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Old February 28th, 2012, 06:18 PM
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Miaow Miaow is offline
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Nature's Variety Raw Frozen

I just found out about this food and I have several questions, firstly does anyone here feed it themselves?

Is it a good alternative to making your own raw food, and could a cat survive solely on it?

Is it better than feeding a canned food diet or equal?

I'm looking for a low-fat food (compared to dry kibble) as all of my cats are over weight. I understand that "diet" dry cat foods are very low in moisture content which can affect the kidneys, which is something I would really like to avoid after losing one cat to kidney failure. I'm looking for a food low in carb's to help prevent diabetes as one of my cats is extremely overweight and at risk. I'm also looking for a grain-free food as I have two siamese cats who seem to have extremely sensitive stomachs or possible food allergies. They throw up food continuously, compared to my DSH who rarely ever does.

Is it a suitable food for what I need? Do you find it is easy to switch over for finicky eaters?

Do you feed your cats once or twice per day? or more?

Thanks in advance.. lots of questions.
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Old February 28th, 2012, 08:21 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
I just found out about this food and I have several questions, firstly does anyone here feed it themselves?
I have fed it in the past..... not so much right now because my cats prefer other brands.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
Is it a good alternative to making your own raw food, and could a cat survive solely on it?
Yes and yes. If you have the time and inclination, making your own raw is probably the best choice (complete control of ingredients, fresher) but for those of us who can't for whatever reason, then NV raw is a great choice. And it is complete and balanced for everyday feeding, although I like to rotate between a few different brands just to cover my butt.

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Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
Is it better than feeding a canned food diet or equal?
Better. Raw food, even if it's commercially prepared and frozen, is still less processed than canned and has important enzymes/micronutrients that just can't be duplicated by cooked pet food manufacturers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
I'm looking for a low-fat food (compared to dry kibble) as all of my cats are over weight. I understand that "diet" dry cat foods are very low in moisture content which can affect the kidneys,
Low carb is probably more relevant to weight loss in cats. Moderate fat, high protein, low carb is the ideal ratio for all cats no matter what their "condition". You're right about the diet dry foods being moisture depleted, but they also tend to be high carb, which isn't good for any cat, and most especially not a fat one.


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Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
I'm also looking for a grain-free food as I have two siamese cats who seem to have extremely sensitive stomachs or possible food allergies.
I think pretty much all the frozen raw diets tend to be grain-free, although some contain too much other vegetable matter. NV is one of the good ones in that category (5% max). They do tend to have a fairly high bone content though, which causes some cats to get constipated. Something to keep an eye on.

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Is it a suitable food for what I need? Do you find it is easy to switch over for finicky eaters?
Definitely suitable, but since every cat is different, some might be easier to switch than others. With patience and perseverance, I think every cat can eventually be converted. Some tips for doing that:
http://feline-nutrition.org/nutritio...-to-a-raw-diet
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites...et-part-1.aspx
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites...et-part-2.aspx
http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm

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Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
Do you feed your cats once or twice per day? or more?
Cats should be fed a minimum of twice a day, but 3 or more would be better. My cats get 3 raw meals a day (in the morning, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed), plus I leave canned food out for them to snack on.
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Old February 28th, 2012, 09:31 PM
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Thank you so much for answering all my questions! I am thinking that this is definitely a good option for me. I just don't have the time to make my own raw food. I like simple (and helathy) and this seems like the most convienient option. My cats love most types of wet food I don't think switching should be a problem. I'm very excited to see what they think of it.
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Old February 28th, 2012, 10:45 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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My cats love most types of wet food I don't think switching should be a problem. I'm very excited to see what they think of it.
Have you ever given them a piece of raw chicken breast or slice of beef? If not, that might be a good place to start. Some cats don't immediately recognize raw meat as food because it has such a low odour (and a different texture) compared to processed cat food. Lightly cooking the outside of the meat can help bring out the aroma if they need some convincing, then you can gradually cook it less and less as they get used to it.

Let us know how it goes!
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Old February 29th, 2012, 08:05 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Ditto everything SCM has stated.

The only thing I found with NV was that sometimes when I bought it, it has freezer burn and it is expensive. I now make my own. Admittedly I hate doing it, but it only takes about 1-2 hours a month.

