What to look for in cat food.

[snowshoe2]

This is a topic I have been researching for sometime and there are sooo many differing opinions it can really get frustrating trying to find the 'best' food for your particular kitty.
I have issues with two of my cats, one being very overweight and the other has allergy problems, so I have really been studying different foods trying to find one that we all can live with.
I came across this very informative website Basics of Feline Nutrition that really helped me understand just exactly what a cats dietary requirements are and how vets aren't always the best ones to get food recommendations from.

[Catlady711]

I came across this very informative website Basics of Feline Nutrition that really helped me understand just exactly what a cats dietary requirements are and how vets aren't always the best ones to get food recommendations from.

Seems kinda funny to say vets aren't always the best ones to get food recommendations from when the site you're getting your info from is written by a vet.

The site it links to about vets and food recomendations are regarding mostly the vets making a business of selling pet food. Basically more or less competing with pet stores, which is a rather despicable practice IMO.

FYI not ALL vets agree with the practice of making their revenue from food/pet supply sales and prefer to stick to the business of pet health instead since they got a degree in medicine not pet supply sales.

Where I work we carry only the absolute minimum of prescription foods only for clients that are already on that food or need to have it ordered. We do not sell regular pet food of any brand, we do not recommend any one brand of food, and we do not usually sell the brands we do recommend (unless it's a special prescription formula then we special order it with very minimal mark up). Our hospital stands no revenue loss or gain from pet food sales or recommendations.

Sorry I just get rather miffed when one vet (or supposed pet expert) gets people to doubt the advice of the person who studied for years to maintain the health of our pets. I figure if you don't trust your vet about the food recommendations then why are you trusting him/her with the health of your pet otherwise?? I'd say seek a vet you actually trust so you both can work for the best health of your furry little companion.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since my cat Starr has food allergies, colitis, and IBD problems, now all of my cats are on grain free foods. They currently eat Innova Evo dry and wet and also Evangers Organic Turkey and Butternut Squash for some extra fiber. My holistic told me that cats don't need grains but they do need fiber in their diet.

They've all been on this food since around June of last year and I've noticed that they seem to have much more energy, look better, and just seem to be in better health. Pearl used to break out on her lips and have some eye infections and now she's been a very healthy girl.

Storm used to be on Royal Canin Urinary S/O for his crystal and urinary problems but now he's on the same food as the others and he's doing very well. He also loves this food much more than his prescription diet. Both my regular vet and holistic vet said that it was okay to feed him this diet as long as I make sure that he gets plenty of moisture from the wet food. My holistic vet also told me that the grains are what causes the urinary problems.

From what I've read in the past, cats need to be on high protein diets with little or no grains. They don't need all of the carbohydrates that are in most of the commercial cat foods these days. I think that you should try to feed your animals the best food that you can afford and what works the best for them.

[carole]

I have lexie on royal canin, so urinary as well, recommended by the vet and so far she is doing very well, her coat is extremely shiny, although being black it does indeed show up more, the other cats love excellence by virbac, not sure if you get it over there, but be warned they do intend to get fat on it.

I always look for something that will keep their urinary systems in order, it must have that,i am restricted financially on what i can afford to buy them,but so far they all seem to be thriving,maybe a little too much if you know what i mean, little fat butterballs of fluff.

[snowshoe2]

Catlady by no means did I mean to offend you or anyone else here about what I have learned from researching cat foods. I also didn't mean to classify all vets. While many vets are extremely knowledgeable in feline nutrition, many of them have had very limited training of the basics of feline nutrition. Some have relied for years on advice or knowledge only from the pet food industry and nutritional education has not been an integral part of their training.
My point in posting the link was to pass on the information to others that may be considering switching their cats food to something more appropriate and I felt this site was a very educational. Yes it was written by a vet, apparently one that has studied a great deal on feline nutrition and lists excellent sources for her findings.
It's not that I don't trust my vet, this is just another tool to help anyone with a cat that may be having dietary issues and I feel an informed patient is better able to understand and interact with their vet.

Again sorry if you felt this was an attack on you or anyone else in the animal health industry.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I am feeding my four NÖW! Grain Free Cat Food as well as Merrick wet food and GO! Natural Grain Free wet food. They have been doing really good on it, they have so much more energy now. My orange tabby, Amadeus, hardly ever played before, now he is up half the night chasing the other kitties around. The only downfall is that they have all gained weight from this food. I have cut there servings down to 1/2 cup per day, and they are maintaining their weight (of coure baby Theodore gets more). I have never fed my boys anything but premium food, but our budget allows that.

I firmly believe that premium foods don't cost any more than grocery store brands. They eat less premium food compared to the "junk food" brands. So a 10-14 pound cat eating Cat Chow needs 3/4-1 1/4 cups of food per day, while a 10-14 pound cat only needs 1/2-1 cup per day of NÖW! Grain Free.

Petcurean makes a good, low cost premium cat food that is available in America. The food is called Summit, check out their website.

[RICHARD]

Here's a good tip.

Buy small packages of what you think your cat may like, and when you serve it look for the cat's head in the dish!

[Catlady711]

Catlady by no means did I mean to offend you or anyone else here about what I have learned from researching cat foods. I also didn't mean to classify all vets. While many vets are extremely knowledgeable in feline nutrition, many of them have had very limited training of the basics of feline nutrition. Some have relied for years on advice or knowledge only from the pet food industry and nutritional education has not been an integral part of their training.
My point in posting the link was to pass on the information to others that may be considering switching their cats food to something more appropriate and I felt this site was a very educational. Yes it was written by a vet, apparently one that has studied a great deal on feline nutrition and lists excellent sources for her findings.
It's not that I don't trust my vet, this is just another tool to help anyone with a cat that may be having dietary issues and I feel an informed patient is better able to understand and interact with their vet.

Again sorry if you felt this was an attack on you or anyone else in the animal health industry.

Sorry it took so long to find this thread again.

No problem. I just hear so many people that doubt everything thier vet says and I've seen WAY too many of our client's pets suffer because they believed a book, the internet, their neighbor over the vets recommendations.

Some days I guess I get more riled up about it than others. I'm sorry on my part for getty ornery in return. I guess sometimes it's hard to separate myself from work. lol

[jennielynn1970]

Interesting comments on Nutro... I've been feeding that for the past few years, and I just switched out the regular lamb and rice for the Weight Management, and actually I think I bought the Nutro Max cat Weight Management the last two times, and I have had more cat barf than I can keep track of since buying it. I'm not sure if they've changed their "recipe", but something is definitely not right.

I had been using California Natural before the Nutro, and that had worked well also. Maybe I just need to go back to Lamb and Rice. Not sure. I was hoping to cut back on a few of the cats weights because they just seem to be getting chubbier..

Not sure about doing the raw diet for my two with sensitive stomachs and gastro issues. That's the only thing holding me back from doing that. Has anyone using a raw diet noticed how their sensitive stomach cats have reacted to it??

[TopCat3]

This is a topic I have been researching for sometime and there are sooo many differing opinions it can really get frustrating trying to find the 'best' food for your particular kitty.
I have issues with two of my cats, one being very overweight and the other has allergy problems, so I have really been studying different foods trying to find one that we all can live with.
I came across this very informative website Basics of Feline Nutrition that really helped me understand just exactly what a cats dietary requirements are and how vets aren't always the best ones to get food recommendations from.

Absolutely brilliant link Snowshoe2 thank you
TopCat3