I have been feeding my cats IAMS since I got Peaches almost a year ago. I have been mixing it with Royal Canine lately so eventually I can switch to just Royal Canine. I have to go very slow because the poor princess has a sensitive stomach.
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Iams or Science Diet
- Thread starter gothic_amethyst
- Start Date
Here are some ingredients that I (personally) prefer not to see when choosing a food:Originally posted by Hermoine
Please, what are the offensive ingredients every one is talking about? I thought the soy was a major nono but what else?
meat by-products
soybean meal
corn gluten meal (I have no problem with ground corn or corn meal)
beef tallow
animal fat (I prefer to see chicken fat or poultry fat)
BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin
My kitties love Hills Science diet. I have the Hairball, Original and Hills Prescription T/D out for them all the time plus Simbah my baby gets his Hills Kitten too which the others try to steal! I have tried a lot of other brands but Hills seems to be the only one they can all agree on.
I really dislike Science Diet because of their marketing about "what vets feed their pets" and the like. It's not a bad food, but I wouldn't consider it the best or anything close to it. SD is also *very* expensive for what you're getting. IMHO Iams is better, but once again there are better cat foods out there. What you feed your cat is your choice, but I prefer foods that don't have chemical preservatives, numerous grain fractions, cheap fillers, generic fats/meats, and aren't based on by-products (I don't mind organ meats down the list but I would prefer the bulk of the food to be chicken meal). We're feeding Natural Balance and have also liked Nutro Natural. Good luck in whatever you choose.
We feed Iams, Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin.
I use the Dick Van Patten stuff and they really like it. I also ordered some Wellness over the internet so will try that. I had heard that vets recommend science cause they get lobbied too, and a friend who knows a lot about nutrition said it's not so great.
I used to feed science diet, personally I had no problems with it and I was pretty happy with it. But I decided to switch to something that was a little healthier and I found that Wysong is pretty much the same price as SD and much better quality. I'm currently in the process of switching them over from SD to Wysong and they really seem to love the Wysong. I'm also switching their canned food from SD to Wellness, I'm only paying 10 cents more a can and I feel that the quality is so much better.
But they are all listed as approved by AAFCo. If they aren't good, then why would they approve them?
I try to feed the best I can afford but it is hard to figure out what that is.
Where do you find Wysong. A lot of these I have never heard of.
I try to feed the best I can afford but it is hard to figure out what that is.
Where do you find Wysong. A lot of these I have never heard of.
I think this site may help answer your question:Originally posted by Hermoine
But they are all listed as approved by AAFCo. If they aren't good, then why would they approve them?
I try to feed the best I can afford but it is hard to figure out what that is.
Where do you find Wysong. A lot of these I have never heard of.
http://eattheapple.com/drjean/
"“COMPLETE AND BALANCED.†A food may be labeled as “complete and balanced†if it meets the standards set by a group called AAFCO, the American Association of Feed Control Officials. These standards were formulated in the early 1990s by panels of canine and feline nutrition experts. Standards set by AAFCO have been adopted by most states, which are then responsible for enforcement. However, in many cases, state enforcement is negligible.
A food may be certified by AAFCO in two ways: (1) meeting published standards for content, or (2) feeding trials.
(1) Nutrient Profiles. These standards set the required amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and so forth. These theoretically have the benefit of extensive research behind them. However, according to researchers at the University of California at Davis, the fundamental research supporting standards for adult cat food includes one study on protein requirements, one study on amino acid requirements, and ZERO studies on vitamin requirements. Yet AAFCO publishes standards specifying exactly how much of each vitamin must be included in adult cat food. Where do these values come from? They are interpreted and extrapolated from research in kittens (which has been more extensive) and from research in other species, mostly chickens and rats. Is this valid? We do not know.
Moreover, any manufacturer can synthesize a food containing sufficient amounts of each ingredient according to the standards, yet an animal will ultimately starve to death on it. How could this happen? Because the standards do not address the issues of “bioavailability†of nutrients to the animal. Certain forms of vitamins and minerals, for example, are poorly absorbed from the digestive tract. A noted veterinary nutrition textbook claims that a food can be created from old leather boots, wood shavings, and crankcase oil that will meet the technical requirements for protein, carbohydrates, and fats, yet would be completely indigestible. Unfortunately, given the ingredients used by some manufacturers, “Old Boot†may be closer to the truth than anyone wants to admit!
