Frequently Asked Questions
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FAQ
HOW MUCH AND HOW OFTEN SHOULD I FEED FEGNION™ RAW CAT FOOD?
How much and how often we feed is dependent on but not limited to the following: age, weight, breed, physiologic status (growth, gestation, lactation), environment, activity level, and overall health. A general rule is to feed your cat between 2% and 4% of its ideal adult body weight. For kittens, pregnant, and nursing moms keep in mind they will require up to 4 times that of an adult cat or can be free-fed with food consumed within 30 minutes.
How often we feed our fur babies is dependent on the demanding schedule of pet parents. In the ideal cat world, they would eat up to 20 small meals per day. Taking all factors into consideration, the goal would be a frequency of 3 to 4 smaller meals daily. However, twice daily of an appropriate portion seems to be the norm. Finding a schedule that is optimal for you and your cat is best. No matter what your schedule dictates it is important to remember your cat’s individuality and tailoring a diet to its needs.
Please refer to our Feeding Calculator as a recommended guide to your cats’ needs. For easy transitioning, please refer to our Transitioning page.
DOES FEGNION USE ANY GRAINS, VEGETABLES OR FRUITS IN THEIR RAW FOOD?
No. Every effort is taken to simulate a cat’s natural Ancestral Prey Model, by creating a meal that consists of a perfect balance of macronutrients-protein and fat-the same found in the prey your cat would hunt in the wild.
Due to the lack of and inefficiency of particular enzymes, cats are unable to fully process or digest ingredients such as grain, fruits or vegetables.
Remember, what is nutritious and appealing to you is not necessarily nutritious for your cat.
HOW LONG IS FEGNION RAW CAT FOOD GOOD FOR?
With proper refrigeration, once thawed, Fegnion raw cat food is fresh for up to 2 to 3 days.
When properly stored in the freezer, frozen Fegnion raw cat food is safe and nutritionally complete to consume if fed within 9 months from its production date.
At Fegnion, our developers believe our flash-frozen preservative-free Fegnion is safe for longer than the best by date on each container. However, taking all factors into consideration we recommend following the best by date to ensure your cat will benefit from the feline-appropriate nutrition its creators intended.
HOW DO I THAW FEGNION RAW CAT FOOD?
Fegnion raw cat food should only be thawed in a refrigerator or cold water. Never use a stove, microwave, toaster oven, or hot or warm water to thaw Fegnion raw cat food. Using heat to thaw Fegnion raw cat food will destroy essential nutrients and enzymes. Heating Fegnion defeats the purpose of feeding raw. Please plan on thawing your cat’s food ahead of time. Please refer to our safe handling page for more info on thawing.
Keep It Raw!™
DO YOU MIX MEAT PROTEINS IN THE ULTIMATE RAW NUTRITION™ LINE?
No. Our products mimic a cat’s natural Feline-Prey diet which is loaded with single species meat protein, raw bones, and organs. This is yet another factor that we must take into consideration when mimicking a true ancestral prey diet.
DO YOU INCLUDE ARTIFICIAL COLORS, FLAVORS AND PRESERVATIVES?
No. Our products are flash frozen immediately after production to prevent the product from spoiling and to preserve its natural color, flavor, and most importantly its nutritional content. Freezing is our all-natural preservative.
ARE YOUR CONTAINERS RECYCLABLE?
Yes. We encourage all our pet parents to recycle our BPA-free containers. Check with your local municipality to find out which types of plastic are accepted for recycling. Our American-made containers and are reusable, recyclable and when purchased are tamper-resistant for your fur babies safety.
IS THE GROUND BONE YOU USE SAFE FOR MY PET AND IS THERE NUTRITIONAL VALUE TO IT?
Yes. It is safe for your pet to consume raw ground bones as long as they are finely ground and fed raw. At Fegnion, we take time to finely grind raw bones in all of our recipes to ensure the safety of your cat and proper nutritional distribution. Whole raw ground bones are an excellent source of minerals and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Including raw bones, marrow and cartilage are the best and the only way you should feed your cat an Ancestral Feline-Appropriate diet. You can never truly replicate what nature has created by omitting bones.
