Is Nutrience Natural Healthy Adult a good choice of food for adult male cats?

I'm looking for high quality dry food within a budget and I came upon this. It's $47 for an 18lb bag in Amazon so I was thinking about buying it. I'm currently feeding my cats Merrick Before Grain, but I had to think of an alternative since the price went up. Also I recently read that grain-free food is not that great for male cats and can cause UTIs and kidney stones.... So now I'm totally confused on what to feed my cats....I would feed them wet food, I used to, but I can't afford it anymore...Someone please guide me on this....

  One is 3 yrs old and the other is about to turn 1.

ALSO I'm new to the site.

 

Hi and welcome to TCS!

Grian-free food is not good for addressing UTIs??? Where did you read this? In general, high carbs are bad for kitties, which dry food has more of. In particular, the carbs will raise the pH of the urine and cause more UTIs.

Have you considered lower priced wet food like Friskies pate, Fancy Feast classic line, or Sheba? Wet food is better, and when you consider the cost of treating a UTI or other health issues that dry food can lead to, you'll end up saving.

I not as familiar with the dry food options, but if even the lower priced canned is not an option, Orijen is often recommended. The Nutrience seems a bit low in protein.

Here's a few sites and articles that discuss cat nutrition and choosing cat foods:

www.catinfo.org

www.fnae.org

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

I looked a little closer at the packaging on this food. It is kinda weird. For instance, it advertises that it has low-glycemic carbs. To me, this is more of a consolation prize than something to be called out in advertising. The food should be low carbs. It is better to have low-glycemic carbs, but your goal should be avoid carbs in the first place.

Then when they answer FAQs:

"What is the difference between a grain and a pulse legume/fresh legume? What type of legume does Nutrience use?

Grains are a good source energy, protein and fiber, while legumes have a higher protein content but are lower in sulphur amino acids like methionine, a component of proteins. Legumes used in various Nutrience formulas include alfalfa, peas and lentils."

You shouldn't be looking for grains. And methionine is an amino acid, a component found in meats. The answer talks like methionine is bad, but then in the ingredient list they put in DL-methionine, the synthetic version of methionine. Methionine makes urine more acidic, thereby controlling struvite crystals and stones. The best way for cats to get it is to eat high protein meals, that way they get a naturally occurring source in the right amount.

So their advertising is a bit confusing to me and makes it sound like they're writing their advertising for dogs' or people's nutritional needs--or don't know what they're talking about at all. Cats needs are very different because they are carnivores. They cannot handle carbs as well as dogs or people and are even lacking certain enzymes for to process carbs.

Ok, so should I try lower quality wet food? 

Joselyn Ojeda said:

 
Ok, so should I try lower quality wet food? 

Click to expand...

I am by no means an expert, but if there's one thing I've learned from reading here over the last few months, it's that even lower quality wet food is better than feeding an all dry diet.  So, if you have to use lower quality foods because it's the best that you can at this time, then do so without any guilt feelings.  

I myself have been playing with foods for WEEKS now, and lately I've been at my wits end with my 2 cats because they are becoming picky.  When I am spending $$$ on food and throwing it out because they decide to walk away from it, it doesn't make me a happy pet Mommy. I put down some Friskies for their morning meal today and they ate  it like they haven't been fed in a week....

B&BMom

Well, I want what's best for my babies, but it can get quite pricey... I used to feed them grain-free wet and dry food before the price went up so then I had switch their food to the one I'm currently feeding them. Now this food also went up because Amazon is stupid.... And now I gotta find something new for them before they run out of food... I guess I could try feeding them lower quality wet food in the morning and higher quality dry food for dinner.  That way their dry food won't finish so quickly. Any recommendations on high quality dry food that's under $50?