Savannah's Paw Tracks

Part One: My Journey To Wellness…#Raw Paws Pet Food

HIYA! SAVANNAH HERE!!

I bet’cha most of you didn’t know that I had a wellness challenge, or four, over the past eighteen months. Some of you know part of the story, but most do not know the whole story. So just as I promised in on November 10, I am going to tell you why I was starting to feel more playful, had more energy and, well, I was just feeling more ‘cat’ like.

The reason for that, and many other changes in my wellness had to do with a dramatic change in my diet. I was slow to change  at first, but when I found just the flavor and texture I liked, I went RAW!!!

Yes, I most certainly did. It wasn’t easy to do because I am such a picky particular eater. But we had excellent coaching and support all the way. My wellness challenges are both physiological and emotional. I have been stressed ever since TKS arrived. About six months later when she was finally allowed out and about, I started to vomit after eating a meal. The vomiting escalated over the next many months to sometimes three or four times a day. Sometimes every day, sometimes a few days passed with no problem. Then I became really constipated. And finally my energy level dropped and I just didn’t feel good.

We have done all the blood work, x-rays, ultrasound tests. We have learned I cannot tolerate certain canned foods with too many additives, grain fillers etc.; especially not beef. I am a pate girl all the way and so I am also not inclined to partake of pumpkin soup, goats milks (dry or liquid) and I won’t eat if my food has anti-acid meds in it. I do not have IBS nor pancreatitis. I seem to have something similar to human ‘acid reflux’. So Raw Paws Pet Food gave Mom L and Dad P and me hope.

It started when Mom L met representatives from Raw Paws Pet Food at the 2015 Blog Paws Conference.

The representatives asked if Mom L was interested in trying her cats on a raw diet and she said she would consider it. She must have signed up or something, because the Raw Paws people contacted her just before she and Dad P left on the bazillion years long trip this past Summer. The Raw Paws folks were so patient, they agreed it would be best to start me when there was  as little stress in my life as possible. And what with Mom L and Dad P gone for 3 weeks, and then we would be moving immediately upon their return, we all decided to wait until early September.

We asked for one, five pound ‘chub’ (see photo above) of their complete chicken and two rolls, two and one half pounds each, of their complete poultry for cats. I bet you are wondering what “Complete” means? According to the Raw Paws website:

What does complete mean?
The term ‘Complete’ references a ratio of food that is equivalent to what a cat may eat in nature if it were a wild animal. This ratio is referred to as the 80/10/10 rule, meaning 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Our entire line of Raw Paws Complete and Balanced products meet the nutritional adequacy standards established by AAFCO. This means they are suitable for all life stages including: puppies, adults, seniors and pregnant or lactating females.

So, Mom L spoke with a representative, as well as exchanged email with both of the co-founders before the product arrived. We wanted to be sure we knew how to handle the raw product, how to store it, how long it can sit in the fridge and how long it can sit out waiting for me to eat it. You see, I am also a ‘grazer’…I like to nibble a bit, go away, come back for some more…about three times for one meal. (hover over photo to view captions)

Anyway, the product arrived. Packed really well with lots of dry ice. And every shipment contains a really nice Thank You card. We really feel like Raw Paws, being a small raw pet food company, goes the extra mile to give special attention to their customers.

It took a week to move me and The Kid Sage onto raw cat food. The first chub, Complete Poultry for Cats, had supplements, Mom L wanted to try it to make sure we would get sufficient taurine. Ingredients: Chicken Breast Meat, Chicken Necks, Turkey Heats, Turkey Gizzards, Turkey Liver, Colostrum, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Chloline Choride, Salt, Taurine, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamine E, Selenium Yeast, Niacin, Vitamin C, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Calcium Panothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin A, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate

TKS and I both rejected it completely. Even when Raw Paws had Mom L barely cook it in a little frying pan for like 3 minutes…still no deal.

Next we tried the Complete Chicken chub. It doesn’t have the supplements, so Mom L exchanged emails with the co-founders and the holistic DVM who collaborates with them to insure that this would give us sufficient taurine, vitamins and minerals etc. Ingredients:Chicken, Chicken Bone, Chicken Heart, Chicken Liver, Herring Oil, D-Alpha Tocopherol

For about a week we needed the food to be mixed with our canned cat food (all grain free BTW). But by the second week, we were both showing up and waiting for our meals, actually excited. Of course, TKS is ALWAYS excited about food, but even I was waiting for my delish raw chicken to show up on my plate.

Is it ready yet?

How much longer Dad?

Nibble, nibble

Slurp, slurp

We contacted other bloggers whom we knew used and praised Raw Paws Pet Food before we agreed to do this product review. They are a small company with a big heart and building their customer base through attention to detail, thoughtfulness in their customer relations and by providing what we believe is a very high quality product. We have tried a raw product suggested by a VET, and TKS and I both tried to cover it up. How can raw cat food be ‘raw’ with pumpkin seeds, carrots, cranberries and about elebenty other ingredients, additives etc.??? We will be sticking with Raw Paws and hoping they bring on some Quail eventually.

Unfortunately for me, there has been a set back. I will talk more about that in my Friday’s post. You see, two things happened. First, Mom L didn’t realize how long it would take the new shipment to reach us as we live on the West Coast and Raw Paws is located in Indiana. So TKS and I had to go back to canned cat food for 5  days. TKS readily returned to the raw diet…I have not. We are starting over. And as I am eating canned cat food again, I have lost the incredible wellness the raw diet brought to me for almost a whole month.

While eating an almost total raw diet…I did not vomit; I was not constipated and pooped regularly without probiotic and both TKS and I had stools that were smaller and LESS SMELL!!! Woo Hoo. TKS is eating totally a raw diet at this time. She thriving on it. I hope I can get back to it as well. My over all wellness depends on it. More about that on Friday.

This is a product review. Disclaimer:  We received the nine pounds of raw cat food for free when we agreed to do this review. That, in no way, influenced our opinion. Savannah’s Paw Tracks only shares product information that we feel is relevant to our readers.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH