What to look for in cat food.

[TopCat3]

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??

Yes Jen.
Colette has a sensitive stomach. I find she does well on cooked chicken or canned salmon/sardines/mackerel with some cooked mashed pumpkin and leafy greens mixed in and a little raw meat with it e.g chicken hearts chicken liver and a bone to gnaw on once a week (lamb chop or chicken neck) I toss the latter in butter in a pan to give it some extra flavour and appeal.
I also give her 1/2 tspp of a 1:4 mix of slippery elm and flaxseed suspended in 4mls of water by syringe and this keeps her innards very happy! I have found since giving her a few Optimum dry biscuits for dessert (Eagle pack is hard to get in Oz at the mo) she has reverted to barfing.Eagle pack does not have this effect and pls be aware the dry is only a few little bikkies as dessert as I go out the door to work to distract/settle her. However I note and respond to her request to be let out to eat potted catgrass (too bad she prefers my pot of LEMONGRASS herb lol)
I think it's great to give them raw food - it's just not practical for me to do all the time - cooked has longer shelf life and has more appeal and is in many ways safer I feel.