Recommended Wet Food

sassy42

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Hey guys,

I have been feeding dry, and want to start feeding a mixture of wet and dry. I have an 8 month old cat and a 3 and a half year old cat, both female, and the 8 month old I have been weaning from her kitty food onto the food I am feeding my older cat, Purina One ( I know it isn't the best cat food, but it's better than Meow Mix!).

What wet foods do you recommend? I would most likely only be feeding the wet food once daily and keeping dry food available at all times, like always. I do need something inexpensive and preferably something we can get at the grocery store.
 

nausicaa

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A good wet food that's inexpensive and available at the grocer's...hmm, that's somewhat of a conundrum. Whiskas Choice-cuts is okay, I guess, although it contains wheat gluten. Honestly though, check for feed-stores in your area or even the local shelter to see if they stock some of the better labels like Solid Gold or Merrick. Or you can homecook, which is healthy and economical.

ETA:Wait, scratch Whiskas. I just looked over the list of ingredients and they're pretty crappy. The MeowMix pouches seem to be better.
 

jean44

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Actually, I'm not fond of anything at the grocery stores. Although I don't feed it, Meow Mix pouches are not bad. They are heavy on the fish, though, which is not good for urinary tract health.

If you go to pet stores Nutro is a good food and not too expensive. I feed my cats Natural Balance and Wellness because they are available in grain and fish free varieties. With two cats and feeding wet only once a day both should be affordable.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Jean44

Actually, I'm not fond of anything at the grocery stores. Although I don't feed it, Meow Mix pouches are not bad. They are heavy on this fish, though, which is not good for urinary tract health.

If you go to pet stores Nutro is a good food and not too expensive. I feed my cats Natural Balance and Wellness because they are available in grain and fish free varieties. With two cats and feeding wet only once a day both should be affordable.
Ditto ... but do to recent happenings Nutro cans will likely not be easy to find as NUTRO is taking CANNING IN HOUSE

a quick serch on canned foods will yeild you lots of info
 
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sassy42

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Is Fancy Feast any good?

I'll look into Nutro, thanks guys.
 

sharky

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most FF contains meat or poultry by products and lots of grains... there are a few with mostly fish that dont have that in them
 
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sassy42

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I wasn't sure if wet food was the same as dry food as per the ingredients (duh on my part). I've honestly not really given wet food a second thought because my vet told me I *could* feed wet but dry food was all they needed. I was talking to a cat breeder and she was really adamant about the benefits of wet so I'm going to give it a try. I've done a bit of research and I can't believe all this time I had no idea about the benefits of wet.


My cats really don't like wet though, whenever I have fed it they eat a bit of it then leave it.

Oh and I am also looking into homemade, for my cats and dog.
 

nausicaa

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My cats really don't like wet though, whenever I have fed it they eat a bit of it then leave it.
I'm sure the experts will weigh in with even better advice, but perhaps a bit of clam juice (sold by the bottle or canned with chopped clams) drizzled over the wet food will help.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Sassy42

I wasn't sure if wet food was the same as dry food as per the ingredients (duh on my part). I've honestly not really given wet food a second thought because my vet told me I *could* feed wet but dry food was all they needed. I was talking to a cat breeder and she was really adamant about the benefits of wet so I'm going to give it a try. I've done a bit of research and I can't believe all this time I had no idea about the benefits of wet.


My cats really don't like wet though, whenever I have fed it they eat a bit of it then leave it.

Oh and I am also looking into homemade, for my cats and dog.
I'm another one who is a big believer in wet food.

There is some good info here about the benefits, and some tips on getting them more excited about it

www.catinfo.org

If you free feed the dry, it may help to change to a "meal" format, where they get a certain amount at certain times and that's it. That way, they are hungry when mealtime rolls around and if you offer them some wet then, that could help get their enthusiasm up a little.
 

ddcats

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Originally Posted by nausicaa

A good wet food that's inexpensive and available at the grocer's...hmm, that's somewhat of a conundrum. Whiskas Choice-cuts is okay, I guess, although it contains wheat gluten. Honestly though, check for feed-stores in your area or even the local shelter to see if they stock some of the better labels like Solid Gold or Merrick. Or you can homecook, which is healthy and economical.

ETA:Wait, scratch Whiskas. I just looked over the list of ingredients and they're pretty crappy. The MeowMix pouches seem to be better.
I second the Merricks. I used to do the tuna thing, after reading up on recall info and nutrition here at Catsite, went out and tried various brands.

My cat actually sang and danced after eating the Merricks.


They don't like any major pet store canned cat food and any supermarket canned cat food.
 

noelle&oliver

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I also recommend wet over dry. And I don't recommend any cat food from a grocery store, and not many from pet stores.

