Natural Balance Question???

slave2_ragdolls

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I have been a member here for awhile.....and some posters at this forum keep saying that Natural Balance is "too rich" of a food
Does "rich" mean too many calories? I have 3 cats eating this high quality food aging 9,5,and 4 years old being "free fed" for over 2 years now......and all are weight in proportion (not fat) I am just curious why some posters here continue to call this food "rich" ???????? Thanks!
 

leesali

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I have never heard of Natural Balance as being too rich. Will look into it...but I have been using Natural Balance for approx. 1-year with 12 resident cats ranging from 5.5 months to 3-yrs. in age and ZERO ill-effects.

I am definitely a big fan of Natural Balance...give all my crew NB wet & dry food...they love it. I also have used NB w/all my foster kittens...as young as 4 weeks in age...also with no ill effects.
 

sharky

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Duck is a greasy meat ... that pared with lamb makes a very rich food ... If yours are doing well
...

It is on the higher end of moderat in calories...

Many kitties systems cant handle it ... Evan many dog s cant handle it
 

gizmocat

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Lamb is also an allergen for many cats and dogs. I like to feed Gizzy rabbit since it is closest to what she would eat in the wild.
Fish is okay for a treat. She got some tuna for her Thanksgiving dinner, but I made sure it was 'cat food tuna'.
 

jcat

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I've been feeding Natural Balance dry for about two years now, and neither Jamie nor the other two have had any problems with it. I imagine it's like the Innova EVO: too "rich" for some cats, who get diarrhea from it, but just fine for most.
I especially like it because it contains lamb, as Jamie will refuse any food that's "just poultry". He really likes NB.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by jcat

I've been feeding Natural Balance dry for about two years now, and neither Jamie nor the other two have had any problems with it. I imagine it's like the Innova EVO: too "rich" for some cats, who get diarrhea from it, but just fine for most.
I especially like it because it contains lamb, as Jamie will refuse any food that's "just poultry". He really likes NB.
Mr Jamie is such a CAT


Yes it is like EVO with a %ange of cats having difficultys ....
 

coaster

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I've been feeding Natural Balance for some time and my cats were doing well on it, but lately Mellie and Twinkie have begun turning up their noses at it. Seems they both prefer Fancy Feast.
Because of that and because Twinkie had a case of crystals I've started feeding one meal a day of raw ground chicken. But I'd like to continue with one meal a day of Natural Balance. Rocket still likes it and I'd prefer to feed them all the same food. Anything I can do to get Twinkie and Mellie to eat Natural Balance again? Thanks....

PS - Twinkie's doing all right now. He was on prescription Royal Canin Urinary SO for a month, but he won't eat that any more either. And I don't blame him, either.
 

reddicequeen

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My Remy has problems with Natural Balance and Evo...he throws up gets diarrhea..all that nasty stuff. On the other hand little Skye who is his 1/2 brother has a stomach like a garbage scow. Funny how we are made

What works for both of them is the Healthypetnet wet food, Natural Instinct and Felidae dry. I think you just have to find the right mix that your cat will eat...and then everyone in the house is happy
 

mamakitties

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Has anyone tried the NB reduced calories one? I'm doing early research right now so once my kittens turn 1, I may switch them from premium edge to NB. Any thought on that?

Thanks!
 

cloud_shade

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Is there a reason they need reduced calories? Usually, it's better just to feed them smaller portions because the reduced calorie formulas usually have less protein and more carbohydrates (the opposite of what a cat eats in the wild). Are you looking at the canned or the dry food?
 

moggiegirl

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Any dry food that has close to 600 calories per cup is considered "rich" because it's very high in calories. Natural Balance has about 580 calories per cup. If your cats are maintaining their weight, don't worry. But for sedentary indoor cats the food can be fattening. I know it's too rich for my cats unless I mix it with something with less calories, as a treat. Certainly it's a high quality premium food.

I agree weight control diets are not the way to go. But I prefer a regular dry food that has more like 400 calories per cup rather than almost 600.

Of course if you can monitor the portions of how much your cats are supposed to eat it doesn't matter how many calories per cup a food has. But often with multiple cats it's hard to keep track of how much they're eating since they swap bowls and eat each other's food when you're not looking.

California Natural only has 393 calories per cup if anyone is looking for a dry food that is not weight control that has lots of protein and a decent level of fat but not too high in calories.
 

jcat

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Originally Posted by coaster

I've been feeding Natural Balance for some time and my cats were doing well on it, but lately Mellie and Twinkie have begun turning up their noses at it. Seems they both prefer Fancy Feast.
Because of that and because Twinkie had a case of crystals I've started feeding one meal a day of raw ground chicken. But I'd like to continue with one meal a day of Natural Balance. Rocket still likes it and I'd prefer to feed them all the same food. Anything I can do to get Twinkie and Mellie to eat Natural Balance again? Thanks....
Why don't you try rotating the Natural Balance with a similar food? A lot of cats just get bored with eating the same brand all the time. Mine won't eat the same brand more than 2 days a week. You could get a smallish bag of another high-quality brand and feed it for three or four weeks, and then go back to NB.
 

mamakitties

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Originally Posted by cloud_shade

Is there a reason they need reduced calories? Usually, it's better just to feed them smaller portions because the reduced calorie formulas usually have less protein and more carbohydrates (the opposite of what a cat eats in the wild). Are you looking at the canned or the dry food?
I was just curious that's all. I have a chubby 7 months kitten at home while my other kitten is just right. They are both active but I don't know why Jumpy (the chubby one) is growing faster than Daisy (my other baby). My Vet said Daisy will remain a petite cat no matter what. I'm just scared that with Jumpy being overweigh that it might cause future health issues. I am currently feeind them 1/2 cup of dry food each day but I spread that into 2 meals (1/4 cup per meal).

Thanks.
 

crazyforinfo

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Have you tried cutting back the food you give Jumpy? I am trying that but they seem to maintain their weight instead of losing it. I started the kitten on Nutro can food today. Sure looks different then Friskies! Oh and they all have fleas at the moment and Lucky won't stop cuddling with me. It's 12:30 and I think I will shower before bed time. I am itching like crazy.
 

mamakitties

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Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

Have you tried cutting back the food you give Jumpy? I am trying that but they seem to maintain their weight instead of losing it. I started the kitten on Nutro can food today. Sure looks different then Friskies! Oh and they all have fleas at the moment and Lucky won't stop cuddling with me. It's 12:30 and I think I will shower before bed time. I am itching like crazy.
I'm not sure whether I can cut back consider he is only getting just 1/2 cup per day. I don't want to starve him cause he will come meowing at me if he is hungry. He is 7 months and 10 pounds and the Vet said he is on the heavy side so he needs to exercise more. Jumpy and Daisy wrestles with each other and I do get jumpy to run around chasing stuff.

I gave them nutro kitten complete intially but they didn't like it plus I didn't see much changes to them (they continue to shed a lot plus rough coat) so that's why I switched over to Premium Edge. I'm just searching to find out whether NB is a good choice once they become an adult. Someone suggested Nutro or Felidae but I've read good things about NB also.
 
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