Help with cat food brands

After looking into many different kinds of "grain free" dry cat food... I really fell in love with the Natural Balance Ultra Prenium formula, not only is it more affordable than the current brand I'm buying (Performatrin), but it also appears to be healthier for my kitty. 

But is it really a better choice?

Natural Balance Ultra Prenium

Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Duck Meal, Potatoes, Carrots, Lamb Meal, Canola Oil, Natural Flavor, Salmon Meal, Dried Egg, Brewers Yeast, Duck, Potassium Chloride, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid. 

I'm concerned about the brown rice, Barley, Oatmeal, Potatoes etc,

Here are the ingredients of the Performatrin Kitten food she's eating now. (PS. I've heard this food was garbage???)

Performatrin Kitten

Chicken Meal, Chicken, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Fat (stabilized with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Ground Corn, Dried Egg Product, Herring Meal, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Salmon Oil (stabilized with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Oat Fiber, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Lecithin, Dried Kelp, DL-Methionine, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Sulfate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yeast Extract, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Oil, Dried Cranberry, Dried Dandelion Leaf, Dried Birch Leaf, Fennel Seed, Dried Nettle Leaf, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Iron Proteinate, Niacin, Inositol, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ascorbyl Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), , Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

I'm so lost. I just want the best for my baby - without breaking the bank. Help! 

I am very impressed with Blue Wilderness... but it's a whopping 6$ more than Natural Balance for the smallest bag!!!

I wouldn't say Performatrin is garbage. . .but Natural Balance is better. The corn gluten meal in the Performatrin makes the protein look high, but cats don't do well with plant protein, and then the ground corn, so that's a lot of corn.

Is she getting mostly canned food? That's what's really best for kitties.

Yes - canned food 2x daily with added water. She eats about 3/4 of the smallest sized cans daily. (the can recommends 1 whole can per 3lbs, and she's about 2.5lbs) I'm experimenting with different brands of canned food, and I'm limiting the fish flavored ones!!

I give her a very small dish of dry food to nibble on freely through out the day and night

I'm trying to eliminate all kibble from my kitty's diet, but in the meanwhile, I'm switching to Wysong Epigen 90. I also like EVO Turkey and Chicken's ingredients, but my kitty rather vehemently rejected it by throwing up after eating it (3 times!). I know they're both expensive, but since you're not feeding a lot of it, it might be worth it.

Amby said:

Yes - canned food 2x daily with added water. She eats about 3/4 of the smallest sized cans daily. (the can recommends 1 whole can per 3lbs, and she's about 2.5lbs) I'm experimenting with different brands of canned food, and I'm limiting the fish flavored ones!!

I give her a very small dish of dry food to nibble on freely through out the day and night

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Sounds like you are doing everything right! I have weaned my cats off of almost all kibble. Only 10% of their diet is now kibble. I divide their daily kibble into 3 small meals in between their main meals which is usually either Nutro Max Cat, Nutro Natural Choice or other premium foods.

There are so many good wet foods out there and it's fine to mix and match brands and gives the kitties different flavors and textures.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

NutroMike - I know cats have sensitive stomachs and that I must gradually introduce her to a new kibble.... so is it safe to feed her various kinds of wet food without doing that? She has tried 2 different brands so far without any issues... I'm about to head to the pet store and buy new kinds, I'm just worried it might upset her stomach??

Amby said:

Thanks everyone for the advice!

NutroMike - I know cats have sensitive stomachs and that I must gradually introduce her to a new kibble.... so is it safe to feed her various kinds of wet food without doing that? She has tried 2 different brands so far without any issues... I'm about to head to the pet store and buy new kinds, I'm just worried it might upset her stomach??

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I'm not going to say it will not upset her stomach but generally it is fine to go ahead and mix up wet foods. There is always a possibility of upset with just about anything with cats which is why I answer this way but as a rule, no, it will not upset her stomach. Let me know what brands you buy, and what she likes :nod:

Hi Amby!

What a cute Kitty you have!

You should be fine rotating wet foods.

I do it all of the time, and have almost never had a problem,

except when I fed one particular variety that had a lot of Liver in it.

As far as the Dry food, in my thread "Losing Faith in Grain Free"

I talked more about the reasons, but I have decided that I would prefer for my Kitties

to eat whole grains like Brown Rice and Barley over starchy carbs like peas and potatoes.

The eyes and green parts of potatoes can be harmful to Kitties anyway,

so for me, that is yet another reason to avoid them.

Now, my biggest concern...

I'd STRONGLY encourage you to avoid CORN, and SOY...

they provide little to no value to a cat,

and roughly 90% of American corn and soy are now Genetically Modified *

and are either sprayed directly with pesticides, or have pesticide genes in their DNA.


* The only way to avoid it is to buy or grow Organic Corn or Soy.


We have switched to California Natural Chicken and Brown Rice for their Dry between meals snack.

They absolutely LOVE it, and they are doing great on it.

Their fur has gotten much softer and shinier since eliminating peas and potatoes from their diet.

Another thing I like about California Natural is the relatively short ingredient list:

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Rice, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Sunflower Oil, Flaxseed,

Vitamins, Potassium Chloride, Minerals, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

It is not as easy to find as some premium brands, but it is a good value on PetFoodDirect,

just about $30. for 15 pounds. You should buy more than one (or some canned food along with it)

to offset the shipping charges, but if you use "AutoShip" (which can be changed, cancelled or edited at any time)

it will save you an additional 15 or 20% depending on the item.

Good luck, and please keep us posted!