# Natural Instinct - update after 5 months of use.



## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Hi all

I just wanted to update you on how my cat is doing since the changeover to Natural Instinct food.

He is a British Shorthair kitten and will grow to be a rather large chunky cat. For optimum growth and development a diet high in protein is very important, as is the case for any cat, but was particularly important to me to ensure he reaches his full size and potential. I discovered Natural Instinct in March this year and placed an order right away. My kitten was 4 months old at the time.

He is now 11 months old and has just attended his first GCCF show since being moved on to Natural Instinct. I was intrigued to hear what the judges would say about his condition. I was thrilled at their comments, one judge commented Cobby weighty body nice and muscular for his age, the other said Body is firm and muscular, well built. In excellent condition. He won 7 classes out of 8 (2nd in the other) and was awarded Best of Breed, plus two certificates which mean he is well on his way to gaining his first GCCF title!

I find this food really easy to use, I very slightly thaw it then section each block, using a sharp bread knife, into daily portions and keep in freezer bags. I just defrost one overnight in the fridge for the next day. Simple as that!
He loves the food so much he generally eats it all right away, so it is nice not to have a bowl of food sitting out for long. The most amazing thing is that, bearing in mind he is a house cat so ALL of his business goes in the tray, there are ZERO litter tray odours. Even just have he has been... no smells at all. This amazes me. I knew there would be a reduction but did not expect a complete odour removal. It just goes to show that his body is using the food properly, no fillers and cereal rubbish to fill up the tray. A superb result!!

I am excited to hear the addition of three new flavours coming soon, I am sure Thomas will give those the thumbs up too!

Because he is a chunky lad, and also still a kitten, he is eating about 140gm per day. This costs me 85p per day. Many other cats will eat less than this so it would be cheaper. I find also that because he now only poops every 2 days and they are dry and odourless, that I use much less litter. I still clean the tray the same amount of times, but there is less to take out. When taking the poops out there is no litter to go with them.

So if anybody is considering a raw diet but the idea of balancing the ratios and ensuring a good taurine level is daunting to you then I would say give NI a go. At the moment I do not have the time to make my own cat food so I find this a great alternative. I give a couple of different meals per week of chicken or turkey chunks just to ensure he has some chewing action, plus a raw chicken wing each week but his main diet is NI and it is working brilliantly! 

In case you are wondering.... I am not on commission , I just think its fab stuff!! :thumbup:


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

That is a great review Jo-pop...and it is lovely to hear what the judges have to say about the proof in the flesh ( or should that be fur? )
Costing wise, I reckon it costs even less than 85p a day...1kg would feed an adult 5kg cat for a week, which I calculate works out at 65p a day even including the delivery charge, which I really don't think anyone could say is expensive.


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

Well done Thomas is all I can say :thumbup: 

I sometimes wish I could get someone in the know to have a look at Cookie as I think and I know she is mine but I am sure she compares well to some show cats.

Like Thomas she loves her raw diet, I have started using the basic raw and the cost is far less than people are paying for a commercial wet diet, I worked out about 60 -70p per day and that is using good quality meat from my butcher.


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## ellouisegrace (Jul 3, 2011)

hello i just read your post after posting a thread about my cat with ibd, i said i was not willing to entertain a raw diet as my boyfriend has an issue with slimey food (pathetic i know but sometimes i am not available to feed them) but from the sounds of this if it is frozen i would be able to prepare the food and he could give without actually coming into contact with the food? also if they eat it straight away then i hopefully wouldn't be having such a stress at meal times would this diet be good for ibd? thanks ellie xx


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

ellouisegrace said:


> hello i just read your post after posting a thread about my cat with ibd, i said i was not willing to entertain a raw diet as my boyfriend has an issue with slimey food (pathetic i know but sometimes i am not available to feed them) but from the sounds of this if it is frozen i would be able to prepare the food and he could give without actually coming into contact with the food? also if they eat it straight away then i hopefully wouldn't be having such a stress at meal times would this diet be good for ibd? thanks ellie xx


