Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets

[kellie roberts]

I've searched a bit here but didn't see an exact answer to my question.

Is it OK, certainly in moderation, to feed our boys the nuggets, cut up into bite-sized pieces - dry?  I have tried both warm water and cold water reconstitution of the nuggets and neither will touch it.  But when I cut it into little pieces they both chow down on it.

They both need to lose a couple of pounds at this point.  Both are 80+% wet, grain free fed and I've slowly tried removing the small amount of grain free kibble snacks they love so dearly (Blue Wilderness and NV Instinct) from their diets but they both just howl at the cabinet doors wanting that kibble! 

I "think" the freeze dried raw would be a better option overall, even if they won't eat it wet.   It seems like a much healthier substitute for even the grain free kibble.

Thoughts?

Thanks a million!

 

[LTS3]

 
I've searched a bit here but didn't see an exact answer to my question.

Is it OK, certainly in moderation, to feed our boys the nuggets, cut up into bite-sized pieces - dry?  I have tried both warm water and cold water reconstitution of the nuggets and neither will touch it.  But when I cut it into little pieces they both chow down on it.

It's fine to feed any freeze dried raw or treat dry

Most freeze dried raw foods instruct you to rehydarte the food in water but it CAN be fed dry

As long as your cats are getting canned food and plenty of water you do not need to worry about dehydration or other issue.

 

[kellie roberts]

Thanks so much!   They both love drinking from their water fountain and I have always added a bit of water to their wet to make it more gravy-like before serving

 

[lisamarie12]

Although there are people who will give their cats the FD nuggets dry, it's not something I would recommend. Once in a while, a little slice, not a big deal but I wouldn't feed the nuggets dry as a meal.

The nuggets contain ground bone. When cats are raw fed or when they consume prey in the wild, they are ingesting bone along with moisture. My sense is that the nuggets might be harder to digest without moisture added.

Also, since cats don't have a strong thirst drive, we really aim to increase moisture within their diet. While FD raw is lower in carbs than kibble since it's not heat processed and doesn't utilize carbs as binders, FD still lacks moisture.

If you wanted to take a bit of the nuggets and sprinkle it on top of canned food, that would be fine since the canned provides moisture to help them digest bone.

Have you considered maybe using a limited ingredient meat treat / topper like e.g., Pure Bites or Whole Life crumbled on top of the hydrated FD Primal? That might be an option to entice the cats to eat the reconstituted Primal.

 

[kellie roberts]

Thank you for your reply LisaMarie.

I have actually tried both this Primal turkey formula and the chicken/salmon formula ground up on top of the Rad Cat I try so often to reintroduce to them.  I did try that with our oldest boy as well over his Weruva chicken.  Total walk away.  LOL

They don't receive the 2-3 nuggets suggested as the wet meal on the bag.  I just cut up one nugget for each of them as sort of a hold-over between regular wet meals.  

I will look into those other toppers you mentioned though .. I would love to find a topper to get them more interested in the Rad Cat I wish they eat full time

 

[lisahe]

I probably wouldn't want to feed them a lot of Primal dry, either, though it certainly doesn't sound like it would be your cats' entire diet... more likely small snacks or treats, right?

But if you want to feed Primal to them as meals, you might try reconstituting a little and putting it in the bottom of the dish and then putting some dry Primal on top. We always put a little dry freeze-dried food on top of reconstituted freeze-dried food: the cats love it that way. Also: it took a bit of time -- and trial and error -- to get our cats used to freeze-dried raw food! We started them on the frozen version, then mixed it with freeze-dried, then they decided they preferred freeze-dried. Cats!

And your last post, about Rad Cat, just popped up. I'm sorry you can't get your cats to eat it, it's such great food!

 

[kellie roberts]

I would loooooove for them to get back to the Rad Cat.  They go through spurts, which I guess is better than not ever eating it at all.  But it's also too expensive to waste.  LOL   

Both of them ate the chicken/salmon version reconstituted once and the turkey reconstituted once (little toots).  Ever since then will only snack on it dry.  But yes, it is what I would consider a snack or a treat.  They act as though they are starving after play sessions, going outdoor on their harnesses or at 3am so I more often end up cutting one nugget in 1/2 then into 8 little pieces.  3-4 pieces each seem to make them happy until it's their next real meal time.

I've tried the NV medallions, same response - loved it like crazy maybe twice, tried the NV raw bites - zero interest outside of the first lick.  But I certainly plan to keep trying to get them interested in raw overall

 

[lisamarie12]

 
Thank you for your reply LisaMarie.

I have actually tried both this Primal turkey formula and the chicken/salmon formula ground up on top of the Rad Cat I try so often to reintroduce to them.  I did try that with our oldest boy as well over his Weruva chicken.  Total walk away.  LOL

They don't receive the 2-3 nuggets suggested as the wet meal on the bag.  I just cut up one nugget for each of them as sort of a hold-over between regular wet meals.  

I will look into those other toppers you mentioned though .. I would love to find a topper to get them more interested in the Rad Cat I wish they eat full time

I've recently had good luck with Whole Life treats - the turkey breast FD.  One of my cats refused RC for so long although I wasn't consistent in trying to get her to eat it. The last three weeks though she's really come around, just keep trying.

Have you tried FD Stella & Chewy's? Maybe your cats would like SC's over Primal.

