

So you're not concerned with where this super cheap meat comes from originally?

 

[chevs]

No I'm not concerned at all. I buy the meat for the humans in the house at the same grocery. It is fresher and tastier than what I get at the type of grocery store where most Americans buy their food. Both the humans and cats agree on this. Sometimes I have to buy meat at the Shaws near my house because I've run out and can't get down to the Asian store. The cats hate it. If you've ever gone into an ethnic store you'll know that prices usually differ from the white grocery. Its cheaper because of the target audience. As a foreigner myself, I don't fear the Asian grocery and an happy to buy good quality food for less money there.

 

[harrylime]

I also frequent the Asian and Caribbean markets here in NYC for certain items.

But you think the price is lower because they typically sell to foreigners, and not maybe because the meat comes from some low-quality factory farm, therefore making the wholesale cost much cheaper?

Sometimes I have to buy meat at the Shaws near my house because I've run out and can't get down to the Asian store. The cats hate it. 

Right, and most cats would probably choose dry food at the end of the day as well even though it's bad for them..

And myself, for example, can't stand the taste of grass-fed beef, even though it's more expensive, definitely healthier for me, and is almost guaranteed to be well-raised.

 

[chevs]

Whereas I love the taste of grass-fed beef, having grown up on it. When I moved to the states, I couldn't stand the taste of meat here. The meat I get at the Asian store is obviously not grass fed from free range animals, but like I said, it's fresher and tastes better. I prefer it myself as do my pets. Besides, unless you're raising the animals yourself, how do you really know what you're getting?

Not only is the meat fresher, the produce at ethnic groceries is typically cheaper and nicer as well. I do believe this because of "for us, by us" pricing in immigrant communities. As the white natives start wising up and shopping at ethnic groceries, prices start climbing. When I moved here, I could get "undesirable" meat products like chicken feet and pig tails and bone marrow for unbelievably low prices. Now that top chefs are making these animal parts popular with foodies, the prices have gone up. I cant believe what oxtails cost nowadays.

Anyways, I just wanted the original poster to know if that he/she doesn't have to break the bank to raw feed. What they choose to do with that info is up to them.

 

[furmonster mom]

Overall grocery prices seem to have risen dramatically this year, and meat prices are no exception.  Still, it's worth it to me to have generally healthy animals. 

I have an older kitty who has kidney issues, but is not on any kind of specialized vet diet.  Instead, I adjusted her diet with egg whites and aluminum hydroxide to lower the phosphorus levels.  Her last checkup came back with a lowered BUN and stable creatinine. 

Our dog has Addison's, which is an uncommon though not strange problem for dogs.  There is no real known cause for it, and it can hit any dog at any stage of life.  Usually, most dog owners don't recognize the symptoms until too late, and they progress very fast to fatal crash.  One of the first things that is done with Addison's patients is to put them on a high protein diet.  Well, our dog was already on a high protein diet, which is why I believe her symptoms were mitigated and we were able to diagnose her in time for treatment.

Pippen, is our miracle kitty.  Long story short, I believe a diet of corn laden kibble contributed to his cholangiohepititis.  His liver is horribly scarred from it.  But he's been truckin' right along on for the last 7 years on a raw diet and a few liver support meds and supplements.  The vets have been amazed that he is even still around to tell the tale.

Our other cats have had no issues at all since starting a raw diet.  They haven't seen the vet since their last round of vac. boosters, eight years ago (indoor only kitties).

I do believe that, in spite of the recent price increases, the payoff balances out  (though the accountant might not agree, lol)

Now if only I could adjust my own diet...

(but I just CAN'T give up my cheese! 

  )

 

[sophie1]

 
@sophie1You can try looking into raw feeding co-ops in your area (try looking up "BARF" on Yahoo groups). I found one with a LOT of vendors (treats, commercial raw, various meats, canned food, bedding, supplements, goat milk! etc.), including one where I can buy natural chicken (wings, thigh etc.) for human consumption for less than the grocery store. I buy about 20lbs at a time and use it in meals for my husband and myself, and raw for the cats. 

Good tip!  I found a coop in my area that a lot of people use and like (raawenergy.com).  The only trouble is that they cater mainly to dogs and most of what they have is either not balanced or contains veggies - about 10% per the owner.  Still, they offer good prices on whole ground rabbit and duck so I thought I would try them out.  Does anyone else here use their products?

The owner asked if I'd be willing to pick up deliveries on behalf of other people in NYC who would then come to my building to pick up, which is a very attractive idea. 

 

[beesto]

 
@sophie1You can try looking into raw feeding co-ops in your area (try looking up "BARF" on Yahoo groups). I found one with a LOT of vendors (treats, commercial raw, various meats, canned food, bedding, supplements, goat milk! etc.), including one where I can buy natural chicken (wings, thigh etc.) for human consumption for less than the grocery store.

I did find a RAW feeding co-op but there's a $145 membership fee.  Are there prices that much better?  They only see in 40 lb cases.  Would I buy one case and feed that for a month? 

Is the co-op just like a butcher but with better prices or are they pre-mixing their foods or doing something else that makes it easier to feed Raw using them?  Sorry I have to wait to be accepted to their co-op so I can't ask them yet.

 

[monkeymom]

@beesto

Yikes! $145??? Mine is $30/year if you don't volunteer and $15/year if you do. Volunteer jobs range from helping unload deliveries to making labels. I think it really depends on what co-op you use for what products they will offer. The one I go through offers many different items: commercial raw [Rad Cat, Stella & Chewy's, Primal, Red Rock, Vital Essentials], raw meats (beef, turkey, chicken, duck, lamb, rabbit, bison etc.), fish oil, goat milk, grinds (meat + bone +/- organ) and other pet supplies. The prices are definitely lower than what I would find in the store. For raw meat parts, such as chicken thighs, I buy the smallest package available ~20lbs and use it to supplement the meat + organ grinds. Most other packages are ~30-40lbs which I don't have the freezer room for. As far as mileage goes, how you are you feeding might make a difference for utilizing the co-op. I model my cats' diet after catinfo.org, and use meat grinds (meat+bone+organ) and boneless meat chunks + supplements. The meat grinds take up the majority of the food, with my cats going through 11-12lbs prepared food each month. So for me, I bulk order meat grinds 2-3x per year either through Hare Today or the co-op and order boneless meats every 2-3 months. Fish oil I purchase 2x per year and supplements as needed.

Will your co-op not give you any information at all?

 

[LTS3]

 
I did find a RAW feeding co-op but there's a $145 membership fee.  Are there prices that much better?  They only see in 40 lb cases.  Would I buy one case and feed that for a month? 

Is the co-op just like a butcher but with better prices or are they pre-mixing their foods or doing something else that makes it easier to feed Raw using them?  Sorry I have to wait to be accepted to their co-op so I can't ask them yet.

That's a huge fee

There's a raw pet food supplier near me that doesn't have a membership fee. Perhaps there is another co-op or supplier in your area with low or no fee. Try this list: http://www.dogaware.com/diet/rawgroups.html