Best mid-range dry food

bellatrix

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Hi there... I thought I would seek some advice from the resident food experts here. I am interested in finding a good premium to mid-range dry food with the fewest grains to feed to all three of my cats which range in age, 11 years, 6 years and 4 months. I have them on TOTW right now but I am not sure it is agreeing with them or not. The clumps I am scooping out of the older two's litter box seem really large and the kitten is pretty much having stinky soft serve, yuk! Thanks for any advice you can give...
 

allfurlove

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Well I am no resident expert, I just joined today,but I have some suggestions. My 2 favs for dry cat food are Acana and DVP Natural Balance.
BUT I reccomend feeding canned food for cats. The moisture is very important for their urinary system, and most dry foods are full of useless grains. Wellness is a good grain-free food, i have never tried their dry formula though.
Hope this is helpful, I feel a little awkward giving advice since I just joined, but I love to talk nutrition!
 
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bellatrix

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Thanks for the quick reply! I do feed them wet food twice a day but I need a dry because we travel frequently on the weekends. I was thinking about Natural Balance because they seem to enjoy some of the canned varieties of that food.
 

snake_lady

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Are you wanting to stick with grainfree or ?????

(only Wellness Core is grainfree.... the rest of the Wellness lines have grain)

What stores are nearby? (no sense suggesting something you can't get)
What $$$ can you afford?
 

gfygrl71

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I use wellness core for my kitten, and he loves it. I mix a little with a half a can of wellness wet, at he goes nuts for it...
 

sharky

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what is mid price to you??

6-10lb bag for
1- 5-8 $
2- 9-13$
3- over 13$ under 20

do you want a grain free ?? IMHO taste is the best price in most areas for this
 
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bellatrix

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I am not that concerned about price... I was a little concerned about the large pee clumps I thought I had read somewhere once that wasn't good so I thought maybe it was the grain-free TOTW that might be causing it... I can get almost anything fairly close by except for Acana or Orijen. I am heading out to the pet store this afternoon for litter and they carry Wellness, Natural Balance, Nature's Variety, Eagle Pack Holistic Select etc. I've tried Felidae in the past and that didn't go so well... None of them will touch the Innova Cat/Kitten. My older cat seems to do better with some grains and a good amount of fiber so...
 

sharky

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You may want to try the regular wellness or natures variety .. or many with UTI issues or clumps have success with a formula with corn or corn gluten ... Have the kidneys been checked??
 

sweetpea24

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I'm no expert but you could try Prairie Homestyle stews. The meat is in little chunks with gravy. My younger cat is so picky and this is the only food he will be eager for. I do try and sneak in Nature's Variety Instinct once in a while.
 
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bellatrix

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Thanks for all the replies so far. I didn't make it to the pet store today so I am still open for suggestions. As far as having the kidneys checked yet-no I am trying to figure out which one of them is peeing so much. I have an appointment to get the kitten spayed and once that is all done and settled I am taking the oldest one in for a senior panel so we will know more after that I guess. She seems healthy other than being a tad overweight... she had a terrible flea allergy that they treated with steroids before we figured out that just treating her with Advantage as soon as she begins to get the scabs keeps it under control. She has never really been the same cat since the steroid treatment though but seems otherwise happy and healthy. She is currently eating Eagle Pack Indoor Multi-Cat formula and is doing ok on that so far... but I really want something they will all eat so I can leave a bowl out when we are gone.
 

srrh

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I feed By Nature to my cats. It advertises: no meat by-products, no by-product meal, no white rice, no brewer's grains, no grain by-products, no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. Both of the girls seem very happy with it and have beautiful, smooth coats. When on a lower quality food (Purina One, I think), Fiona had softer and more frequent poops, but now they are solid and not as often. She seems to pee a normal amount. Lolly has more GI issues and tends towards soft feces and diarrhea problems anyway, so I can't really use her bowel movements as a guide.

