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I hope you don't mind my sharing my entire thought/research process into raw food. I likely gave it more than thought than I should... but I can't help myself. If I've posted links I shouldn't, please slap me, and I'll edit the post.
After considerable research, I’m definitely in support of feeding Max a raw food diet. The health benefits of a raw food diet are substantial, and my understanding is that Sphynx cats, in particular, no longer leave stink bombs in (or outside) the litter box. I found this site very useful: http://www.catinfo.org/
Then came the research into commercially prepared raw food vs home made raw food. Home made is definitely cheaper by a magnitude of about 50%. Plus, while Vancouver, BC has numerous options for commercially prepared raw food, I wasn’t keen on the ingredient lists – namely, lack of some essential nutrients, addition of unnecessary vegetable matter, and in some cases, made with meat from animals given antibiotics and hormones. After all that dissection, it was plain to me that I’d be happy making Max’s food from meats of my choosing. I make most of my own food from scratch, so it’s not much extra effort.
Next I had to decide between meat + complete powder nutrient additive OR precise percentages of meat, organ, bone, and heart plus additional nutrient additives. Yes, I have a background in chemistry and aced analytical chemistry, but oh my god, I am not ready to pursue the latter… maybe one day, but not today. And it doesn’t strike me as any cheaper than the former.
Then I had to source meat without antibiotics and hormones. My own butcher is willing to give me a nice deal on beef, but I’d like Max to have variety. After performing my typical due diligence, I settled on Hills Foods (http://www.hillsfoods.com/). They offer bulk pricing and have the most amazing assortment of meats (from camel to venison and everything in between). So I picked up 1 lb. of 8 different meats.
And finally I had to decide on a complete powder nutrient additive. I smiled wide when I discovered that the much loved Better in the Raw (https://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/) was made on Salt Spring Island (one of my favourite vacation spots). There are others, but pardon my patriotism here. And I was justified in my choice by the fact that a number of makers of home made raw here use Better in the Raw.
Also, I’m not a fan of plastic, so I purchased these fantastic wide mouthed glass jars (less than $1 each) (http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/product_page/47.php?pid=41) that hold .5 lb of cat food each. I picked up two cases of 12 jars at Canadian Tire.
At last, tonight I made my first batch of cat food!!!
The process was longer than it normally would be if I were mixing up one large batch of the same meat type. Tonight I made 8 different types of cat food.
1 lb. of each meat was combined with .75 cup of water + .25 cup of Better in the Raw, resulting in 1.5 cups of cat food.
First I used my whisk to combine water and powder, but that proved… splattery. I then resorted to the OXO mixing container I use for my salad dressings.
Much better! I spread the meat out in the bowl, poured the water and powder mixture over top and combined it all quickly. The scale became moot after the first bit when I realized that Max is seriously not going to care if one container comprises of 212 g and another holds 208 g. Seriously… OCD and chemistry skills can be prohibitive at times.
In the end, I have 8 (meat types) x 3 = 24 half pound jars of cat food.
How much is Max going to eat? I think about 1 lb. per day while he’s a kitten (possibly more?). I’ll be feeding him 3 times per day, as much as he can eat in half an hour. It’ll be an interesting experiment. I’ll keep notes on which meats Max likes best, and how much he eats.
The cost (in Canadian dollars)? For this test prep, between meat and Better in the Raw, the cost ranged from $6 to $7.50 per pound. In future, I’m looking at $5 to $6.50 per pound with bulk purchasing.
And that’s my initial journey into raw feeding.
Now I need Max! LOL
I have no idea if this will help others, but I've been wanting to put this together for myself for a while and thought it may help others newbies like myself who are curious about costs.
It's an Excel spreadsheet where you can fill in your cost for BitR and meats per pound. Also enter how much your naked(s) eat per day and voila -- final cost per day.
If it doesn't make sense, let me know.
Cheers.
