I can't begin to tell you how much I admire pet parents who feed a raw diet. The time, effort, and skill set required is so far beyond my abilities that I would never feel comfortable attempting such a project. (Not to mention the fact that I'm 98% sure Mudpie wouldn't eat it anyways!)
Shortly after Mudpie arrived here at her forever home we tried freeze-dried raw and it was a total bomb because I introduced it to her the wrong way: I merely added a few pieces to her bowl of kibble and she just ate around it. I was advised by many readers to try a different approach so when Chewy offered us the opportunity to try out Stella & Chewy's Chick Chick Chicken Dinner we were able to put into practice what we'd learned.
Here's how I attempted to introduce Mudpie to the freeze-dried raw with her thoughts in italics:
First I tried crumbling a few pieces and mixing it in with her overnight kibble snack. I figured this way she'd have all night to think about it. (Who do you think went hungry that night? This girl!)
Then I tried crumbling it on top of her wet food. (Keep trying, Mommy!)
Finally I went with rehydrating the food with warm water. (Are you kitten me???)
So in other words, our end result was the same trying all these different methods as it was when I just added a few pieces to her food. She just didn't go for it. Still, we give this food four paws way up as an easy way to introduce raw food to your cat's diet. If you simply don't have the time or the inclination to make your own raw cat food, it doesn't get any more convenient than getting it out of a bag. The methods we outlined here have been proven to work...if your cat's name isn't Mudpie. (HA HA Mommy, you're so funny...)
Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried food comes in a 12 ounce bag and is currently on sale at Chewy.com for $22.79. It's available in 5 flavors: Chick Chick Chicken, Duck Duck Goose, Yummy Lickin' Salmon & Chicken, Tummy Ticklin' Turkey, and Sea-licious Salmon & Cod.
Disclaimer: This food was sent to us for free by Chewy.com as part of their Blogger Outreach Program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and we never recommend a product we don’t fully believe in.
20 comments:
Well, that's a bummer! :-( We actually love Stella and Chewy and my human sometimes gives it to us dry as a treat! We do get raw for dinner, but it is frozen defrosted from the store... my human can't get it together to make it herself!
Stella and Chewy do good stuff BUT you can't please every cat every time and they will know that ;-) I suspect that if it was available here in NZ it would be ideal for our senior boy Dusty. He loves various raw foods including his NZ made Jimbo's, and Feline Natural (also available in the US for cats and dogs!).
I think I would be VERY suspicious if Muddpie tried and loved everything so we appreciate your honesty!
Oh and Hi-Paw for the Anjellicles Mum says!!
Miranda and the Dash Kitten Crew
We got several sample bags of the chicken flavor at BlogPaws and I used them as a treat. I was surprised he ate them as they came (not re-hydrated or crumbled). When all else fails, pretend that the cat isn't supposed to eat the food or there's a limited quantity and VOILA! I kid you not. Usually, Bear acts like kibble isn't real food. But if I set out wet food and take the dry away, he'll refuse to eat the wet and beg for the dry back. He gets a wet food treat every day though and he scarfs it down - he acts like it's the best thing ever - unless that's all that's available. I love him so much ... but sometimes ... :p
I would suggest trying one of the frozen raw diets - most cats will accept those more readily than the freeze dried raw diets. Stella and Chewy makes the same diet in a frozen raw formula.
Well, you sure give your mommy a run for her money, Mudpie. I bet she doesn't mind, though, when you look at her with that cute face of yours. Oh, and I bet my kitties would react the exact same way to this food, the finicky felines they are. Thank you for this honest review! Purrs!
Too bad Mudpie didn't like the Stella & Chewy. Ernie LOVES it and won't eat his wet food unless it's mixed into it (we rehydrate it in water). However, Wally is so-so with it...and because of Zoey's megacolon, she doesn't get raw food.
Mudpie looks so precious by the bag. Now I know she was just thinking, "Are you kitten me?" :)
Ha ha! Mudpie, you remind me of a certain tortie kitty in our house who can also be very, um, *selective* about what she eats. :)
Great review ! We are cats, after all, we cannot like and enjoy every food, right ? Purrs
I admire raw feeders too. Coincidentally, Manna and Dexter just tried some of this same Stella & Chewy's food today! I had a bag of it from BlogPaws and I thought I would let them try it. They thought it was quite yummy and filling!
-Purrs from your friends at www.PlayfulKitty.net
We ate raw before Merlin was diagnosed with cancer. It had to be mixed into wet food to start, but gradually the percentage of wet was decreased along with an increase in the percentage of raw. When Merlin eventually goes to the Rainbow Bridge, our mom hopes to transition us back to raw again.
I want some of that stuff
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
Mudpie, we totally agree! We don't like raw foods and we really don't like dehydrated foods no matter how much our mommy wants us to like either of that stuff! Yuck, yuck, yuck!
I admire those who feed raw too. Sorry this was not a hit with Miss Mudpie.
Oh Mudpie, why didn't you eat it? Sounds like some good stuff!
mowzers, can we have your portion? We LUBS that stuff!
That didn't go ovet well hete, either.
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