(2) Feeding Trials. These are considered the “gold standard†of pet food formulation. However, when you look at the actual AAFCO protocols for an adult maintenance diet, a manufacturer must feed exclusively the test food to only six animals for six months. (Eight animals are required at the outset; however, two of them may be dropped from the trial for non-diet-related reasons.) Foods intended for growth and reproduction must be tested for only 10 weeks. Most of the large, reputable pet food producers, such as Iams, Hills, Walthams and Purina, maintain large colonies of dogs and cats, and test their foods on hundreds of animals over years or even multiple generations. Other manufacturers rely on facilities that keep animals for this purpose to do the studies for them. It is easy to see how a poor quality diet could be fed for only six months without seeing adverse health effects, and legitimately be labeled as meeting AAFCO standards. In fact, studies have confirmed that even foods that pass feeding trials may still be inadequate for long-term maintenance.
Keep in mind, too, that the standards, such as they are, set only “minimums†and “maximums,†not “optimums.†Commercial foods are designed to be adequate for the average animal, but may not be suitable for an individual animalâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s variable needs."
I could'nt find a store locator on the Wysong website but you can probably email them to find out if there are any retailers in your area. The website is www.wysong.net
I voted Science Diet. If I were to buy premium cat food that is the brand I would pick. I've tried samples of both Science Diet and IAMS at different times. My cats seem to prefer the Science Diet and that is a strong factor for me. I like the variety that Science Diet offers.
Most of the time I stick to Whiskas and Purina Kitten Chow. Our cats and Kittens seem to prefer those to similarly priced brands we've tried. As to wet cat food,
anything goes, but I don't feed wet often enough to have noticed any preferences.
Most of the time I stick to Whiskas and Purina Kitten Chow. Our cats and Kittens seem to prefer those to similarly priced brands we've tried. As to wet cat food,
I use SD Sensitive Stomach because it is the one thing they'll all eat and that my 9½ year old won't puke up. I've tried Nutro (that's what Pookie ate till he was about 8 months old) but they don't like the adult food. They hate Iams. They hate everything in the supermarket. They won't eat raw/human grade food and even when they try, they throw it up.
It took me forever to find one they'd all eat. They are still very picky about wet food, so I'm still looking for one that they'll eat consistently.
It took me forever to find one they'd all eat. They are still very picky about wet food, so I'm still looking for one that they'll eat consistently.
I voted neither. I've found that my cats don't really like science diet dry much. The IAMS is high fat.
That being said I do sometimes feed canned SD and dry IAMS to my one picky cat Megan who tends to lose weight if she's not fed exactly the way she likes.
Otherwise we feed nutro dry foods.
~Heather
That being said I do sometimes feed canned SD and dry IAMS to my one picky cat Megan who tends to lose weight if she's not fed exactly the way she likes.
Otherwise we feed nutro dry foods.
~Heather
He eats Science diet dry but now he is refusing to eat either IAMS or Science Diet canned.
He asks for canned food but if I give him either IAMS or Science Diet he refuses to eat it.
I bought some Nutro natural choice in pouches and he eats it. I wish they put it in cans because I don't like those pouches, but my cat better stick to eating Nutro natural choice because I have wasted a bunch of money on canned Science Diet and IAMS and now that he is refusing to eat them I guess I will have to trow all those cans out.
My cats are getting dry Science Diet adult with a bit of Nutro Natural Choice adult dry tossed in as a treat. Mooie, our outdoor cat, gets Nutro and Purina because my husband got a free bag of Purina cat food (senior). I'm dreading making an appointment for Cindy's and Lucy's annual vaccinations, because Cindy is definitely overweight and Lucy has recently put on an extra pound or two. Most likey the vet will recommend restricting their food intake or using a maintenance diet, and it's going to be difficult as Cindy slurps down the food.
Which dry cat food has more fat and calories, Science Diet or Nutro?
I forgot to mention that I've also been feeding them Max Cat wet with the dry Science diet daily and I'm probably overfeeding them! They're getting what's equivalent to one can of wet food and munching on dry food when not taking their naps. The dry food is out for about eight hours during the day.
Which dry cat food has more fat and calories, Science Diet or Nutro?
I forgot to mention that I've also been feeding them Max Cat wet with the dry Science diet daily and I'm probably overfeeding them! They're getting what's equivalent to one can of wet food and munching on dry food when not taking their naps. The dry food is out for about eight hours during the day.
No Iams anymore!.
Rosie is on PURINA
Sophie PURINA for kittens
Rosie is on PURINA
Sophie PURINA for kittens