This is a gross post! Hope you enjoyed reading it!
 

automaton2

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before grain [grainless]
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/d...rand%5Fid=1097
wysong nurture w pheasant
my cat loves it

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (Min) 39.0 %Crude Fat (Min) 13.0 %Crude Fiber (Max) 3.0 %Moisture (Max) 12.0 %Taurine (Min) .0 26%


Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Giblets, Pheasant, Poultry Fat, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Oat Groats, Whole Egg, DL-Methionine, Salt, Taurine, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Coconut, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Kelp, Garlic, Black Pepper, Artichoke, Dried Bacillus suhtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Produ|ct, Dried Lactobacillus lactis Fermentation Product, Dried Yeast Culture, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Product, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by automaton2

before grain [grainless]
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/d...rand%5Fid=1097
wysong nurture w pheasant
my cat loves it

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (Min) 39.0 %Crude Fat (Min) 13.0 % ave is 15-20%Crude Fiber (Max) 3.0 %Moisture (Max) 12.0 %Taurine (Min) .0 26%


Ingredients: Chicken remember this is 66% water and after cooking is about where the whole egg is , Chicken Gibletslove organs in wet IMHO no place for them in dry , Pheasant, Poultry Fat, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Oat Groats, Whole Egg, DL-Methionine, Salttoo high up IMHO using it for a flavor aid, Taurine, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Coconut, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Kelp, Garlic, Black Pepper, Artichoke, Dried Bacillus suhtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Produ|ct, Dried Lactobacillus lactis Fermentation Product, Dried Yeast Culture, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Product, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement.
not a fave of mine but a decent food..
 

automaton2

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My kitten likes the wysong especially the pheasant chunks
my vet reccomends some grain for his motility she said shes seeing a lot of cats with constipation on the grain free only

where is the index of sharkys color codes?
 

shashagirl

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I tried the Wellness core dry and my girl cat did become constipated. They all loved it. I want to switch to a better brand but my girl vomits on most food. I have 3 cats and I know what you mean about wanting to feed one dry food brand. I'm currently feeding Purina one sensitive systems. That seems to be the only brand my girl doesn't vomit eating. Every now and then I'll try differnet brands of dry but so far no luck. I feed my 2 boys Innova evo 95%, Wellness , and Fancy Feast canned food. I think the Wellness dry food sound pretty nice.
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by automaton2

My kitten likes the wysong especially the pheasant chunks
my vet reccomends some grain for his motility she said shes seeing a lot of cats with constipation on the grain free only

where is the index of sharkys color codes?
I bumped it up earlier for you, but here's a link as well:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=140038
 

ut0pia

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TOTW is relatively cheap grain free...
I have started to feed Kirland though it is about half the price AND has good ingredients although not grain free.
25 pounds for $15?? who can beat that price??
 
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bellatrix

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What do you guys think of Chicken Soup? I think I will either try that or one of the Wellness formulas. Sharky, as far as your recommendation of a food with corn or corn gluten in it for the urinary issue do you have a favorite one? I have noticed that since I ran out of the Eagle Pack Multi-Cat Indoor a few days ago my older cat seems to be drinking a lot more water now that she only has TOTW available to her during the day. Have you ever heard of APD? It is made by Breeder's Choice, they sell it at one of the local stores that I have access to...
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by bellatrix

What do you guys think of Chicken Soup? I think I will either try that or one of the Wellness formulas. Sharky, as far as your recommendation of a food with corn or corn gluten in it for the urinary issue do you have a favorite one? I have noticed that since I ran out of the Eagle Pack Multi-Cat Indoor a few days ago my older cat seems to be drinking a lot more water now that she only has TOTW available to her during the day. Have you ever heard of APD? It is made by Breeder's Choice, they sell it at one of the local stores that I have access to...
Nutro max is my uti fave. Grain frees have HIGHER protein and sometimes that will cause increased thirst
 
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