Natural Balance

Im currently feeding my 5 month old kitten Nutro Natural Choice wet and Nutro MAX dry [which she doesn't eat much of, I leave a tiny 1/4cup which lasts her up to 3 days sometimes, she only nibbles on it once in a while]. I feed her primarily wet [3 full 3oz cans a day, in about 5 meals as she would waste if not]

Im really wanting to switch her to Natural Balance as I know it is a better quality food and the price isnt that much different. I pay .89c a can for the Nutro, anyone know the price difference? I tried to look online but can only seem to find cases. Either way, my girl is most important to me so ill make the sacrifice [although im unemployed at the moment, so its difficult but I do my best!]

My question is, should I wait till shes transitioned to adult food to make the food change, or start now? Shes on antibiotics at the moment so of course id wait till shes well! I was thinking of waiting till we switch to adult just so that shes not transitioning to different foods so often, but I also want to do whats best for her ASAP! What are your opinions? Is Natural Balance a good choice in food, and should I wait or start now?? Also, I know how to gradually change hard food, but how would I do so with WET? Im confused! How would I mix Nutro wet with Natural Balance wet?? sounds yucky as they are all different flavors etc.

Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

here NB is about 1.25 for 5.5 and Nutro runs 80 cents to 1.00///

IMHO the cans are of = qualtiy

Yes you can use both brands, I would actually try to add in about 5 brands total ... Natual balence has some simplier formulas without grain but their grain containing ones have more veggies and grain than most Nutro cans

unless she is over 5 lbs the wet amount is about all she would need thus why she is not eating alot of dry ( this is a good thing

Originally Posted by sharky

here NB is about 1.25 for 5.5 and Nutro runs 80 cents to 1.00/

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I've never seen a 5.5oz can of Natural Balance. Maybe they only stock those in other states? Stores here, Petco's site, petfood direct, etc all list 6oz as the larger cans. Which would make them similar priced per ounce to Nutro - or even better if there's sales.

I'm feeding NB dry and some of the wet to mine, but I have some with food issues so I'm using limited ingredient and non chicken foods. If you don't have that to worry about take advantage of having more brands at your disposal. Nutro has a lot of flavors for their cans.

Originally Posted by sharky

here NB is about 1.25 for 5.5 and Nutro runs 80 cents to 1.00///

IMHO the cans are of = qualtiy

Yes you can use both brands, I would actually try to add in about 5 brands total ... Natual balence has some simplier formulas without grain but their grain containing ones have more veggies and grain than most Nutro cans

Click to expand...

Sorry im new at this so im a little confused. Both cans are about the same in quality? Is the Natural Balance DRY better? Ive heard the Nutro dry is not as good as their canned, so id definitely like to switch that when I transition to adult, even though she doesn't eat much [id like the little bits that she does be QUALITY and not burger king lol]

Are you saying its okay to feed both brands of canned, for variety in nutrients etc? I didnt know that was possible. What would you suggest? I only want the best for her so id definitely love some insight from you all What exactly do you mean by 5 brands? [I think ive got an idea, but want to be sure]

thanks!

Originally Posted by Starrxx

Sorry im new at this so im a little confused. Both cans are about the same in quality? Is the Natural Balance DRY better? Ive heard the Nutro dry is not as good as their canned, so id definitely like to switch that when I transition to adult, even though she doesn't eat much [id like the little bits that she does be QUALITY and not burger king lol]

Are you saying its okay to feed both brands of canned, for variety in nutrients etc? I didnt know that was possible. What would you suggest? I only want the best for her so id definitely love some insight from you all

What exactly do you mean by 5 brands? [I think ive got an idea, but want to be sure]

thanks!

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I use a grocery brand wet , wellness, innova , weurva and pet guard currently

for dry I use kirkland as it is the best for a great price ..

Nutro
two meat soon to be two grain ( currently one grain) and assessory grain/ protein( which aids in UTI health)

Natural balance ( reg) 3 meat 3 grain

so you see they are about =

The best varies cat to cat /.... SOME live 22 yrs on dry grocery food others only see 10 on the same diet

So adding different brands of wet into her diet wont cause tummy problems? If not, thats sounds like a great idea. Since she eat 3 cans a day, I can give her 3 different brands each day? Is there a certain way i should integrate this new feeding??

