Can I have your opinion on my cat's diet?

tinysalmon · Aug 28, 2011

Hi, I am a first-time cat owner and was just wondering what you (more experienced) cat owners think of my cat's diet. My cat is about one and a half years old and we feed her what her previous owners would feed her.

Iams Premium Protection for adults (1/3 cup in the morning and another in the evening.)
Hartz Crunch 'n Clean treats
Whiskas Temptations treats
Pure Snacks Freeze Dried Beef Liver treats

Do you feed your cats some of the same things? What do you think of these brands? Is this all nutritious for her or might she be missing something important in her diet? Any advice is welcomed!

Thanks!

ducman69 · Aug 28, 2011

Even though listed second, meal is more dense than chicken as fed, and thus this diet is much too high in by-products and corn IMO. How much do you currently pay for a bag and what size, and I can find you a similar priced better option, and I would recommend throwing in some wet food for added hydration in a third meal (if you don't mind feeding three times a day). BTW, the dry can be easily fed in various auto-feeders (we use the LeBistro), which would allow us to keep your work load the same.

Iams Premium Protection for adults:
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Animal Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Meal, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Fish Oil, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Fructooligosaccharides, Brewers Dried Yeast...

Crude Protein 32.0%
Crude Fat 21.0%
Crude Fiber 3.0%
Moisture 10.0%
Ash 7.0%

Hartz does not list the complete nutritional information of their product for me to make a fair evaluation. However, I am not a big fan of the brand, and would recommend Greenies dental treats as a popular and very tasty alternative. Currently on sale at my Petsmart. I would ditch the Whiskas treats, as one treat a day of various flavors of Feline Greenies is more than enough treats IMO, and in fact I suggest less than the recommended serving size.

Regarding "Pure Snacks Freeze Dried Beef Liver treats" this appears to just be 100% single ingredient freeze dried beef liver, as advertised. I don't know enough about supplementing that much extra liver to their diet regularly to know if its good or bad, sorry. However, I would still argue that in a nutritionally balanced complete diet, that "treats" should be kept to a minimum, and thus the single dental-treat is all I would give with the overwhelming majority of their diet just being properly balanced healthy true meal food.

tinysalmon · Aug 28, 2011

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Even though listed second, meal is more dense than chicken as fed, and thus this diet is much too high in by-products and corn IMO. How much do you currently pay for a bag and what size, and I can find you a similar priced better option, and I would recommend throwing in some wet food for added hydration in a third meal (if you don't mind feeding three times a day). BTW, the dry can be easily fed in various auto-feeders (we use the LeBistro), which would allow us to keep your work load the same.

Hartz does not list the complete nutritional information of their product for me to make a fair evaluation. However, I am not a big fan of the brand, and would recommend Greenies dental treats as a popular and very tasty alternative. Currently on sale at my Petsmart. I would ditch the Whiskas treats, as one treat a day of various flavors of Feline Greenies is more than enough treats IMO, and in fact I suggest less than the recommended serving size.

Regarding "Pure Snacks Freeze Dried Beef Liver treats" this appears to just be 100% single ingredient freeze dried beef liver, as advertised. I don't know enough about supplementing that much extra liver to their diet regularly to know if its good or bad, sorry. However, I would still argue that in a nutritionally balanced complete diet, that "treats" should be kept to a minimum, and thus the single dental-treat is all I would give with the overwhelming majority of their diet just being properly balanced healthy true meal food.

Thanks for your reply! We pay about $17 for the Iams.

We don't give her a lot of treats as before, when she was adjusting to the new house and family. I will reduce how often we give her the Whiskas (unfortunately, we have a full bag of it and it seems like a waste to throw it away). Would this treat once in a while, like one every other day, be okay for her?

We try to give her a couple of the dental treats because we haven't yet mastered brushing her teeth, so we are relying on those to help too.

ducman69 · Aug 28, 2011

Originally Posted by TinySalmon

Thanks for your reply! We pay about $17 for the Iams.

I need to know how many pounds that bag is, to think of a healthier similar price alternative.

Just about anything given rarely is fine, as its not a big part of their diet IMO. I don't brush my cats teeth either, just the Greenies, and so far the vet says their teeth, gums, and breath are great.

tinysalmon · Aug 28, 2011

Originally Posted by Ducman69

I need to know how many pounds that bag is, to think of a healthier similar price alternative.

Anything given rarely is fine, as its not a big part of their diet IMO. I don't brush my cats teeth either, just the Greenies, and so far the vet says their teeth, gums, and breath is great.