Hi,
I don't know about IBD so maybe someone else can advise. What I do know is that a raw diet is what nature intended for cats and the grains and fillers in most commercial cat food just make the digestive system have to work harder to try to process these un-natural foods. 
Once I slightly thawed the food (only a sligh thaw) I chop in to daily portions which stay in the freezer in bags. Each night i take one bag out and place it in a small plastic tub. I thaw this overnight in the fridge. When I come to feed it I just tear the bag open a bit and squeeze some in to the bowl. I don't actually touch it with my hands. Also I wear rubber gloves when I chop it up. You don't have to, its just I don't like anything on my hands either, plus it is mostly still frozen at that stage so the gloves stop my hands getting too cold.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Paddypaws said:


> That is a great review Jo-pop...and it is lovely to hear what the judges have to say about the proof in the flesh ( or should that be fur? )
> Costing wise, I reckon it costs even less than 85p a day...1kg would feed an adult 5kg cat for a week, which I calculate works out at 65p a day even including the delivery charge, which I really don't think anyone could say is expensive.


Maths is not my strong point... on looking at it I notice it is actully 75p per day for my cat. 5kg of food gives him 35 days (but as i say i do give a couple of meals per week from the butcher too)


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## anotheruser (Aug 17, 2011)

Will wait for their new flavours then give them a spin I think.


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## lemifier (Jul 24, 2012)

Thank you for wonderful review! I am waiting for my kitten to be ready to come to me at the end of August and the breeder feeds his cats and kittens raw diet already (so there is no issue of trying to switch to raw as they already eat raw). I have never heard of raw diet till meeting this breeder and it sounds great but I was worried that I would not be able to make my own cat food and was very confused about getting ready made raw food. NI sounds like a good answer. I am just wondering if it would be ok for 13 week old kitten - what do you think?


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Great review Jopop and great to hear that your boy is thriving on it!

Are you going to take him to the Supreme this year?


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

lemifier said:


> Thank you for wonderful review! I am waiting for my kitten to be ready to come to me at the end of August and the breeder feeds his cats and kittens raw diet already (so there is no issue of trying to switch to raw as they already eat raw). I have never heard of raw diet till meeting this breeder and it sounds great but I was worried that I would not be able to make my own cat food and was very confused about getting ready made raw food. NI sounds like a good answer. I am just wondering if it would be ok for 13 week old kitten - what do you think?


Yes, the food is suitable for cats of all ages. Do you know what "raw" the breeder is currently feeding?

Just remember that any feeding guidelines (based on body weight in raw feeding) goes out of the window when raw feeding kittens. Anything goes.


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## lemifier (Jul 24, 2012)

hobbs2004 said:


> Yes, the food is suitable for cats of all ages. Do you know what "raw" the breeder is currently feeding?
> 
> Just remember that any feeding guidelines (based on body weight in raw feeding) goes out of the window when raw feeding kittens. Anything goes.


If I understood correctly, he makes up his own because he mentioned that his local butcher was really good for getting things. But then again, at the time when I went to see the kittens my impression was that this is the only way you can do raw diet so he may be getting some pre-packaged stuff too... I am going to ask him for more info...


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

lemifier said:


> If I understood correctly, he makes up his own because he mentioned that his local butcher was really good for getting things. But then again, at the time when I went to see the kittens my impression was that this is the only way you can do raw diet so he may be getting some pre-packaged stuff too... I am going to ask him for more info...


Yes, definitely ask and share on here!


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## liannebarn (May 31, 2012)

Wondering whether to try my BSH girl on this although she's really fussy she will only eat dry so I have her on sum special vets dry food for kittens. She seems to only eat ham and cheese or dreamies other than her biscuits
May be worth a shot as Shes not filling out much


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

liannebarn said:


> Wondering whether to try my BSH girl on this...
> May be worth a shot as Shes not filling out much


She only eats ham and cheese because you feed it . Sounds like a ploughmans lunch 

Try her on a little bit of raw mince or a piece of raw meat and she how she likes it.


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## liannebarn (May 31, 2012)

Ill try see if she eats it. She Will eat anything I eat but won't eat wet cat food.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

lemifier said:


> Thank you for wonderful review! I am waiting for my kitten to be ready to come to me at the end of August and the breeder feeds his cats and kittens raw diet already (so there is no issue of trying to switch to raw as they already eat raw). I have never heard of raw diet till meeting this breeder and it sounds great but I was worried that I would not be able to make my own cat food and was very confused about getting ready made raw food. NI sounds like a good answer. I am just wondering if it would be ok for 13 week old kitten - what do you think?


