Best Food...Wet & Dry...and Pricing...

jenk

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Not trying to revamp a subject I see on here often, but rather than narrow the subject down to two brands of food, I'd like to know what brand(s) you feed your cats (both wet and dry). Please tell me the following, if you can:

1. Your choice of brand(s)
2. Your reason(s) for your choice(s)
3. How you compare the pricing of your selected brand(s) with that of other marketed brands

(If money were no object, I'd feed my Simon the best-of-the-best and offer him as many organic chicken necks/ wings as possible. )

Thank you,

Jenk

PS: I currently feed IAMS (kitten) canned food and Eukenuba (kitten) dry to my Ragdoll. All the Raggie breeders I've contacted use Eukenuba; I know little to nothing of other brands about which people rave; I'd love to know more, so as to make the most informed decision.
 

crazy-cat-lover

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I personally stay away from IAMS and Eukanuba. There were so many animals killed when IAMS did their research. Honestly, there are better, cheaper foods out there that would make your Ragdoll even more happy and healthy!

I feed my cats Solid Gold dry food and Nutro Max wet food. I feed Solid Gold because of the ingredients, and my cats love it! Solid Gold contains only what cats need, they even use apples or carrots for flavors!

Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken Dry Cat Food

Ingredients
Lamb Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Ground Millet, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Barley, Rice Bran Oil, Canola Oil, Flax Seed Oil, Amaranth, Rice Bran, Garlic, Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, Carotene, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Vitami A Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Natural Flavors Added.* * Usually Apples or Carrots.

No Wheat

No Soybeans

No Corn

No Animal Fat Added

No Poultry Fat

No By-Products

No Sugar Added

No Preservatives

No Sugar Added


Yucca Schidigera Extract reduces the cats stool smell by 64%! My cats litter boxes NEVER stink!

Now look at the ingredients in IAMS I will make the bad ingredients bold

IAMS Kitten

Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Corn Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Inositol, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate

What you don't want to see in the ingredients

Wheat, Soy, Corn, Peanut Hulls, and Other Vegetable Protein
Animal and Poultry Fat
Additives and Preservatives
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT),
Propyl Gallate
Propylene Glycol (also used as a less-toxic version of automotive antifreeze)
Ethoxyquin
Beet Pulp
Egg Product
Ground yellow corn, corn grits and corn gluten meal

I pay $30.00 for a 15 pound bag of Solid Gold. With 10 cats the bag lasts me a month! When I used to buy Whiskas dry, I paid $4.00 for 2 pounds and it only lasted me a day. The Nutro Max wet food is $0.40 for a little can and $1.79 for a big can.
 
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jenk

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Crazy-Cat-Lover,

What *exactly* are "Lamb Meal" and "Menhaden Fish Meal"? What is meant by the word "meal"? I'm also thrown by ground millet being an ingredient; I feed millet (not ground, of course) to my birds as a small dietary supplement; I never considered a cat as needing millet.
Do you know what benefits it provides for a cat?

Also, I believe canola oil to be rather unhealthy, or so I've read regarding human health.

Where do you find Solid Gold? I ask because certain higher-end bird pellets aren't carried by most pet stores (usually bird-only pet stores); otherwise, you must purchase them online.

Thanks again,

Jenk
 

princess purr

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I try to give the cats canned food and dry food. They get fancy feast canned and purina one dry. They were eukanuba and really liked it but it was just getting way to expensive with all this fur babies. So they tried iams and hated it, but they love purina one. The outside kitties eat purina one with some speical kitty (walmart brand) mixed it.
 

dtolle

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I'm not sure what "meal" means, but if I had to guess its not pure meat, its degenerated in some way. I think since Iams says just chicken as the main ingredient, that would be better than 'chicken or lamb meal'. But I am for sure not expert!
 

hissy

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I feed a mixture-

1. For Dry Food they get Royal Canin in the morning, and at night.
2. Wet Food I feed either Friskies, or Purina or Fancy Feast, or whatever I find on sale.
3. I choose Royal Canin because all my cats excel on their food, and I like their program on how it is developed. I wish they made canned food as well.

I look at the price that I pay, and RC is not cheap, but in the long run it is healthier for them, and it cuts down on my vet bill. So I am sold with what they have to offer.

Because I feed so many feral cats, I do not free feed the RC- my feral feeders outside are filled with just about any type of dry food I have (as the townsfolk are always dropping off bags to contribute)

it is my inside/outside cats who get the greatest consideration. But if I could afford to feed RC to all the ferals around here, I certainly would.
 

crazy-cat-lover

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Here's the information you wanted!

Meat vs. Meal Comparison

Meat
(Chicken & Lamb are 70% water and only 15% protein)

Pet food labels found in grocery and mass marketers like to use Chicken or Lamb to represent real meat. – (Contains 70% moisture). This leads you the consumer to believe that their product is meat based. Chicken or lamb meats are heavier than grains prior to cooking. The moisture contained in the meats (70%) is reduced by 2/3rds after the cooking process, leaving the total formula as a grain base food after processing.

VS.

Meal
(Chicken Meal and Lamb Meal are dry and 50% to 65% protein) meat protein!

