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Thinking of adopting a cat and I would like info on healthy dry formulas. Thanks
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best food
- Thread starter smithfamily2012
- Start Date
Some recommended dry-food variety brands are Nature's Variety Instinct (grain-free), Wellness Core, Weruva dry, and Purina One. You can find a lot of helpful cat food reviews on Amazon, PetCo, PetSmart, and on TCS in the cat food reviews section here. I currently feed my cats Royal Canin indoor dry kibble.
The best and most popular dry food Origen, carb 17%. Acana (32% carb) from the same manufacturer, is also good. Others like, Fromm, Evo (7% carb), Merrick, Taste of the Wild (27%), Addiction, Feline Caviar, Firstmate, Solid Gold Indigo Moon (13%), Holistic Select, Pronature and many more so long as the ingredients don't contain by-product, corn, wheat, wheat gluten,colorings, artificial flavourings. You might wanna compare carb %, price, ingredients amongst the many good brands. Some popular brands have very high carb %, one eg. Natural Balance (with range between 35-44%), while most others are between 27-35%. The kibbles with the lowest carb % is Evo.
That is why it is still best not to feed kibbles as staple, it is not only dehydrating but high in carb which leads to obesity. However, depending on your financial standing, feeding 100% wet can be very costly.
That is why it is still best not to feed kibbles as staple, it is not only dehydrating but high in carb which leads to obesity. However, depending on your financial standing, feeding 100% wet can be very costly.
The best dry foods I know of are Wysong Epigen 90, Young Again Zero Carb and Ziwipeak. However, as onemeo mentioned, I would not recommend feeding an all dry diet. In fact, I would recommend as much wet food as possible. Wet food is generally lower carb, with more actual meat and provides the moisture necessary to keep organs healthy and flushed out.
I agree with the other posters that wet food is the way to go if you can. If affordability is an issue Fancy Feast classic line, Friskies pate style and Sheba are reasonable budget choices.
Going to have to say I agree wet is best. I fed kibble for years and one of my cats got a UTI, twice! It took a few years but it did catch up with my cat.
I am on a budget, but I found several wet foods that are within that budget. I buy Friskies, Sheba and Meow Mix. (Meow mix has fish in all of their flavors, fish can cause UTI's, so it isn't recommended for a everyday food.)
I buy the big 32 5.5 ounce box of cans of Friskies. It's about $15 at walmart. I also get the 24 pack of 3 ounce cans of Sheba which is about $12 at walmart, and last a 12 pack of Meow Mix with 2.75 ounce cans which is about $6. This is a two week supply.
I am feeding four cats (three who are on an all wet diet, one still gets kibble along with wet.) So I buy a lot more than what you would need to.
An average adult cat eats 5.5-6 ounces of wet food a day. So if you bought a 32 pack of Friskies which have 5.5 ounce cans, that should last you about a month, feeding one can a day (divided into two-three meals a day.) If you bought Sheba or Fancy Feast (another good food for a budget) they have 3 ounce cans. So you would need to feed two cans a day.
So let's say you bought two 24 packs of Sheba and a 12 pack of Fancy Feast. That would be 60 cans (two cans a day for 30 days equals 60.) That would cost you about 30 some dollars for an entire month supply.
If you bought a 32 count box of Friskies (which have bigger cans) it would cost you around $15 for a month supply, since you would only have to feed one can a day.
Of course you don't have to buy an entire month supply at once. You can buy weekly, or by weekly. Whatever works for you.
I know it was a little confusing to me when I first switched to wet, so it's always nice seeing everything cost wise laid out in front of me. Good luck!
I am on a budget, but I found several wet foods that are within that budget. I buy Friskies, Sheba and Meow Mix. (Meow mix has fish in all of their flavors, fish can cause UTI's, so it isn't recommended for a everyday food.)
I buy the big 32 5.5 ounce box of cans of Friskies. It's about $15 at walmart. I also get the 24 pack of 3 ounce cans of Sheba which is about $12 at walmart, and last a 12 pack of Meow Mix with 2.75 ounce cans which is about $6. This is a two week supply.
I am feeding four cats (three who are on an all wet diet, one still gets kibble along with wet.) So I buy a lot more than what you would need to.
An average adult cat eats 5.5-6 ounces of wet food a day. So if you bought a 32 pack of Friskies which have 5.5 ounce cans, that should last you about a month, feeding one can a day (divided into two-three meals a day.) If you bought Sheba or Fancy Feast (another good food for a budget) they have 3 ounce cans. So you would need to feed two cans a day.
