Commercial pet food

Hey again
I recently asked everyone about EVO dry food but Im having a hard time convincing my boyfriend(who pays for the food most of the time) to change our cats food to Evo or Sarengetti because of the price and fact that the only place we can get it is 9miles away from his job or online (we arent supose to have cats so getting it delivered is eh...) So now my question is if we absolutely must what commercial pet food would everyone reccomend that I can buy at the store Or pet store.We currently feed purina wich has not been recalled so if we switch it must be a wheat/rice free product with a company not affected by the re-call.
I was thinkinga bout
Bil-jac
http://www.biljac.com/store/products/CatM.asp
All thoughts and opions welcome
After Heroine goes to the vet in may I am going to present my boyfriend with all the options possible.
Incase your wondering I want to switch because we feed purina indoor formula and recently i read the Ingredients and their is almost nothing good in it.Barely any meat but plenty of corn and wheat

Do you know what brands are available at the stores you have near you?

The innova Evo is a good food BUT i know my cats never took it.

Felidae, is that a brand you can get? the price is actually pretty reasonable, i have my dogs on their Canidae dog formula.

here is their site, it gives a store locator
http://www.canidae.com/

Another option would be california naturals which is made by the same company as Innova but it's not as pricey.

again their site for stores
http://www.naturapet.com/

Orijen is a well price grain free food if you can find it, although again depends on the cats, mine are not exactly thrilled with it

their site for stores
http://www.championpetfoods.com/

Their are more but i can't think of any others at the momment lol, Bil-jac i know nothing about.. sorry.

You know, you have to do what works for you and your cats.

Countless cat households do great with Purina products. When I was a kid, my mom bought all Purina for our cats without health consequences (that we saw of course) and my cats all lived between 12-18yrs.

Pound for pound it's not going to compare with the premium foods, no. But that doesnt' mean you arent taking care of your cat either. Purina has been a trusted name. I would steer clear of grocery-brand foods and any dry food that is colored --imo that is just the candy of cat food.

Another thing is, some cats don't take to the premium foods well. Granted it can take time to switch a cat previously on commerical cat food onto premium, but this takes patience and costs.

That said, some mid range foods that you can find either at Petco/Petsmart or independent pet feed stores such as Chicken Soup for Cats might be a good bet.

California Natural is a HIT around here (found at independent feed store or online).

Nutro is another to think about.

And keep in mind that despite a higher cost, cats on these higher end foods start to eat *less* per feed. Less fillers, more quality ingredients = better digestion and better per calorie efficiency.

I also recommend wet foods, no matter what brand you use--in any case, when you can, try a few suggested foods (sometimes you can find sample sizes) and when you DO try them, mix with your cat's old food so it's not a gastric shock.

My cats eat Purina One (kitten formula for Fergie, sensitive system for the older ones). The Sensitive system lists turkey as the first ingredient, and no wheat gluten. Before that they ate a mix of Purina Kitten Chow and Indoor Cat formulas, and they did fine; I only switched to get real meat as a first ingredient. For what it's worth, my mom (the original crazy cat lady) raised some OLD cats on regular old Purina Cat Chow.

If you can find/afford the premium brands it's great, but not all of us live in an area where it's readily accessible. :\\

My cats Love the Innova dry...also though they love the Solid Gold Dry, you can get it at some health food stores

Originally Posted by Jpawz

You know, you have to do what works for you and your cats.

Countless cat households do great with Purina products. When I was a kid, my mom bought all Purina for our cats without health consequences (that we saw of course) and my cats all lived between 12-18yrs.

Pound for pound it's not going to compare with the premium foods, no. But that doesnt' mean you arent taking care of your cat either. Purina has been a trusted name. I would steer clear of grocery-brand foods and any dry food that is colored --imo that is just the candy of cat food.

Another thing is, some cats don't take to the premium foods well. Granted it can take time to switch a cat previously on commerical cat food onto premium, but this takes patience and costs.

Click to expand...

so true, we raised 2 cats a DSH and a DLH on nothing but purina cat chow and fancy feast, they lived till they were 17 and 19 yrs old.

and i also totally agree with your point some won't take to premium foods, my ragdolls have rejected some of the best foods in the industry

Anecdotal information is still useful

The thing is though, some pet owners may find that their pets have coat issues or other health issues that crop up.

And more often than not, a food upgrade solved the problem.

It really is a cat-by-cat basis. My cats still like some Purina One varieties and I doubt that I will completely stop using them. I like a whole approach, with a variety of food offerings that can cover all bases from preferences to ideals.

We can feed premium foods out of preference, (with hopes in achieving optimum health benefits) but some have to feed specific foods out of *need*.