Solid Gold lists Lamb meal as the first ingredient. Lamb meal is dry and less than 10% moisture and contains 50% - 65% meat proteins. In processing the meat meals do not shrink below the grain weight, producing a true meat based formula for your carnivores. AAFCO label rules require that, the heaviest to the lightest ingredients be the order on the guaranteed analysis panel, (with or without water content)

Menhaden Fish Meal

Menhaden fish - a herring-like fish found along the North Atlantic coast of the United States - the flesh is an excellent source of menhaden oil for coat and skin. Fish is a prime source of a complete protein. It includes all the essential amino acids. It is rich in unsaturated fats Omega 3 fatty acids), Vitamins A, K and K, and also ontains iodine, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium copper and fluoride.

Benefits of Ground Millet

Millet is a nutritious, ancient grain, thought to be one of the first cereal grains used for domestic purposes. It is renowned for being a "soothing", non allergenic and easily digestible grain.

Canola Oil

Canola oil contains no animal fat and is lower in saturated fat than any other oil on the market. It contains no sodium or cholesterol. An important monounsaturated fat that may help to reduce the risk of some immune disorders.

Solid Gold is cat food, not bird food! I buy it from my local pet store. You can go here Solid Gold and use their Store Locator!
 

auburn412

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i feed nuto max food (dry). the cats love the taste and it is healthier than the other brands i considered. i have considered trying royal canine and authority due to the good things i have heard around here.

when i was a girl we fed our cat store brand food and switched to purina be cause the vet said it was healthier. that cat ended up having digestive problems in the long run. hopefully what i am feeding now will make a difference.

as far as cost, it is actually less than the purina i started ed out on because he eats less to get the same amount of nutrition and doesn't become a pudgeball. i really like the food calculator on petsmart's website. it helped me realize i am spending less on the premium brands than i was on the "lower cost" food.

i have to thank the people here who pointed out the less is more on feeding. i would probably have ed on the other stuff, still, if it weren't for them.
 

mazspeed

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I feed our 2 F1 Chausie's and the F4 Bengal and the one tabby this.
The dry food is a combo of Royal 32 and Wellness. Here is the Wellness ingredient list.

Salmon, Deboned Turkey, Herring Meal, Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fishmeal, Ground Whole Oats, Brown Rice, Dried Whole Eggs, Dried Peas, Canola Oil, Herring Oil, Chicken Liver, Flax Seed, Cranberries, Blueberries, Taurine, Garlic, Alfalfa Leaf, Dried Kelp, Whole Apples, Whole Ground Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Zucchini, Yucca Schidigera, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Protenate, and then all the vitmans and minerial supplements.
No meat by products and all human grade meats. That's the key. If it's not good enough for me, then it's not good enough for them.

Wet food they get 2 cans of Pro Plan and a can of either wellness or innova wet with cooked chicken or cooked stew meat mixed in.

Cheers
Mike
P.S They also get only bottled watter and have there feet massaged at night :-)
Well at least the bottled water.
 

mom of 10 cats

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My kitties get NutroMax dry food, which I free feed. I had been giving them tuna once a week, but found out that could be dangerous. I am in the process of weaning them from tuna as a weekly treat to the new moist Nutro pouches.

I had been feeding Midnight and Sunshine Purina food when they were my only two, but Sunshine developed urinary crystals and had to have surgery to save his life. The vet recommended Nutro, and I have to say that all the cats like it and do well with it. They have glossy, smooth coats, no health problems other than the occasional hairball, and no digestive problems. Knowing it is good for their urinary tracts gives me peace of mind, after seeing the pain poor Sunshine had been in.

Mike, you're not the only one giving your cats bottled water! We feel that if WE don't want to drink the tap water, our cats shouldn't have to drink it either! We have a new freshflow fountain with the reservoir attachment, I have to refill it on a daily basis, as they have been drinking significantly more water since I got it for them.
 

nern

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1) I mainly feed dry Innova but switch brands every so often for variety. Other dry brands I have used include Solid Gold, Felidae, Wysong, California Natural and currently Im trying out the new Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul. I split a can of food between the 6 of them every other day and because they only get about 1 oz. each I use/have used a large vareity of brands including Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Azmira, Spots Stew, Pinnacle, Petguard, Natural Balance, Nutro, Active Life, Boulder Creek, Natures Variety, Felidae, Wysong.
2) I originally chose Innova because I was having such great results with it for my dog and thought the cats might also have these results. My cats thrive on Innova...of all the brands I've tried they all seem to do best on Innova.
3) The most accurate way to compare prices is by figuring out the cost per day rather than the cost per bag. The more calorie dense the food the longer it lasts because you feed less...and if you dont feed less you end up with fat cats. You can compare prices of different brands using cost per 100 kcal to get a general idea. This is how I compare the price of different dry brands -
example: Innova
Info. needed -
Price of Bag: $25
Size of Bag : 16.6 lb.
Ounces per cup: 4.6 oz.
Calories per cup: 537 kcal

