Food4cats raw pet mince - alternative supplier?

rita-rabbit

bramble1 wrote: »

Have you got a local butcher you can go to instead?

also wondering what I will do with all this premium dried food I stocked up on (gggrrr) - probably try & sell to a friend & donate to rescue centre. Am praying this is the last major food change for mine now & making space in the freezer!

Lily-Lu

Just thought I'd mention for anyone that might be thinking about trying the Prize Choice minces. They don't contain offal like the Food4cats/food4dogs did (well, not when I last bought some anyway) , so that would need to be considered and added to the cats/dogs diet.

rita-rabbit

bramble1 wrote: »

Pets at home have freezers in the Dog food section with various brands of fresh meat in it.

Went to Pets @ Home & their frozen meat isn't frozen into mince pellets - it's one large frozen block so defrosted would be two much for my two & smell in my fridge! That may be suitable for those who have large or a lot of cats however.

Went to a few halal butchers locally & they sell:
chickens gizzards
ox heart
ox kidney
chicken feet

by the pound so I bought some kidney & plan to cut up & put into batches in freezer bags & take out one at a time.

emlou2009

Yep, I can confirm our local PAH has raw meat in the dog section too. Ours has bags of mince, like what you get in Iceland, and blocks as well, but the blocks can be hacked away at while still frozen, if you can be bothered to put the effort in. It isnt easy though :eek:

Fire_Fox

Are they just meat or meat and bone?

Petal_3

Hi all

Sorry if this has already been said, but for a complete raw diet you need to be feeding approx 80% muscle meat, 10% organ (some say 5% liver + 5% other squishy organs) and 10% bone. Meat doesn't have to be minced if that's not convenient - can just be cubed. (Heart is a muscle, not an organ just to clarify).

I too used Food4cats and am saddened to see them go. I was PM'd by a raw feeder on another forum about an alternative raw food supplier who primarily focus on dog food. They are looking to 'fill the gap' now I think and are working on a cat recipe. I will post details as and when I know more.

~x~

paddypaws101

http://www.darlingsrealdogfood.com/

I sent this company an email and it seems they do have several products suitable for cats.
I had a very long and detailed response from them and they seem a fantastic set up. All the meat is ethically sourced ( one for you CyberBob ) and they like to know individual animal names and relevant medical details.

Oh, and yes they offer a £10 trial pack!

If ever a company impressed me on first contact this is the one and i will certainly consider giving it a go....even though my lot are still keener on the tinned variety!

Petal_3

the very company I was referring to! :T

Fire_Fox

Would you mind posting the reply to your e-mail (personal details removed) so that we don't all ask the same company the same questions? Thanks!

paddypaws101

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Would you mind posting the reply to your e-mail (personal details removed) so that we don't all ask the same company the same questions? Thanks!

I sent the briefest message possible 'do you sell food for cats? ' and received a very long and detailed response below.....

!Due to demand, we have just developed a range of raw food which is good for cats too. Please see some information about it below.....


This email is all about why cats thrive on our – well, there’s no other way of saying it – our dog food. My partner, Jonathan, has always lived with cats and so (until a recent loss) have I, but we decided when we launched Darling’s to start with dogs and although we do feed quite a few cats it has been more by accident than design.
Normally when we are writing to a possible new customer we focus on why cats and dogs are biologically designed to eat raw food…but, obviously as you are already feeding raw, there’s no need to waste time on that!
Instead, let me start by telling you a little about what we do and then I’ll go through our recipes and prices and finally I’ll provide details of (what my English teacher would say about this sentence I dread to think) our special introductory offer, which allows you to test us out for a tenner.
Unlike any other pet food company in the UK we a) make all our food to order and b) know all our feline and canine customers by name. We started the business because we were feeding our own animals raw food, found it a dreadful hassle, and thought there must be other people in the same position. Jonathan has farmed at different times, had a stall in a farmers’ market and, ahem, though now happily married to someone else, was living with a tv chef. Also his son is a chef, too, Anyway, he had lots of experience in the food sector. Until I got totally fed up with the life corporate I was in charge of marketing at Nationwide Building Society.
Because we are so concerned about animal welfare and the environment we made it our first rule that we would only source our ingredients from local, ethical farmers. That is to say, our chickens, lambs etc. MUST be free range and well cared for. Because we are buying from local farmers, who we know personally, the quality of our meat is assured. We don’t stint on the cuts, either. This is the same food we feed our own families.
We sell our meat fresh, not frozen. Why? It serves as proof of the quality. All you have to do is open a packet and sniff! We deliver to our customers overnight in insulated boxes packed with ice that keep the food at the right temperature for up to 48 hours. We make the food on – say – a Monday and deliver overnight so that it arrives with you on Tuesday.
In terms of recipes our Chief Veterinary Surgeon – Tom Farrington – says that three of our dog recipes can be fed happily to cats. Before I explain what they are I ought to just say that Tom and our panel of vets and nutritionists are always happy to answer any questions you may have not just about our food BUT also about health and diet issues. OK. The recipes are as follows:
Free range chicken. 85% free range whole chicken, 8% ox heart and 7% calf kidney, hemp oil and a herbal powder which contains iron, anti-oxidants, vitamin C, chlorophyll, calcium and magnesium.
Prime Beef. 80% beef mince, 5% ox heart, 5% calf kidney and 10% calf bone, hemp oil and a herbal powder which contains iron, anti-oxidants, vitamin C, chlorophyll, calcium and magnesium.
Tender lamb. 80% lamb mince, 5% ox heart, 5% calf kidney and 10% chicken carcass, hemp oil and a herbal powder which contains iron, anti-oxidants, vitamin C, chlorophyll, calcium and magnesium.
What about prices? We make our profit on the difference between the farm gate price for the ingredients and the wholesale price. In other words, you will find that if you buy the same quality of ingredients from your butcher we work out quite a bit cheaper. Plus, of course, we are doing all the work of buying the ingredients, making the food, adding the supplements, packaging it, providing veterinary support, customer service and so forth.
Our margins are slim because quality ingredients are expensive. For this reason we have a minimum order of 20 kilograms. The good news, however, is that after you have ordered the minimum quantity the price falls dramatically. Larger orders are also much less expensive to deliver.
So. Here is our price list.
The beef is £3.90 per kg BUT providing the total order is over 20kg the additional per kilo price falls to £3.30 per kg.
The lamb is £3.90 per kg BUT providing the total order is over 20kg the additional per kilo price falls to £3.30 per kg.
The chicken is £4.90 per kg BUT providing the total order is over 20kg the additional per kilo price falls to £4.25 per kg.