What should i feed my cats when i have cats with different needs

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yashlier

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After being on this forum and reading some of these posts I feel like i'm not feeding my cats as well as I thought
I free feed Purina indoor cat chow to my adults and I feed Purina kitten chow to my foster mom cat and kittens, My vet said that hard food was better and that Purina was a good brand for them. I knew about other brands from the shelter I worked at, there they would mix equal portions of science diet with cheap store brand cat food and give a 1/4 of a can of wet food but the can food was to help relax them and give them a treat.
Now on to my actual question lol

I have one cat that is very over weight one that is slightly over weight one that is the perfect weight (but has a sensitive stomach) and one that is under weight and soon we will be adding one of the foster kittens to the mix What would be a good dry food to give them to nibble on through out the day I would leave a cup to a cup and a half out for them to eat between wet meals My Yoda would have a heart attack if the food bowl where empty lol

What is a good brand of wet food that is not too expensive?

I'm going to be switching them over to a new diet soon and I'm still trying to figure out the healthiest but not too expensive way to feed my fur babies.
 
sharky

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Wet food is easier to find desent to good quality food.... Due to processing I am more willing to use a wet food with by products in it( I use a by product containing low to no grain one called western family)... I try to avoid artificial flavor and colors since every time I try these my cats get IBD flare ups...

Feline nutrition is light years behind human nutrition... So IMHO talk with your vet ( most know little about it but are willing to learn if asked)

For you I would suggest compareing the labels of your current foods with Purina naturals ( it is decently priced, chicken meal is the first ingrediant( ie no head ,feet or intestines))

It does have some tummy issues causers like the current foods

Corn
Wheat
Soy
Fish
IMHO should be minimal to none in a food... Hint most foods the first 6 ingrediants make up 90% of the bag

What is your Monthly budget two ways

all dry
combo of wet and dry

example I feed wet and dry plus raw to five cats for 35-50$ a month but they have a 75$ budget
 
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yashlier

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I usually spend around $30 to $45 a month depending on who has the food on sale but with the recent additions I have been planing to spend between $60 and $80 a month
sharky Thank you I really appreciate the advice
 
sharky

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60-80 for how many adults and how many kittens

what stores are near you?

do you want to feed mostly canned or 50/ 50 canned to dry or another amount?

weights ( withing a lb ) and ages ... also are they over or under or ideal wts for size?

Sorry if I am asking you to repeat but my eyes are acting up

can you feed them different foods?
 
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yashlier

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4 adult cats and 1 kitten we still haven't decided what to do with Allie cat(the stray) so it might only be 3 adults but i figured i should include her anyways
We have Petco , Wal mart and a Bowmans which is a feed store that carries brands like wellness and evo but they are VERY expensive $3 for a can of wellness they have these two types of caned food one is called

Mulligan Stew the ingredients list is Turkey, water for processing, fresh cabbage, poultry liver, brown rice, horse radish, L-methionine, N-acetyl cysteine, beta-carotene, selenium yeast

the other is Before grain B.G. quail and the ingredients are quail, water for processing
these two are around $1 a can

Yoda is 4 years old and the perfect weight at 14lbs
Princess is 2 years old and around 10lbs but with her tiny frame she is a few lbs over weight
Ming/Blue is 4 years old and 25lbs and should weigh around 10 to 15lbs
Allie cat weighs 5lbs she is slowly gaining weight she has a larger frame and should weigh around 10lbs her age was estimated to be around 1.5 to 2 years
Sydney the kitten only weighs 1lb right now but she is still nursing she still has 2 weeks to go before she will officially join the group

At this point I think a 50/50 can dry would work best until my cats get used to eating canned regularly then switching to a all canned diet
eventually I would like to go to a raw diet I just don't think it would be the smartest thing to just jump them from dry food to raw. So I will be giving them raw as a treat a couple times a week

oh yeah and the can food I can give them different types but not the dry
My 25lbs cat will open doors to get to food
I have one large bowl that i just fill up every day but after i start feeding canned I'll only put a cup or so in it
 
lauren_miller

lauren_miller

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I've been feeding my cats Natural Balance. Natural Balance is all natural it has no by-products and no artificial preservatives, flavors, colors or bleached ingredients. It's an all-life stage formula so it's good for kittens and adult cats. They even have a few "limited" ingredients diets too for cats who have sensitive tummies. The limited ingredient diets are completely grain free and is considered the "allergy" formula. You can get Natural Balance at Petco. I find that it is very reasonably priced.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/cat...as/UltCat.html

My female kitty, Pandora, has a very sensitive stomach and she's been doing great on Natural Balance.

I've been feeding both kitties 1/4 of a cup twice a day of the dry and they each get 1/2 can of natural balance wet in whatever flavor I have on hand.
 
sharky

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Originally Posted by yashlier

4 adult cats and 1 kitten we still haven't decided what to do with Allie cat(the stray) so it might only be 3 adults but i figured i should include her anyways
We have Petco , Wal mart and a Bowmans which is a feed store that carries brands like wellness and evo but they are VERY expensive $3 for a can of wellness they have these two types of caned food one is called

Mulligan Stew the ingredients list is Turkey, water for processing, fresh cabbageI call this wierd but unless it causes issues with digestion, poultry liver, brown rice, horse radishsee cabbage, L-methionine, N-acetyl cysteine, beta-carotene, selenium yeast

the other is Before grain B.G. quail and the ingredients are quail, water for processing ... this is not a Complete diet which if dry is served is A Ok
these two are around $1 a can

Yoda is 4 years old and the perfect weight at 14lbs
Princess is 2 years old and around 10lbs but with her tiny frame she is a few lbs over weight
Ming/Blue is 4 years old and 25lbs and should weigh around 10 to 15lbs
Allie cat weighs 5lbs she is slowly gaining weight she has a larger frame and should weigh around 10lbs her age was estimated to be around 1.5 to 2 years
Sydney the kitten only weighs 1lb right now but she is still nursing she still has 2 weeks to go before she will officially join the group

At this point I think a 50/50 can dry would work best until my cats get used to eating canned regularly then switching to a all canned diet
eventually I would like to go to a raw diet I just don't think it would be the smartest thing to just jump them from dry food to raw. So I will be giving them raw as a treat a couple times a week

oh yeah and the can food I can give them different types but not the dry
My 25lbs cat will open doors to get to food
I have one large bowl that i just fill up every day but after i start feeding canned I'll only put a cup or so in it
Click to expand...
the 25 lb cat needs to be under VET supervision and very very carefully monitored

I give Kudos for being sensible and understanding raw will likely take time and should also be done with a vets guidance

Kittens really should be free feed dry and given as much canned as they will eat ... From recent foster experience, Fancy feast kitten cans 1 3 oz can per 3-3.5 ... the adult "all stage can " double to triple that amount for the same wt

Here is a ROUGH guideline ... a cat who should be 10lbs = all caned 5-10 oz a day ... all dry 1/2 a cup to 2/3 of a cup ///

so 50/50
3oz wet with 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup dry

14 lb add 1/4 cup dry and 2-3 oz wet
 
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