Cat Food

junebugbear07

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I do not know exaclty what is best for our cats nutritionally, except that the cheaper brands mean less nutrients. Our cats get Iams, sometimes they get the hairball kind, or some others as they are indoor/outdoor. Canned food they oftenget Friskies, but that is only maybe once a day and not all cats eat it, only get about 1/5 of the can each cat lol. My question is for our 5 cats (we cant buy real expensive food) is Iams a good brand? I sadly know more about Horse, cattle and hog nutrition than cats lol (thanks to my animal science class lol). Thanks in advance!
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by JuneBugBear07

I do not know exaclty what is best for our cats nutritionally, except that the cheaper brands mean less nutrients. Our cats get Iams, sometimes they get the hairball kind, or some others as they are indoor/outdoor. Canned food they oftenget Friskies, but that is only maybe once a day and not all cats eat it, only get about 1/5 of the can each cat lol. My question is for our 5 cats (we cant buy real expensive food) is Iams a good brand? I sadly know more about Horse, cattle and hog nutrition than cats lol (thanks to my animal science class lol). Thanks in advance!
Sorry... Iams is not good at all... it's expensive junk. Price doesn't always equal quality, by the way. Kirkland, from Costco, is apparently a great food, with great reviews, and great ingredients. It is also one of the least expensive - I believe it's about $15.00 for a 25lb bag, if I remember correctly. No corn, no fillers, no by-products. Friskies is pretty bad too - you can buy a 6oz can of very decent Authority wet for $0.68 at Petsmart.
I think, IMO, those are the best deals for the price. In comparison, I pay $46.99 for a 15lb bag of Orijen. GREAT food, but expensive too. I feed authority to my cat Bugsy, as far as wet goes, and he loves it.
 

carolina

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BTY: A great example that prices doesn't equal quality is Hills Science. BAD BAD stuff, and VERY expensive!
 

sharky

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IMHO No ////

It has lots of corn( not bad but as the least digestible grain for a cat why have lots of it )

chicken , lamb , beef by products = heads, feet, internal organs including undeveloped eggs and veins

Lots of grains = ie corn rice and barley in one food with only one meat

where do you shop and what is your budget ?
 
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junebugbear07

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My mom shops at Target usually for cat food, but from time to time they will go to costco i think. I will tell her to try and get the kirkland maybe next time. Our price range i would say is around $10 for a bag at most, unless it is a big bag, cause we have 5 cats who eat a lot! We go through a medium bag in a week!
 

sharky

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Costco s kirkland is going to be your best bet ... it is a 25 lb bag so it should last a few weeks for you and would cost under 10 a week
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by JuneBugBear07

My mom shops at Target usually for cat food, but from time to time they will go to costco i think. I will tell her to try and get the kirkland maybe next time. Our price range i would say is around $10 for a bag at most, unless it is a big bag, cause we have 5 cats who eat a lot! We go through a medium bag in a week!
you'll use less of the better ones, tho, because the cats will get more nutrition from it - so per feeding, it's not a great deal more.
authority's dry cost me about $26 last time for a 20 pound bag - it's one of the lowest priced available decent foods i have access to [no costco]. it's on the grainy side, but otherwise it's a good product.
 
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junebugbear07

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Thanks everyone! I am going to look into the kirkland and even the authority if i can find it here.
 

gloriajh

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Originally Posted by laureen227

you'll use less of the better ones, tho, because the cats will get more nutrition from it - so per feeding, it's not a great deal more.


it does cost less to buy better food - they don't have to eat so much to get the nutrition they need - usually the best by-product of less expensive foods is a lot of bowel movements (sorry, couldn't resist).

The reason I'm at this thread is that I have four (and maybe more?) feral/semi-ferals that I am feeding Natural Balance -gulp-. That's $12 for 6 pounds of dry premium cat food.

They look great, but, my budget manager is shaking his head. I don't know how long I can hold out the argument that the NB actually costs the same as buying cheaper foods more often. I'm not even talking about the health benefits of the better "more expensive" food, either.

I did a google search on Kirkland - and man!, some of the comments were dead set against it - then did one on Authority - got ugly comments about it, too - so, where does that leave me?

It leaves me here, at thecatsite.com, with the reliable resources here, trying to decide what my best options are.
 

darlili

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<I did a google search on Kirkland - and man!, some of the comments were dead set against it - then did one on Authority - got ugly comments about it, too - so, where does that leave me>

I doubt you'll find unanimous approval or disapproval on any sort of food - raw, wet, dry, whatever - you may just have to try few and see how your cats specifically do on the food. For example, for every ugly comment, there'll be at least one cat (and probably a lot more, since happy owners are usually not racing to the internet to complain) thriving on that particular food.

For example, right now I feed Nutro wet and dry - my cats seem healthy and happy, I'm happy,and my vet is happy. There are people who seem to find Nutro the work of the devil. Go figure.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by darlili

<I did a google search on Kirkland - and man!, some of the comments were dead set against it - then did one on Authority - got ugly comments about it, too - so, where does that leave me>

I doubt you'll find unanimous approval or disapproval on any sort of food - raw, wet, dry, whatever - you may just have to try few and see how your cats specifically do on the food. For example, for every ugly comment, there'll be at least one cat (and probably a lot more, since happy owners are usually not racing to the internet to complain) thriving on that particular food.

For example, right now I feed Nutro wet and dry - my cats seem healthy and happy, I'm happy,and my vet is happy. There are people who seem to find Nutro the work of the devil. Go figure.
That's why one should check the ingredients list an know what ingredients are good or bad, and for what reason... This way you are able to make an informed decision, and not depend on peoples' biased reviews.
 

arlyn

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Also, if you have a feed store nearby you can get Diamond Naturals ,it's Kirkland, only under it's own brand instead of Costco's.
 
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