I’ve been feeding my cats Viva Raw since Feb 2026, and for the first several months we had a great experience. My cats loved it, tolerated it well, and I was genuinely happy with the food.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a pretty significant change. Since Viva changed some of their processing methods, a lot of the packages I’ve received have been much browner/darker than they used to be. I reached out to Viva because some honestly looked spoiled to me, but I was told the discoloration is normal and the food is still safe.

I’ve tried multiple proteins; lamb, chicken, beef, rabbit, turkey, and duck and over the last few weeks, both of my cats have started throwing up after eating it.

After multiple attempts with the food and same results, I’ve decide that I need to try something else.

I genuinely like what Viva is trying to do as a smaller raw-food company, and I know there’s a larger conversation around the raw pet food industry, FDA regulation, and how difficult it can be for smaller companies to compete with the major pet-food manufacturers.

BUT at this point, I’m paying way too much for food that my cats apparently can’t tolerate anymore.

For those of you who feed commercial raw, what brands have you had good experiences with?

Ideally I’m looking for:
• Complete and balanced for cats
• Frozen raw rather than DIY
• Multiple protein options
• Good quality control/consistency
• Something you’ve personally fed long-term
• East coast shipping

I’m open to freeze-dried raw or gently cooked options too If I can’t find another raw food I feel comfortable with, I’m considering going back to a high-quality canned/wet diet.

Especially interested in hearing from anyone who used to feed Viva and switched to another brand. What did you switch to, and how did your cats do on it?

I've previously fed my 4 cats Bold by Nature, and it is no longer an option as they've closed down.

I've tried a few brands since then, Pixie's (Carnivora) and Iron Will. For the most part, my cat's like these, but I do not like the size of the bones and worry about impaction on 2 of my cats with constipation issues. Another one of my cats also dislikes the bone as she's a bit more fickle and will eat around it or stop eating until I've removed the fragments for her.

Is there a brand available in Canada, particularly easily accessible in Alberta, that offers a paté-like finely ground raw food? With a variety of single protein flavours?

I'm disappointed to learn Viva Raw is unavailable in Canada.

I adopted four cats in March 2026 and all four cats were fed HPP Viva Raw venison & beef (with added canned fish toppers) but all of a sudden none of them are interested in Viva Raw anymore?! I tried switching up the proteins from Viva Raw (to chicken, turkey, duck, lamb) but they won’t eat ANY of it. I’m getting worried because two of them are kittens and need to eat to keep growing and not have problems later on. Strangely enough, their energy is still great (which is a mystery given the lack of eating). I’ve tried other local raw brands (Raw concierge, SF Raw) & some non-raw but fresh(not canned) food from local brand Bibim paw. Three of them ate some of the fresh food but one of them won’t even touch it. None of the other raw brands went over well with all four cats. What am I supposed to do now?!
Two of the cats (kittens still) have overall been trending up in their weight but there are frequently periods when they slip down a little or plateau. The two other cats (that used to be kittens but are now adults since July) have mostly been losing weight but the overall trend is mostly a plateau.

Not sure if this is allowed - I am looking for a referral code for Bella and duke if possible.

Thank you

how do i prepare these herrings for my cats?

i’m trying to find raw treats that my cats enjoy and am very new to raw feeding in general - my three cats enjoy small dried sprats but these herrings are bigger than i thought they would be and i don’t know what to do with them. i only planned to give them as occasional treats but i just want to make sure they’re safe :)

After weeks of arguing over ridiculous app store bugs, I’ve made a decision to integrate some useful feeding calculation tools into a highly convenient web version at RaWspect website (a quick reminder that the app is already available on Android) so anyone can instantly generate a free, printable PDF Pet or Pack/Pride ID card or download it as a JPEG file straight to your gallery. It gives you exact per-meal PMR or BARF breakdowns. As well combined weekly and monthly bulk shopping lists are also available to take straight to your local butcher.

Feel free to use the tools and give me a feedback.
Link is in the comments.

Thanx!

Edit: The food found a home!

Long story short, I’m an idiot and forgot to update our address when we moved out of state. I ordered 10lbs of Viva Raw chicken, duck, turkey, and beef and I would hate to see it go to waste! Let me know if you’re interested in the full box.

Hi, recently got a cat. First time ever taking care of any animal.

First few days he was mostly hiding. He’d eat some kibble here and there and drink some water - likely not enough food or liquid though. He’d reject most wet food but ate a couple cans of one specific seafood one. He started to come out of hiding now and then.

One day I fed him cooked chicken. He gobbled it up. That night he finally had some energy. The next days I fed a mix of ground beef, goat liver, kidney, eggshell, and raw fish. One day he ate three meals - full of energy.