Cats go by smell for their food and commercial canned will smell differently than raw. As SCM stated, try them with some raw and see if they will eat it before spending the money on NV. If they don't, you can try adding tiny pieces of raw chicken mixed with their favourite canned to get them used to the smell and texture.

My cats eat half canned/half raw and because of the speed at which their food is digested, I too feed them 3 times a day.

Once they are on NV you may want to consider adding a bit of raw egg yolk (not whites) to their meal once or twice a week to give them a bit of extra B vitamins.
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Old February 29th, 2012, 06:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
Have you ever given them a piece of raw chicken breast or slice of beef?
One will eat anything, one is selective, and the next one will not eat table scraps. But they all go crazy for wet food.

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Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
The only thing I found with NV was that sometimes when I bought it, it has freezer burn and it is expensive. I now make my own. Admittedly I hate doing it, but it only takes about 1-2 hours a month.
I should look into it again, but will the 3 cats it seems like I have to make so much of it. It all seems so daunting about getting the right mix of ingredients and supplements.

How many ounces (medallions) did you feed per day of the NV? Going by what is recommeneded on their website I found that it would be cheaper than feeding a high quality wet food?
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Old March 1st, 2012, 08:55 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miaow View Post
One will eat anything, one is selective, and the next one will not eat table scraps. But they all go crazy for wet food.



I should look into it again, but will the 3 cats it seems like I have to make so much of it. It all seems so daunting about getting the right mix of ingredients and supplements.

How many ounces (medallions) did you feed per day of the NV? Going by what is recommeneded on their website I found that it would be cheaper than feeding a high quality wet food?
I was feeding a litter of 7 kittens and 3 adult cats along with canned food, so I was going through quite a few medallions. I would go through about 3 bags a week and just couldn't afford to continue.

There are mixes that you can buy and add to raw meat. It may be a bit easier on the pocket book and you would have more control over the ingredients.

As for my recipe, it's quite simple, use a whole prey model. The easiest is to use whole chickens, add 10% organs (chicken liver for Vit A/hearts for taurine/kidneys), add a few raw egg yolks, some salt (they need iodine). I cut off fat, but leave the lean skin as cats don't get their Vit D from the sun, but from partially digested vit D in their prey's skin.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood


Here are some alternatives:

http://www.tryhealthypaws.com/produc...?pclass=Feline

https://www.hare-today.com/shipping....b297bbe507da9d

http://www.felineinstincts.com/
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey

Last edited by Love4himies; March 1st, 2012 at 09:09 AM.
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Old July 2nd, 2012, 08:09 PM
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I know this topic is older, but just wanted to update that I am in the process of switching my cats over to Nature's Variety. The first night I tried it on it's own with no luck with any of my cats.
They had been a little spoiled as I was away with work for a couple months and my mom was looking after them and giving them tuna as a treat.. which they got hooked on!
So I tried mixing with the tuna, eventually adding a tiny bit of the Natures Variety with a lot of tuna. Finally got them to eat it and now I've slowly been changing the mix. Tonight they are now eating 1/3 of a medallion each with a tiny bit of tuna mixed. I am still giving them limited dry food right now until I can get them eating it on it's own.
I'm glad to finally be getting them switched off of the dry food and onto a much more healthy diet.
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Old July 3rd, 2012, 07:42 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Thanks for the update. Glad to hear your kitties are taking to the raw, even if they have it with tuna
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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  #10  
Old September 16th, 2012, 03:56 PM
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Kittylover23 Kittylover23 is offline
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It's awesome you're switching them over to raw! My kitties are currently eating NV raw, too!
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  #11  
Old March 3rd, 2013, 05:25 PM
Kittystylez Kittystylez is offline
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I am by no means as experienced and knowledgeable as Love4himies or sugarcatmom, and in fact I still look for their advice with my kittens, but I agree with the freezer burn! I tried getting my kittens on Nature's Variety but every bag I bought (3 in total) were freezer burnt so they all went back and I never did feed it to my kittens... the way I see it, if I am paying more for better quality I am not going to give them freezer burnt food!

Good luck and I hope you do switch over to raw! It really is good for them.
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