? Freeze dried raw
- Thread starter Bellasmom
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Shantismom
Member Since 2014
My cat has IBD and someone suggested freeze dried raw to me. My cat is not a diabetic but she is on prednisolone for an auto-immune disease so I am trying to keep her carbs low so she won't become overweight and develop diabetes. So I am interested in an opinion also.
Kris & Teasel
Member Since 2016
Djamila
Member Since 2015
The only one I would recommend is Primal. Their freeze dried and frozen raw recipes are the same, so you can see all of the nutrition info on their website. They have also been really good about doing recalls openly and with extreme caution - so even when it isn't something that particularly matters - they just prefer to error on the side of safety to our pets.
One thing to say about freeze-dried is that I've heard people on here suggest feeding it dry to cats that prefer kibble. That is actually a terrible idea though. Freeze dried food is even lower in moisture than kibble, and kibble is far too dry to be safe for a cat. I can understand sprinkling a very small amount on top of wet food during the transition, but not just leaving out a bowl of it as food. So if you are considering freeze-dried, please be sure to properly re-hydrate it before serving to your kitty!
One thing to say about freeze-dried is that I've heard people on here suggest feeding it dry to cats that prefer kibble. That is actually a terrible idea though. Freeze dried food is even lower in moisture than kibble, and kibble is far too dry to be safe for a cat. I can understand sprinkling a very small amount on top of wet food during the transition, but not just leaving out a bowl of it as food. So if you are considering freeze-dried, please be sure to properly re-hydrate it before serving to your kitty!
Sylvie
Member Since 2017
in the early days we used the vital essential freeze-dried raw turkey, chicken & duck patties while trying to put weight on him and trying to find a more affordable low carb wet canned food that was not salmon or fish that he would eat enough of but, he would only eat the patties dry. i would of continued to feed him VE patties in a heartbeat if he would of ate it rehydrated, a lot better quality wise than the fancy feast turkey & giblet he settled on IMO! Be sure to check for carbs, not all are low carb like we may assume them to be, i was suprised at the over 20% carb level of stella & chewy raw freeze-dried!
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
I have a cat with IBD and Diabetes so he's on the royal canin high fiber mixed with pate Merrick but he's not liking it so much unless i put a topper of something on it which has been the diabetes dry food he will cherry pick out. How is your guy with IBD doing on freeze dried food? Maybe I need to switch to Primal as a topper...I do have the Stella and chewy's and as commented below its too high in carbs.....
Olive & Paula
Member Since 2015
I use Vital Essentials. It is the only thing that got my 15 yr old civvie off dry food. She was dry fed her entire life. At first she would only eat it dry. Then moved onto crumbled on wet food. Now she will eat it mixed with little water. She prefers it on the semi-dry side. It's all about texture. She will also eat the nibs they make. VE semi dry or the nibs, in my opinion is better quality than any regular dry food.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
Ill search the vital essentials and see if that isn't something we can feed too. All my cats have been free fed on dry food and once a day canned but now no more dry and only canned so they all miss the crunch of the kibble i suppose. I'm willing to try anything low carb but it also has to agree with Olivers sensitive tummy.
Olive & Paula
Member Since 2015
Chewy has VE. I tried the YA dry and all my kitties had digestive upset even after 6 weeks. Non of my kitties will touch Stella and Chewy. This works for us.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
I think it got the Turkey thinking it was lower carb..........maybe Rabbit (i hate to buy rabbit though) might be easier on his tummy?
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
all my cats love the Stella and Chewy but refuse to eat it rehydrated so i use it as a treat or now a food topper but the carbs are too high so that is why i got some primal nuggets.... will be here tomorrow so we will see how the weekend goes with his tummy.
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
Primal is all low carb. I’ve used turkey, chicken, and pork both fd and frozen. You just have to see what doesn’t trigger the IBD. What protein has worked for you in the past? The girls liked VE frozen as well. I’ve been told it’s not as popular as other brands. Not many stores carry the cat version here.
Olive & Paula
Member Since 2015
I can't get the frozen VE. None of the stores even see the freeze dried. I can only order it from chewy.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
My cats eat anything pretty much. Right now we use Royal Canin High fiber and i don't know what protein that is. I also mix in Chicken Merrick Pate. I try to stick with Chicken or Tukey.......Ill see how he does on the Primal over the weekend. Thank you for the suggestion as to a certain protein possibly irritating his IBD.
Djamila
Member Since 2015
Is that the Calorie Control High Fiber? It looks like from the food list that it has 29% carbs, so be sure to do some extra monitoring as you switch to the Primal. That could have a big impact on insulin needs.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
Yes, sadly its the only food that binds him and i thought i could wean him off but when i tried he reverted back to cow patty poop or worse so we mix in the merrick trying to counter act the carbs but i don't know if that's helping. I have monitored his glucose but not daily and we are giving 2 units if he eats well and 1 if he doesn't and watching for water intake and so far he seems ok, he's not drinking excessively and seems to be keeping the weight he put back on, on and over all a happy boy.
