Cat food?

[Randi]

A couple of members of the Cat-sitting exchange group I'm a member of, are discussing where to buy cat food and which kind is the best. From this site it is possible to order cat food etc. online, and from what they say, it's cheaper, too, even delivered right to your door.

"I use Zooplus too, and they're great. I use zooplus.co.uk though, because the interface is in English, but it gets dispatched from the same warehouse in Munich as the zooplus.de orders do. And you're right about the price. Not only can you get top quality international brands, most of which are not available in Denmark, but it's cheaper to order through Zooplus and have it delivered straight to your door than to go to a supermarket here.

Most cat foods, even the Vet ones, such as Royal Canin and Science Diet don't have great quality ingredients, and have lots of plant-based fillers. I fed them for years, and paid a fortune for all of them, thinking I was doing the right thing.

Now, I try to feed my cat a diet as high in meat as possible, with him being a carnivore, so I order a variety of the more than 75% meat, grain-free foods, such as Applaws, Almo Nature and Orijen, which are organic, too."

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food

I have always bought Fister's food from the vet and Zooplus doesn't seem to have that - eg. Hills S/D, W/D etc. or Royal Canin's Sensitive, Senior or Urinary. I'd like to give Fister the best possible food, of course, to keep him healthy, but he quickly gets fed up with whatever quality food I give him. Fister is 14 years old.

So, are any of you familiar with the cat food mentioned? Which are good for senior cats?

[Freedom]

Randi, the foods available are going to vary from country to country. Hill's is one of the few which are international; huge company.

You can learn about cat food, the ingredients, which are good, from this site:
http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

There is a menu down the left side. The link above is for "Quick Cat Food Reference Table." You will also want to click on "Complete Cat Food Listings" in the menu.

This will help you read the labels.

I believe when we use Google, it searches in our own country. So you can search:
cat food grain free

That should give you some info specific to your country.

As you probably know, cats are obligate carnivores; their food is high in protein. Also, cats cannot digest grains. So a good cat food is grain free.

I hope this helps get you started! Maybe some other EUC members will have more detailed info for you.

BTW, I feed Taste of the Wild, a grain free product.

[catmandu]

In Canada we have PetsMart and Pet Mas Warehouse which have Good Deals sometimes.

PetsMart has five dollar off coupons, so that helps a lot.
Although there is not as much food and litter buying at the Found Cat Hotel anymore.

[smokey the elder]

One problem with ordering cat food online is, due to its weight, potentially huge shipping costs.

[Husky_mom]

I´ve heard about Orijen.. but on the dog side.. and it´s got pretty nice reviews.. so I assume the cat one is just as good..

also from the site Acana and Taste of the wild.. (although I´ve only heard of the doggie version.. Glacier uses acana and I personally have used Taste of the wild.. pretty awesome btw)

[katladyd]

I don't know what brands are carried in Europe, but I feed grain free, my cats both act like young kittens now (my old guy is 13). I love Blue Wilderness dry and Wellness, Royal Canin, and Wilderness wet. My boys are doing so well on this diet!

[Sonia59]

I have heard about the brands you mentioned but I don't know them, only Royal Canin. I also buy from zooplus. They have a French version of their site, and a stock platform near Paris, so what I order does not come from Germany and arrives faster. They are among the lowest prices you can find in France, not the only ones, but one of the few. I also appreciate the free shipping (above a certain amount).

[Barbara]

We have a zooplus shop here but I never went- just because another shop is closer to the supermarket I usually go.
It is true that lots of dry food, even vet ones have carbs as their main ingredient- which doesn't sound good to me. Eg the Royal canin for the exigeant cat (which they all love, as they are exigeant all over) contains plants as the first ingredient.
That Almo nature stuff that you mention is wonderful meat, chicken or tuna. It looks as if you could eat it by yourself- not yucky at all. It is very expensive, I think it is made in Italy but I buy it from time to time.
The normal shop variety wet food contains only 4% of the meat after which it is named, i.e. chicken, rabbit etc. There seems to be a tendency now to name it in a way that appeals to humans- like "beef fillet stripes in tomato sauce". On the back cover it usually says that there is only 4% of beef, the rest is mixed stuff.
There are now some foods that guarantee you more of the food that's on cover e.g. in Germany there is Miamor on which they guarantee you 60% chicken if there's chicken written on them. They are not as expensive as Almo .
When Filou was sick he used to love Almo chicken which contains chicken in (of course unsalted) broth with 1% of rice- that was just his cup of tea

