More economical cat food suggestions please? I use Darwins raw now

[AnnaH]

Hello friends,

I have 3 rescue cats. 2 are less than a year old. They were feral until I rescued them 4 months ago. I love feeding them healthy with the raw Darwins (partially cooked) and Stella and Chewy's freeze dried organ hearts per @Dr. Jeff's suggestion.

Any suggestions for cat food that is as healthy as possible that is more affordable and quick and easy? I ask for a couple of reasons:

1.Darwins is getting pricey but I will keep trying to rotate this in.

2. I need something simple for cat sitters to feed them when I am out of town.

3. Sometimes mornings are rough for me (healing physically) and want to give them something quick and easy when I am not feeling well.

My 2 kitties get the zoomies over a can of feral food like friskies, I have only given this as a rare treat because it makes them so happy since they grew up on feral food.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!

I look forward to some suggestions.

@annahagopian

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Anna-

How about a commercial frozen raw food like Steve's, SmallBatch or Vital Essential...?

Frozen Raw Dog Food Turducken Recipe

Steve's Real Food frozen turducken raw pet food blends the flavors and nutrients of turkey, duck, and chicken, offering a delectable medley of poultry meats for your pet to enjoy. It’s a highly palatable raw recipe that has wide-ranging nutritional benefits. It is made from vegetarian-fed...

www.stevesrealfood.com

What's available locally?

 

[Dr. Christina]

Very lucky cats, Anna.
I know you are very busy, but I saved a lot of money when I made my own cats' food. Even though I recommend feeding what a I am eating, many of my cats never became healthy enough to eat a huge variety. I researched and found a local farm where I bought a ground mixture of beef heart and left over beef muscle scraps, chicken organs, sometimes bags of chicken hearts, chicken backs and necks. Frozen. Sometimes they had sales on those or other meats that saved a lot. I would spend 3 hours every 6 weeks or so to cut in big chunks, mix and add stuff (so each batch was slightly different), scoop into week sized containers and freeze. I forget the cost, but it was 1/4 what I would have spent on prepared frozen and it was super convenient when I was busy or away. And I added different things they would eat when possible.

Dr. Christina

 

[AnnaH]

Very lucky cats, Anna.
I know you are very busy, but I saved a lot of money when I made my own cats' food. Even though I recommend feeding what a I am eating, many of my cats never became healthy enough to eat a huge variety. I researched and found a local farm where I bought a ground mixture of beef heart and left over beef muscle scraps, chicken organs, sometimes bags of chicken hearts, chicken backs and necks. Frozen. Sometimes they had sales on those or other meats that saved a lot. I would spend 3 hours every 6 weeks or so to cut in big chunks, mix and add stuff (so each batch was slightly different), scoop into week sized containers and freeze. I forget the cost, but it was 1/4 what I would have spent on prepared frozen and it was super convenient when I was busy or away. And I added different things they would eat when possible.

Dr. Christina

Hello Christina, this is amazing of you. It feels like alot of work for me right now dealing with a concussion. My question is don't you have to add taurine and all these other vital nutrients cats need In homemade food? Thank you! Anna

 

[AnnaH]

Hey Anna-

How about a commercial frozen raw food like Steve's, SmallBatch or Vital Essential...?

Frozen Raw Dog Food Turducken Recipe

Steve's Real Food frozen turducken raw pet food blends the flavors and nutrients of turkey, duck, and chicken, offering a delectable medley of poultry meats for your pet to enjoy. It’s a highly palatable raw recipe that has wide-ranging nutritional benefits. It is made from vegetarian-fed...

www.stevesrealfood.com

What's available locally?

is there a brand of some dry food as well from any of these brands that you recommend? sometimes I need a quick fix for them while I am recovering. Or do you only recommend frozen or freeze dried? Thank you for these resources.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Great question Anna!

NO (about dry and carbohydrate filled food for cats), but..!!

IMHO, dry food is not a good diet for cats (@Dr. Christina, @Dr. Sara and @Dr. Jean ?) but freeze dried or air-dried is OK.

How about (or any canned or air-dried from ZiwiPeak):

ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Chicken Recipe Cat Food, 14-oz bag - Chewy.com

Buy Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Chicken Recipe Cat Food, 14-oz bag at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

 

[Dr. Christina]

Anna,
Raw meat has plenty of taurine and other nutrients. Calcium is the only critical addition. Taurine is very inexpensive and cannot be over dosed, so I think that @Dr. Jean says just use it.

Again you spend (maybe with a friend) a few hours making weeks of the cat food. Then you just thaw and feed for a few days, then thaw the next container and feed til gone. Not much time and much less expensive and very healthy.
Dr. Christina

And I agree that freeze dried is best for a quick (though expensive) emergency food.

 

[TammiL]

I am going to jump on the home made food, just need to figure out WHERE to purchase my meats from and exactly what kind of meats! Thank you all for the input I am reading about here!