Cost and amounts?

[Spoon&Sphynx]

I’m considering starting a raw diet and am trying to figure out the logistics of it all. If what I’m figuring is correct, this seems WAY more expensive than what I’m currently feeding. However, it’s entirely possible that I’m way off base here…. Help please haha


I have 2 adult cats and will be adding a kitten in December.

From what I’ve read, each cat should be eating about 10 oz/day with the kitten eating a bit more.

If that’s correct, then I figure 2 lbs per day. (10 oz for adults and 12 for kitten)

The 5lb bag of BitR is $137 which makes 100lbs

100 lbs should last me 50 days if they’re eating 2 lbs/day

Then add in the cost of meat – which isn’t exactly cheap. For the 5bl bag to make 100 lbs, that’s, what? 67 lbs of meat? I can’t even imagine what that would cost….

Not factoring in the cost of the meat, I’m already at $2.75/day


However, feeding them a dry/wet combo of Merrick food I spend about $55 for 2.5 months. It’s looking like raw is going to cost me $250 for less than 2 months. Is this right?

 

[OwnedByOdysseus]

Guidelines that I have read say to go off of the cats weight. An adult cat should eat between 2-4% of their body weight, kittens can eat up to 8%. My little guy last weighed in at 3lbs (he is now closer to 4lb) and we found 8oz daily works wonderfully for him. Its a bit of playing to find the right number for each cat. We started at 5 which wasn't enough, tried 10 which was too much as he wasn't finishing his meals so 8 is our magic number!

I am completely unfamiliar with BitR but it seems like a lot of people use it around here.. A diverse raw food diet that follows the 80, 10, 5, 5 rule ensuring heart is fed twice weekly so kitty gets their taurine, does not need any supplementation other then perhaps omega 3 which I ensure Odysseus gets with a weekly portion of sardine and raw omega 3 eggs. So in my humble opinion, based on the extensive research I have done you can completely cut out the cost of the BitR.

Now you've got to do a lot of shopping around if you want to feed raw for the best possible prices. First off figure out how much you will be feeding and put together your menu. Now go to your farmers market or wherever you will be buying your meat, bring a pen and paper and write down all the prices. Take this home and do the math. I am going to be adding whole prey into Odysseus' diet and found out a feeder rabbit is 0.25/oz, feeder rats 0.40/oz, gizzard 0.20/oz, pork 0.43/oz etc. So for those four (of the many items) I feed him the average is 0.32/oz he gets 8oz per day so $2.56/day or $76.80/month. Keep in mind though, I spend more money on his food then I do my own. lol. All his meat (other then the feeders I'm going to be starting to feed) is free range, grain or grass fed, organic from the farmers market. I myself am a vegetarian and that's the only way I will buy meat. But meat from a grocery store that is hormone and antibiotic free is totally acceptable for your cat and cheaper.

I'm sure it still will be more expensive to buy raw food, but like I said shop around! That is key! It might make the extra expense easier to handle. And if it's still looking like it's going to be too expensive to make the switch do the best you can do within your budget! There's no shame in that! I want to get a second cat and know my ability to feed raw would be greatly affected if I ever do expand my family..

 

[zoinks]

Yes.. it is always more expensive to feed raw, I have never found anything that works out cheaper than dry.

Go to the butcher, costco, see if you can get cheap ground meat in bulk if you have the freezer space.

See also if it would be cheaper in the long run to get a meat grinder and grind the meat yourself.

These can all be ways to save money. At the moment I spend an absolute fortune on food because our freezer is tiny and I am lazy. It probably costs $200 a month for 2 cats or even more.

You could definitely get that down though. All about buying the meat in bulk and when it's cheap.

 

[OwnedByOdysseus]

Oh, another thing I'm going to try to cut costs is to buy whole chickens, turkeys, ducks etc. And butcher it myself at home. The less manufactured something is the cheaper it will cost. My mom buys whole chickens from the Hutterites for $10-15.

Also if you have friends that hunt ask them for any unused portions. Friends/family cooking holiday meals? Ask them for the offal that comes in most holiday birds that often gets thrown out.

Things that aren't common for people to eat (beef tongue anyone?) will be cheaper and totally appropriate for our little carnivores.

 

[Spoon&Sphynx]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[nerdgirl]

I feed raw but I'm lucky and have a place down the street called Jeffrey's that only makes raw organic pet food. For the 2 cats it is about $45 a week for their food.

 

[Calicocious]

I wasn't up to the challenge of making my own so I buy a commercial. For two females under two years that weigh in at around 7 lbs each it was costing me $42 a week for Primal nuggets. I had issues with one of my girls not absorbing enough thymine so she is back on dry for now. The other is still on it however with no issues.

 

[Pinktears99]

Hello

I make my own RAW and find it cheaper than feeding dry and wet commercial food.

My recipe consists of
75% chicken leg/thigh quarters (Must contain bone, must be dark meat, must have skin)
15% beef Please do not buy the ground beef as it is not top quality. Grind your own beef. A lot of ground beef has additional ingredients.
5% beef heart (Please note the heart is not organ meat. It is actually a muscle)
5% Organ meat - chicken livers, beef livers, kidneys, etc

I also add canned pumpkin, baby squash and plain yogurt. I freeze in small containers and feed twice daily. Both my cats have had blood work done and are well within normal ranges and not vitamin deficient.

On average my cost for materials (food) divided by the estimated number of feedings is .32 cents each feeding. The initial upfront costs are higher however the benefits double. Hope this helps.

 

[Helen]

I am attempting a intellectual reply now forgive me but its 6.30am in the UK.
That being said I have five ferrets, two little dogs and Moth my cat all of whom are fed a raw diet.
I feed the dogs a commercialy prepared diet as they simple didn't do well on a home made recipe, allthough not essentially they do better with a higher vegetable content I just compensate by feeding 4-5% of there body weight a day in comparison to the recommended 2-3%. The cost for us from feeding a high quality grain free biscuit and wet food in comparison too a raw diet was £53 Vs £30. My dogs weight 3kg and 6.4kg.

I can't compare for my cat Moth as he has only need with me two weeks and came to me on a basic 'transitional' raw diet. This is the recipie I am currently following for him.
1kg of mince, 400g of heart, 200g organs (minimum 100g liver), three eggs, 1/4 Lt of water, half a tin of a soft boned fish, two teaspoons of chicken egg shell meal too make up for the lack of edible bone his diet and a splash of salmon oil.
We are currently working on eating meat on the bone which is going really well so some days he dosent have his raw mix and alternatively has a duck neck or chicken wing.

I feed 115g twice a day (Moth weighs 4.6kg)

Once all mixed up into two days portions its enough to feed Moth for a 14-18 day period and costs me around £8-10 depending on the base mix

Following a basic recipie might be a good place to start and may make it easier to cost.
For us being based in the UK it has worked out more cost effective for the dogs and Moth In comparison to feeding a high quality commercial food but more expensive for the ferrets. They cost around £40 per month in comparison to £25 for three months. However even with a high quality kibble it is no comparison too what nature intended.

Not bad for 6.30am.