Think it would be perfect for him


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

hobbs2004 said:


> Great review Jopop and great to hear that your boy is thriving on it!
> 
> Are you going to take him to the Supreme this year?


Are you being sarcastic?:sneaky2:


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

jo-pop said:


> Are you being sarcastic?:sneaky2:


Eh?????????


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

hobbs2004 said:


> Eh?????????


Oh you were being serious? I though you were making a joke!  Sorry, I was a bit taken back. He's nowhere near that kind of standard. He's lovely but he's not good enough for that. 
He's going to 2 more shows this year then that's it till January. Going to try him at a TICA next Spring too.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

jo-pop said:


> Oh you were being serious? I though you were making a joke!  Sorry, I was a bit taken back. He's nowhere near that kind of standard. He's lovely but he's not good enough for that.
> He's going to 2 more shows this year then that's it till January. Going to try him at a TICA next Spring too.


Haha, I was indeed serious! I guess I am just outing myself with my total ignorance of show standards but how does one know that one's cat isn't good enough for something like the Supreme? Particularly if one - like you, for example - comes back quite decorated from other shows?


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

hobbs2004 said:


> Haha, I was indeed serious! I guess I am just outing myself with my total ignorance of show standards but how does one know that one's cat isn't good enough for something like the Supreme? Particularly if one - like you, for example - comes back quite decorated from other shows?


He has a couple of faults but they are quite minor ones. The main thing at the moment I think is his adolescence which makes it tough against the big boys. Maybe one day. I'd love to visit though!


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Jo, how very dare you! Get him to the Supreme You can't say he's not good enough until you try! My girl is rubbish by Persian standards and I took her!


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

carly87 said:


> Jo, how very dare you! Get him to the Supreme You can't say he's not good enough until you try! My girl is rubbish by Persian standards and I took her!


haha, next year maybe Carly. I've exhausted my pass out days from toddler duty this year. I have 2 more shows left till next year and thats it till end of Jan


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Bring him with you, lady, and the hubby. Baby would love the day out there as there's so much to see, and if mummy needs a rest, auntie Carly could always kidnap him to come cuddle some fluffies while you deal with Thomas? See? You just know it would work!


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

ellouisegrace said:


> hello i just read your post after posting a thread about my cat with ibd, i said i was not willing to entertain a raw diet as my boyfriend has an issue with slimey food (pathetic i know but sometimes i am not available to feed them) but from the sounds of this if it is frozen i would be able to prepare the food and he could give without actually coming into contact with the food? also if they eat it straight away then i hopefully wouldn't be having such a stress at meal times would this diet be good for ibd? thanks ellie xx


Just a question, only because this is something that always makes me wonder---does your boyfriend cook at all? I have a cousin who won't touch raw meat (but I think it's just so that she doesn't have to cook at all), but with people who will cook I can't help but wonder why it's too slimy to feed to the cat, but they can handle raw meat to cook it up. This might be a way to convince him (run rings around him logically, if you will) if he'll actually cook things


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

carly87 said:


> Bring him with you, lady, and the hubby. Baby would love the day out there as there's so much to see, and if mummy needs a rest, auntie Carly could always kidnap him to come cuddle some fluffies while you deal with Thomas? See? You just know it would work!


He'll be nearly 3 by then. He'd actually LOVE it, his very first word was "Cat"


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## ace85 (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for this review, Jo-Pop. Raw - and more specifically, NI - will be the next direction I strike out in on my quest for trying to improve what's going into my three. I'm hoping they take to it, as none of them are familiar with anything beyond tinned food. Anyone know, btw, when NI are launching the new flavours?