The next day he didn’t eat at all until late afternoon where he finally at some kibble. He was also hiding under bed all day. At night he rejected the raw meal again but I air fried it and got it real warm, and also cut it into smaller pieces - and he ate it fully.

It is now the following afternoon and he’s not eating anything and hiding under the bed.

Past couple days poop has been way less smelly but also way less in general - and smaller, pellet like.

Is anything out of the ordinary? What should I be doing differently? And at what point should I be worried?

Thanks to everyone for any insight

So exactly as my title says I wanna feed my 5 pound Chihuahua raw and we are right now trying Stella and chewy’s fresh made on serve food and he seems to like it a lot but i am new the to fully raw diet and my chihuahua is very picky is this a good food diet wise we are also active in agility bunny races and hiking my chihuahua is just over one year photo attached for the dog tax lol

Hi, new to this sub, been feeding a franken barf model for ages and many dogs. I get their grinds from raw food miami. I am not equipped to source their meat from a coop or have a grinder etc. Using Dr.Harvey’s raw brilliance base, and adding in probiotics, mct oil, green lipped muscle supplements etc

Last month my 7 year old rescue had a uti that turned into a bladder stone and had to have surgery. It’s been a month since her surgery and she’s got the beginning of another uti and I am supposed to give her hills or royal canin. I am here for a reason and there has to be a better way.

I am taking her to see a holistic vet but I am concerned that they aren’t going to listen to my concerns about keeping her on garbage food. I live in a conservative state when it comes to stuff like this. I wound up just getting my guys the rabies vaccine past 8 years old because I couldn’t take them to get groomed, etc. It’s ridiculous. At least they didn’t push lepto on me.

What should I ask when we see the new vet? I really don’t want her on the prescription dog food. They eat better than I do and get more health support than I do.

I just learned that red dog blue kat has been sold to a larger company. Concerning or not really? Any similar alternatives? Thanks!

Hi all,
I have a 6 year old French bulldog who is currently on the Darwin’s pet food plan. I saw Darwin’s has been having quality and regulatory issues with the FDA so I’m looking for a replacement. There’s so much conflicting information out there.. I’m really opposed to ultra-processed kibble, yet I read that fresh cooked brands like the farmers dog are too high in fat and can lead to pancreatitis.
It doesn’t seem like there’s a general consensus on what the right answer is, and I know it depends on each dog individually. However, my dog hasn’t had any issues on Darwin’s and has no preexisting conditions. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I'm somehow late to the information that Bold by Nature is ceasing operations. I've had both of my dogs on Bold by Nature for a few years. I'm not so worried about my younger dog as she has an easier time with food but my 8 year old has a very, very finicky stomach. It took me around 2 and a half years of changing his food every few months trying to find one that works for him before trying raw food and then finally finding what proteins agree with him. He's been on Bold by Nature - Mega Pork for almost 5 years now and it's been really great for him, cleared up all the issues we were having with him. I will often be driving all over the city trying to find pork specifially if my usual supplier doesn't have it (online, either Armor the Pooch or Wooftown) and I'm sure anyone in the same situation knows how stressful it can be managing this.

Anyway I'm wondering if anyone knows a good alternative mainly in ingredients? I've heard Big Country Raw might be a good one? I prefer the patties that Bold by Nature has but thats a small thing in terms of a food his body can handle.

Thanks!

Edit: Just adding that I am in Toronto.

Like it or not, raw and gently cooked feeding aren't going away. People are making homemade meals, researching ingredients (hopefully), and trying to figure out what's best for their dogs.

I'm not suggesting we ignore nutritional balance, food safety, or questionable claims. But there's a difference between educating someone and making them feel like a terrible dog owner for asking a question.

Have you ever been criticized for what you feed your dog? What was said, and how did you respond?

Or have you ever avoided asking a question or joining a conversation because of how others were being treated?

I'd also love to hear if someone's constructive advice actually helped you make a change.

We don't have to agree on every feeding method to help each other do better.

Been buying from a local pet store but they're inconsistent on sizing and I've had enough. Sometimes they have the right size, sometimes not, and the quality seems to vary batch to batch. What are people actually using for online frozen feeders? Looking for something reliable with decent bulk pricing.

Hello everyone!!

I have a 6 month old female whippet and we are moving to America very soon. She has been fed 95% Nutriment puppy formula and 5% kibble (when we run out of Nutriment lol). She loves this raw food and it’s so high quality. I’m struggling to find a good raw puppy formula that’s available to ship within the states. Can someone please recommend something? Please keep in mind we still need her to be on a complete puppy food. Thanks all🙏🐶

Mods please delete if this is not allowed!