You all are so helpful, thank you

I feel that if you start your cats/kittens on a variety of canned foods (brand and type) they rarely have problems.

We give ours Royal Canin for Urinary (dry) and then in the canned - Natural Balance, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Max Cat, Natural Choice and Iams. We only give chicken, turkey, beef, lamb or venison - NO fish based foods.

They get a different flavor and brand of canned each day - they are not picky eaters and everyone is fine.

usually wet can be like Golden put it rotated daily without issues... I buy bigger cans so I use half of one a day ... I would likely use the same flavor of different brands in a day

Originally Posted by Starrxx

Im currently feeding my 5 month old kitten Nutro Natural Choice wet and Nutro MAX dry [which she doesn't eat much of, I leave a tiny 1/4cup which lasts her up to 3 days sometimes, she only nibbles on it once in a while]. I feed her primarily wet [3 full 3oz cans a day, in about 5 meals as she would waste if not]

Im really wanting to switch her to Natural Balance as I know it is a better quality food and the price isnt that much different. I pay .89c a can for the Nutro, anyone know the price difference? I tried to look online but can only seem to find cases. Either way, my girl is most important to me so ill make the sacrifice [although im unemployed at the moment, so its difficult but I do my best!]

My question is, should I wait till shes transitioned to adult food to make the food change, or start now? Shes on antibiotics at the moment so of course id wait till shes well! I was thinking of waiting till we switch to adult just so that shes not transitioning to different foods so often, but I also want to do whats best for her ASAP! What are your opinions? Is Natural Balance a good choice in food, and should I wait or start now?? Also, I know how to gradually change hard food, but how would I do so with WET? Im confused! How would I mix Nutro wet with Natural Balance wet?? sounds yucky as they are all different flavors etc.

Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

Click to expand...

you mentioned your cat is on antibiotics are you aware of them altering the natural bacteria
have you heard of yogurt as a probiotic after treatment to rebalance the natural gut ecosystem

http://www.google.com/search?q=felin...x=&startPage=1

Originally Posted by automaton2

you mentioned your cat is on antibiotics are you aware of them altering the natural bacteria
have you heard of yogurt as a probiotic after treatment to rebalance the natural gut ecosystem

http://www.google.com/search?q=felin...x=&startPage=1

Click to expand...

Probiotics are a great thing but yogurt is truely low in them

Please inform me about these probiotics, I want to do what's best for my girl!

^Look at the health section. There is a current thread about Bene-bac, you can also use the search function and look up probiotic. Never underestimate the usefulness of a forum's search function.

Originally Posted by sharky

Probiotics are a great thing but yogurt is truely low in them

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Exactly. Most commercial yogurts aren't all that great even for humans (sugars, milk solids, additives). If a person or animal's intestinal flora is already messed up adding dairy into the mix won't help.

I have to go pick up some cat food today and im planning to pick up some other brands such as Natural Balance, and Wellness. She already eats the Nutro Max and Natural Choice wet, but this thread has got me wanting to incorporate some better quality foods/nutrients into her diet.

Jade eats 3 full 3oz cans a day [seperated into about 4 or 5 meals], the only time she eats the full can at once is in the morning, other than that she will only eat about 1/2 a can at a time. She is 5 months and 4.7lbs so as far as im aware, this is an adequate amount. If I feed less she is following me around crying all day, she is slim and very active so I feel like this is a good schedule so far

My question is..If I start adding different brand wets into her diet., do I have to seperate them by day? For example, I feed her both of the Nutro brands [Max and NC] and feed her those 3 seperate cans daily, all different flavors. She has never had any problem and seems to enjoy the variety Now, using more brands..how would I go about this? Would it be okay to feed a different brand at each meal, or should I use only one speciffic brand a day...or does it not even matter? If I use three brands, would it be okay to give her the three brands in that day since she eats 3 cans? Im excited to encorporate some new foods into her diet but definitely want to do it the best/safest way!

Also, looking to buy some probiotics as mentioned in this thread since my girl is on antibiotics. Any brand recommendations? Do I give it to her only after her antibiotics, or everyday for the rest of her life?

Thanks again!

I buy about 5 different brands in chicken, turkey, lamb, beef and venison flavors. Then they are stacked alternating the brand and the flavor - since one can is given per day - they get different flavors every day and have no problems.