Nature's Variety Raw Instinct Bites

[sophie1]

Glad you could find the 5 lb chub, Ralphscats!  Let me know how it goes.  The chubs also come in beef and venison (5 lb) and lamb (2 lb).  My cats like it a LOT better than medallions because of the freshness factor, so maybe that will help in your case.  You might try breaking up the chub piece while still in the plastic baggie with your fingers (from outside the bag).  You could also add the taurine right into the bag and smoosh it in before serving.  It's a stiffer consistency than canned food, so maybe adding water will help with the transition also.

You might also need to try some different toppers, to see what will get your cats' attention.  My cats are crazy about Whole Life freeze-dried chicken, and others have reported same.  As per usual, the cat version is more expensive than the dog version even though it's exactly the same product (just smaller pieces).  I get the big box for dogs.  The bag has a lot of powder at the bottom that's ideal for use as your food topper.  Other things to try:  nutritional yeast, parmesan cheese, Fortiflora.

 

[jclark]

I'll try smooshing some more. They eat the bites with the freeze dried crumbled up on it. I've tried it with the medallions and it was still a no-go. I'm open to any suggestions to try though!

The medallions by themselves are a little awkward IMO.  I always mush them up and mix in some dry kibble.   

I miss the days when NV made patties for both Cats/Dogs.  That was a money saver.

 

[ralphscats]

Glad you could find the 5 lb chub, Ralphscats!  Let me know how it goes.  The chubs also come in beef and venison (5 lb) and lamb (2 lb).  My cats like it a LOT better than medallions because of the freshness factor, so maybe that will help in your case.  You might try breaking up the chub piece while still in the plastic baggie with your fingers (from outside the bag).  You could also add the taurine right into the bag and smoosh it in before serving.  It's a stiffer consistency than canned food, so maybe adding water will help with the transition also.

You might also need to try some different toppers, to see what will get your cats' attention.  My cats are crazy about Whole Life freeze-dried chicken, and others have reported same.  As per usual, the cat version is more expensive than the dog version even though it's exactly the same product (just smaller pieces).  I get the big box for dogs.  The bag has a lot of powder at the bottom that's ideal for use as your food topper.  Other things to try:  nutritional yeast, parmesan cheese, Fortiflora.

I found out that a few really like turkey bacon. I crumbled some up and put it on the smashed medallions and they ate some of it.

I'll have to check Witt my pet store again. They only told me about the chicken and beef. I would love to try the lamb!

 

[ralphscats]

The medallions by themselves are a little awkward IMO.  I always mush them up and mix in some dry kibble.   

I miss the days when NV made patties for both Cats/Dogs.  That was a money saver.

I remember when they made them the same for dogs and cats. That was back when hardly anyone heard of feeding raw. lol

I don't feed any kibble at all. I used to use NV Instinct raw boost kibble as a treat. I have a FIV positive girl and she had a urinary issue, so I don't feed it anymore. I use freeze dried raw, chicken hearts, etc. now.

 

[kittyluv387]

When you say you got chubs do you mean raw chubs? I dont see them on the website under raw food.

 

[ralphscats]

When you say you got chubs do you mean raw chubs? I dont see them on the website under raw food.

I didn't see them either on the NV website. I called and asked my pet store and they looked them up from their distributor.
I don't know why Nv doesn't have them on their website. I hope it doesn't mean they are going to try to phase them out.
If your looking for chubs, Bravo has chubs. I add Alnutrition to them because they are not complete diets. I just add the one with the egg shell calcium to the boneless chubs and the regular one to the chub that has meat, bones, and organs.
I believe Primal also has some chubs but I haven't tried them yet. My furkids aren't fans of their freeze dried. I might look at the chubs again though and see if there's any novel proteins that I can't get elsewhere.

 

[jclark]

I didn't see them either on the NV website. I called and asked my pet store and they looked them up from their distributor.
I don't know why Nv doesn't have them on their website. I hope it doesn't mean they are going to try to phase them out.
If your looking for chubs, Bravo has chubs. I add Alnutrition to them because they are not complete diets. I just add the one with the egg shell calcium to the boneless chubs and the regular one to the chub that has meat, bones, and organs.
I believe Primal also has some chubs but I haven't tried them yet. My furkids aren't fans of their freeze dried. I might look at the chubs again though and see if there's any novel proteins that I can't get elsewhere.