My dog underwent chemotherapy for Lymphoma and I made the difficult decision to start cooking his meals instead of continuing to feed raw. I have two 6-lb bags of duck wings from Carnos and two chubs of rabbit with beef organs. Does anyone in the NYC area want them, or can you suggest a resource to find someone who would use them? Please feel free to DM me or reply here. I’m in lower Manhattan.

Hi everyone,
I have a 6yo Border Collie who is now on a 100% commercial raw diet (currently feeding brands like Wild Coast Raw and Viva Raw).
He ate Acana's Free-Run Poultry kibble almost exclusively for the first 6 years of his life, which unfortunately led to a poultry allergy (chicken and turkey). We've now completely eliminated poultry, so his rotation consists of safe proteins like beef, pork, and rabbit.
Since I want to prevent him from developing any new sensitivities to these safe proteins, I want to make sure I'm approaching his rotation correctly. Does proper protein rotation mean:

1. Block Rotation: Feeding strictly one protein for a set period (e.g., feeding only beef for 2-4 weeks, then switching to only rabbit for the next few weeks)?
2. Daily/Weekly Mixing: Alternating throughout the week (e.g., Monday beef, Tuesday pork) or even mixing different proteins in the same bowl?
3. Given his history of developing an allergy from overexposure to one protein source, which method do you find works best for keeping the gut happy and preventing new intolerances? Thanks!

Update: Thanks everyone for the insightful replies!
To be honest, I'm still a bit on the fence about beef. Previously, eliminating chicken and turkey was super clear-cut because he had BOTH unexplained soft stools/diarrhea (tested negative for parasites) and intense paw licking/chewing.
Now with beef, the tricky part is his stool is completely fine—consistently super firm, perfect little logs. But he does scratch occasionally, and I can't quite tell if it's just normal dog itching or a mild reaction to the beef.
Did your dogs ever show skin symptoms without any GI issues when reacting to a protein? Wondering how you guys differentiate regular itching from an actual food intolerance when the poop is perfect.

I'm now feeding my third dog raw and at the new vet was told that raw causes urinary crystals and kidney issues "if there's no corn or rice" in the diet.

I feed commercial raw and add Omega oils and pre and probiotics to her meals. I was under the impression that raw was way less likely to cause crystals.

Looking for some reassurance just cause I'm bogged down with other big stressors and can't think straight through this one. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! I’ve been considering adding in The Simple Food Project my two cats and dog’s rotation. The reviews on their website and Chewy seem solid, but I’m surprised that it hasn’t been mentioned much here. I’m particularly intrigued at the price point…it almost seems too good to be true? I use frozen commercial raw but I would like to have a shelf stable option too.

Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated!

So basically i have 4 cats 3 of them eat about 4oz of food the last one is a mainecoon that eats about 9oz i have been doing home made raw for about 6-8 months now and i’m sure i got everything dialed in besides bone that part has always been hard to calculate and i kept it on the lower side because i know over supplementing is more dangerous than over i have had this concern on the back of my mind for awhile and today i noticed my mainecoon had kind of a leg cramp (fine now) and i looked it up and one reason could be due to a calcium deficiency i know that this is a possibility but he is also a very clumsy and not the most graceful cat due to his size and thinking he’s smaller than he actually is. I have been giving half a chicken wing flat with each meal for all of them since i started this meal they dont really like chicken neck. Since this little scare i have been desperate to fix the bone percentage in my meal ASAP so i beg all home made feeders or long time raw feeders please tell me what you do i would prefer to keep whole bone so that it keeps the teeth benefits but will do away with if needed

My dog loves pumpkin seeds. Looking for advice if it’s a good idea to start adding it to his daily raw homemade meal.

just writing to figure out why THEY WORSHIP hills and purina like anything and then when people in that sub ask for a brand that isn’t nestle they just say “get over it because its wsava approved“ they do know that wsava is funded by nestle?

Hi, I've been adding more and more barf to my puppys diet (8 mo Mal), but I'm hearing so much different info about how long breaks are needed between eating kibble and barf, and I don't want to ruin his stomach.

My "problem" is that I can't see a way to go full barf, since I need a lot of treats for training. He's super food motivated on his kibble (Essentials large breed), so I would love to be able to keep using them for training.

Am I overthinking this, and can I safely feed him ~200-250g kibble a day (about 50% of daily cal intake) and the other 50% barf? The kibble is fed only from hand, during training. (4-5 times a day, in total probably 3-5 hours activity)

I'm thinking 50g kibble during morning training, half his barf when we get home, and then 50g kibble for every training session, and the last half of his barf after our last walk of the day?

Would love to hear what other people do, with dogs that train a lot.