Our Cat Suki Craved Raw Protein
Suki was a feline hunter at the top of her game. She was sleek and black, blending seamlessly into the shadows of the trees. Through the tall grass, she silently stalked her prey on stealthy cat paws. She effortlessly brought down mice, squirrels, birds, and even small rabbits, proudly dropping them on our porch before settling in to enjoy her latest kill. We were both horrified and amazed at her hunting prowess.
In order to protect our local wildlife, we placed a tiny bell on her collar. We also switched her to a high-protein raw diet and upped our playtime to satisfy her strong prey drive. All this proves cats are carnivores, and they crave raw protein and are driven to hunt for it.
To further illustrate this, a study was conducted in 2021 by a team of University of Exeter scientists. According to the article published by Petfood Industry, the scientists recruited 219 households in southwest England with a total of 355 cats. They divided them into five groups and assigned each group a method with one group being the control group that did nothing but record the numbers of wild prey brought home every day.
They studied them for 12 weeks and came to the same conclusion we did. Pet parents who fed their cats a high-protein diet and played with them more resulted in less predation on wild birds and small mammals in their neighborhoods.
When it comes to high-protein diets, in our opinion, raw is best and the best way to deliver it is through wet food, which has been proven to be a popular choice among pet owners and cats. Most cats actually prefer to eat wet diets with a soft pâté texture.
At Rad Cat, we emulsify all our formulas for maximum absorption and a smooth texture. For cats that prefer to do a bit more chewing, we also offer a chunky grind formula. For cats that prefer their food warmed, you can gently cook ours with minimal nutritional loss.
One of the things we’ve learned is that you cannot control how quickly food moves through an animal’s body. However, by changing the size of the particulate, you can change absorption. This is one of the main reasons we focus on emulsification instead of a multi-grind process.
Most companies will grind and then regrind their product to reduce it down to a workable size. Emulsification results in an even smaller and more digestible product without overprocessing the ingredients.
Rad Cat does not add any thickeners or fillers to our diets. Our formulas are 95% meat and organ with 5% functional ingredients like miscanthus grass, dried whole egg, brewer’s yeast, and menhaden oil. We include egg shell, which is an excellent source of calcium and allows Rad Cat to be gently cooked.
Cats are carnivores. They crave raw protein and are driven to hunt for it. Suki certainly was. That cat could bring down anything.