IMO ever since the cash infusion there has been some crazy stuff going on over at NV.   Frozen novel proteins appear to be in the process of being replaced by more chicken, turkey, beef. 

 

[sophie1]

You're right, it's no longer listed on the NV website.  I also hope it's not been discontinued.  It's still advertised on online sites (Wag, Chewy, onlynaturalpet) but stocks are low and the lamb is no longer seen.

Worth a query to the company....

 

[kittyluv387]

I didn't see them either on the NV website. I called and asked my pet store and they looked them up from their distributor.
I don't know why Nv doesn't have them on their website. I hope it doesn't mean they are going to try to phase them out.
If your looking for chubs, Bravo has chubs. I add Alnutrition to them because they are not complete diets. I just add the one with the egg shell calcium to the boneless chubs and the regular one to the chub that has meat, bones, and organs.
I believe Primal also has some chubs but I haven't tried them yet. My furkids aren't fans of their freeze dried. I might look at the chubs again though and see if there's any novel proteins that I can't get elsewhere.

Do you get the cat specific bravo chubs or for dogs? Their website didnt display the meat %. For example primal is 90% meat organs and fat, and 10% veggies and others.

Edit: Nevermind i guess it differs depending on the type. Should i add regular alnutrin for the basic chubs since it has bone and organs?

 

[ralphscats]

Do you get the cat specific bravo chubs or for dogs? Their website didnt display the meat %. For example primal is 90% meat organs and fat, and 10% veggies and others.

Edit: Nevermind i guess it differs depending on the type. Should i add regular alnutrin for the basic chubs since it has bone and organs?

If you're using the basics, then the regular Alnutrion should be added. If you get the boneless chubs, then add Alnutrition with calcium. The Venision is boneless. It comes in one pound chubs. I add the Alnutrtion with egg shell calcium and several of my cats just can't get enough of it! Double check the Alnutrion directions. I think the boneless ones also need liver to be added to be complete. I only feed Venision once or twice a week. My cats aren't fans of liver so I don't add it. If I fed Venision more often then I would add it.

 

[sophie1]

Update:  I heard back from Nature Variety.  They have no intention of discontinuing the chubs.  Phew!

I've used the Primal and Bravo "basic" chubs, but that requires the same supplementation needed for Hare Today (or equivalent) meat/bone/organ grinds.  All other things being equal, I prefer the Hare Today grinds because they are whole animal or close to it.  The commercial chubs are mainly gizzards, backs, and hearts, and tend to be more costly than HT even if you can buy locally.

To me the only reason to consider commercial raw at all is the convenience.  There's a big difference between having to defrost, mix with supplements and refreeze, and just dividing up a chub and sprinkling on taurine at serving time.  I guess if you got Alnutrin you could use commercial chubs the same way, by mixing in the supplement at serving time.  

 

[ralphscats]

I went to my pet store today. Apparently there was a mix up and my chub never got ordered. They did take $3 off of a 7 pound bag of NV dog chicken bites for me though. They are going to order the chub and hopefully it will be here next week.
I have a question about adding the taurine. Am I figuring about 250 mg per cat per day if I use the dog NV? Do you think just sprinkling it on top of the bites will suffice?

 

[sophie1]

How annoying.  Sounds like they haven't had too many requests for chubs.  They're a very well-kept secret.

There's no "right" answer to how much taurine to add.  I personally use the catinfo.org recipe as a guide:  2,000 mg taurine per 3 lbs of food.  That's 41.6 mg taurine per ounce of food.   Round to the nearest size capsule you have.  250mg/day is about right if your cats eat 4-5 oz/day.  Sprinkling on top should be just fine, if your cats don't mind.

 

[ralphscats]

How annoying.  Sounds like they haven't had too many requests for chubs.  They're a very well-kept secret.

There's no "right" answer to how much taurine to add.  I personally use the catinfo.org recipe as a guide:  2,000 mg taurine per 3 lbs of food.  That's 41.6 mg taurine per ounce of food.   Round to the nearest size capsule you have.  250mg/day is about right if your cats eat 4-5 oz/day.  Sprinkling on top should be just fine, if your cats don't mind.

