THE BEST CAT FOOD???

What is the best cat food you can buy that has all the nutrition a healthy adult cat needs? Also what is the best food for a kitten?

Thanks

xxx

Well, if there was only one best brand, we wouldn't need the other brands :lol3:. Whatever your cat does best on is the best food. It can take a bit of experimenting.

The best diet for a cat is a well-balanced raw meat diet, if your cat will eat it. You can prepare your own, but if this is too time-consuming or you don't feel confident in your ability to balance the diet, there are pre-made raw foods available at many pet stores in larger cities (or online). If your cat is older and has been eating kibble for a long time, it can take a lot of commitment to get him/her to eat raw meat.

In general, of non-raw options, canned food is better than dry food. They usually have more meat, higher protein, and are more digestible. Cats are obligate carnivores, so the more meat the better, plus cats are designed to get most of the moisture from food, not from drinking, so if they don't eat canned food they may have problems due to chronic dehydration. Grain-free is a big plus, and as few veggies as possible. From what I've found, EVO 95% meat is the most affordable of the grain-free, veggie-free canned foods. Also Trader Joe's canned food.

If you need to feed some kibble, try for a grain-free, low-carb option. Again, EVO is probably the most affordable of these, but there are many fine choices available. But, IMO, all cats should get at least 50% canned food to avoid problems caused by not getting enough moisture.

We have swapped around about 5 different foods and so far the best for our boys has been Wellness Core. Even though it costs a fortune, it is worth it.

Agreed, a raw diet is the best food for a cat. Secondly is canned food and third is a grain free, high protein dry.

IMHO Raw food is best, Grain free canned is next, then a high quality no by-products, no soy, no corn no artificial flavors and colors is next, followed by any canned, followed by a starch-free dry, followed by a grain free dry :lol3:

You will find a Bazillion opinions on your question All four of my cats have thrived on Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice products.  I feed mine a mostly wet diet and allow them maybe a 15 to 20% kibble diet.  Their kibble is the Nutro Max Indoor Chicken.  It's the only kibble they will eat and I have tried many.  I will also mix up their wet food with other premium brands to give them a variety of different flavors and textures.  I also give them feline Greenies every night for a snack and they love them.

I deal with people every day regarding their concerns and issues within the pet food industry.  I find that most people will go for the best possible cat food that their budget allows.  You can find pros and cons regarding just about any of the 3 diets you might be considering, wet, raw or kibble.  There are also those that will mix their cat's diets.  Mine get mostly wet supplemented with kibble.  Others feed strictly raw.  Some feed strictly wet.  Some feed a mix of wet and raw.  I know very little about a raw diet in general and I can find nothing concrete science wise. or study wise. for a more complete education on it. There is a forum here on TCS dedicated to a raw diet.  If that is the route you decide to go you might want to check that forum out. 

IMO, the best food for a cat is the one you can afford to feed that fits your lifestyle that is as close to species-appropriate as possible.

Cats are obligate carnivores, and are designed to get everything they need to thrive from just meat, bones, and organs. They are not designed to digest carbohydrates. We're discussing this, in fact, in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/244840/how-do-i-diet-my-cat It starts a few posts down. :nod:

This thread, a few posts down, also discusses why canned food is better than dry food for kitties: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/244959/is-all-canned-food-better-than-dry

Cat food is made of pet grade food. The regulations that apply to pet food are completely different than human food. We discussed ingredients and tried to identify decent canned foods in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239691/nutritionally-complete-assurances-for-our-pet-food

Over 50% of dogs older than 10 die of cancer, and 32% of cats older than 10 die of cancer. One in every 4 dogs will be diagnosed with cancer, and one in every 6 cats will be diagnosed with cancer. Once I learned about many of the waste products allowed in pet food, I decided to make home made cat food.

Because cat food is made of pet grade food, I have to say that whether cooked or raw, home made food is the best food you can feed your cat. Of course, you need to learn about nutrition and do it right. But it's not rocket science, though it does take some learning. And IMO, making home made raw is easier, because you don't need to worry about the nutrients you damage via cooking.