So let's say you bought two 24 packs of Sheba and a 12 pack of Fancy Feast. That would be 60 cans (two cans a day for 30 days equals 60.) That would cost you about 30 some dollars for an entire month supply.
If you bought a 32 count box of Friskies (which have bigger cans) it would cost you around $15 for a month supply, since you would only have to feed one can a day.
Of course you don't have to buy an entire month supply at once. You can buy weekly, or by weekly. Whatever works for you.
I know it was a little confusing to me when I first switched to wet, so it's always nice seeing everything cost wise laid out in front of me. Good luck!
Ok- this just confirmed my doubts about dry food. I'm not going to switch all the sudden, but I'm slowly going to start introducing more wet foods into their diet. Right now, we use wet food as "treats"
They get a can a day, usually in the morning. But we split one can between two cats, so....
I also leave out (two) half full dish of dry food all day...I wonder if I put that away, would they miss it and think that I have forgot to feed them? lol. Gez I hope not.
They get a can a day, usually in the morning. But we split one can between two cats, so....
I also leave out (two) half full dish of dry food all day...I wonder if I put that away, would they miss it and think that I have forgot to feed them? lol. Gez I hope not.
Hi Smith&Fam:
While wet food is ideal based on all the literature, dry is suitable for times when you're going to be away for a day or two.
There's so many out there, that you're going to have to read the labels and use your own judgement when it comes to your budget.
I can only speak to the following:
Orijen Cat&Kitten and Orijen Regional Red. These have high protein (animal based), no grains, no glutens, somewhat lower carbs than other dry.
Do yourself a favour and buy a water fountain. This may increase the chances of your cat drinking water, since unlike dogs, cats don't have that natural thirst drive. That's why people highly suggest canned wet food that has sometimes 78% moisture. Guaranteed way to hydrate your cat.
When I go away on the occasional weekend, I have a couple water bowls out, in addition to the water fountain.
As well as a battery operated 5-meal timed auto pet feeder.
Note- you could 'free feed', but an automatic feeder allows you to portion out the dry food and prevent over feeding.
When I'm around, I feed canned wet - prices range all over the map as well, but you can do it on the cheap. Such as Friskies pates or Fancy Feast classics - or their PetSmart equivalents.
As others said, go easy on the foods containing fish, as this may lead to health issues down the road.
Your goal is to feed a variety of proteins to lessen the chances of a protein allergy developing.
Good luck with your cat adoption and cat feeding homework
While wet food is ideal based on all the literature, dry is suitable for times when you're going to be away for a day or two.
There's so many out there, that you're going to have to read the labels and use your own judgement when it comes to your budget.
I can only speak to the following:
Orijen Cat&Kitten and Orijen Regional Red. These have high protein (animal based), no grains, no glutens, somewhat lower carbs than other dry.
Do yourself a favour and buy a water fountain. This may increase the chances of your cat drinking water, since unlike dogs, cats don't have that natural thirst drive. That's why people highly suggest canned wet food that has sometimes 78% moisture. Guaranteed way to hydrate your cat.
When I go away on the occasional weekend, I have a couple water bowls out, in addition to the water fountain.
As well as a battery operated 5-meal timed auto pet feeder.
Note- you could 'free feed', but an automatic feeder allows you to portion out the dry food and prevent over feeding.
When I'm around, I feed canned wet - prices range all over the map as well, but you can do it on the cheap. Such as Friskies pates or Fancy Feast classics - or their PetSmart equivalents.
As others said, go easy on the foods containing fish, as this may lead to health issues down the road.
Your goal is to feed a variety of proteins to lessen the chances of a protein allergy developing.
Good luck with your cat adoption and cat feeding homework
Paul N Steve I switched my cats from all kibble to wet and they don't mind at all! They seem happier at feed time!
I left a little kibble in their dish the first week, then completely switched them over to wet. You could leave about 3-4 tablespoons (depending on how many cats you have) of dry in their dish for a snack between meal times the first week if you wish. Mine did completely fine once I took their dry away and they don't seem to miss it all. They don't cry for more food and seem much more satisfied. Good luck with the transition!
I left a little kibble in their dish the first week, then completely switched them over to wet. You could leave about 3-4 tablespoons (depending on how many cats you have) of dry in their dish for a snack between meal times the first week if you wish. Mine did completely fine once I took their dry away and they don't seem to miss it all. They don't cry for more food and seem much more satisfied. Good luck with the transition!
I look at company's first then ingredients then guaranteed analysis.
