Science Diet

[krazyaboutkatz]

Although I've never fed my cats Science Diet, here are a few threads from Pet Talk of why some people don't like it: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...t=Science+Diet, http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...t=Science+Diet.

[Killearn Kitties]

Science Plan is the only food that our cats will always eat. We buy bags of other foods from time to time to try and give them a bit of variety. Some they will eat for a little while, some they wont even taste to be polite!!

We originally tried Science Plan because it was the one recommended by our vet and our cats do seem to be healthy on it.

You're right too, they don't eat such a big bowl as with the likes of Friskies. When I bought the first bag of Science Plan, I amost had a heart attack at the amount they ate - they clearly loved it! That settled down quickly though and our pet stores often have a three bags for the price of two offer, that helps a bit.

[neko1]

My cats love science diet light! Since being on it, Cookie went from 13 pounds to 8 pounds....no longer a fatty catty!! And the others have maintained their weights.

[ScantyNebula]

Wow! Maybe Toby will go from 10 to 8 lbs .. hehe

I was also wondering .. what should I do about adult/kitten food? I put out Adult food for Toby .. and Kitten food for Lily, but Toby always eats Lily's food! They always eat together ..and what if Lily starts eating the adult food? i leave it out for them all day so I don't know what to do... =/

[Killearn Kitties]

Our kittens had a digestive problem probably caused by going on to adult food too early. The mother was quite happy to eat kitten food though. Toby is quite young, is he not? A lot of the food brands say you should only go on to adult food after a year, so as far as I am aware it wouldn't cause him a problem. Perhaps best to run it past your vet, just in case I'm ralking rubbish?

[ScantyNebula]

The guy at the store suggested that because Toby is over 10 months and is obviously Full grown, Adult food should be fine cause it has less animal fat, Toby is a big cat so I figured it should be fine.

I have also decided that after their SD is all gone, I might switch to Felidae or this other brand that looked equally as good. The guy at the store said although Science Diet is the best brand that they sell, it isn't what he would recommend the most.

[Denyce]

My main problem with Science Diet is Ethoxyquin. I don't like what I have read about it and it's link to intestinal cancer. Hill's still uses it as a primary preservative. The reason being is it is the cheapest and strongest preservative on the market. It has a half-life on the shelf like you wouldn't believe. The more natural preservatives break down faster and the fats in the food oxidize at a quicker rate so the pet food can't sit on the shelf for as long of a period of time...hmmmmm don't think that is a bad thing

Denyce

[NoahsMommy]

Micah was on Prescription Science Diet from March to July. He REALLY liked all three he had to be on...but it was doing more harm than good. Mind you, this was ONLY in Micah's case as he has IBD. Normally, I'd imagine it'd help cats that needed the things the food was made to do.

I feed the others Royal Canin because its natural and they use human-grade products. Our cats LOVE it and they are all at a perfect wieght (except for Livvy [she came like that], who is on the Lite form of the food...). It was recommended and it works for us.

I think your cats would like SD....it seems to be high quality and well recommended. At my work, its the only type of food they stock and feed the animals there.

[smokey the elder]

Hill's new formula (Nature's Best) doesn't have ethoxyquin; it uses vitamin E and citric acid as antioxidants. I wish it didn't have so many colors in it. My cats love it so there's no issue with it sitting around and going bad!

[Amanda]

When I adopted my girls in March one of them was on Science Diet food already so I kept her on it (the sensitive stomach stuff)...but after doing research here and speaking with a colleague who REALLY researched this stuff I GRADUALLY (by mixing and doing all the recommended steps so it wasn't a shock to the system) switched her to a food that was "technically" more nutritional however after a little bit of time I noticed that she began spitting up (not full fledged vomitting but still she would "reject" enough of the food that I began to wonder so....I switched her back and she's not had any issues so...I think the lesson learned is that it also depends on the kitty cat. My last cat lived to be 19years and I knew less about cats when I got her so didn't think to "research nutrition"....and she lived her whole life on 9 lives!!!

[Cataholic]

I have always fed my cats SD...but, now I am wondering. I would like to hear more from you guys that use Felidae. Do they have a 'light' version? All my cats, save for thin man Tex, are pleasantly plump (like their mommy). I want what is nutrionally best for my kitties...sometimes it is hard to know what that is, though..

P.S....Hi Amanda, welcome to PT~~

[krazyaboutkatz]

Originally posted by Cataholic
I have always fed my cats SD...but, now I am wondering. I would like to hear more from you guys that use Felidae. Do they have a 'light' version? All my cats, save for thin man Tex, are pleasantly plump (like their mommy). I want what is nutrionally best for my kitties...sometimes it is hard to know what that is, though..

P.S....Hi Amanda, welcome to PT~~

Johanna, I currently feed my cats both Felidae and the weight management formula of Nutro Complete Care. The Felidae doesn't come in a lite formula because you just need to measure the amount you need according to your cats needs. It's also for all life stages from kitten through adulthood. I mix it together 1 cup of each type of cat food two times a day. I was going to stop using the Felidae but I love the ingredients it uses including cranberry meal to help urinary tract health. I also like the Nutro Complete Care so now they get both and seem to love it. Here's the link to the Felidae website http://www.canidae.com/index.html. Just click on Felidae. I hope this helps.

[Russian Blue]

I think all the higher end foods are similar, it just depends on what your cats like to eat. Nakita has tried Royal Canin, Innova Dry and Wellness Wet foods and loves them. I know many people who also like Felidae, etc. I really think it's up to each individual owner to research cat foods and come up with their own decisions.

Innova

Wellness

I try to choose Nakita's foods by eliminating the ones filled with meat by-products, artificial flavours, colourings, potential cancer causing preservatives (ie: ethoxyquin). I also try to make sure that meat ingredients dominate in the list of ingredients and stay away from fillers.

Still the main factors in choosing a cats food is how much money you have to spend on cat food, what is available in your area, and what foods your cat will eat. You can get the 'best' food according to your own research, but your cat my not eat it!

[moosmom]

I put my cats back on SD Nature's Best and they've gone through the largest bag in a week (8 cats, mind you). I give them 3/4 of a cup a day in each bowl. So, I guess I'm all for the Nature's Best.

[Logan]

Food is so confusing!

My friend, Missy, who has Golden Retrievers, has done a lot of research on cat and dog food, just to gather information. She has cats and dogs. If you would be interested, check out her website, www.greatgoldens.com , and if your food or the one you're interested in isn't there, if you email her, she will research it for you.

My cats are eating Flint River Ranch right now, in hopes that it will help Butter's skin. I know one thing, they are both "plumping up" a little bit, which they both needed to do!

Logan