Alternatives to Authority Brand Cat Food

We have our three little guys on Authority brand cat food.  When they were little, we were poor college students and we chose Authority as after some research I thought it was the best brand for the price and had a level of nutrition I was comfortable with.

Now we are in a situation where it is getting less convenient to go to Petsmart (and Authority is a Petsmart brand) and we make a bit more money, so could probably spend more.  

I forgot all the calculations to figure out the protein in dry food and what is appropriate.  We feed both wet and dry, but mainly dry.  They seem to be doing well on it.  We feed them twice a day, they are all healthy weights and are 3 years old.

Any links for how to choose a cat food or recommendations? We don't need human grade ingredients, as long as they are safe.  We don't want our little boys to be caught in a recall where they are some of the few who die.  They are our babies!

Thanks in advance,

Francine

You can order the food on Petsmart.com if going to the store isnt doable. We are feeding Simply Nutritution but that doesn't help you as it is also a Petsmart owned brand. 

Sorry I can't help more. 

Do you have a Tractor Supply near you? My cats are currently eating 4health brand. No corn, wheat, or soy.

Here's the info and link:

Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, egg product, ground rice, powdered cellulose, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), salmon, potatoes, millet, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, ocean fish meal, sodium bisulfate, potassium chloride, methionine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 32% (min.), Crude Fat 14% (min.), Crude Fiber 8% (max.), Moisture 10% (max.), Magnesium 0.1% (max.), Zinc 120 mg/kg (min.), Selenium 0.4 mg/kg (min.), Vitamin E 150 IU/kg (min.), Taurine 0.1% (min.), Omega-6 Fatty Acids 2.2% (min.), Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.4% (min.)

Caloric Content:
3,450 kcal/kg (323 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/4health-trade-indoor-cat-food-18-lb--1153000

I was not a fan of Authority dry food, but I still recommend (and buy) some of their better wet food recipes as I think they are quite economical for the ingredients you get.  

If it is in the budget and they will eat it, we have been very happy with the results of Blue Wilderness formula cat food for their dry.   Other than the bit of potato in there, I am pleased with the ingredients, reputation of the company, and the results with my kitties (no health issues to date *knock on wood* and they seem to have nice coats and most definitely crazy high energy levels, heh).  

Its high in protein and fat (and conversely low in carb and fiber), and the first four (meaning primary) ingredients are all meat:   

1) Deboned chicken

2) Chicken meal

3) Turkey meal

4) Fish meal

Blue Wilderness Chicken

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Fish Meal, Potato Starch, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Tomato Pomace, Oatmeal, Flaxseed , Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Turmeric, Fish Oil, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium Iodate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium.

 

Crude Protein (min.) 45.0%, Crude Fat (min.) 18.0%, Crude Fiber (max.) 4.0%, Moisture (max.) 10.0%

Click to expand...

PS: BTW, even the absolute highest quality cat foods out there have recalls from time to time.   The Wellness cans I bought (very expensive food), were recalled for example for a particular vitamin deficiency.   Granted not a huge deal, but a recall nonetheless.  Both canned and dry food have VERY long shelf lives, usually several years, so if you want to be super safe buy the older dated bags/cans in the store and buy two even if you only need one.    I have a bag of Wilderness sitting in my pantry that hasn't and won't be used for months, but its still 100% fresh sealed and by the time I open it would have LONG since been recalled if there were even minor issues.    Can't get safer than that.  

Here are a couple of articles  on Cat Nutrition:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-nutrition-a-recap

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

Good luck on your quest!  I'm still searching for "the perfect food" that all my kitties like, plus I have one overweight one and one underweight one , so feeding time around here is kind of hectic, as I imagine it is in most fur household.  Hard to remember whose bowl is whose!!

In order to avoid problems from potential recalls, the best idea is to mix several different brands of dry, if you're going to feed dry.

We mix Origen (owned by Champion Pet, an independent that uses their own manufacturing facility), Instinct (owned by Nature's Variety, an Independent) and Before Grain Chicken (owned by Merrick, a family-owned business that manufactures at their own facilities).

Just by way of FYI, we switched to an all wet diet over a year ago, but three cats wouldn't give up the dry. We no longer free feed, and give the dry mix as "treat" equivalents at this point, as now the cats that wouldn't switch eat almost enough wet at each meal.

Anyway... as to wet food... again, rotation is really the key to avoiding problems from potential recalls. :nod:

To do that properly, it's best to find brands made by different companies, and that can be deceptive, as so many companies have multiple brands.

The other thing to consider is that many independent companies contract out the manufacturing to the same companies - Menu and American Nutrition are two of the largest "canned" food companies. They use the ingredients and sourcing specified by the clients (usually), but it's still something to consider. Diamond is one of the largest dry food manufacturers: they make not only the Diamond brands, but (at least) Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, the Natural Balance foods, Taste of the Wild, Felidae, the Costco store brands (Kirkland and Nature's Domain), and Solid Gold (and Diamond contracts out the canned foods to American Nutrition).

This list was compiled after the giant recall that affected so many companies in 2007 (Menu Foods, a sourcing issue). http://thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm

There are a number of independents that have sprung up since this issue.

I spent a lot of time looking for the higher quality canned foods that are produced by different companies. I use a rotation of both brands and "type" (chicken, turkey, tuna, beef, mixes of types, etc.) within those brands. We feed our cats Wellness (grain free), Evo (now owned by P&G, but part of the Natura Pet Food line up), Instinct Before Grain (owned by Merrick), Ziwipeak (one of the highest quality canned foods there is, made by an independent company in New Zealand), and Weruva (though IMO, most of it is hype. They use a lot of stuff cats don't need in their diet, so I really only get the Paw Lickin Chicken and the Nine Liver flavors, because they don't have all the peas, carrots and squash and stuff).

Although doing the research on "Who owns which brands" in a much more detailed way these last few weeks, I'm probably going to start ordering Fromm Family Foods canned cat food and add that to the rotation of foods they get. :nod:

When it comes to rotating foods, look at it this way... would you eat boxed macaroni and cheese, the same fruit over and over, and a couple of cans of different flavors of one brand of soup for your entire life?