The Ins and Outs...

[kittykatharine]

With all the different brands of cat food available, I never really thought about whether there was a difference in the nutritional content between brands. When my kitty was diagnosed with cancer, I very quickly realized that these food significantly vary in there quality and nutritional value. I had been feeding my cats "Its a good life recipe", because they had enjoyed the taste a great deal. My question is what is a nutritionally healthy cat food - which provides all the nutrients needed for a longer and happier life? Is it imperative that I spend a fortune on the EVO grain free food or are my cats going to be fine on the commerical brands (e.g. purina, iams, etc.)? I just want to know if I have been feeding my babies horrible burger king level foods, and if so what is the health food equivalent? Thank you! :love::love::love:

[Catty1]

What do you feed them now?

And your vet might give you good advice, even though she likely sells a lot of medical cat food in her clinic.

[StarandBratsmom]

I know Walmart has food called Special Kitty, there was a food recall on some of them. Anyways, my cats won't eat it, nor will they eat anything other than Purina. I don't know why either. That is a really good question. Let me know when you find something.

[KitCat]

My cat has thrived on AvoDerm. His fur is not so dry, and seems to shed less. It has avacado and a very nourishing formula to promote good skin and fur. I have a local store order it for me so I don't have to pay shipping (which I used to do). It's really worth it. My cat has a spring in his step and he's over 10 years old.

[Karen]

I found an interesting article from the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine, it is a pdf, so you need a reader to see it.

http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf

It talks about cats being "true carnivores" unlike dogs, which are omnivores, and is very interesting to read.

[lvpets2002]

What do you feed them now?

And your vet might give you good advice, even though she likely sells a lot of medical cat food in her clinic.

:love: Yes Candace she feeds It's A Good Life Recipe.. Yes I also agree with you on getting the Vet's advice.. Well Its A Good Life is a very good brand of kitty food.. I buy that also.. I have several diff brands that I feed due to have several diff babies.. They all like something diff..

[Catlady711]

I'll tell you what the vets tell our clients on food.

Stick with a known name brand. They don't recommend any one specific brand because what an animal will like and thrive on may vary. Our hospital only sells prescription foods so we don't make any money on recommending any particular brand over another since we don't sell regular pet food. On prescription foods we carry 3 different manufacturers (Purina, Science Diet, Royal Canin).

Here is some of the more easily obtainable brands they think highly of..

Iams (I'm not totally sold on this brand myself)
Royal Canin
Science Diet
Purina (Pro Plan or One best)
Anything by Waltham
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover


Specific brands to avoid because of ingredients or dyes.....

Meow Mix
Alley Cat
Special Kitty
Chef's Blend
Purina Indoor Cat Formula
Any food with lots of dyes in it, they can cause allergies
Any store name brand (Wal-Mart brand, K-mart brand etc)

There are more brands both good/bad but those were the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

[jazzcat]

I found an interesting article from the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine, it is a pdf, so you need a reader to see it.

http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf

It talks about cats being "true carnivores" unlike dogs, which are omnivores, and is very interesting to read.
I just skimmed the article but it reminds me of what my vet told me week before last when I was discussing the inappropriate peeing problems I have. She said there was a debate over cat food. She said many are starting to believe that most the problems we see in cats today, such as UTIs, kidney issues and even some cancers, are caused by their diet. She said cats don't really need carbs and that is the primary ingredient in dry cat food. She said after doing some research into this she has decided to try her cats on high protein can food only to see if she notices any changes. She told me to think about adding can food to my cats diets but I haven't done that so far. I'm waiting to see how it goes for her cats first.

[catmandu]

I DO WELL WITH PRO PLAN CANNED:cool: AS ITS A VERY GOOD GOOD , AND BETTER IN QUALITY THAN FANCY FEAST , ALTHOUGH THE CATS LOVE THAT.
I HAVE BEEN BUYING IAMS PROTECTION AS ITS A GOOD QUALITY , AND THEY AHVE A PROMOTION ON IT, USUALLY THOGH I BUY THE NUTRO MAX INDOOR FORMULA.:love::love:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/CATS%20IN%20PARIS-Scrapblog/th_CATSINPARIS-1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/?action=view&current=CATSINPARIS-Scrapblog.pbw)