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## Siberiancat (Apr 8, 2012)

Thanks for the great review cant wait to get Prince started on this


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## ellouisegrace (Jul 3, 2011)

dagny0823 said:


> Just a question, only because this is something that always makes me wonder---does your boyfriend cook at all? I have a cousin who won't touch raw meat (but I think it's just so that she doesn't have to cook at all), but with people who will cook I can't help but wonder why it's too slimy to feed to the cat, but they can handle raw meat to cook it up. This might be a way to convince him (run rings around him logically, if you will) if he'll actually cook things


I wish it was that simple, if he does cook but if there is raw meat involved then if it involves touching it for example cutting chicken breast or taking skin of or making burgers then he asks me to prepare it for him. However i have been mentioning it a few times over the past couple of days and he eventually just said just do what you want i don't care, so i know if i prep the food the night before or whatever when i know he's going to have to feed them i think he will feed them if he doesn't have to touch it and he won't be able to stand the cats stomping around meowing and stalking him because they are starving :thumbup:


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

ace85 said:


> Thanks for this review, Jo-Pop. Raw - and more specifically, NI - will be the next direction I strike out in on my quest for trying to improve what's going into my three. I'm hoping they take to it, as none of them are familiar with anything beyond tinned food. *Anyone know, btw, when NI are launching the new flavours?*




In about a months time.


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## LaurenGrace (Apr 17, 2012)

Thanks for the review jo-pop and congratulations on your boy's prizes! He is lovely.


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## gkovacs (Jul 3, 2012)

Thanks for the info, have always fed my cats on wet and dry food but i am catless at the moment waiting for 2 Devon Rex kittens to join the family in Sept and am going to give raw a go with them. It is really useful to hear success stories x


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

Hi Jo-Pops, just wondering if you could please let me know how often your feed Thomas the raw food? You said that you divide the slightly thawed stuff into daily portions - does this mean he has just one portion of raw food a day and the rest of the day he has other things such as dry food etc? Thanks x


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I can answer for Jo-pop - Thomas is fed solely on raw nothing else. He will be getting around 150-200g a day. ANd, from what I remember he gets about 3 meals a day- so would be getting about 50g a meal

Forgive me jo-pop if I'm wrong.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

spid said:


> I can answer for Jo-pop - Thomas is fed solely on raw nothing else. He will be getting around 150-200g a day. ANd, from what I remember he gets about 3 meals a day- so would be getting about 50g a meal
> 
> Forgive me jo-pop if I'm wrong.


Blimey, lady, don't ever give me that shite excuse again that your memory ain't that good :arf:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

hobbs2004 said:


> Blimey, lady, don't ever give me that shite excuse again that your memory ain't that good :arf:


Oops!  Some things I remember - other things I don't. I struggle with some facts - believe it or not I'm an English teacher specialising in literacy - and yet some grammar lessons I still have to reteach myself EVERY year before I teach it again.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

spid said:


> Oops!  Some things I remember - other things I don't. I struggle with some facts - believe it or not I'm an English teacher specialising in literacy - and yet some grammar lessons I still have to reteach myself EVERY year before I teach it again.


Are you reaaaaaaaaaally? How old are your kids? Fancy getting them to take part in a survey?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

My kids or the kids I teach? Gave up teaching last term (only doing supply now) in order to set up a business.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

spid said:


> My kids or the kids I teach? Gave up teaching last term (only doing supply now) in order to set up a business.


The kids you teach but since you have now gone rogue it doesn't matter


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

I am still trying to find out how to order this food. Is there delivery charge when ordering?


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

jenny armour said:


> I am still trying to find out how to order this food. Is there delivery charge when ordering?


Shipping & Delivery

Which is the great thing about making your own, no minimum order


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## monkeymummy32 (May 22, 2012)

spid said:


> I can answer for Jo-pop - Thomas is fed solely on raw nothing else. He will be getting around 150-200g a day. ANd, from what I remember he gets about 3 meals a day- so would be getting about 50g a meal
> 
> Forgive me jo-pop if I'm wrong.


Thanks for that! I'm thinking of giving my maine coon kitten a raw diet when we get him to help him grow to his full potential


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## kateh8888 (Aug 9, 2011)

I was looking at this for our dogs so thanks for the info!


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

Cookieandme said:


> Shipping & Delivery
> 
> Which is the great thing about making your own, no minimum order


i thought i was seeing things £100 !!! what if they dont like it


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Cookieandme said:


> Shipping & Delivery
> 
> Which is the great thing about making your own, no minimum order


To put it simply, 5kg of food costs around £26.50 including delivery (if I remember correctly).


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

spid said:


> I can answer for Jo-pop - Thomas is fed solely on raw nothing else. He will be getting around 150-200g a day. ANd, from what I remember he gets about 3 meals a day- so would be getting about 50g a meal
> 
> Forgive me jo-pop if I'm wrong.