Oops, sorry, the Iams is 5.5lbs. I'll look into the Greenies! Thanks.

ducman69 · Aug 28, 2011

Excellent! Same budget, but MUCH better food IMO:

Iams Premium Protection for adults:
5.5lbs x 1834Kcal/lb @ $17 = ~590Kcal/$

vs

(local Petsmart Sugar Land, TX in store current Prices)
Blue Spa Select Adult Indoor Cat Dry Food + Innova 13.2oz Cat and Kitten Wet Food:
DRY: 15lbs x 1676Kcal/lb @ $35 = ~720Kcal/$
WET: 518kcal/can @ $1.75 a can = 296 kcal/$
Average 70% dry 30% wet: ~ 592Kcal/$

~Ingredients~
Blue Spa Select Adult Indoor Cat Dry Food:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Barley, Fish Meal, Oatmeal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Potatoes, Chicken Fat, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg, Dried Cellulose, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Whole Carrots, Cranberries, Blueberries, Flaxseed...
Crude protein 32%
crude fat 15%
crude fiber 4.0%
moisture 10%

Innova 13.2oz Cat and Kitten Wet Food:
Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Broth, Whole Eggs; Chicken Meal; Herring; Natural Flavors; Brown Rice; Carrots; Potatoes, Apples, Alfalfa Sprouts, Herring Oil,Guar Gum, Tricalcium Phosphate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, Skim Milk, Sodium Phosphate, Sunflower Oil...
Crude Protein 11 %
Crude Fat 7 %
Crude Fiber 1.5 %
Moisture 78 %

PS: I'm an IT guy for oilfield/government contracts, and don't work in the pet food industry in any way.

tinysalmon · Aug 28, 2011

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Blue Spa Select Adult Indoor Cat Dry Food:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Barley, Fish Meal, Oatmeal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Potatoes, Chicken Fat, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg, Dried Cellulose, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Whole Carrots, Cranberries, Blueberries, Flaxseed...
Crude protein 32%
crude fat 15%
crude fiber 4.0%
moisture 10%

The Blue Spa Select sounds good.. I'll definitely take a trip to PetSmart to see if they have it. I hope they have it because on their site it says Online Only. I'm not sure if I am ready to give her the wet food yet. I was told it makes their poo smellier. Maybe when I get to know my cat more and if we know for sure if we are keeping her (we were originally catsitting). Thanks for your help.

arlyn · Aug 28, 2011

Its actually junk ingredients and fillers and allergens that create smelly poos.

Also, you must always switch dry foods very gradually over a period of time.

ducman69 · Aug 28, 2011

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Its actually junk ingredients and fillers and allergens that create smelly poos.

Also, you must always switch dry foods very gradually over a period of time.

I agree w/ Arlyn 100% on both counts. Incomplete digestion (wet or dry) = smelly poo, which is why kitties that have soft #2s can clear a room!

Even if you don't add the wet right away, that's still a nice improvement. Transition small amounts of the new kibble mixed into the old, usually over a course of 1-2 weeks until you're at 100% new food. It takes a few weeks for the coat to grow out, but you should see improvements in activity and a shinier softer coat. And as you probably already know, clean water should be out 24x7.

minka · Aug 28, 2011

Ducman gave great choices for both wet and dry, but since I already took the time to type up a response, here's my 2cents:

As a rule of thumb I don't feed dry food or the Iams brand, but honestly, my only concern with this food is that you are probably paying Way too much for it.
It says it's a 'Premium Protection' food, which I assume means $$$, but look at what's still in it: corn meal, corn grits, animal fat (un-named), dried beet pulp, flavorings, sodium bisulfate (otherwise known as menadione), brewers dried yeast, and salt. You are paying premium prices for the same kind of stuff that's in their less expensive variations.

Freeze Dried treats are always a good choice, but I don't know anything about the other two kinds. But as long as they really are 'treats' and not a daily occurance, it doesn't matter to much to me what's in them.

I wouldn't say she's missing anything, but you could probably get a much better food for what you are currently paying.

cyndersmom · Aug 29, 2011

a word from the wise here get her on a premium wet food and DON'T offer the
dry at all. I had my boy on a all wet diet until one night dh was really late from work and the only thing out was the dry which cynder never touched but i guess was sooo hungry he ate it and guess what he won't hardly touch wet food now

I do have him on Blue buffalo dry kitten brand so I know its good for him,and he might eat a bite or 2 of wet but thats it.. The spa select was great, he was eating that and the blue wilderness kitten wet,but obviously the dry tastes way better and now turns his nose up at almost every wet brand lol

Can I have your opinion on my cat's diet?

tinysalmon

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ducman69

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