DO YOU USE FISH OR FISH OIL IN YOUR RECIPES?
No. We avoid using fish or fish oil in our products. After considering all facts, risks of feeding fish products outweigh the benefits.
Reasons we avoid it in our products:
Not true Ancestral Prey diet:
Even though a majority of cats find fish irresistible, it is still not part of their natural ancestral prey diet. Everything about your cat says he or she is a terrestrial predator that didn’t evolve eating fish.
Rancidity:
Fish and fish oils are mainly used in pet food as a source of cheap protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, we all know that its primary goal is as a palatant or palatability enhancer (flavor enhancer), enticing your cat to consume food or treats which consist of poor quality ingredients, the food he would not naturally eat, or by masking unfavorable flavors and aromas, or both.
Fish oils are quite perishable, unstable, and highly susceptible to oxidation usually from exposure to oxygen, light, heat, and natural degradation over time. This oxidation creates unhealthy free radicals that can cause more harm than good. Sourcing an unoxidized quality product is unrealistic. All fish oils will oxidize to a certain degree. Rancid fish products are not only useless but ultimately very dangerous for your pet to consume.
Environmental Contaminants:
The majority of fish products contain environmental contaminants such as toxic chemicals and metals.
Allergy:
It is important to note that fish is considered one of the top three food allergens in cats. There are an increasing number of cats developing adverse allergic reactions, such as intolerance to fish and fish allergy.
Ecosystem Destruction:
Overfishing has a devastating impact on the ecosystem. This chain reaction not only affects the balance of life in the oceans but also the livelihood of people who depend on fish for their daily living. To destroy the food chain is to destroy life. Therefore, we are not contributing in any way to the destruction of our ecosystem.
MY CAT IS EATING LESS AND POOPING LESS, SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?
No. Our highly digestible products mimic a cat’s natural Feline-Prey Appropriate diet which has a perfect balance of protein and fat, the same found in the prey your cat would hunt in the wild. When a cat has a diet with lower protein content, it would require more frequent feedings to provide adequate amounts of protein for its normal metabolic functions. Fegnion Raw is naturally loaded with protein and wholesome nutrients that will satisfy your cat’s cravings for protein. Anything closer to its natural prey would require a ticket to the Sub-Saharan desert.
WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS FROM?
At Fegnion, we pride ourselves on responsibly sourcing every ingredient for all of our products. We believe that every cat parent should feel confident about what they feed their feline family member. After all, our cats have only been eating Fegnion for the past 17 years. Our cats’ daily feedings always come from a steady supply of food we create. This is the same food which they approve as taste testers. None of our products are released to the public until our cats have given their seal of approval. Bottom line, we feed your cats the same exact product we feed ours.
MEAT
All our meats are farmed raised, locally sourced and humanely processed in the USA, except for Venison that we source from New Zealand. We use quality meats that we hand select ourselves, the same cuts that are sold to fine restaurants and gourmet food markets on the East Coast . We do not use meat scraps or damaged carcasses in any of our products like most raw pet food companies.
EGGS
Locally sourced from family-run farms.
SUPPLEMENTS
All our supplements are food grade and not pre-packed. As doctors of pharmacy, we compound our own supplement mixes.
Countries of Origin:
USA, Germany, Brazil, Singapore
HOW DO YOU ENSURE FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS?
As pharmacists, we have taken safety measures very seriously and developed our methods to ensure the safety of our products. We do not use HPP or Bacteriophages, and we have extensively researched and tested our safety measures to ensure their effectiveness. We wash our raw materials with a proprietary organic acid blend we created and compound ourselves, which is antibacterial and antiviral.
We stand behind the safety of our products and are confident in our methods.
DO YOU USE SYNTHETIC TAURINE IN ANY OF YOUR PRODUCTS ?
No. We do not add synthetic taurine. Our taurine comes from meat and organs that we use respectively in all of our recipes to maintain a single source meat recipe.
We believe there is no need to add additional taurine when using high-quality meat and organs in our products, as opposed to cheap scrap meat and organ ingredients that may have degraded and are sold for pennies on the pound.