I'm probably the only person who feeds my cats raw in our area. I think there may be some that feed Stella and Chewy's freeze dried. I know there are a few who feed their dogs raw. I special order the NV cat bites every week. I looked at a bag of Stella and Chewy raw dog rabbit at the pet store last week. It was expired by several months. I just don't think they sell much raw. I've been special ordering my raw for probably at least six years now. I think at this point, it would be wired to not have to. lol
Thanks for the calculations for the taurine. Do you use NOW brand? I put some of the dog bites down and am going to see if they eat them. If it's s go, then I'm going to go to out health food store and get some taurine. I know they carry the NOW brand. Here's to hoping they have taurine in stock! lol

 

[lisamarie12]

I have a question about adding the taurine. Am I figuring about 250 mg per cat per day if I use the dog NV? Do you think just sprinkling it on top of the bites will suffice?

Taurine is water soluble, whatever isn't utilized will be excreted thru the urine.
You could sprinkle the taurine on top of the food although it might be a better option to mix it in.

 

[sophie1]

How did it go with the dog bites, Ralphscat?  If they are substantially cheaper than cat bites and don't mind messing with the taurine, that could be a decent option for you also.  And you can get it with more proteins than is available in the cat version.

I've typicallly bought whatever Whole Foods has on the shelf for taurine. My last purchase was loose taurine from Hare Today, but now I see loose taurine on Amazon (NOW brand).   I'll probably get that next, as I find powder more convenient than capsules.

Despite the fact that LisaMarie's comment about excess taurine being readily excreted is correct, I still hesitate to over-supplement.  I'm a (human) MD and have seen lots of problems with excess supplementation of even water-soluble nutrients, and there's a lot we don't know about consistent use of added taurine.  Just my opinion though.

 

[ralphscats]

How did it go with the dog bites, Ralphscat?  If they are substantially cheaper than cat bites and don't mind messing with the taurine, that could be a decent option for you also.  And you can get it with more proteins than is available in the cat version.

I've typicallly bought whatever Whole Foods has on the shelf for taurine. My last purchase was loose taurine from Hare Today, but now I see loose taurine on Amazon (NOW brand).   I'll probably get that next, as I find powder more convenient than capsules.

Despite the fact that LisaMarie's comment about excess taurine being readily excreted is correct, I still hesitate to over-supplement.  I'm a (human) MD and have seen lots of problems with excess supplementation of even water-soluble nutrients, and there's a lot we don't know about consistent use of added taurine.  Just my opinion though.

The dog bites are going ok. I haven't added any taurine yet. I haven't had time to get to the health food store. I haven't been feeding the bites exclusively, so I think I'm ok for now. I had ordered some Bravo canned food to try. My one senior cat will eat raw, but I can tell it's not his favorite. Pretty much everyone loves the new canned food. I'm playing around with using it as a topping on the raw now. I'll try to get the taurine today. I'm thinking if I sprinkle the taurine on the raw bites and then put some of the canned on top, that my senior will accept that. At least I hope.
I'm going to put a call in to order some different proteins of the dog bites. I'm going to go slow and see what they will accept. Three of my furkids really like Bravo beef and venison, so I'm anxious to see how they like the NV beef. I'm hoping some of the others who don't eat the Bravo will eat the NV so they have more variety.

 

[ralphscats]

I tried the chub this morning. It wasn't a huge hit. My outside semi feral loved it though.
I'm thinking about just sticking with the dog bites and sprinkling on the taurine. Five of my eight cats will soon be ten years old or older. I don't want to mess with their food too much and have them stop eating.
I may try putting some canned on top of the raw chub and see how that goes, mainly so I can use up the chub. I did see that Wellness is finally taking the carageenen out of their canned food. That may be a topping option as they loved that food I knew better about cat food.
The dog bites are a little over $2 a pound cheaper than the cat bites I was buying. They eat a little over two pounds a day, so switching to dog will save some money. I'm also glad I'll be able to mix up proteins.

 

[sophie1]

The texture of the chub is different from that of canned food (firmer), otherwise it's the same as dog bites.  Try mixing in a little water to soften the texture? 

Here's another idea.  Instead of topping the chub with canned, try mixing them together and then gradually reducing the proportion of canned food in the mix.  Start with 75% canned 25% chub and see how it goes.

 

[ralphscats]

The texture of the chub is different from that of canned food (firmer), otherwise it's the same as dog bites.  Try mixing in a little water to soften the texture? 

Here's another idea.  Instead of topping the chub with canned, try mixing them together and then gradually reducing the proportion of canned food in the mix.  Start with 75% canned 25% chub and see how it goes.

Thanks. I'll try mixing them like you suggested. I did put some of the chub in the freezer. I'll get some of the carageenen free Wellness when it becomes available and try mixing that too. Thanks!