16oz. = 1 lb.
16oz./4.6oz. = 3.48 cups per pound
16.6 lbs. x 3.48 cups = 58 cups per 16.6lb. bag
$25/58cups = $0.43 per cup
537kcal/100kcal = 5.37
$0.43/5.37 = $0.08 per 100kcal

My cats get about 200kcal per day each so it costs me approx. $0.16 to feed each cat daily.
 

jenng

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1. Your choice of brand(s)
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care

2. Your reason(s) for your choice(s)

a.) Spike needed a food for sensitive tummies, and it said it was easy to digest.

b.) I like the list of ingrediants (no by-products, no corn, the first ingrediant is chicken meal, etc.).

c.) Spike will actually eat it (he refused to eat another of my choices).

d.) He's maintained a good weight being on it... he's almost 3 years old, he's rather tall, and long, and he weighs 9-9.5 pounds. He is free-fed.

e.) He doesn't get hairballs, and his litterbox isn't stinky.

f.) His coat is shiny and very soft.

g.) It is available in stores where I live.

3. How you compare the pricing of your selected brand(s) with that of other marketed brands
Well, before I knew much about cat food, I had him on Iams for a short while. I can't remember back then how much he ate though. I do know that I buy 1 20 pound bag of the Nutro Natural Choice dry cat food for about $25, and it lasts me about 6 months. I do open it up when I get it and repackage it into smaller ziplock freezer bags so that it stays fresh for that long.

There are a bunch of great foods out there... and I'm sure that each one effects different cats in different ways. Hopefully you'll find one that suits both you and your kitties.


Hope this helps! :tounge2:
 

crazy-cat-lover

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Vanessa, I have heard about Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul Cat Food, what is it like? I saw it on an online pet store!

And WOW Innova is cheap where you live! They want for the $9.99 for the 4 pound bag, $17.99 for the 6.6 pound bag and $40.99 for the 16.5 pound bag out here!

That's why I like Solid Gold. It's affordable, the cats love it, and it last me a month!
 

nern

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Originally posted by Crazy-Cat-Lover
Vanessa, I have heard about Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul Cat Food, what is it like? I saw it on an online pet store!

And WOW Innova is cheap where you live! They want for the $9.99 for the 4 pound bag, $17.99 for the 6.6 pound bag and $40.99 for the 16.5 pound bag out here!

That's why I like Solid Gold. It's affordable, the cats love it, and it last me a month!
The Chicken Soup food seems to be a big hit here. All of mine seem to love it and are doing quite well on it so far.

Wow, $40.99? Then again, Canadian $ and American $ have very different values. How much is Solid Gold in Canada? Its $20 for 15 lbs. here.
 

mazspeed

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I have heard a lot about Solid gold cat food, One is it really that good, and how do the cats like the taste of it? I'm always willing to try something different if they like it and it's good for them. Also is it "Human grade Meat"?
I have wild cats so meat is a big deal with them..
We also have one of those cat fountains and run bottled water and the nice charcoal filters on it. I'm trying to develop a way to hook a small refrigerant to it so it's cold water :-)

Thanks in advance
Cheers
Mike
 

crazy-cat-lover

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Yes it is human grade meat. My kitties love the taste of it. It smells so yummy!

Benefits from Solid Gold

-Their coats are shiny and smooth

-Their litter boxes are changed half as much, poop doesn't stink

-They eat half as much

-The bag lasts longer

-My males have all gotten more muscular

-It gives them tons of energy

Overall, it's the best food I have ever tried! I don't believe there is a better cat food you can buy!
 

jcat

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I can only echo those sentiments - Solid Gold is terrific. If your cats are fish fans, the Solid Gold canned food is also quite tasty. Our cat really likes the Nutro kibble, but isn't fond of the canned. Felidae is another of his favorite brands. My main criteria are the ingredients and whether the cat will eat the food - he's very picky, doesn't like poultry and wants constant change.
 

sammie5

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I feed Sam "Feline Cuisine" which is the (Canadian) Pet Value store brand. I like it because it does not smell like cat food. Sam prefers the Turkey and Giblets variety - meat by products, water, turkey, poultry giblets, poultry by products, calcium phosphate, guar gum, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamins, taurine, iron oxide.

Bailey gets a diet wet food, because she is a little tubby, and she will eat anything. Its performatrin brand, again a Pet Value store brand. It contains:
water, liver, meat by products, poultry by products, beef, rice flour, oat, bran, steamed bone meal,guar gum, salt, potassium chloride, carrageenan, vitamins, and a munch of mineral supplements. Sam doesn't like it much, and I must say I don't like the texture. However, Bailey inhales it a can at a time, so I'll see how she does.

And they both get Royal Canin slim kibble, free fed during the day. This is the first kibble that Sam will actually eat. He only pretended before. My vet says that I can leave them on this "slim" formula permanently. I tried to give Sam the formula for sensitive stomachs, he will have nothing to do with it.
 

lauren

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I'm using Royal Canin or Wellness. I'm not sure which one is the best for my kitties. I am getting an Exotic Shorthair kitten and I am wondering which would be best for him. The breeder feeds Science Diet or Nutro. Not my choices
 
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