Much like when we find something lacking in our diets (missing certain minerals or vitamins, or having too many carbs or fats....) when we tweak our diet we feel better have more energy, and have better...coats

Originally Posted by bleedforlove

.......but Im having a hard time convincing my boyfriend(who pays for the food most of the time) to change our cats food All thoughts and opions welcome

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Dump the boyfried
Sorry, J/K

I just switched to the Innova reduced fat (dry). My Sake loves it! It's really not that much more $$ than some other dry foods.
Now if I can find a quality food for my Penny (beginning stages of CRF)

Bil jac is not a fav of mine ..Fresh Chicken By-Products (Organ Meat Only), Fresh Chicken, Corn, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Chicken By-Product Meal, Fresh Chicken Liver, Brewers Dried Yeast, Herring Meal, Cane Molasses, Eggs, Salt, Sodium Propionate (a preservative), Taurine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, DL-Methinonine, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, L-Lysine, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K), D-Calcium Panthothenate, Manganous Oxide, Inositol, BHA (a preservative), Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Potassium Iodine, Sodium Selenite.
http://www.biljac.com/store/products/CatM.asp
.. I am not thrilled with the use of organs in a dry food .... the vitamin excesses seem to be harder to manage and I dont trust the foods to do it ... the second chn by products meal doesnt state just organs so it could be alot of things like heads ft
Two chemical preservatives one of which is banned in many countrys
Molasses is sugar and is for paletabilty
Not a fan of straight corn but it is okay for some
Salt in this formula is to high .... I try to get the least salt in a food
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There is a thread on grain free most all readily avail are linked

If your willing to try grain answer these
What do you want in a food ???

What do you NOT want ???

Wet or dry??? Both???

.. I am not thrilled with the use of organs in a dry food .... the vitamin excesses seem to be harder to manage and I dont trust the foods to do it ... the second chn by products meal doesnt state just organs so it could be alot of things like heads ft

Two chemical preservatives one of which is banned in many countrys
Molasses is sugar and is for paletabilty
Not a fan of straight corn but it is okay for some
Salt in this formula is to high .... I try to get the least salt in a food
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There is a thread on grain free most all readily avail are linked

If your willing to try grain answer these

What do you want in a food ???

What do you NOT want ???

Wet or dry??? Both???

Click to expand...

Thanks for the breakdown of that!

I want a food that will leave my cat with energy and feeling good,I also want the food plus proper veternary care to help him live longer

I do not want any brands that have been recalled or seem like they may be recalled.I do not want useless Ingredients or harsh chemicals

Dry -I am thinking of mabe feeding him wet once a week but besides convience my cat either eats all the wet food in one gulp or lets it sit untill it dries and then doesnt waant to eat it

But as I stated my boyfriend is having issues with price and distance of the places we can get the better grain free's.He says that he doesnt want to be limited to 1 place he can buy food incase we need it right away and also he feels he doesnt have time for such things.He loves our cat almost as much as me but I think he feels my new need for grain free to drastic lol

Originally Posted by Sake&Pennys dad

Dump the boyfried

Sorry, J/K

I just switched to the Innova reduced fat (dry). My Sake loves it! It's really not that much more $$ than some other dry foods.
Now if I can find a quality food for my Penny (beginning stages of CRF)

Click to expand...

haha!If it was only that easy ;P

Originally Posted by followedbydolls

Do you know what brands are available at the stores you have near you?

The innova Evo is a good food BUT i know my cats never took it.

Felidae, is that a brand you can get? the price is actually pretty reasonable, i have my dogs on their Canidae dog formula.

here is their site, it gives a store locator
http://www.canidae.com/

Another option would be california naturals which is made by the same company as Innova but it's not as pricey.

again their site for stores
http://www.naturapet.com/

Orijen is a well price grain free food if you can find it, although again depends on the cats, mine are not exactly thrilled with it

their site for stores
http://www.championpetfoods.com/

Their are more but i can't think of any others at the momment lol, Bil-jac i know nothing about.. sorry.

Click to expand...

Most of those are out of reach for us ; /Natura I would love to try!But its only available at a natural pet store that is slightly far away far enough that my boyfriend is not wanting to go with it

keep in mind that although the Evo is more expensive, you really don't need to feed as much of it. I big bag of Evo fed my 6 for a month!! Your little baby would last forever, so it probably wouldn't end up being too awfully expensive. California Natural is a hit at my house as well, and is less expensive.

Are you willing to cook??? IT is the cheaper way and well in your $$ budget likely less expensive than dry and canned >>>??? just holler I have recipes

Originally Posted by sharky

Are you willing to cook??? IT is the cheaper way and well in your $$ budget likely less expensive than dry and canned >>>??? just holler I have recipes

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Honestly with our kitchen I cant.Nothing is ever clean.We are not slobs but well we live with a slob we cannot keep up with.Roomates -sigh-

Um, why don't you just order it online and have it delievered to your job? You may not want to order the 40lb kitty litter but a couple of cases of cat food aren't that heavy.
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/
http://www.epetpals.com/
Sell single cans so you can get a few different varieties and test them out before ordering a whole case
www.petfooddirect.com usually has a 13% or 22% coupon every few weeks and hase a wide variety of brands.

thats a good idea thanks!