Re: Legal commercial cat food

[Guest guest]

Dear Helene,

I know it's a lot more work, but fresh fish and chicken can be quite

affordable. Some grocers will give away fish heads (full of

nutrition!), and I recently found that even the 'cheaper' whole

chickens are really fine; I was trying to insist on the organic ones,

when they went to 40% off, and had a choice to make the other day. I

tried a 's Farms chicken, which said " no added hormones " (a

silly statement: who adds hormones anyway; it would be in the growing

process, but oh well), and it tasted good and *was* good.

They are sometimes down under a dollar a pound for those whole

chickens. So with chicken and fish -- you can cook it for those cats

so " addicted " and with " depraved appetites " from too much or a

lifetime of convenience food, or if they tolerate it raw, all the better.

I can relate to you not always having the energy to prepare this kind

of diet for *three* cats -- it's a lot of work. Maybe you can get

some help, and do a few hours of preparation on a weekend and freeze

daily portions.

Do they have access to rodents? The best diet for cats, needless to

say, is fresh meat that they've hunted themselves (with partially

digested vegetable matter in the intestines).

Good luck: if you do find a commercial catfood (canned no doubt) that

is just meat, let me know. (No meat by-products, as you know.) Such

information is good for me to know to pass on to others and my clients.

To Health, for our companions too!

Jude

At 11:57 PM 11/30/2010, you wrote:

> I'm writing to ask whether some of you who have cats have found

> commercial cat-food that doesn't have grains, probiotics, fruits,

> dairy, veggies etc....that is basically meat and fat?

>I have three cats that are raw-fed right now, and doing great on

>that diet, but my husband is complaining about the cost, and since I

>don't have a job, I have to comply. Any ideas? Many many thanks in advance!

>BEst wishes, Helene

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy, 

Thank a lot for your help! I just wish I had enough money to feed my cats the

way I feed myself, but I'm looking for a job, and if I get one, I will

definitely go back to what I have been doing up to now. I did find Newman's

Organics canned cat food, but my husband says that it is too expensive still. I

also found Ziwipeaks (dry food) that is not as bad as other brands, I believe. 

Thanks again! Take care, Helene

--- En date de : Mer 1.12.10, Judy Correll <judylc@...> a écrit :

De: Judy Correll <judylc@...>

Objet: Re: [ ] " Legal " commercial cat food

À:

Date: Mercredi 1 décembre 2010, 0h38

 

Dear Helene,

I know it's a lot more work, but fresh fish and chicken can be quite

affordable. Some grocers will give away fish heads (full of

nutrition!), and I recently found that even the 'cheaper' whole

chickens are really fine; I was trying to insist on the organic ones,

when they went to 40% off, and had a choice to make the other day. I

tried a 's Farms chicken, which said " no added hormones " (a

silly statement: who adds hormones anyway; it would be in the growing

process, but oh well), and it tasted good and *was* good.

They are sometimes down under a dollar a pound for those whole

chickens. So with chicken and fish -- you can cook it for those cats

so " addicted " and with " depraved appetites " from too much or a

lifetime of convenience food, or if they tolerate it raw, all the better.

I can relate to you not always having the energy to prepare this kind

of diet for *three* cats -- it's a lot of work. Maybe you can get

some help, and do a few hours of preparation on a weekend and freeze

daily portions.

Do they have access to rodents? The best diet for cats, needless to

say, is fresh meat that they've hunted themselves (with partially

digested vegetable matter in the intestines).

Good luck: if you do find a commercial catfood (canned no doubt) that

is just meat, let me know. (No meat by-products, as you know.) Such

information is good for me to know to pass on to others and my clients.

To Health, for our companions too!

Jude

At 11:57 PM 11/30/2010, you wrote:

> I'm writing to ask whether some of you who have cats have found

> commercial cat-food that doesn't have grains, probiotics, fruits,

> dairy, veggies etc....that is basically meat and fat?

>I have three cats that are raw-fed right now, and doing great on

>that diet, but my husband is complaining about the cost, and since I

>don't have a job, I have to comply. Any ideas? Many many thanks in advance!

>BEst wishes, Helene

[Guest guest]

Hi, I have three cats also. I haven't switched them over to raw food yet.

If you're interested, google the name " T. Bernard " regarding a raw

diet; she has written a book regarding raising cats naturally and has a website

too. I think she is also a little too much anti-fat, but otherwise her diet is

good--no veggies, but she does use some supplements including psyllium, B

vitamins, salmon oil, etc.

Since a lot of " better " commercial canned cat foods are $1.50 and up per a

6-ounce can, making your own raw diet might still be a better deal financially.

Maybe you can get chickens on sale. I'm in So. Cal., where supermarket

Farms chickens are regularly $1.49 to $1.69 per pound, but they are commonly on

sale for about 77 to 79 cents per pound. At one store, on the last night of a

sale, I got about 17 Farms chickens for 53 cents per pound. That was

nice and cheap.

You will need a grinder if you're going to use whole chickens, but it should pay

for itself eventually.

If you are anywhere near a 99 Cents Store, or other discount store that sells

canned goods, you can get human-grade canned salmon, mackerel, tuna, and

sardines for as little as $1.00 per can (salmon in 7.5-ounce cans, enough to

give good servings to three cats). Mackerel comes in about a 14-ounce can.

They'll also eat all kinds of tuna and sometimes sardines.

Make sure whatever you get doesn't have spices or hot sauce, and that is packed

in water or its own oil (sardines sometimes come this way). Don't feed them

soybean, cottonseed, or other vegetable oils.

I wouldn't recommend feeding them fish more than once or twice a week.

If you want to feed commercial foods, there are several brands out which are

supposed to be grain-free and/or low carb.

Evo has dry and canned, but it's not cheap... for a 15-1/2-pound bag it's almost

$40. But there are other brands. One of my cats prefers Taste of the Wild,

which is about $14 less per large bag. Taste of the Wild has several flavors.

If you to go a feed store, there are several other brands out now... Eagle Pack,

Wellness, etc. Wellness also has grain-free canned food. You could also just

browse and see what brands are available to you locally.

I have heard that Wysong is good (it's freeze-dried), but it is more expensive

than Evo, and it's probably more expensive than a raw diet. They have a

website. I haven't seen it in my regular feed store yet.

There are also commercial raw diets available now too... they are refrigerated

and come in chub packs of different sizes (packed like ground beef in a plastic

chub).

Since cats can be difficult to change over to a raw diet, it might be better if

you keep them on a raw diet but find ways to spend less money doing so.

Good luck.

Pam Maltzman

(allergic to paying full price for anything these days)

>

> Dear All,

>

> I'm writing to ask whether some of you who have cats have found commercial

cat-food that doesn't have grains, probiotics, fruits, dairy, veggies

etc....that is basically meat and fat?

> I have three cats that are raw-fed right now, and doing great on that diet,

but my husband is complaining about the cost, and since I don't have a job, I

have to comply. Any ideas? Many many thanks in advance!

> BEst wishes, Helene

>