All our recipes have been lab-tested for nutritional content and far exceed any standard that currently exists in the pet food industry. At Fegnion, we always strive to KEEP IT RAW!™
DO YOU USE OCEAN SUPERFOODS IN YOUR RECIPES?
No. It is not part of your cat’s natural diet. It is not species-appropriate, meaning your cat would never go snorkeling in the ocean to salvage kelp, krill, or blue mussels needed for survival. Just because it may be a superfood for you, it may not be suitable for your cat.
WHO MAKES YOUR FOOD?
We do. This approach allows us to maintain complete control over the product and its manufacture. As neurotic pharmacists, we take pride in making amazing happen in our own facility and do not rely on third-party co-packers. By doing so, we ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and safety.
DO YOU USE FLUORIDE FREE WATER IN YOUR CAT FOOD RECIPES?
Yes. Fluoride is a toxic substance we don’t believe in for our cats or ourselves. Team Fegnion (us and our cats) have been fluoride-free for 18 years.
IS YOUR CAT FOOD AFFCO APPROVED OR CERTIFIED?
No. There is no such thing as AAFCO-approved or certified pet food.
AAFCO does not approve, certify, test, or regulate pet food. The role of AAFCO is to establish nutritional standards for complete and balanced pet food.
At Fegnion, we formulate our products by strictly adhering to AAFCO standards to ensure the safety and well-being of your cat.
TOTAL DIGESTIBILITY IS GREATER THAN 97%, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?*
This guarantees that your cat will receive the maximum amount of essential nutrients from our food, leading to optimal digestion and overall health.
When feeding a nutrient-dense and highly digestible feline-appropriate raw cat food product like Fegnion your cat will be nutritionally saturated and will consume less food, which will result in smaller, harder, virtually odorless, and less frequent poops. Your cat will have a healthier weight, a better temperament, and will be a healthier and happier cat. Please refer to our digestibility page for more info.
*THE ULTIMATE RAW NUTRITION™
DO YOU OFFER FREE SAMPLES?
No. We don’t offer free samples due to the difficulty in shipping a small frozen product and the associated shipping cost.
DO I NEED TO ROTATE PROTEINS?
Absolutely! We don’t eat the same thing every day, nor should your cat.
Our THE ULTIMATE RAW NUTRITION™ products are complete and balanced for every life stage of your cat. However, by rotating different proteins, you can provide your cat with micronutrients to help it become the lion it thinks it is.
Including a variety of proteins will exercise your cats’ GI system, bring mental stimulation, and, most importantly, include an abundance of nutrients.
I ALREADY FEED MY CAT RAW. DO I STILL NEED TO TRANSITION?
It’s important to understand that not all raw cat food is created equal and that there are different tiers of quality based on the ingredients used and the processing methods employed. Although raw-fed cats may adapt to new food quickly, this may not be the case if they consume low-tiered raw cat food. Some cats may need a transition period.
WHEN DO YOU SHIP?
FROZEN PRODUCTS:
- We ship from Monday to Friday from New York via UPS/FedEx. Any orders placed by Friday 2 PM (EST) will be shipped the following week, while orders placed after Friday 2 PM will ship on the second week. At this time, we don’t offer local pickups.
- You will receive an email from UPS/FedEx with a tracking number the day your order is ready to ship.
- For safe transport of your frozen Fegnion order, we use insulated boxes filled with frozen gel packs, dry ice, or both.
FREEZE-DRIED SNACKS:
- We ship Monday through Friday from New York via UPS Ground.
- Fegnion snacks are shipped separately from frozen goods.
- Please allow two weeks for the product to ship from the day you place your order.
- You will receive an email from UPS with a tracking number the day your order is ready to ship.
For more shipping information, please refer to our Shipping Policy.
HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR RAW PET FOOD SAFE FROM AVIAN INFLUENZA?
All our poultry and meat are USDA-inspected and passed. As a safety measure, we wash all our meat, organs, and eggs with our proprietary organic acid blend that we developed and compound ourselves that is antibacterial and antiviral. We lab-test our poultry products before distribution. We are confident in our products and feed each batch to our cats as we always have.