But after that, canned foods with meat and supplements only, and no carageenan, is the best option. http://consciouscat.net/2012/06/08/carrageenan-should-it-be-in-your-cats-food/ Unfortunately, the Nature's Logic food recommended in the blog has a LOT of fruits and veggies. I wouldn't feed it to my cats. And funny, it also has kelp, which is a seaweed - which is where carageenan comes from. :lol3: Nature's Variety does have peas and carrots, but they're easy to pick out.

The rest is outlined by the others.

NutroMike said:

I know very little about a raw diet in general and I can find nothing concrete science wise. or study wise. for a more complete education on it.

Click to expand...

There are also no studies indicating that cat food is good for cats. With the incidence of bladder/urinary tract problems, cancer, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies, and chronic renal failure, the anectodal evidence isn't in favor of feeding pet grade food either. :dk:

The advent of commercial food, viewing our pets as family members and thus over 50% of us keeping them inside full time, combined with at least semi-regular veterinary care sees many cats living long lives, no doubt. So of course we're also seeing the onset of many diseases simply because cats (and dogs) are living to be older. But lymphoma is typically seen in cats between 2 and 6; 40% of our cats, young and old alike, are obese; and diabetes is becoming more and more common in younger cats, as are IBD and allergies.

Worried about pathogens in the food? Well, view a list of cat food recalls over the past number of years, and you'll see that ANY cat food diet can harm our pets. No doubt, pathogens are a risk in feeding raw food, because of the problems with the human food supply chain.

But the Winn Feline Foundation conducted an AAFCO-feeding type trial to see if raw food (home made raw and commercial raw) diets were nutritionally adequate when compared to a "high quality" commercial canned. The study results are not yet published, but here's an update: http://winnfelinehealth.blogspot.com/2012/03/raw-food-diets-for-kittens.html

The raw foods were found to be nutritionally adequate for growing kittens and adult cats. Innate immune response was higher in the cats fed raw.
Yes, there was evidence of salmonella in several of the kittens fed raw, but they didn't get sick from it. I have further news on the report (feel free to PM me), and the diarrhea mentioned in the update affected kittens fed raw AND canned. All were administered antibiotics, and the kittens fed raw had their diarrhea resolve faster.

Sadly, there are no plans to continue to feed all these cats raw food, and track their progress over the years. Just like with commercial canned and kibble, I doubt there will ever be long term studies on the impact of the diet. Either you believe a species-appropriate diet both in composition (meat, bones, organs) and form (raw) for obligate carnivores is best, and you believe the anecdotal evidence that cats can handle the pathogens present in our food chain - or you don't. But given my knowledge of what goes into pet grade foods, I will always advocate for a species-appropriate home made diet (if the pet parent is willing to learn and implement it properly), whether cooked or raw, or commercial raw food (which uses human grade ingredients), over feeding commercial canned or kibble.

I know every cat parent (we are not owners!) has asked this question in the past or is asking it now, but the truth is like humans, all cats differ, so there is not one best diet for every cat. Many cats need different types of meat, different amounts of certain ingredients, etc. and others are OK with anything but need different feeding schedules. In other words, only your vet can tell you what the best type of food is for your cats. Of course, you don't need a vet to know cats must eat only real meat, not meat byproducts and meat meal, and if they refuse to eat canned food, they need an electric waterer for a constant supply of fresh water. No plants or milk should be in cat food because they don't need them.

Ha, if I ever met a vet who said the best type of food was anything other than Science Diet or Purina, I think I'd faint :tongue2:.

Willowy said:

Ha, if I ever met a vet who said the best type of food was anything other than Science Diet or Purina, I think I'd faint :tongue2:.

Click to expand...

:lol3: I can give 3 reasons to faint my kiddo's regular vet, who agrees they should eat nothing but raw, their dentist, and of course, Bugsy's Holistic vet. :bigthumb: or should I say :lol3:

Thank you so much everyone you've really helped me with your advice.