Cat Food

[neko1]

Hi All!

I am ready to adopt another baby this year and was hoping to get some insight into cat foods.

Neko has been on prescription urinary food the past 16 years and Tama used to just eat his food.

I have no clue what to feed a new baby- I am looking for canned food, grain free, good quality ingredients, that hasn't been recalled a billion times!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Karen]

It would of course depend on what age the kitty is you end up getting, that's the first step, and what it has been eating until then! There are many opinions out there in raw versus processed foods, are you looking for a kibble type, a wet food, or some combination?

[Freedom]

Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they get 100% of their nutrition from protein (meat, fish, poultry). Also, cats tend not to drink much water; in the wild, they get all the fluid they need from their prey. So moist / soft / wet food should be a regular part of the diet.

When you feed a high quality food, there are no hairballs. Hairballs are NOT normal, though most house cats have them, because of the poor food they eat.

High quality grain free foods: Earthborn Holistics or Taste of the Wild, for dry; and Tiki Cats, Weruva or Fussie Cat.

You can learn a LOT about cat foods here: http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

[catmandu]

My Cats love the Friskies Indoors and the Science Diet.They will not touch the Blue Buffalo, or any of the Spots Stew or natural brands.
They like the Whiskas Pouches as well.
I wish that they would like something better:confused:

[snakemama]

Merrick, Wellness core, Blue Wilderness, Taste of the Wild, Evangers, Fussie Cat, Applaws, Natural Balance, etc. There are a LOT of high quality grain free cans to choose from!

[moosmom]

Buffalo Wilderness is what I would highly recommend. It's what I feed my cats. They are healthy and their coats are soft and shiny. It's grain free. My cats LOVE their canned food too.

[neko1]

Thank you so much!

[maerlyn]

My three housecats have been getting Taste of the Wild kibble for years now; I did notice an improvement in Mordred's activity level after the change; he actually runs occasionally now! :) Canned food was more difficult for me, on SS and investments, but I discovered Dave's pet food, both canned and kibble. I feed my three Dave's canned along with TOTW dry. Dave's can be hard to find, so I buy it online. It has only good ingredients and is made in the USA.

[Freedom]

TOTW has ethoxyquin in it, a known carcinogen. I used it for over 2 years for all my dogs and cats, before I learned this, and stopped.

You will NOT find it listed in their ingredient list; they are not required to list it, because they do not add it. They buy fish from a supplier who adds it to the fish. They have admitted it is in there! They ARE following the law, so no issue there.

[phesina]

Thanks for that information about Taste of the Wild, Sandie. Is that wet or dry or both?

I used to give the TOTW kibble to my cats regularly. In recent months I switched to Acana because Poppy would eat the TOTW down real quickly and then throw some up, usually on convenient clothing or (my) bedding. She does that occasionally with the Acana too but not as often, I think because she doesn't eat as much.

What I think Poppy's really telling me is that she would prefer getting wet food all the time, but that gets costly. They get kibble in the morning and wet in the evening.. the elderly ladies used to get wet food every meal, but they have since gone to the Bridge. When someone else gets really old and/or health-challenged.. Bob is almost 14, does that count? he's in great shape.. then they'll get wet every meal.

I'm nearly out of the Acana and had been thinking of going back to the TOTW because it doesn't cost nearly as much... but after this bit of info, I think I'll stick with the Acana.

Or, any other kibble recommendations out there that are good quality but not as super-duper-expensivo?

Thanks,
Pat

[maerlyn]

Thank you, Sandie, for the valuable information. <sigh> I thought I was on to a good thing. The TOTW is about gone, so I guess it's time to find something else. I really can't afford to feed only wet food - and Blue often prefers the kibble. I never heard of Arcana, so I'll be interested,also, in learning of good kibble that doesn't cost so much.

[phesina]

Acana is from a Canadian company, Champion Petfoods. They also have some called Orijen. There are different types of each. They're all quite pricey.

My cats are finishing up a bag of Acana "Wild Prairie".. "Grain-free formula made with Free-run Chicken, Wild-caught Fish, and Whole Eggs."

[neko1]

There's a great store a few towns over from me that has all these:

Cat Food:


Eagle
Hi Tor Prescription Diets
Merrick
PMI Exclusive
California Naturals
Triumph


Holistic Cat Food:

Orijen by Champion Products (cat & kitten, 6 fish)
Acana by Champion Products (Wild Prarie, Pacifica, Grasslands)
Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken
Felidae
Solid Gold Indigo Moon
Weruva
Wellness
Dr. Harvey's
Nature's Variety
Innova-Evo
Earthborn
BFF
Oma's Pride
Grandma Maes Country Naturals
California Naturals
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul
Petite Cuisine
Stella & Chewy's
Blue Buffalo
Daves Best
Taste of the Wild

[maerlyn]

Question: How can we find out if other brands have ethoxyquin? How would we know this? I mean, any food can have "hidden" ingredients. From all I found when I was searching, TOTW is an excellent food - only now, I find out it's not. Is there any way we can know?

When I was searching for a good dry food and found TOTW, I also considered "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul." I remember that it seemed almost as good; I may switch to it. Dave's also has a dry food, so I may go for that, although I'd have to order that online as well - which means shipping costs. The Chicken Soup I can get at a local pet store. (I have no Petsmart or Petco near me.)

Honestly, this cat food situation gives me a headache. I want only the best for my kids, but I can't afford the best, so am searching for something reasonably good and reasonably priced. That seems to be an elusive goal.:confused:

*********************************

I posted that yesterday; today, with the snow coming down heavily, I realized that I was low on both the housecat food and the outdoor cat food. Hmm, suppose I get snowed in for a couple of days? Better brave the snow. . . . So I drove out to Tractor Supply Central, the closest place to me that sells cat food. I knew I could get the TOTW there if they didn't have Chicken Soup; I needed 9Lives for the grey boys outside. They don't carry Chicken Soup, although they carry some of every level of cat food, from grocery-store to Blue Wilderness. BW is so far into the financial stratosphere that I can't even consider it; if I had only one cat - but not with three. Just out of curiosity, I checked out TSC's own brand: 4Health. I thought I'd find it to be some cheap generic food, but the label surprised me. The first ingredient is chicken, then chicken meal. Guess what? The first ingredient in TOTW is chicken meal. Hmm, interesting. I read quickly through the rest of the ingredients and didn't see anything I don't like, so I bought a bag of it with TOTW so that I can transition them. The 4Health is lower in protein (32% vs 42%) and lower in fat (14% vs 18%). I think lower in fat is good, especially for 18-pound Mordred! 4Health is also higher in fiber (8% vs 3%) Higher fiber also seems to me to be a good thing. In reading over the ingredients, I found nothing that scared me off - like the synthetic vitamin K that some foods have. In fact, I realized that the TOTW includes methionine, another ingredient I'm wary off.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on this? I put a handful of the new food into a small dish next to the TOTW and went outside to fill a bird feeder; when I came in, the 4Health was wiped out! Obviously, *someone* loves it! The "fringe benefit": it was $8 for a 5 lb bag, compared to the $12 for a 4lb bag of TOTW. I'd like to have others' opinions on this. I feel as if I might have found a treasure - and am afraid to get too excited.