Vet recommended Hills Healthy Advantage

I just got back from the vet where the girls had their annual checkup. Here's how they checked out:

Belle: Good weight (9-ish lbs), some tartar build up (but not enough for a dental at this point), sensitive stomach (hasn't done well with any foods with grain - her poop gets soft and sticks to her fur and she ends up scooting on my carpet - and can't have even a small taste of milk - she will throw up immediately).

Delilah: Chunky (14-ish lbs), tartar build up in need of dental

I currently feed Orijen (free-feed - they go through about 1/2 cup a day between the two of them), and Friskies Chicken Dinner Pate (1/2 can shared two times a day). The vet expressed concern about the Orijen - that it is too high in protein for long term feeding of adult cats and could cause damage to kidneys, etc.

So, considering the tartar, Delilah's weight, and Belle's sensitive tummy, the vet recommended changing from the Orijen to Hills Healthy Advantage. Well, I know enough about cat food to smile, nod, say we'll consider it, and ask for an ingredients list (which I actually didn't get - the pamphlet I got doesn't have the ingredients on it, but I found it hidden online).

Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Pork Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Powdered
Cellulose, Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavour, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Flaxseed, Calcium Sulfate, Iodized Salt,
Vitamin E Supplement, DL-Methionine, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine
Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mononitrate, Vitamin A, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3

I'm 100% not impressed by the ingredients - although I am starting to think that maybe a change is in order given what the vet said about protein.

1) Does anyone use this food?
2) Any suggestions on foods that may be better for BOTH my girls? (All wet is not really an option, Friskies is the only wet food we could get them to consistently eat, and raw is definitely not an option).

Have you looked at some IMHO higher than the SD quality foods with some dental care in them..

Nutro Natural Choice has dental care in it and is lower protein but still high I think 40% in the adult now

IMHO I would not feed the SD if you were willing to try something far Imho lower than Orijen ... most of the Grocery brands have the same ingrediants as the SD

Originally Posted by sharky

Have you looked at some IMHO higher than the SD quality foods with some dental care in them..

Nutro Natural Choice has dental care in it and is lower protein but still high I think 40% in the adult now

IMHO I would not feed the SD if you were willing to try something far Imho lower than Orijen ... most of the Grocery brands have the same ingrediants as the SD

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Thanks for the reply, Sharky. I know....I'd never heard of Healthy Advantage specifically, but know that SD was horrible. I was hoping that HA would be better, but when I looked at the ingredients, I was disappointed to see the same old junk.

Do you think the protein concerns are legitimate, regarding Orijen? It wasn't based on blood/urine tests or anything, just the vet's concerns.

It is a hot topic in the vet field today... I can only say Digestablity of the Protein IMHO is important ...

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Do you think the protein concerns are legitimate, regarding Orijen? It wasn't based on blood/urine tests or anything, just the vet's concerns.

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Have they had blood tests recently? If so, and their tests came back normal, I wouldn't change anything. There's a lot of debate about high protein and all that, but high-quality highly-digestible meat protein shouldn't be a problem. I'd have a lot more concerns about feeding a brand with corn gluten as a main protein source .

In my opinion, I'd stay far away from any of the S/D lines. I've worked at a vet as a technician, and I won't feed it to my own animals nor reccomend it to clients. It is basically high priced grocery store food. You could get the same quality ingredients and pay alot less going to the grocery store. That being said, I really like orijen and it is in my rotation for my own kitties. I rotate high quality brands to give a change and to make sure that they are getting all they need. My own cat was diagnosed with possible megacolon and had to have frequent stool extractions because she was on Science Diet which is what the clinic I worked at feeds. Well, I took her home and got her on a combination of wet and a mix of grain free and grain in dry and she is doing great. Hasn't had a bowel incident since October of 2009. I do give her miralax when I think she might be backing up, but she goes shortly after that. This is an example of why i think diet is so important.
Some other brands you might look into are Natures Variety. The praire line has grain, the instinct line is grain free. I currently use both. There are also Blue Wilderness, Wellness, Acana which is made by Orijen company and many others. My point being that, as long as your cats are young and healthy and don't have any preexisting illnesses or kidney issues, I don't see these foods causing a problem. Make sure you have plenty of water available as they will need to drink more. I give canned twice a day also as it adds moisture to the diet, and I think that all dry isn't the greatest. To combat tartar, I brush my cats teeth a couple times a week, and add a wax that lasts on their teeth. Dry food does not clean the teeth any more than crackers clean ours. I don't really believe in dental diets either as I haven't seen them work miracles. Certain animals will develop tartar faster than others and will need their teeth cleaned more often. I do find that brushing has helped alot in keeping tartar at bay. My dog has only had a cleaning twice in his life, and I just did it because he was already asleep for something else and not for the dental. He is ten and his teeth look great. He eats a mix of canned and dry as well.
I would stick to the orijen if it is working for you otherwise and take what the vet says with a grain of salt. My own boss will reccommend Hills as well, but then again it is what we sell, he will also reccommend the other brands if you ask his opinion, but hills seems to be a go to brand.

This is interesting as my kittens soon to be one are on this. I have posted about what should feed instead but I am having problems locating what people recommend or finding it so expensive. Hmmm

I avoid anything from Hill's like the plague and secretly call it "Hill's Corn Cr*p." It's been a while since I've looked at the actual ingredients, but that list you posted sent my blood sugar through the roof. And chicken by-product meal as the first ingredient? In fact, in the entire list there isn't any good protein sources.

Since they don't have kidney problems I wouldn't worry about what you're feeding them in terms of the protein content. If you feel there can be too much protein and want to switch, don't switch to anything Hill's.

Raintyger said:

 
I avoid anything from Hill's like the plague and secretly call it "Hill's Corn Cr*p." It's been a while since I've looked at the actual ingredients, but that list you posted sent my blood sugar through the roof. And chicken by-product meal as the first ingredient? In fact, in the entire list there isn't any good protein sources.

Since they don't have kidney problems I wouldn't worry about what you're feeding them in terms of the protein content. If you feel there can be too much protein and want to switch, don't switch to anything Hill's.

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I am off to look at pet stores and pet smart tomorrow afternoon to find something else, it's overwelming!