My cat's currently eat Innova, Innova Evo, and Wellness. They're available at my locally owned pet stores - small independent stores. You can probably find them, and any food comparable, at feed and grain stores as well.

I assume that you worry about the cost of the higher quality food? Think of it this way - you may pay more upfront, but you will use less of it at a time, so the cost evens out. Because more of the food is bio-available to them, they get more nutritents and are full with less food. With my two cats, a 13 ounce can lasts 2 days and costs about $1.50.

Other benefits are less shedding, healthier and shinier coat, less poop in the box, and lower vet bills. Since the higher quality foods have animal protein as their main ingredients, the cat's are getting the proper nutrients. Their bodies don't have to "suck" protein from their coats in order to meet their daily minimum - thus the better coats and less shedding. Because they're able to use most of the nutrients in the food (no fillers), they poop out less of it. And because they are in better overall health, it generally means less illness and health conditions, so lower vet bills.

In depth information on various Feline issues, written by a holistic veterinarian.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library
 

starfish

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Originally Posted by ddcats

I second the Merricks. I used to do the tuna thing, after reading up on recall info and nutrition here at Catsite, went out and tried various brands.

My cat actually sang and danced after eating the Merricks.


They don't like any major pet store canned cat food and any supermarket canned cat food.
that's funny, my Luna is the opposite. She loves the Fancy Feast food (though I haven't given her any for a while) and she doesn't like any of the Merrick's flavors I've fed to her. If she does eat 'em, she takes a while, which isn't good for wet food. She does seem to enjoy the wellness, though.
 

ddcats

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Originally Posted by Starfish

that's funny, my Luna is the opposite. She loves the Fancy Feast food (though I haven't given her any for a while) and she doesn't like any of the Merrick's flavors I've fed to her. If she does eat 'em, she takes a while, which isn't good for wet food. She does seem to enjoy the wellness, though.
Cats, how can ya figure them out, they drive me crazy!
 

noelle&oliver

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Originally Posted by Starfish

that's funny, my Luna is the opposite. She loves the Fancy Feast food
I don't think I've known a cat that didn't like it. It's called "kitty crack" for a reason. LOL. It's highly palatable and most cats throughly love it. Something about the aroma and taste.

It's not a food I would generally recommend, except for one instance. In cat's who are sick or chronically ill - and not eating - it's more important for them to have SOMETHING in their system, good or bad, due to the risk of Fatty Liver Disease. FF can generally get a cat eating again. When I was dealing with CRF in my previous cat, there was a few times he went off food. Gave him FF and he ate. Gradually mixed it in with his prescription diet until there was no more FF and he still ate.
 

starfish

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Originally Posted by Noelle&Oliver

I don't think I've known a cat that didn't like it. It's called "kitty crack" for a reason. LOL. It's highly palatable and most cats throughly love it. Something about the aroma and taste.

It's not a food I would generally recommend, except for one instance. In cat's who are sick or chronically ill - and not eating - it's more important for them to have SOMETHING in their system, good or bad, due to the risk of Fatty Liver Disease. FF can generally get a cat eating again. When I was dealing with CRF in my previous cat, there was a few times he went off food. Gave him FF and he ate. Gradually mixed it in with his prescription diet until there was no more FF and he still ate.
so funny, considering that for the longest (before I knew this board) I thought that fancy feast was the really good stuff.


Just now for dinner, Luna ate some Pro Plan canned that looks like Fancy Feast shredded (it also has visible grains of rice in it). She took to the stuff faster than she did the other brands she ate this weekend. I wasn't too comfortable with the ingredients though. It has wheat gluten and meat by-products in it. Does anyone feed their cat(s) this stuff? For now, I'm glad I got mostly Wellness cans.
 

deb2696

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Originally Posted by Noelle&Oliver

I don't think I've known a cat that didn't like it. It's called "kitty crack" for a reason. LOL. It's highly palatable and most cats throughly love it. Something about the aroma and taste.

It's not a food I would generally recommend, except for one instance. In cat's who are sick or chronically ill - and not eating - it's more important for them to have SOMETHING in their system, good or bad, due to the risk of Fatty Liver Disease. FF can generally get a cat eating again. When I was dealing with CRF in my previous cat, there was a few times he went off food. Gave him FF and he ate. Gradually mixed it in with his prescription diet until there was no more FF and he still ate.
It's funny because my kitten wouldn't TOUCH FF. I tried so many different flavors of it and he turned his nose up at each one. He will only eat raw food. But the other day I did get him to eat a few bites of a Meow Mix tub, the flavor with some shrimp in it.
 
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