Can I get some opinions on a particular brand of kibble?

I'm by no means a cat food expert and therefore would like to request opinions of those with experience about a specific brand of kibble.

Since I don't post that often (which I'm hoping will change now that I'm the proud owner of a new laptop ), I figure it'll be helpful for me to provide some basic info on my kitties. Cassidy is a 17 month old DMH/DLH female, Delaney is a 15 month old DSH female, and Emory is an almost 2 year old DSH female. All are spayed, and with the exception of being possible herpes virus carriers, are healthy and UTD with their vaccinations. Cassidy is the only one with a known health condition and that is a mild case of gingivitis. They all get supplemented with L-Lysine daily and have never shown symptoms of other diseases or conditions (though I am a worrier when it comes to my girls ). In general, they're all happy and healthy cats, but I'm still considering changing their food for my own personal reasons.

Some of you may remember that I had one heck of a time getting my girls off of Science Diet and onto something of a higher quality. We went from Science Diet to Purina One to, finally, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. And, for Emory, she has only eaten the Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul while in my care. However, even though I'm generally pleased with the food they're on now (and they also eat moist food two times daily -- in rotation is Friskies, Whiskas, Fancy Feast, and Wellness), I've had some changes in my life that have caused me to want to reconsider what I'm feeding -- primarily from a financial standpoint. But, that being said, I'm also not willing to forego nutrition. I guess what I want to know is whether or not the other food I'm considering is on par with what I'm feeding now. And, if it's not on par, per se, how much would I be sacrificing if I were to remain with Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul?

My life, as of late, has turned upside down and I've now found myself working at PetSmart. Despite going from a fairly well-paying job to a much lower paying job, I'm enjoying the change and the new opportunities (such as being able to return to school this spring) it's affording me. And, honestly, I'm loving my job working as a pet care specialist ! But, that being said, since my finances are a bit tighter, I was considering changing my cats over to PetSmart's advanced nutrition cat food brand, Authority. Not only is it less expensive than the food I'm feeding now, but when I take my employee discount into account, it's a big difference (and we don't sell Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul). I'll probably see if I can't add Authority's wet food into rotation as well, but, for now, I'm primarily concerned about the dry food. Does anyone have any experience with Authority? And, if you were in my situation, would you switch your cats over to Authority versus Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul?

I'm not married to the idea of staying with Chicken Soup nor am I set on switching them. I'd just like some experience and/or information from those who've been there before me -- I'm admittedly not the most knowledgable about feline nutrition and can certainly use the help.

Authority wet is a good quality food for the price.

Personally i'd choose the chicken soup over the authority dry.

CS ingrediants:

Ingredients:
Chicken, Salmon, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, whole grain white rice, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, turkey, duck, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, dl-methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, kelp, cranberry powder, rosemary, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.

Guaranteed Analysis %:
Crude Protein (Min) 30
Crude Fat (Min) 20
Moisture (Max) 10
Omega-6 Fatty Acids (Min) 3.4
Crude Fiber (Max) 3
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Min) 0.6
Magnesium (Max) 0.1
Taurine (Min) 0.1

Authority Chicken & Rice Recipe
Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Corn, Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min) 32.0%
Crude Fat (min) 16.0%
Crude Fiber (max) 3.0%
Moisture (max) 10.0%
Ash (max) 6.5%
Calcium (min) 1.0%
Phosphorus (min) 0.9%
Magnesium (max) 0.1%
Zinc (min) 150 mg/kg
Selenium (min) 0.2 mg/kg
Vitamin E (min) 300 IU/kg
Taurine (min) 0.15%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min) 3.0%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min) 0.35%

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The authority sensitive stomach dry is the best dry of the authority's. it doesn't have corn/wheat. i don't like the brewer's rice in authority - it can be by-products from hops or rice fragments and i assume the worst one.

The best dry that petsmart has IMO is Blue Buffalo Wilderness. The best wet is By Nature Organics 95% Meat.

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

Authority wet is a good quality food for the price.

Personally i'd choose the chicken soup over the authority dry.

CS ingrediants:

Ingredients:
Chicken, Salmon, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, whole grain white rice, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, turkey, duck, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, dl-methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, kelp, cranberry powder, rosemary, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.

Guaranteed Analysis %:
Crude Protein (Min) 30
Crude Fat (Min) 20 low end ave protein best for older cats
Moisture (Max) 10
Omega-6 Fatty Acids (Min) 3.4
Crude Fiber (Max) 3
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Min) 0.6
Magnesium (Max) 0.1
Taurine (Min) 0.1

Authority Chicken & Rice Recipe
Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Cornboth in one formula IMHO is not a good thing , Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Beet Pulpbeet pulp is a good pre biotic it is its processing that can cause issues, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min) 32.0%
Crude Fat (min) 16.0%
Crude Fiber (max) 3.0%
Moisture (max) 10.0%
Ash (max) 6.5%
Calcium (min) 1.0%
Phosphorus (min) 0.9%
Magnesium (max) 0.1%
Zinc (min) 150 mg/kg
Selenium (min) 0.2 mg/kg
Vitamin E (min) 300 IU/kg
Taurine (min) 0.15%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min) 3.0%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min) 0.35%

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The authority sensitive stomach dry is the best dry of the authority's. it doesn't have corn/wheat. i don't like the brewer's rice in authority - it can be by-products from hops or rice fragments and i assume the worst one.

The best dry that petsmart has IMO is Blue Buffalo Wilderness. The best wet is By Nature Organics 95% Meat.

Click to expand...

I actually in comparing would use the chicken soup if it is about the same price as Authority ... There are IMHO better foods in petsmart but not at the price pt ... IMHO wilderness is decent for a low grain but not a personal fave

I looked at the Authority Sensitive Solutions before for one of mine.

Ingredients:
Turkey, Turkey Meal, Brewers Rice, Oatmeal, Salmon Meal, Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Rice Flour, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Canola Oil, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine.

It was the one formula I liked without a corn ingredient. With your added discount, might be worth at least trying to see how they do. That will be the real test.....your cats doing well on the food.

Best of luck to you and your kitties.

Originally Posted by Skimble

I looked at the Authority Sensitive Solutions before for one of mine.

Ingredients:
Turkey, Turkey Meal, Brewers Rice, Oatmeal, Salmon Meal, Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Rice Flour, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Canola Oil, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine.

It was the one formula I liked without a corn ingredient. With your added discount, might be worth at least trying to see how they do. That will be the real test.....your cats doing well on the food.

Best of luck to you and your kitties.

Click to expand...

reasonable but I would use grd corn to brewers rice any day

I feed my cats Chicken Soup as well, and they do very well on it. I've priced Authority, but I think Chicken Soup is better, and it costs about the same. Switching cat food is kind of a risk, but if it's a huge financial problem, it might be worth a try.

I do think the Authority canned food is very good for the price.