Whole Foods to the rescue

I want to say a huge “thank you” to Whole Foods, because at some point in the past few months they started to carry finely-ground, raw chicken with bones.  The meat is organic, hormone-free, grain-fed, etc., and it only costs $1.99 per pound.  That’s a lot more than the .33 cents to .99 cents per pound I usually pay for chicken, but it’s still reasonable, and it’s saved me since I lost the pieces of my meat grinder last weekend.  I was able to go to Whole Foods and buy up all their frozen raw chicken (they restock every two days), so I’ve been able to continue to feed Wild Kitty cat food.  I also spoke to someone in the meat department, and there’s a chance they might be able to make me a deal on the price if I regularly buy 100+ lbs. per month.  That would mean I wouldn’t need a meat grinder at all, and I’d be feeding better-quality meat.  It would be more expensive than grinding it myself (although I don’t know exactly how much more yet), but it would save me in the health department.  Grinding meat is giving me painful rotator cuff problems with my right shoulder (from pushing the chicken and bones down into the grinder), and I don’t want to do so much damage that I need surgery or anything.  Whole Foods grinds the chicken on the premises, so even if I just want to buy from them occasionally, it will be possible.  Oh, they also carry frozen raw beef, but it doesn’t contain bones, just ground beef, beef heart, and beef liver.  The chicken contains chicken meat, necks, backs, and giblets (gizzard, heart, and liver).  I tried making a batch of Wild Kitty with beef, because you can really use any type of meat you want with the base food kit, but the cats don’t like it nearly as much as they like the chicken.

We hadn’t been to Whole Foods in quite a while because it hasn’t been in our budget, so I was surprised to see how their pet supply department has expanded.  They have a good selection of treats and supplements, and also carry about half a dozen different brands of foods.  I bought a can of Newman’s Own for Greg and Spiderman, and they enjoyed it, but I think it’s very over-priced at $1.49 per can.  I was more impressed with a brand called Pet Promise, because it has good quality ingredients, and cost a reasonable 99 cents per can.  That’s still pricey compared to, say, a can of Friskies, but it’s about the least you can expect to pay for a “premium” brand of food.  If you go to the company’s website, you can print out a couple of discount coupons.

Speaking of pet food, we have a “luxury” pet food store which opened near us about a year and a half ago.  Ever since it opened, the place has driven us crazy because it’s so poorly managed.  When they first opened I asked if they’d stock Merrick food for me, and they refused.  On at least four occasions we went to their store during their regular business hours, and they were closed.  When I wanted to start to use Honest Kitchen food for feeding our dogs, they didn’t carry the one variety I wanted, and refused to order it.  We still would go in to the store every couple of months to buy a bag of Canidae kibble, which I use for part of the diet for our two big dogs.  We went to the store on Friday (miraculously, they were open), and I couldn’t find the Canidae.  The woman at the counter said they’d stopped carrying it, which means I no longer have a convenient source for it.  She then pointed out a couple of small, 4 lb. bags of the food to me, the only ones they had left in stock.  I bought one, brought it home, and when I opened it I was hit with the most horribly rancid smell.  I looked at the bag, and the food had been manufactured two years ago, and had an expiration date of 14 months ago.  Yep, that store has really been on top of things when it comes to pet food.  They’re supposedly holding a fresher bag for us behind the counter, as a replacement, but we haven’t been out to pick it up yet.  If I had the money I’d open my own pet food store just down the street from them, just to do it properly, and to carry a decent inventory.  I don’t know how they choose the brands they carry, but I’m rarely impressed by what I find, and they have very few choices.  I guess it doesn’t matter much anymore, because I’m almost self-sufficient in the pet food department.

Our cats now eat completely homemade food, with only Greg and Spiderman eating the store-bought variety.  They just won’t touch the homemade raw stuff.  The two little dogs also eat homemade food, but I use a ratio of about 75% homemade chicken/peas/carrots/potatoes to 25% Honest Kitchen Verve.  I figure the Verve base helps ensure the proper trace nutrients are available, and the dogs really love it.  I’d be happy feeding 100% Verve (or any Honest Kitchen variety), but it causes Cricket, to, uh, engage in coprophagia.  She doesn’t do it when she’s eating my homemade chicken and veggies, but she’ll do it on a diet of predominently Honest Kitchen food.  Our two big dogs still eat about 75% dry food (Canidae Platinum), because they each weigh a little over 100 lbs., and it would cost a fortune to feed them raw meat and bones if I had to pay retail prices.  I supplement the kibble with pressure cooker chicken and mushy bones with broth, however, and they love it.  I’ll also let them eat leftover people food if I’ve got extra pasta, for example.  I’ll say this about the “pet food crisis” earlier this year—it was the kick in the pants I needed to reform what I feed our pets, and to improve their diets.  I love how they get excited about eating, and even though it’s a lot of work to cook for them, I like doing something special to make them happy.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/05 at 04:12 AM

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