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
Not too many have it here either. If they sell the VE dog raw they can order the cat raw. I did that to try it. As long as Chewy has it, it doesn’t matter though.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
No he isn't.......is it something i can slip into his food? I cant pill him..... can i get this at an all natural store like Sprouts, Jimbos?
Djamila
Member Since 2015
Here is the link to info on Slippery Elm Bark
http://www.felinecrf.org/holistic_treatments.htm
There are directions for making it into a little syrup or paste. I've just mixed it with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some freeze dried treats into it, mixed and fed. At first it was a lot of treats to a little SEB, but when he's sick enough he'll usually just take it since he's figured out it makes him feel better.
As far as the s. boulardii:
Jarrow Brand S. Boulardii is said to be bitter, and most kitties will not eat it.
Nutricology, A.O.R. Florastar and Renew Life brands can be sprinkled on or mixed into foods - just make sure that whatever you get doesn't say "S. Boulardii with MOS". It isn't dangerous, just tastes bad. Look for something around 5 billion CFU and split it into two doses (morning and night).
There's a ton of great info about it here: RawFeedingForIBDCats.org
And of course if it's a really serious flare, nothing like that nasty metronidazole to take care of it. I couldn't pill my cat either for the longest time, but I finally learned how with this video. Hint: They have to be standing on a slippery surface. If they are on carpet they can get enough traction to escape. My tile floor in the bathroom works great
. Sam was feral when I got him, and super aggressive, but this really worked. At first I had to get his head pretty far back over his shoulders like she does in the video, but as he's learning I'm not trying to kill him, now I just need to tip it back a little. It took some learning and practice, but it's been worth it since I now have to pill him daily. Oh, and don't squirt water in their mouth. I just put some treats or food in front of him so as soon as I release his head he can eat something. I dont' know if this will help with your kitty, but it was so life changing here that I like to share it in case it might help someone else 
http://www.felinecrf.org/holistic_treatments.htm
There are directions for making it into a little syrup or paste. I've just mixed it with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some freeze dried treats into it, mixed and fed. At first it was a lot of treats to a little SEB, but when he's sick enough he'll usually just take it since he's figured out it makes him feel better.
As far as the s. boulardii:
Jarrow Brand S. Boulardii is said to be bitter, and most kitties will not eat it.
Nutricology, A.O.R. Florastar and Renew Life brands can be sprinkled on or mixed into foods - just make sure that whatever you get doesn't say "S. Boulardii with MOS". It isn't dangerous, just tastes bad. Look for something around 5 billion CFU and split it into two doses (morning and night).
There's a ton of great info about it here: RawFeedingForIBDCats.org
And of course if it's a really serious flare, nothing like that nasty metronidazole to take care of it. I couldn't pill my cat either for the longest time, but I finally learned how with this video. Hint: They have to be standing on a slippery surface. If they are on carpet they can get enough traction to escape. My tile floor in the bathroom works great
. Sam was feral when I got him, and super aggressive, but this really worked. At first I had to get his head pretty far back over his shoulders like she does in the video, but as he's learning I'm not trying to kill him, now I just need to tip it back a little. It took some learning and practice, but it's been worth it since I now have to pill him daily. Oh, and don't squirt water in their mouth. I just put some treats or food in front of him so as soon as I release his head he can eat something. I dont' know if this will help with your kitty, but it was so life changing here that I like to share it in case it might help someone else
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
wow thanks for sharing all this! I certainly will look into the two above and see about getting that for Oliver. I appreciate it. I cant watch the video now while at work but once home i will. Really appreciate this!!Here is the link to info on Slippery Elm Bark
http://www.felinecrf.org/holistic_treatments.htm
There are directions for making it into a little syrup or paste. I've just mixed it with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some freeze dried treats into it, mixed and fed. At first it was a lot of treats to a little SEB, but when he's sick enough he'll usually just take it since he's figured out it makes him feel better.
As far as the s. boulardii:
Jarrow Brand S. Boulardii is said to be bitter, and most kitties will not eat it.
Nutricology, A.O.R. Florastar and Renew Life brands can be sprinkled on or mixed into foods - just make sure that whatever you get doesn't say "S. Boulardii with MOS". It isn't dangerous, just tastes bad. Look for something around 5 billion CFU and split it into two doses (morning and night).
There's a ton of great info about it here: RawFeedingForIBDCats.org
And of course if it's a really serious flare, nothing like that nasty metronidazole to take care of it. I couldn't pill my cat either for the longest time, but I finally learned how with this video. Hint: They have to be standing on a slippery surface. If they are on carpet they can get enough traction to escape. My tile floor in the bathroom works great
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
Also get gel capsules, size 3 or 4 and put the pills in them. That way there’s no taste. You can combine more than one pill in a single gel cap and chase it with something yummy. My cats liked Gerbers 2nds ham, beef or turkey. I also dippedtge gelcaps in tge Gerbers so it slid down easy. You can get gelcaps on amazon, from capsuline.com or thrivingpets. The higher the number the SMALLER the gelcap. I like 3 and 4. 5s are even smaller but I fond the others just fine.
Kerri2455
Member Since 2017
That’s a great idea and I think I have some gel caps!
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