Cat Food Brands

[kgeorge]

Now I am really confused, I went to a cat show yesterday and was talking to some breeders and alot of them recommended a cat food called Royal Canin, it cost more but you feed less. They said food like Science Diet (which I have been using) has something in it called Cellous - it does, does anyone know about this,will it hurt the cat? Also the first indegridant on Science Diet is Chicken By Product and in Royal Canin it is Chicken, the indegridants sound better in Royal Canin. Also I hear conflicting reports on tis one: I have a male cat - the vet told me to feed only hard food, at the show the breeders said you should feed some canned food, any help would be appreciated, I am totally confused. I had a regular american cat that lived for 19 years on Friskies food.

[Maresche]

I've heard lots of conflicting info about cat foods too, and what I've been able to glean from them is this... As long as your cat is getting the overall nutrition it needs, I don't think the actual type of food matters. But if your vet says hard food, he's probably thinking of the dental benefits for your cat. The hard food can clean off some of the tartar buildup while canned just adds to it.
I'm currently feeding my two furbabes Iams simply because anything else (and I've tried almost all of them) gives one of them mad gas and awful diarhea, even when the transition is gradual. If you're still really concerned about this, I'd talk to your vet in depth about it. He/She could probably reccommend the best for your cat's needs.

[Troy]

Don't forget that as with most diets, people or animals, variety is the spice of life. I usually feed my cats wet/dry food in the morning and fresh meat at night (although this may not be suitable for your pet depending on where you live and the quality of raw meats).

In my opinion "Variety" and "Moderation" are the key words in any good diet.

[auggie]

Spencer, where can I buy Royal Canin?

[Fuzzy317]

We free-feed dry Nutra Max Cat. We use a can as a treat every so often. We split a can among our three cats, and if we forget that he is inside our dog is treated as well.

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Recently adopted by 3 cats, a dog, some fish, and my fiancee

[4 feline house]

Unfortunately, this is one of those subjects that there is absolutely no consensus on. Vets don't agree, breeders don't agree, pet store owners and managers do not agree, and even the pet nutritionists don't agree. One thing is for sure - more expensive does not necessarily mean better, but cheaper does mean worse! Whatever fits your budget, that keeps your cats healthy, that they will eat, is what is best.

[Fuzzy317]

We put a little canned food out for our cats as a treat, but sometimes our Fluffy walks past it to get to the dry Nutra Max Cat.

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Recently adopted by 3 cats, a dog, some fish, and my fiancee

[Logan]

I wanted to second Spencer's comment about the Purina. My vet said that he had never fed his pets anything but Purina products and that they are fine.
Of course, I'm going to a little extra expense and feeding mine BilJac Select, which I can get in large bags at Petsmart. Mimi is so thin that I thought she could use the extra nutrition, and she likes it a lot. Before we got Butter (or Butter got us), Mimi was eating Purina Kitten Chow all the time, for the extra nutrition, even though she's almost 12 years old. Plus, they get a can a day to split as well, and sometimes choose the dry over the can anyway.

[Ben E Gas]

I use IAMS. no probs so far. I also planted this "cosmic kitty" grass in a large pot. when it grows, My cat Zezu pulls out the grass and eats it as a treat. I guess they eat grass in the wild as well as bugs and critters. I wish i knew what human food I could feed him. Someone mentioned corn. I'd never feed him raw meat for fear of salmonnella. How about cooked meat? I sometimes can't resist giving him a bite of cooked chicken. But if anyone can tell me some other foods that their cat eats with no problem, that would be great.

thanks,
ben

[wolflady]

I feed Iams to my babies. This is good for them I hope!! I had Marius on the Science Diet weight loss for awhile, until he reached his ideal weight(down to 15.5 from 17!!!). They both loved it. Now they're on Iams less active formula.
Ben, how well does this "cosmic kitty" grass grow? What kind of potting soil did you use? Any special "plant food" to make it grow? Is it easy to grow? I have thought about planting something like this for awhile, but haven't gotten around to it, so it would be interesting to see other people's opinions on cat-safe plants and grasses.
As for what do my cats eat(in regards to people food), I could start at what doesn't my Marius eat! ha ha ha ha Scooter is finicky so we don't have to worry about him(unless it comes to Milk or vanilla ice cream, or yep, glasses full of water. He likes licking the condensation!), but Marius is a little food bandit!! Have you ever seen a cat eat asperagus??? Wierd, huh? LOL He wasn't too big on lettuce though. He's always begging for a bit of my cooked meat and goes crazy over fish (filets, tuna, crab, etc.) I suppose anything like that wouldn't be too bad for them as a small treat once in a while

[Ben E Gas]

Well, Wolflady,

The cosmic kitty grass is very easy to grow. I put it in a rectangular pot, but ofcourse any will do. I need to use pots like that, that are heavy or else i'll have dirt spilled all over my apartment. I just used a pottingsoil that didn't have anything like miracle grow in it. I just used water and no chemicals. Not sure if miracle grow is harmful, but i didn't take any chances. It takes a few days to start sprouting. just leave it near a window. I keep it on the floor for Zezu to get at it easier. As soon as you notice that the grass is about 3 or 4 inches, just pull out a couple of blades and show them to your cat. Zezu, ate em' right up and then went in to pull out his own blades. Now he knows what to do, and after a while, when the rest dies, just pull it out, mix up the soil and plant more. The bag I bought has lasted a long time and is no bigger than a sandwhich baggy. You don't have to plant the whole bag at once either, just a little. Next i'll have to try catnip. heh heh heh.

[4 feline house]

Ben-

Any treat should be just that, an occasional treat, but raw meat is not as harmful to cats as it is to humans. A few bites will not hurt him. The kitty grass is a very good idea, too.

[wolflady]

Ben, thanks for the info. I'll have to try that! I think it's a great idea. I was thinking of planting some catmint in my front yard, since I'm desperately needing to do something in the flower beds!! Weeds seem to grow real well there...ugh!! I was trying to think of something low maintenance and that will grow like groundcover. I know this is a little off the topic, but I was thinking some sort of herbs like catmint and some others would be good. Does anyone have any experience with growing herbs? Does it grow like a type of groundcover?

[thelmalu99]

Wolflady-
I have some herbs growing in a windowbox in my kitchen, and my favorite is basil. It likes a lot of water, but otherwise it's really low-maintenance. It's also really pretty and smells divine. Basil also produces little clusters of tiny, pretty white flowers-I almost fell over when I discovered that my little basil plant was flowering. I had no idea that basil produced flowers! I'm not sure, but I think basil would look gorgeous if planted outside in a flower bed.

[Karen]

Mint, any kind of mint, will tend to take over anything and everything in it's way - and it smells great when and if you mow it, too! It is a perennial even up here in New England, and get pretty purple or white flowers, too - small skipey one, but pretty. It's great for filling space!