What kind of food do you feed?

Back in the old days I free-fed Trevor and Andy. After several years Trevor developed diabetes and had to eat special food from the vet's. Since I had to feed them separately I had to give Andy canned food in order for him to finish eating at the same time as Trevor (Andy is a picker).

Now that Trevor is gone :( I have switched Andy to Evo kibble. I selected this food because it is high protein, low carb and has no grains and that appealed to me after having a kitty with diabetes. Andy has been eating Evo now for over three months and has put on some weight. He is not obese but there is definitely a change in his little physique. :) I am just curious. What do you all feed?

My own cats eat Royal Canin Prescription SO, except Amber and Shilo who eat canned only (no teeth). they prefer cheap Friskies and 9 lives canned, but I try to throw in some better canned food at times.

The fosters eat a real mixture of foods, whatever I get, but my (their) favorites are Pet Promise and Eukanuba Lamb and Rice.

Smudge eats c/d kibble to prevent a recurrence of struvite crystals (and, he informs me, because it's actually quite tasty). He also gets his "Paté Japonais" twice a day, consisting of half a can of Newman's Own Organic Chicken and Salmon, a quarter of a chlorpheniramine tablet (for allergies) ground up in water, a 3V skin supplement, Cosequin (a urinary & joint supplement), half a capsule of psyllium fiber, extra water, and Kitty Kaviar bonito flakes. Yes, I'm using Kitty Cuisine to get him to take his medicine - and it's working!

He prefers the kibble to the wet, so I've stopped just free-feeding the kibble and give him a measured scoopful twice a day instead, so that he'll eat up all his "magic food." He also gets Meow Mix Crustacean Crunch dental treats, and he likes those best of all.

Love, Columbine (Smudge's personal chef)

It's funny. After doing all my research on what to feed Sunny (puppy), I realized I never did any of that with my cats. I just fed them "grocery store food". I guess I have become a more responsible pet owner since joining PT :) and now think of these things. Moon and Bean have always eaten purina one urinary tract formula dry food and wet food and Bean gets fancy feast too. Moon had a problem with urinary blockage when he was around 2 and I had a male cat years ago with that same problem so I just automatically started Bean on it and he's never had any problem with blockage. They love it and are doing well on it so I'm not going to switch them now although I do find myself wondering if I should switch them to the higher quality foods now that I know about them.

I AM FEEDING IAMS PRO ACTIVE HEALTH KITTEN, AS THATS THE KIND THAT MY CATS SEEM TO LIKE.:love::love:
AND THE OLDER CATS LIKE THAT THE KITTEN KIBBLE IS SMALLER AND EASIER TO EAT:cool::rolleyes::love:

I used to feed everyone Royal Canin Urinary S/O formula because of Storm's problems but then Starr became very sick. Both Starr and Pearl are allergic to grains so now I've been feeding everyone Innova Evo dry and canned food for a little over a year. As long as Storm gets plenty of canned food mixed with extra water then both my regular vet and holistic vet said that he can also eat this food. So far so good.

I also just recently bought some Taste Of The Wid dry food for them to try and they all love it. I'm mixing it in with the Innova Evo and I've noticed that now they're all eating their dry food much better than before.:) I wanted something with a little more fiber in it because both of my girls have been having some loose stools when eating the Innova Evo.

As for their weight, they've all lost some weight and seem to be more muscular looking. My vet said that this is because they're now on a high protein diet. Their coats are also great and their energy level has also increased. I don't know if this last one is a good thing or not.LOL:) Storm has never been happier and can now keep up with his much younger siblings.:)

My guys eat Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Formula and also the Weight Managment version for those who need it.

My vet recommended it for Ripley when he was having stomach and bowel issues last year. It's done him wonders, he even gained back a much needed pound or two. I slowly switched the rest of the gang over to that from Nutro.

After the food contamination last year my vet said Purina was one of the only brands not involved so she trusted them and would recommend their entire line - even cat chow.

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Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz

so now I've been feeding everyone Innova Evo dry and canned food for a little over a year.

As for their weight, they've all lost some weight and seem to be more muscular looking. My vet said that this is because they're now on a high protein diet. Their coats are also great and their energy level has also increased.

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That's interesting that they have lost some weight. Well, I hope that the additional weight that Andy has put on is just muscle. He assures me it is. :p His coat has also improved and seems more dense so that may be part of why he looks "heftier" to me too. Again, he assures me that he is not fat - just fluffy. :p

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Originally Posted by Pam

That's interesting that they have lost some weight. Well, I hope that the additional weight that Andy has put on is just muscle. He assures me it is. :p His coat has also improved and seems more dense so that may be part of why he looks "heftier" to me too. Again, he assures me that he is not fat - just fluffy. :p

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Pam do you free feed? I know that you now only have one cat so do you just fill up his bowl and then let him eat what he wants throughout the day and night? If so maybe you should start measuring out his food. The Innova Evo is very high in calories so cats don't need to eat as much of this food as they do with lower calorie foods.

I haven't been able to free feed for several years now. My cats only eat 1/2 cup of dry food maximum each day probably a bit less and they also get some of the canned food mixed with water. Storm gets more of the canned because he needs more than the others. They really don't need to eat any more than this and my vets and I think that they're overall weight has improved. With the Royal Canin they seemed to gain more weight because it does have more carbs in it.

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Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz

Pam do you free feed?

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No I only give him 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening (only dry food). Maybe I should give a little less since it is high calorie food. He really likes it too. I am so afraid of him becoming too fat and developing diabetes like Trevor did. Actually he probably doesn't look fat but I have noticed there is "more to him" than when he was on canned.

I free feed Max and he gets Medi Cal Reduced Protein dry. At night he gets a small tin of fancy feast. Yes I know, FF is garbage food, but at the age of 16, Max can have whatever the heck he wants.

About the Reduced Protein - when RB Speckles went into renal failure at the age of 14 the vet recommended that for her. At the same time, I put Max on it thinking it would be a preventative measure. So far Max is healthy and happy and I plan to do everything I can to maintain that.

When Max decides to make the trip to the Bridge, I will be adopting again but this time I the kitties will be free fed a good quality dry only.

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Originally Posted by Pam

No I only give him 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening (only dry food). Maybe I should give a little less since it is high calorie food. He really likes it too. I am so afraid of him becoming too fat and developing diabetes like Trevor did. Actually he probably doesn't look fat but I have noticed there is "more to him" than when he was on canned.

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Has he been weighed at your vets recently? Before my cats were weighed at the vets, I had no idea that they had all lost some weight because it was only about 1/2lb-1lb weight difference. I wouldn't worry too much about Andy becoming diabetic while being on Innova Evo but if he isn't very active then maybe you should decrease his intake. I'd ask your vet about this first before you try anything.