Raw Food Calculator
After considerable research, I’m definitely in support of feeding Max a raw food diet. The health benefits of a raw food diet are substantial, and my understanding is that Sphynx cats, in particular, no longer leave stink bombs in (or outside) the litter box. I found this site very useful: http://www.catinfo.org/
Then came the research into commercially prepared raw food vs home made raw food. Home made is definitely cheaper by a magnitude of about 50%. Plus, while Vancouver, BC has numerous options for commercially prepared raw food, I wasn’t keen on the ingredient lists – namely, lack of some essential nutrients, addition of unnecessary vegetable matter, and in some cases, made with meat from animals given antibiotics and hormones. After all that dissection, it was plain to me that I’d be happy making Max’s food from meats of my choosing. I make most of my own food from scratch, so it’s not much extra effort.
Next I had to decide between meat + complete powder nutrient additive OR precise percentages of meat, organ, bone, and heart plus additional nutrient additives. Yes, I have a background in chemistry and aced analytical chemistry, but oh my god, I am not ready to pursue the latter… maybe one day, but not today. And it doesn’t strike me as any cheaper than the former.
Then I had to source meat without antibiotics and hormones. My own butcher is willing to give me a nice deal on beef, but I’d like Max to have variety. After performing my typical due diligence, I settled on Hills Foods (http://www.hillsfoods.com/). They offer bulk pricing and have the most amazing assortment of meats (from camel to venison and everything in between). So I picked up 1 lb. of 8 different meats.
And finally I had to decide on a complete powder nutrient additive. I smiled wide when I discovered that the much loved Better in the Raw (https://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/) was made on Salt Spring Island (one of my favourite vacation spots). There are others, but pardon my patriotism here. And I was justified in my choice by the fact that a number of makers of home made raw here use Better in the Raw.
Also, I’m not a fan of plastic, so I purchased these fantastic wide mouthed glass jars (less than $1 each) (http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/product_page/47.php?pid=41) that hold .5 lb of cat food each. I picked up two cases of 12 jars at Canadian Tire.
At last, tonight I made my first batch of cat food!!!
The process was longer than it normally would be if I were mixing up one large batch of the same meat type. Tonight I made 8 different types of cat food.
1 lb. of each meat was combined with .75 cup of water + .25 cup of Better in the Raw, resulting in 1.5 cups of cat food.
First I used my whisk to combine water and powder, but that proved… splattery. I then resorted to the OXO mixing container I use for my salad dressings.
Much better! I spread the meat out in the bowl, poured the water and powder mixture over top and combined it all quickly. The scale became moot after the first bit when I realized that Max is seriously not going to care if one container comprises of 212 g and another holds 208 g. Seriously… OCD and chemistry skills can be prohibitive at times.
In the end, I have 8 (meat types) x 3 = 24 half pound jars of cat food.
How much is Max going to eat? I think about 1 lb. per day while he’s a kitten (possibly more?). I’ll be feeding him 3 times per day, as much as he can eat in half an hour. It’ll be an interesting experiment. I’ll keep notes on which meats Max likes best, and how much he eats.
The cost (in Canadian dollars)? For this test prep, between meat and Better in the Raw, the cost ranged from $6 to $7.50 per pound. In future, I’m looking at $5 to $6.50 per pound with bulk purchasing.
And that’s my initial journey into raw feeding.
Now I need Max! LOL
I have no idea if this will help others, but I've been wanting to put this together for myself for a while and thought it may help others newbies like myself who are curious about costs.
It's an Excel spreadsheet where you can fill in your cost for BitR and meats per pound. Also enter how much your naked(s) eat per day and voila -- final cost per day.
If it doesn't make sense, let me know.
Cheers.
Raw Food Calculator
Last edited by a moderator:
It'll be interesting to see what his preference is protein wise. Homemade is definitely the best and most cost effective. Wish I had the time and energy for it! Let's be honest it's mostly my energy level 
