Cat food

[Ksandra]

So I got a kitty yesterday :3 and wanted some advice on cat food.

Before I didn't really care and used to give my cats Friskies (cause I could buy in bulk for cheap), but my last cat basically died from it.

Essentially, she developed crystals in her bladder, and while it was treatable she ran away thinking she was dying before the treatment was finished (partially vet's fault too but rather not go into a rant about it). From what I understand a lot of the "cheaper" brands do this, but not all.

So this time around I want to be a little more picky on what I give my cat or at least get some advice on whether it even really matters. At least this time around if it happens again I know exactly what it is and how to handle it, but I don't know if it's something that should be avoided or not. Help me have a healthy kitty! :D

[The_OG_Nelta]

Meow mix, and some type of meow mix wet foot, usually feed half and half.

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

http://danielctw.com/wp-content/uplo...003_frm90C.jpg

[blev]

http://catfoodreviews.com/

Blue Buffalo and Avoderm are some very good foods that you can find at your local PetsMart. There are a lot of other good foods, but some of them you have to find at a specialty store. Royal Canin has a decent product as well, however, the price is a bit high considering the quality isn't quite as good as Blue Buffalo or the other decent brands. Authority is the store brand at PetsMart and is the same formula as the Nutro Natural Choice formula, which is also a decent food, though not the best.

I highly recommend PetsMart for a few reasons. They train their employees to know which foods are better and to help you figure out what would be best for your pet.

A lot of cat owners like to give their cats wet food. Every now and then this is fine, but i would try to stray away from a primarily wet food diet. It makes the stool runny and doesn't provide nearly as much of the nutritional needs your dry foods will.

Feel free to PM me or just reply here if you have any specific questions.

[Atreides]

my cat had to be hospitalized with constipation after only 1 week on fancy feast, a lot of those commercial cat foods are designed for palatability and not digestibility.

I've been feeding her Science Diet for months now, and her weight is down, and she really likes it. It's a little pricey, but IMO it's well worth it.

[antihero]

we've always fed our cats friskies and they have all lived to be >12, sounds like darwinism to me

[Weiing]

A lot of commercial cat food includes crappy filler ingredients.

I get my cat dry food of the Wellness brand--the CORE brand (mostly protein, no grains. I like that I can recognize 80% of the ingredients list). http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/produ...pet=cat&pid=23

I tried feeding my cat raw meat/organs for awhile (weird cutting up raw meat for my cat while I'm vegetarian) but he didn't eat a lot of it... so I stopped. They have frozen raw meat prepackaged but that's a lot of money. I believe that is probably the best diet for them as that's what they're made for, natural born carnivores...but too expensive so dry food for him!

Edit: my rule of thumb is that as long as I can recognize 80-90% of the ingredients list that's full of the "good stuff", I'm satisfied. It's the same thing I do with the stuff I eat. Don't want to feed my cat crap.

[Shenrien]

I just got a kitten(so adorable D: can't make it stop being cute, I even asked and I got pawed) But I've been giving her Iams Kitten ProActive Health Dry Food, and when she gets fed its usually gone shortly after its placed, if not a little left over(trying to not make kitten be fat o

[Celestialstrife]

I need to find a good food for my diabetic kitty as well. The stuff they have at the vet is stupid expensive

[Fhloston]

http://www.petfooddirect.com/product...3013620_lg.jpg

What we give our cat. She seems to love it, and it's pretty cheap @Walmart. I'm new to this cat-owner thing though, so still experimenting with other dry foods too. That site was pretty informative.

[Pikarya]

Males usually suffer from cheaper brand foods due to having a smaller urinary tract, especially after being altered. I've spent more than $400.00 dollars on fixing a male due to it (constant bleeding while urinating, bowel problems, kidney infections & bladder issues. Ever since then we've kept him & our other cats on a high-grade urine-safe blend which has no dyes, corn meals, or by-products, etc.

Using anything stamped with Purina, or any other "grocery brand" is not healthy for your cat. Just because a cat lives till 14 years of age, or whatever. Doesn't mean the pet is satisfied inside. Try eating nothing but junk food and low-grade quality food for 14 years. I'm more than sure you won't feel good, never-the-less feel healthy.

www.catfoodreviews.com is pretty on target. A huge myth of cat owners is that its "too expensive" to feed them higher-grade cat food. When most of the quality brands only cost a few more dollars and some online stores will even ship them to your door for cheap or nothing. And if you're feeding your cats in portions everyday (as you should regardless). You won't go through a full 25lb bag in a week, you'll also save a lot on litter by feeding in portions.

Avoid buying higher grade foods from your vet also, most vets usually sell whatever gets them the best daals in terms of comission (one of the local vet offices here benefits by selling any Purina "High-grade" food such as Purina ONE which is almost the same shit as Cat chow).

If you don't wanna go the route of actually buying quality food. At least try to go with a cheap store brand that HAS meat as the first ingredient on the label. Also beware of ingredients such as corn-meal which are fillers.

Diamond for example, is one of the "cheaper" but decent grocery brands. If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, or something similar. They usually carry their products.

www.diamondpet.com

http://i47.tinypic.com/1giszk.jpg

Anyways, goodluck on the cat.

Edit: Also a good quote from an article @ catfoodreviews;

For example, the 16.5lb bag ranges in price from $36-$48, which may be seen as relatively expensive for some pet owners. However, as with all foods with a high protein content, some consumers state that their cats eat less when switched to Timberland Organics brand cat food formula.

Less intake = Less waste and more savings on your litter. Ultimately a happier & healthier cat.

[aduidarnenye]

We feed our cat Iams

http://www.iams.com/iams/cat-food.jsp

He's pretty healthy.

We also give him lots of cat treats, like the ones for teeth or the ones that make his poop not smell so bad (he's indoors).

