Is holistic food just hype?

We switched our cats to holistic food about a year or so ago, as I was convinced that more expensive food with real ingredients made a difference.

But I got to thinking after our youngest one got a UTI. When I was growing up we had two cats, one of them lived to be 16 human years, and ate mostly Meow Mix and Deli Cat all of her life. She was a happy, healthy cat. The dyes in the food made her vomit (I wouldn't feed food with dyes again), but she lived so long that I almost wonder if holistic food is a marketing hype. She did die of kidney failure but that was due to the Special Kitty formula I fed her late in life, and there was a huge uproar and recall in 2006 for Special Kitty.

My question is, if a cat can live that long on "regular" food, and our youngest one still contracted a urinary tract infection regardless of our holistic choices and 60/40 wet food diet, are we just shelling out money for holistic foods?

From my point of view right now as long as it is a company that does lots of maintenance checks before the food gets shipped off (i.e. Diamond, Purina), and the formula is balanced, why shell out extra? My fiance's farm cats also have lived a long time too, and her parents buy whatever's on sale.

Logically if a cat lives to be 16 on regular formula, shouldn't a holistic formula supersize them to live till 30?

I don't get it.

the way I view it.. (based on my opinion)
Friskies & Fancy Feast = chocolate and potato chips in the human world
Purina and Nutro = Pizza and chicken, healthier than chocolate, but not the greatest
Blue and Wellness = Fruits and Vegetables in the human world

While a human can eat very healthy and exercise, they can still get sick. Just like animals can still get sick on the healthiest food. Same for vice-versa with not so healthy food.

It depends on the bodies of the animals and what they can handle. every body is different. Just because one cat survived to a ripe old age without getting sick, does not mean another cat will do the same on the same food.

But also, what kind of "holistic" (there is no legal definition for holistic) food are you feeding them? A food with meat as the main ingredient is a no-brainer for a carnivore. However, a lot of the high-end foods have a bunch of fruits and veggies and stuff, and that is hype. They only put those in to make it look good to the humans reading the label (with a few useful exceptions, like cranberries to balance urine pH or greens to reduce litterbox odor).

And it's also not easy to find a cheaper food with no food dyes. Purina ONE is about the cheapest I can think of, and I can find several brands with more meat content that cost less.

Some cats are just prone to certain illnesses. Just think how much worse your UTI kitty would be on an all-dry diet!

Originally Posted by Willowy

But also, what kind of "holistic" (there is no legal definition for holistic) food are you feeding them? A food with meat as the main ingredient is a no-brainer for a carnivore. However, a lot of the high-end foods have a bunch of fruits and veggies and stuff, and that is hype. They only put those in to make it look good to the humans reading the label (with a few useful exceptions, like cranberries to balance urine pH or greens to reduce litterbox odor).

And it's also not easy to find a cheaper food with no food dyes. Purina ONE is about the cheapest I can think of, and I can find several brands with more meat content that cost less.

Some cats are just prone to certain illnesses. Just think how much worse your UTI kitty would be on an all-dry diet!

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Right now we are feeding a mixture of Taste Of The Wild and Chicken Soup.

TOTW costs us roughly $28 for a 15-lb bag, and Chicken Soup we mix in once in awhile if we are tight on money.

I think what I'm going to do from now on, there is a brand at the Tractor Supply called "4Health" and it has decent ingredients, and I can get an 18-lb bag for $20. No artificial crap in it either. I cringe when I think that people are paying $50 for a 15 lb bag of Evo. I think to keep my pocketbook in good shape but also not skimp I will start feeding that 4Health to our cats...but we will switch to about 80/20 - wet/dry, this way we won't have to worry so much about crystals in the future.

First ten ingredients :

Chicken, chicken meal, egg product, cracked pearled barley, ground rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), salmon, potatoes, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed...

I think this will be it from now on. It has great feedback and reviews. I do like TOTW and so do my cats, but it is very pricey in the long run. This would be a good alternative.

4Health is good . It's one of the brands in my mix (I mix TOTW, Chicken Soup, Diamond Naturals, and 4Health). It's cheaper than Purina ONE and better. I like that it has egg product so high on the ingredient list. . .egg is an excellent source of animal protein and I think more pet foods should use it. But I don't find dry TOTW to be much more expensive (it's not $28 at my TSC! I think it's $23.99). It's the canned food that can really get pricey. $$$$!

Sticking with canned food might bring better health results than feeding kibble.

I reference this article on UTI's:
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

... If Man would just go back to feeding cats a species-appropriate diet - i.e. - one that has a water content that mimics a cat's normal prey and one that is based on meat, not gains - instead of trying to artificially manipulate a species-inappropriate diet of grains by adding acidifiers, the vast majority of urinary tract problems would be solved. ...

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Also, "when we were growing up" the manufacturers may have since changed recipes, -- so going back to our childhood may not be too reliable when describing pet food.

All our cats were outside, and usually got most of their diet from what ever they caught in the woods, or fields. We did feed them canned food, however, it was usually what we fed the dogs - something "Heart", can't remember the name, but it had a German Shepherd on the label.

We just do the best we can with the budget we have - sometimes it's less expensive to give a healthier diet than pay the money to the vet - not to mention the pain and suffering of our feline companion.

I do think that dry foods had more meat "back then". I remember reading the Friskies bag when I was a kid, and I'm pretty sure meat products figured more heavily than they do now. I wish I could find an old ingredient list and test my theory.

I was at a dog show this weekiend and there was a booth pushing this really good new food! The only meat was By-Product Meal. That's right! The rest of the ingredients was corn, rice and after that I just gave up on reading the rest of the label. I asked them where the meat was and they said, right there - by-product meal. I just shook my head and walked away.

I'm sure if they made cat food it wouldn't be much better. Good food does not have to be expensive.

Absolutely its hype, as there is no such thing as "holistic food", and its just a marketing ploy using the positive connotation with holistic medicine.

Premium and Ultra-Premium are other nonsense labels you see on brands.

The important label is the nutrition information one on the back of the can or package, and on the front really just take note if the brand has a good reputation and keywords like "grain free" and the like.

Holistic is impossible to define. Marketing and packaging play a huge role in what the consumer perceives.

Ingredient labels are the most useful tool you have when shopping for the best pet food within your budget.

I agree with willowy..I think a lot of it is hype... that said, I was feeding my cats high quality grain-free dry (50/50 wet dry diet)...on first EVO, then TOTW...and one of my cats succombed to a UTI too... IMO...it was a specific ingredient vs..the quality of food that led to this...almost all grain frees...and a high percentage of non-grain free expensive foods have fish in them.

I'm not feeding any food with fish now (canned or dry) and am feeding a lower-quality dry food (first Nutro max cat adult roasted chicken, now authority adult chicken formula) and lower quality wet (mostly friskies..the special diet for urinary tract health beef/chkn and beef/liver formulas) and have had NO UTI issues for the past 3 years... IMO..get the dry food with the most meat in the ingredients list and NO fish, and feed at least 50% wet...(w/o fish as well) and you'll have a lot less problems...lowest magnesium as possible is good too.

I'm interested in the new california natural grain free since it doesn't have fish..i may try it and will let you know if I don't have any problems on it.

Art