Thanks Spid, I was in bed by then. Exhausted lately 

You are totally spot on there, that's exactly what he has.


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## nightkitten (Jun 15, 2012)

Oh, using them would cost me a fortune with my greedy little ones. They eat over 800g raw per day!

Glad that I stood in the kitchen for 3 hours yesterday to make a new batch of raw food and I've got more flavours


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

It just works for me. With a busy job, busy toddler and all the housework I just do not have time to make it. I hope one day I can do.
I'm looking forward to the 3 new flavours coming out next month


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

If you order more that about 36kg (might be 40kg) you get free delivery - I have a small freezer in the garage and fill it each delivery.


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

spid said:


> If you order more that about 36kg (might be 40kg) you get free delivery - I have a small freezer in the garage and fill it each delivery.


I was thinking of getting a cheap small freezer for the shed.


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

jo-pop said:


> To put it simply, 5kg of food costs around £26.50 including delivery (if I remember correctly).


So that's 5kilos of food + delivery



NI website said:


> Shipping Charges
> We do not ship less than 5 kilos, unless you are ordering only our treats, when the cost will be £4 via Royal Mail.
> 5-12 kilos = £6.50
> 13-24 kilos = £9.00
> ...


Who the heck gets 79kg of food delivered


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Yup 1kg = £4.00
so 4 x 5 + 6.50 = 26.50

Not as cheap as homemade I know that, but it works well for me and Thomas looks amazing!


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Cookieandme said:


> Who the heck gets 79kg of food delivered


Imagine the size of that freezer!!


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## jenny armour (Feb 28, 2010)

i give up i think i will stick to cat food


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## eggyteapot (Aug 5, 2012)

wow that costs alot i think if i was too raw feed i would proberley make it myself i need a bigger freezer first thogh lol

but to thoses that want to make it themselves i found a easy to follow resipie online

How to Make Raw Cat Food: 15 steps (with pictures) - wikiHow


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

We seriously looked into buying 80kg plus at a time - you get discount on bulk buying then, but they charge delivery again - it would have been cost effective in the long run - taking into account freezer running costs, new freezer etc.

I don't think it is expensive food - it costs be between 45p and 60p a day per cat, on wet food it costs me about £1 a day per cat. We bought a second hand small freezer from eBay - cost £35 - and it lives in the garage.

We buy our dog food from there as well.


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## KazKittens (Jun 18, 2017)

jo-pop said:


> Hi all
> 
> I just wanted to update you on how my cat is doing since the changeover to Natural Instinct food.
> 
> ...


Hi I am just looking into moving my kittens onto this. They're 8 months old. Did you introduce it gradually or just move him straight onto it? Aldo


Paddypaws said:


> That is a great review Jo-pop...and it is lovely to hear what the judges have to say about the proof in the flesh ( or should that be fur? )
> Costing wise, I reckon it costs even less than 85p a day...1kg would feed an adult 5kg cat for a week, which I calculate works out at 65p a day even including the delivery charge, which I really don't think anyone could say is expensive.


Hi can I ask where you get your delivery from. I'm in bolton and struggling to find someone that delivers. Thankd


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

KazKittens said:


> Hi I am just looking into moving my kittens onto this. They're 8 months old. Did you introduce it gradually or just move him straight onto it? Aldo
> 
> Hi can I ask where you get your delivery from. I'm in bolton and struggling to find someone that delivers. Thankd


You order it online and pay the delivery costs. Minimum order is 5 kg.

It is delivered by either courier or Parcel Force. I can't see why this would be a problem if you live in an urban area like Bolton. 

https://www.naturalinstinct.com/raw-cat-food/natural

You can also buy it from stockists in the UK. There are 5 near Bolton. Please note not all of them will sell the raw cat food, just the raw dog food. So best to phone first before making a special trip.

https://www.naturalinstinct.com/stockist


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

KazKittens said:


> Hi I am just looking into moving my kittens onto this. They're 8 months old. Did you introduce it gradually or just move him straight onto it? Aldo
> 
> ...
> 
> Hi can I ask where you get your delivery from. I'm in bolton and struggling to find someone that delivers. Thankd


You have found a thread from 2012 so you won't get any answers from the original posters.


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