Science Diet for kittens

orltwa

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
156
Purraise
1
Location
Ponder, TX
Ok, I am totally new here, although not totally new to owning cats. I have two little guys, Ernie and Santo, who are both about 6 months old now. I got them after about seven weeks with their mom. Ever since I brought them home I've been feeding them Science Diet kitten formula. They seem to love it! I know there has been some talk in other threads about how crummy Science Diet really is, so I just wanted some input from others. Growing up with four cats of my mom's, they got Science Diet from the first day we had them and they all turned out OK, in fact one is still around at 19 years of age. Granted, my mother always took pristine care of her cats, but Science Diet must not be THAT bad!! Thoughts? Mine are still on kitten formula, so I can always switch to something else when I put them on adult formula.

Healthy at six months! Ernie (tan) and Santo (grey)
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Compare the ingrediants in SD to cat chow there is not much difference... some cats will do just fine but for digestabilty ,stool odur control amd coat health for the $$ there are many better foods IMHO
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
Agree with Sharky; there are better foods out there then SD. None of mine liked it and most of the breeders I knew/know feed Iams or Royal Canin. We feed RC
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
where do you shop???

IAMS is the same as SD if you read it
 

tallulah

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
623
Purraise
1
Location
U.K
I have used science diet for all my three cats, they seem fine, good health and lovely coats (but that may be all the brushing I do)
, mind you I have never compared the ingredients so that is interesting to know. But they are happy with it.
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
IAMS used to be better then Science Diet. My 2 oldest rexes were raised on it. Only in the last few years has it dropped off in the quality/ingredients. They changed the formula or something.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

IAMS used to be better then Science Diet. My 2 oldest rexes were raised on it. Only in the last few years has it dropped off in the quality/ingredients. They changed the formula or something.
Iams used to be a very premium food till the buyout
 

sunfairie

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
335
Purraise
1
Location
in a village
Orltwa you kits are so cute!

We use science diet kitten canned food and my fur babies love it..
I also keep a bowl of kitten kibble science diet out for them to snack on.

I thought this stuff is the best..just took my vets word for it. I am also looking into the natures variety raw foods..but cost maybe an issue for us ith 3 babies
 

white cat lover

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
22,206
Purraise
35
My opinion is that....for $15 you can get 18 lbs. of Premium Edge....and that is a million times better than SD. So, why waste the money on junk food?

I live in a rural area....and about the only premium I can get is Premium Edge...or else Diamond Naturals kitten. Those I can find at Fleet & Farm.
Otherwise I order online.
 

white cat lover

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
22,206
Purraise
35
I was actually amazed at the price of the Premium Edge, I had expected it to cost more. So, I walked back in & looked. Nope, 18 lbs. is $15. 20 lbs. of Purina costs $11. Premium Edge is what I plan to start to feed the farm kitties.

Albiet, kitten food will likely cost a bit more...
 

aquarius

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 25, 2004
Messages
267
Purraise
1
Not a fan of the Science Diet either. I know a lot of cats and dogs live their whole life on it... but we don't want our cats to just survive, we want them to thrive! A lot of nutritionists think, also , that these grain based diets can subtract years to our pets lives.

Canned is better than dry, for sure... and the brands I have been feeding my kitty (canned only) is:
1. Innova, Evo, California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com
2. Merrick: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
3. Petguard: http://www.petguard.com/

The above diets also make dry (except Merrick) for cats. But consider canned foods!

Canned food is higher in protein (dry matter), and moisture (good for urinary tract), and is cooked at a lower heat than dry so fewer nutrients are lost from the meat. Generally the ingredients are higher quality too.
 

sunfairie

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
335
Purraise
1
Location
in a village
Originally Posted by Aquarius

Not a fan of the Science Diet either. I know a lot of cats and dogs live their whole life on it... but we don't want our cats to just survive, we want them to thrive! A lot of nutritionists think, also , that these grain based diets can subtract years to our pets lives.

Canned is better than dry, for sure... and the brands I have been feeding my kitty (canned only) is:
1. Innova, Evo, California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com
2. Merrick: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
3. Petguard: http://www.petguard.com/

The above diets also make dry (except Merrick) for cats. But consider canned foods!

Canned food is higher in protein (dry matter), and moisture (good for urinary tract), and is cooked at a lower heat than dry so fewer nutrients are lost from the meat. Generally the ingredients are higher quality too.
Hey thanks for all of this!
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
Not all vets are skilled in nutrition. And the fact that SD is pushed onto the vets for sale from their office, they just promote it too.
 

aquarius

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 25, 2004
Messages
267
Purraise
1
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Not all vets are skilled in nutrition. And the fact that SD is pushed onto the vets for sale from their office, they just promote it too.
Boy, ain't that the truth. They sponsor the nutrition classes in veterinary colleges, and all the text books in circulation are sponsored by Hills (SD), Eukanuba, or Purina.

Not to mention, they offer scholarships, continuing education, and they are constantly buying doctors and staff lunches, and offering incentive programs. Our rep just came by on Friday to give $20 coupons to employees for food. I always just give my coupons away... but it just goes to show you... a nutritionally unbiased vet clinic is pretty rare.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I agree if you can do alot of wet...

Petguards DRY IS well
 

sunfairie

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
335
Purraise
1
Location
in a village
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Not all vets are skilled in nutrition. And the fact that SD is pushed onto the vets for sale from their office, they just promote it too.
hhmm..OK....gotcha..now I follow..just like everything else I know with parenting my human babies, the vets offices are much like the pediatrician offices in promoting certain practices...

Well, this is enough for me..... I am officially off of SD...
off to the store today to get something else...
 

auchick

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
186
Purraise
10
Location
Tejas
My girls did pretty well on this when they were on it. The ingredients are repulsive to me but I had two free 4 lb bags from the vet and was between jobs, so I didn't have much choice. They are now on California Natural and are doing great!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19

orltwa

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
156
Purraise
1
Location
Ponder, TX
Thanks for all the replies to this thread. As I mentioned, my two boys are on SD right now (kitten), but of course I'll transition them to a maintenance formula in a couple months. I guess I should consider a different brand, but I think in the meantime, I'll just let them ride out the SD since that is what they've been eating. A couple more months won't hurt........then again as I mentioned, my mom had four cats who lived a very healthy life and ate SD the entire time.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by orltwa

Thanks for all the replies to this thread. As I mentioned, my two boys are on SD right now (kitten), but of course I'll transition them to a maintenance formula in a couple months. I guess I should consider a different brand, but I think in the meantime, I'll just let them ride out the SD since that is what they've been eating. A couple more months won't hurt........then again as I mentioned, my mom had four cats who lived a very healthy life and ate SD the entire time.
when you switch ... DO IT slowwwwwwlllyyyy .... the std is 5-7 days but for young ones or old ones I go 2-4 weeks
 
Top