Best cat food?

corteo

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I am trying to find a good cat food for my cats. I'm trying to find one that is good quality but not expensive.


Corteo
 

arlyn

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There really is no such thing as a "best" food. That is to say, it's a relative term.
The best food there is is one that your cat eats, thrives on and that you can afford.

Cost is an issue for me, but even when it wasn't I was feeding Nutro Natural.
It's a great quality for the price, but the main reason I feed it is because they love it and they are thriving on it.

There are other brands that fit the bill as well, like Chicken Soup, Authority, Kirkland (Diamond), etc

There are several more brands that fit the bill as well.

A simple search on this forum should yield a lot of results.
 

artgecko

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IMO, the best dry food for the money is probably Taste of the Wild.
Here's a link to their site.

It is grain free and is about the same price as nutro and similar brands with grains... ~ $26 for a 15lb bag (on petfooddirect.com). And is a whole lot cheaper than other grain free foods.

My cats really liked the taste of it and I'd still be feeding it if it wasn't for the fish content... Which brings up a good point. The best food depends on MANY factors... i.e. Is your cat overweight? Does it have allergies? Is it prone to UTIs? Are you feeding dry only? What age is your cat? Etc.

In my case, I have 3 male cats (males tend to be more prone to urinary issues) and one of them is very prone to UTIs...which means he should have NO fish in his diet. Because of this, I had to go with a non-fish dry food (I'm having to switch again because they now put fish oil in their new formula).

Another relavent point...grain free foods like TOTW, EVO, CORE, etc. have high amounts of protien and fat and can be quite hard for some cats to digest... They are not reccommended for older cats, cats w/ kidney issues, or for cats that only eat dry food... cat should get some wet food too to help with digestion and moisture content(easier on the kidneys). TOTW is a lot lower protien / fat wise, so is safer than, say, EVO.

Cost is also a factor. I'd see what the stores around you are carrying (make a list of brands, formulas, and prices) then research the foods online to get their analysis and ingredients online. Looking for a food with meat ingredients and little - to - no corn, wheat or other grains is a good start. Also avoiding "by products" and similar ingredients and any chemical preservatives.

Many companies will also send you samples or coupons if you are not sure if your cats will like the food or not.

Some of the other foods I've fed are: EVO, califronia natural, chicken soup (tried samples but never bought as staple food), artemis (samples, not as staple), nutro natural choice and nutro max (fed as staple, changing from max because of the fish oil), and authority (petsmart's store brand).

HTH,
Art
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by artgecko

Another relavent point...grain free foods like TOTW, EVO, CORE, etc. have high amounts of protien and fat and can be quite hard for some cats to digest... They are not reccommended for older cats, cats w/ kidney issues, or for cats that only eat dry food... cat should get some wet food too to help with digestion and moisture content(easier on the kidneys). TOTW is a lot lower protien / fat wise, so is safer than, say, EVO.
This is the first time that I am hearing this (in red), and I do not believe this information is correct. It is perfectly fine for a cat that is on Dry only to be on a high protein grain free food. It is certainly healthier than feeding an all-dry w/grain diet.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

This is the first time that I am hearing this (in red), and I do not believe this information is correct. It is perfectly fine for a cat that is on Dry only to be on a high protein grain free food. It is certainly healthier than feeding an all-dry w/grain diet.
That can be debated ... IMHO it depends on the cat... If I was ONLY feeding dry I would lean toward a lower protein grain free or a one grain food as the HIGH DRY protein is Harder to digest and harder on organs.. Realize NO FULL generation of cats has been feed the newer no grain high protein drys it whole life , so we do not know the possible issues only the probable ones
 

carolina

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Shraky: I think I did not quote her correctly when making my comment - This is what she said:
"Another relavent point...grain free foods like TOTW, EVO, CORE, etc. have high amounts of protien and fat"
She did not say high protein grain free foods. She is talking about the grain free foods in general. So, what I meant was that grain free foods are ok to feed in an all dry diet. TOTW, for example, is not that high in protein.
I said high protein grain free foods because grain free are usually higher in protein that the grainy ones.

So, my question to you is this: regular grain free foods x foods with grain, same quality, healthy cats, all dry diet. Which is best?
 

sharky

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IMHO depends on cat ... some do best on grain free and some do better with grain
 

artgecko

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OK, since I started this I'll have to post and clarify what I was saying (I should never post after I put in a day at work, my mind turns to mush)... I did mean specifically the higher protien grain-frees...my experience is personally only with EVO... But this could also apply to grain frees in general (unless they have a lot of non-grain carbs...like the potato and sweet potato, etc).

I believe that feeding a primarily dry diet (canned maybe 3-4 times a week) of EVO contributed to my cat's UTI issues... two of mine developed UTIs while on EVO (could be related to the fish content also) which is why I no longer feed it. Because I am avoiding all fish, I can't do a test run of feeding TOTW as my primary dry to see if there would be any difference. I also feed 50% wet now, so this would also be a factor.

Art
 

sakura

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The more budget-friendly dry foods that I would recommend are:

- Taste of the Wild
- Natural Balance
- Diamond Naturals
- Authority (PetSmart brand)
- Nutro Natural
- Nutro Max
- Kirkland Signature (Costco brand)
- Chicken Soup
- Healthwise (made by Natura pet, same parent company that makes Innova, Evo, etc.)

No matter what dry food you feed, it's important to feed wet food as well. Even if the wet food has to be 9 Lives, it's better than no wet food (imo). You can save $ on wet food by buying the larger cans and sticking the leftovers in the fridge. Not all cats will eat the leftovers though. The least expensive wet foods that I would recommend are:

- Nutro Natural
- Nutro Max
- Authority
- Chicken Soup
- Natural Balance

There's a thread here somewhere about feeding cats on a budget.
 

ricky_ponting

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I would like to say thanks to all of you guy's and want to know more about of best cat food.
 
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