He also likes the odd bit of tuna when we make dinner with tuna in it.

[Amelya]

My cat gets Fromm's grain-free Surf and Turf kibble and a can of fancy feast wet food a day. I'd like to change her wet food, but she's 17 and ornery and has been on it her whole life, so I haven't messed with it. I've been extremely happy with the Fromm's food for both my cat and dog.

http://www.frommfamily.com/

Wellness is pretty good too and it's available at petco, although my cat wouldn't touch the treats I bought and my dog didn't care for the kibble lol.

[Kohan]

Though I would've typed out a warning regarding the first several ingredients in dry cat food, the website linked to above already did it for me. Considering, before you buy anything, make sure you understand this: http://catfoodreviews.com/the-import...ight-cat-food/

Furthermore, the supporters of raw animal diets are very loud, but they don't have significant proof backing them. The studies which have been done essentially report that a mixed diet -- that is, raw meat and dry food -- helps the domesticated pets receive all the nutrients they require. Raw meat alone can lead to deficiencies, and any raw meat at all can possibly introduce detrimental bacteria.

You can also mix dry and wet food, if you'd like. Make sure you're relatively consistent about what you feed them, however -- don't change foods every couple of weeks or so, for example -- because felines are very picky, and with good reason, as they have sensitive stomachs. They don't always barf just because they're pissed off at you.

Though this isn't related on food going into your pet's mouth, it's related with what comes out: make sure you purchase relatively decent kitty litter, too. Don't get the dollar store garbage. They'll only need a new bag once a week (or month, depending upon the size). Getting something somewhat soft and dust free is ideal, as it will help prevent other health problems (both in their lungs and anus).

This is a good example of ideal cat litter: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Litter-Mu.../dp/B000T9UVJW

It doesn't matter that it smells, because chemical perfumes can irritate your cat, and you should be scooping it daily (if not twice a day) anyway.

[Mistress Stowastiq]

I get the snobby pet store onry brands that cost more than human food.

This is because we bought the pet rescue center kitties that are both traumatized all to hell and have so many quirks and "pet peeves" it is safer to keep them on a special diet.

It depends on whether you have a finicky sensitive cat or not. Putting them on fancy food can create a finicky cat out of a normal one also so be gradual.

Do some bag reading and vet/big pet store sold brands like Iams or even some of the premium grocery store versions of common brands are better than cheap food.

Also if/once the cat is on the fancy stuff, be careful of taking them off of it because food habits are hard and traumatic to break. Mixing can food in is also good if it is good can stuff.

Keeping clean litter box, fresh water and plenty of scratching surfaces helps.

Also maybe a small swirl of tube type hairball lube on occasion helps.

edit: What Kohan is saying is true, cheap litter is out of the question at least for my cats and we would rather pay a bit extra for good stuff that isn't full of irritants than deal with UTI problems later that cost a fortune at the vet and make unhappy kitties.

Good luck

[Weiing]

Yeah actually tried buying that cat litter when I first got my cat... big no-no. My cat held his fluids in for a few days that he eventually peed in a corner (on the carpet). I had to switch to something generic like Fresh Step.

[XanthePandy]

Although I can't name brand names since I'm in the UK, I really like the vet recommended dry foods if your cat might have a hint of digestive problems.

One of my two cats had a stomach problem from when he was really young and has developed a picky diet because of it. We feed him the vet kind dry food and tuna (in spring water) for wet food every day. Since they are indoor cats, they are currently a little on the large side, although not dangerously so.

Though this isn't related on food going into your pet's mouth, it's related with what comes out: make sure you purchase relatively decent kitty litter, too. Don't get the dollar store garbage. They'll only need a new bag once a week (or month, depending upon the size). Getting something somewhat soft and dust free is ideal, as it will help prevent other health problems (both in their lungs and anus).

I use a wood pellet cat litter because all the clumping types we have over here seem to be clay and they happen to give me health problems rather than my cats from what it seems haha. They require cleaning out a lot more often, though.

[Ksandra]

I know my brands for cat litter at least cause I've had two fat cats in the past lolol.

And hmm so far that diamond one seems the best bet for me if they have it locally, I'll have to check it out.

[Kohan]

My cats despised the pellet type, but if they liked it, I would have used it. Basically, anything that's relatively simplistic in nature (e.g., corn or wheat litter) and essentially dust free is best. Someone else noted that dusty, chemical-laden litter can also lead to urinary tract issues, and that's on top of the aforementioned lungs and anus problems.

If the first kind of natural cat litter you use is rejected, I would keep trying similar types. If you have a cat that doesn't seem to like anything "woodsy," Whole Foods -- if I remember correctly -- has a clay-based natural cat litter that isn't full of nasty additives and doesn't send up a cloud of dust.

You want to find one that works. Don't settle for less.

[geno]

I did a lot of research on this before we got our kitten last year. General consensus seemed to be Innova EVO or Wellness (CORE for dry food) or a plethora of other high-end ingredients based foods. The trick to finding something suitable on your own, like was mentioned above, is to look at the ingredients list, both in order and overall. I think the aforementioned catfoodreviews site goes into more detail on what to look for here, but just keep an eye out for the filler-type ingredients that offer no nutritional value to a cat (wheat, soy, and corn based fillers), as well as the very low-grade protein sources (you'd much prefer to see Turkey at the top than Turkey-based random toenail meal or w/e).

Don't get tricked by Science Diet by the way. That stuff is hardly any better than Meow Mix. Seriously, compare its ingredients to something like Wellness CORE, there is a huge difference in quality.

In the end we went with and still use Wellness. Their CORE brand dry food is among the best, and their wet food has plenty of variety while still maintaining high quality ingredients. Our cat seems to love both (we feed her a mix of wet and dry).