Thread: Opinions on ready made raw food

Hi Victoria, I am a raw feeder with my 3 coonies. I have never tried either of the brands you mention, but Natural Instinct has a very good reputation.

There is a stockist of DAF products very near me, so I have been buying their frozen 1-pound (454g) packs of minced chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, beef, lamb and venison. Their website has been revamped and now you can order online. It does say dog food and there is a lot of choice for dogs, but the ground packs are suitable for cats too. Each pack is about 80p. You could find out if they have a stockist near you. DAF Frozen Dog Foods - DAF Petfood

Recently a new shop opened near me called Better4pets, stocking a range of frozen raw food from a different supplier (not sure which one). They are more geared up for cats and I was very happy to see them stocking a manageable half kilo portion of chicken hearts, which is my cats' absolute favourite. I had trouble getting them in small quantities before as I only have so much freezer space. They packs of ground heart, mixed game, rabbit, beef trim, etc, 500g for about 80p. They are super-helpful and you could asks them about supplies. Better4Pets Website :: Healthy diets for pets!

It's a good idea to ring the changes from the ground food with the occasional feed of raw chicken wings or thighs. This is important for developing jaw strength and for cleaning their teeth. I also sometimes shear the meat off a turkey drumstick for them. Or I make up my own food which is a mix of an entire chicken, chopped, some liver and kidney, some turkey leg meat, a tin of pilchards and an egg. Mix it all up and put it in freezer bags of about 400g each. Also, I order an ox heart and tongue from the butcher, chopped, and portion those up for the freezer.

If your breeder is raising kittens on some raw food that is a great start. I don't think you will have many problems with your baby eating raw when she comes to you. My breeder is excellent but she feeds kitten dry food and gives a sample to go with the kitten to the new home. In spite of this, my kitten got his face straight into the raw food I dished up and has never looked back.

Finally, this is a great site for general reading about raw feeding cats: Feline Nutrition