Best Dry Food? (I know, I know...)

msbedelia

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Well, I'm starting to settle into being a cat owner. After three months (hard to believe its only been that long!), I have finally started to realy carefully consider the question of kitty nutrition.

My cats get wet food an average of 2-3 times a day, depending on when I'm home, etc. They will continue to get wet food. I sure that an entire wet food diet is better than one with dry food, and I am sure also that a properly balanced raw diet is the best yet; so you don't have to spend time convincing me of that. However, I do believe that cats do better on several small meals than one or two large ones, we are gone for much of the day so we can't give that to them on wet food alone. They end up not eatig enough if we dont supplement with kibble. And one of the cats is underweight, so I'd especially like her to have access to food during the day and while we sleep. Besides, we put the kibble in those food-dispensing balls to give them something to do / some mental stimulation. Raw at this time is out of the questions, as I can't even plan well enough to thaw or prepare food for my graduate-school self let alone the cats. So some kibble there shall continue to be.

The question is, which dry food will be the best for them and/or do the least possible damage? Right now they are eating Blue Buffalo Wildnerness, which we bought on a whim when we found out we were getting a cat. I was thinking we would switch to Nature Variety's Instinct with Raw Boost when we finished this. I also considered Evo, which is low-carb but whose ingredients look very similar to Blue Buffalo's to me. What are your thoughts? Any other suggestions?

Our second cat, Squeak, also needs to lose about a third of her body weight at least. (Not our fault, she came that way after being in a shelter for a full year!!!) I'm thinking that being in a house rather than a tiny cage (having the opportunity to jump on window sills, chairs, cat perches, beds, go up and down stairs, etc), regular interactive playtime exercise, and a high-quality high-protein low-carb diet will likely be enough, but it's something to consider.
 
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belle8bete

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Blue Buffalo Wilderness is pretty good.  

There is also Natural Balance, but it is more pricey.  I generally feed LW "Taste of the Wild" because he doesn't do well with poultry. Before that he was on Blue Buffalo Wilderness. 
 

vball91

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I do agree with you that many small meals are better than 1 or 2 big ones daily. However, most cats do fine on all wet schedule of 3 meals a day - before work, after work, before bed.

The best dry foods available right now IMO are Wysong's Epigen 90 and Ziwipeak air-dried raw. You could also use something like Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried raw in its dry form.
 

curlyqpgh

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One of my cats quickly gained four pounds on Blue Buffalo Wilderness. He seems to gain easily.

Although we're working on transitioning, he's still pretty much a dry food addict. I feed him Young Again 50/22 because it doesn't seems to affect his weight gain. He also poops better on this, and his stomach is less 'swingy' although he hasn't lost much weight yet. He's about done with his second bag, and he is still happy to eat it. He's a fussy eater.
 

southpaw

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There's not really a "best", lots of good quality brands out there and it's just a matter of which works best for your cat


I like Orijen and Acana, Feline Caviar, Fromm... my guy is on Natures Variety Instinct because that's what works for him. Ideally I wanted him on Feline Caviar but he wouldn't eat it. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is fine.
 

peaches08

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My old kibble kitty ate Evo Cat and Kitten for a while. Low carb for kibble.
 

franksmom

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I do agree with you that many small meals are better than 1 or 2 big ones daily. However, most cats do fine on all wet schedule of 3 meals a day - before work, after work, before bed.

The best dry foods available right now IMO are Wysong's Epigen 90 and Ziwipeak air-dried raw. You could also use something like Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried raw in its dry form.
I agree with the above choices and think ziwipeak is probably the best. Orijen is also not bad. Here is a list of good dry foods (http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/08/best-dry-cat-foods-so-far/). Here is a thread on blue buffalo that you should take a look at (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/258997/blue-buffalo). There are some reports that cats have gotten sick on it, it is probably safe but I wasn't willing to take the risk. 
 
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msbedelia

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Franksmom- Thanks for the awesome link! I have read that thread on Blue Buffalo. That is one reason I don't want to continue feeding Blue Buffalo, but since they do seem okay so far I am gonna finish the bag. (Gracie was even then one who originally tore the bag open and started eating it!) Another reason is that it has a higher level of carbs than I'd like. P.S. Frank is the name of my boyfriend/kitty daddy. ^^

Everyone else- Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate them, and I welcome more, though these seem very good. :)
 

my-boy-jasper

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Have also been asking myself about which dry food is best. I feel I need to leave out something for my kitten when I'm gone for the day and overnight because I can be pretty lazy in the morning
 I'm in Australia so my choices are a bit different. But at the moment I've got Felidae and Ziwipeak. The Ziwipeak is extremely expensive so I mix a third of that with two thirds of the Felidae. Hoping it's ok to mix those two together.
 

curlyqpgh

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I agree with the above choices and think ziwipeak is probably the best. Orijen is also not bad. Here is a list of good dry foods (http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/08/best-dry-cat-foods-so-far/). Here is a thread on blue buffalo that you should take a look at (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/258997/blue-buffalo). There are some reports that cats have gotten sick on it, it is probably safe but I wasn't willing to take the risk. 
Thanks for the list! I'm glad my Young Again made it.
 
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