[Bengalz]

When Natura sold out to P+G, I switched Eve's wet food to Almo Nature for her dinner meal and since that change have never had a problem feeding my girl She loves it and there is such a wonderful variety of flavours (Eve likes almost all of them) - it is entertaining trying to decide which feast she should enjoy today You are right Barbara it is expensive (but, comes in small cans so there is little waste - love that!) but really it looks good enough to eat myself!! And there are never any leftovers For breakfast she usually has 1/2 pouch of Wellness - also available in many flavours - Eve's favourites are Chicken + Chicken Liver, Turkey and of course, Tuna!

Her coat is fantastic, her eyes are bright and she has boundless energy - the cost is worth just to see her happy and healthy

[Randi]

Thank you everyone!

I found the Almo food on the site and I'd like to let Fister try that, rather than the Whiskas in Gele pouches. It IS possible to get Purina (Pussi) also, I believe that is slightly better, but I have to go to a pet store quite far away to get it.

So if I and a few others can order this Almo food, that would be great. There seem to be quite many varietes, but I know Fister likes the ones with gelé. Then, I've heard that older cats should not have food with too much protein. Do you know if that is true?

This is the link to what they have:
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/c...t_food_pouches

One of these says that it has at lest 26% of meat. Some of them do look delicious!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Randi, as far as I know feeding an older cat a high protein diet shouldn't hurt them unless they have kidney disease. Also feeding a cat a high protein diet won't cause kidney disease. This is what I've read. My Storm is 15 and he's been eating a high protein diet for several years now. All of my cats are now on Wellness Core dry food which is 50% protein. My 4 oldest cats are also eating the Wellness grain free canned food which is 10% protein and they all love the 5 flavors that it comes in: Turkey, Turkey & Salmon, Chicken, Chicken & Herring, and Chicken & Beef. I would also feed the canned food to Alani & Blaze but they still have very sensitive tummies and so it causes them to make loose stools. I hope that whatever you decide to buy for Fister that he'll approve. Good luck.

[Barbara]

Senior cats should not eat too much protein as it could increase their kidney levels- as far as I know. The Almo stuff in pouches is in jelly, the cans rather with broth. I suppose the food is high in protein but I know they have a chicken and pumpkin variety too which Orion loves very much.

[kaycountrygal]

Hello, My cat Luke is 9 yrs old. Until Dec 2010 I mainly fed him dry food but it contributed greatly to his becoming severely consistipated. After 4 trips and 5 enemas & xrays, etc & $500 later, he got unplugged. It was mid Dec when I switched him to CANNED FOOD. I feed him canned Hill's Prescription w/d AND canned Wellness No Grain & I mix them together with a small amount of Laxatone daily and he is doing great. He feels better and is more active too.

Now as to where to find these foods at good prices. Both are VERY EXPENSIVE imo. I get the Hill's w/d from my vet. As far as I know, it is only available through vet. At first I got the small flat cans of Wellness from Petsmart (My Petsmart does not have the tall cans of it)... but I found a better price at PetMeds online if I get the tall cans & I dont have to pay shipping. I save $10 a case if I get the Wellness No Grain in tall cans from Petmeds Online. Kay in NC USA Th, Jan 27 2011

[pomtzu]

Hill's Prescription foods are just that - available only by prescription or thru your vet. Myndi just started on the canine K/D and I thought I would be able to find it cheaper on line than thru my vet, but soon found out that won't happen. I can get DRY K/D on line with a prescription from my vet for it, but Myndi will only eat canned, and I can't find that on line at all. So I have to buy it thru my vet. Pricey - but my girl is worth it!