 

[kellie roberts]

I have not yet tried Stella & Chewys but will put a bag in my cart on my next Chewy order to see if they might prefer it.  And will definitely look into the Whole Life treats as well.  

 

[21rouge]

Also, since cats don't have a strong thirst drive, 

Maybe this deserves another thread but I have always wondered about this.

Why is it not part of a feline's evolved physiology to seek out water whenever it is lacking in their solid food diet?

Is this the same for say...dogs?

 

[ftmba]

 
Maybe this deserves another thread but I have always wondered about this.

Why is it not part of a feline's evolved physiology to seek out water whenever it is lacking in their solid food diet?

Is this the same for say...dogs?

I believe it's a cat specific issue.

There's an older thread that hits on some of the issue:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272116/thirst-regulation-in-cats

 

[red dog]

I find this blog to be a great resource.

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/

I feed Primal chicken & salmon, Stella & Chewys Turkey, and Duck & Goose. My youngest didn't seem to care for the Stella's, now I mix in some Primal and she seems to like it. I'm slowly giving less Primal with the Stella's with the hope she eat each on their own.

I find it more expensive and will probably incorporate a good canned food instead. Good luck.

 

[lisamarie12]

 
Maybe this deserves another thread but I have always wondered about this.

Why is it not part of a feline's evolved physiology to seek out water whenever it is lacking in their solid food diet?

Is this the same for say...dogs?

That's a great question, not sure, I'll have to research it a bit.

 

[red dog]

 
That's a great question, not sure, I'll have to research it a bit.

 
Maybe this deserves another thread but I have always wondered about this.

Why is it not part of a feline's evolved physiology to seek out water whenever it is lacking in their solid food diet?

I

I read that house cats are descended from African desert felines (Egyptian cat mummies are some examples), and as such, developed absorbing water from their prey, since there wasn't abundant amounts of water  available.

Forgot to add that I always break up and hydrate (add water) to raw freeze dried meat. Oherwise might as well just feed regular dry food, which is quite a bit cheaper, and likely as nourishing as un-hydrated freeze dried food.

 

[kellie roberts]

........ Otherwise might as well just feed regular dry food, which is quite a bit cheaper, and likely as nourishing as un-hydrated freeze dried food.

This is one of the things I was wondering.  It is losing anything by not being rehydrated.   I wanted them to like the freeze dried raw primarily since it was more protein & they need to lose a couple of pounds each.  But I will certain keep that in mind.

 

[lisahe]

 
This is one of the things I was wondering.  It is losing anything by not being rehydrated.   I wanted them to like the freeze dried raw primarily since it was more protein & they need to lose a couple of pounds each.  But I will certain keep that in mind.

Freeze-dried raw does lose a little if it's not rehydrated--moisture is good for cats!--but the ingredients are likely better than most dry foods, which typically have much higher carbs and lower protein so they can be extruded into shapes. Of course it's hard to generalize since every brand is different (there are some very protein-rich dry foods and some rather high-carb dehydrated or freeze-dried foods) and all AAFCO-approved foods are complete meals, but even so, for many cats (like ours) the carb and protein data for freeze-dried are key for overall health and weight management.

 

[missmimz]

I feed the Primal FD turkey dry to my older cat as a snack and also as a topper to his raw food. He doesn't have any issues digesting it or anything like that. I have been trying to add just a tiny bit of water here and there to get him used to eating it a little wet. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

 

[missmimz]

Forgot to add that I always break up and hydrate (add water) to raw freeze dried meat. Oherwise might as well just feed regular dry food, which is quite a bit cheaper, and likely as nourishing as un-hydrated freeze dried food.

Nah, I mean Primal dry is still better than most kibble IMO, unless you're feeding really high quality kibble. But even then kibble food is highly processed an contains significantly more ingredients. But since FD it not intended to be fed dry it shouldn't be fed as a meal dry, so in that way kibble is more appropriate. 

 

[laura mae]

I feed two of my cats Primal nuggets and Stella and Chewy's. I use ceramic bowls, heat water in the microwave for 45 seconds and then soak the nuggets until they are very wet. The warm water and the extra wet of the food really is their favorite way to have it. I will sprinkle some dry of the Stella and Chewy's or freeze dried chicken treats over the top because one cat has to have liquid medicine with each meal. The dry topper sort of disguises the medicine and he gobbles it up.

He does get tired of it and so I mix the two brands and cycle through all of the flavors. Boo, th

 

[lisamarie12]

 
Forgot to add that I always break up and hydrate (add water) to raw freeze dried meat. Oherwise might as well just feed regular dry food, which is quite a bit cheaper, and likely as nourishing as un-hydrated freeze dried food.

Comparing the two from a nutrient pov, FD raw and kibble (and putting aside the rehydration issue for a moment), kibble is far higher in carbohydrates mainly b/c kibble requires  carbohydrate binders in order to go through the extrusion process (taking the combined ingredients which have been made into a dough and making little pellets from that dough). Kibble is highly heat processed (first steamed, then extruded on high heat and finally baked in an oven).

So as far as nourishing, the FD raw unreconstituted would be more nutrient dense vs kibble, however, again - I'm still not a fan of feeding foods with ground bone without any moisture, nor does Primal advocate this for their FD foods. 

But from a cost perspective, the kibble would certainly be cheaper than FD.