Dry Food Advice

Hey,

I'm looking for a little advise on choosing a dry food - I currently feed my cat wet and dry food.  

I would like to feed him a decently priced dry that has good nutritional value.

I've narrowed my choice down to the following 3 options.  Based off of the ingredients list and the guaranteed analysis (can be found by following the links to each option), I would appreciate your thoughts on which I should go with:

1. BLUE[emoji]8482[/emoji] Indoor Health Indoor Adult Cat Food

$41.99

15Lbs

$2.80 / lb

2. Authority[emoji]174[/emoji] Sensitive Solutions Adult Cat Food

$30.99

18 lbs

$1.72 / lb

3. President's Choice Nutrition First

$30.50

19.5lbs

$1.56 / lb

Thanks in advance!

Hi @choudu!

If it were me, I would choose Authority.

BB has 4 starches/grains before chicken fat, Authority has 2, and PC has 3. The bulk of the food is made up of the ingredients before the fat. Some people don't mind the starches like potato or pea that much, but if it could be taking the place of another meat source, I would prefer another brand that did have all of those highest concentration ingredients as meats. It's a bit more affordable too, which helps. I find BB sells more based on marketing anyway, but that's just my opinion.  

How come you're not considering grain-free dry food like Wellness Core and Blue Wilderness? If price is an issue, I don't think they're that much more expensive.

Hi! My cats have been on Authority (regular Chicken variety) for a few years and we are very pleased. We switched from Blue Buffalo because it was just too pricy. Authority has ingredients very, very similar to 'premium' brands, and in many cases, better ingredients than the premium brands.

My cats appear to enjoy the taste of the food and they digest it well. I feed them canned food and have a bowl of dry out all day for grazing, so I would estimate that they have a diet of about 50% wet and 50% dry.

I definitely recommend Authority. For the ingredients and price, there is no better value out there.

Hi choudu,

Might I suggest another brand that is not on your list but might be a great alternative?

It's EVO turkey & chicken formula.  

Price: $44.17 currently here: http://www.chewy.com/cat/evo-turkey-chicken-cat-kitten/dp/29085

Weight: 15.4 lb bag

$2.87/lb

Though it is a bit higher in price than Blue, you get zero grains and potatoes in the product and if you look at their guaranteed analysis on their website http://www.evopet.com/products/1441 , you'll see a whopping 50% minimum protein and 12% max carb content. (It used to be 7% on their old formula, like you see on chewy's website that includes the old packaging, but if you're lucky enough to still get the older formula, you'll get less carbs in your cat's diet.) The carb content for the ones you've chosen are, Blue~29.6%, Authority~25%, PC~26%. 

The only thing you'll need to adjust is feed them less in quantity because it's very nutrient dense and contains much higher calories than your typical kibble, but it also means they'll require less food and also have less waste products that end in your litter box.

Though I really hesitate in recommending any kibble to our feline pets, I think EVO is the best when it comes to lowest in carbs while still high in protein content and is a good buy. I hope you and your cats like it too. Good luck!

How about natural balance ultra 15 lb bag 25 to 30 dollars at chewy or amazon

My personal favorite is Canidae Pure Elements. My girl loves it too. An 8 pound bag is 24-25 bucks. Since you only have one cat and you are feeding wet as well, I imagine that would last you a long time. I personally stick with the four pound bags because is only allowed 1 tablespoon a day of dry food. The carb content is about equal to the animal protein content is calories. Not great, but not terrible. I guess I like it because it is just chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, some fish meal, lamb meal, potatoes, and peas. It is mostly meat based basically and doesn't have stuff even weirder than potatoes and peas. LOL

Out of the 3 you  mentioned  I would go with Authority for the ingredients & the price ..

If you are feeding a single cat I would be looking at smaller bags as by time you get to end he may have lost interest.  More wet the better IMO.  I have no advice on the brands listed as my guys eat cheaper food as have many cats.

Thank you everyone for you thoughts!  I guess I should have mentioned that i'm in Canada so that will impact my decision (brand availability / pricing difference / etc.)

@pinkdagger: I am right with you on your thoughts.  I did notice that Authority has the lowest starch/grain  content and, since I could really care less about brand, i'm leaning towards Authority.

@Purplemilkywayy: I have looked at other food like Wellness Core and Blue Wilderness, but I haven't been able to find a formula that works with my budget.  The best pricing I can find is around $3.85/lb

@happybird: Thanks for sharing your experience!  The original has a little more corn than i'd like to see (hence why the Sensative Solution's caught my eye), but glad to hear your kitties are doing well =)

@EmandJee   @bonepicker  @ Thehistorian: Thanks for the suggestions - i'll check out these brands at our local stores.  Chewy does not ship to Canada unfortunately =(

@2Cats4Me  - Thanks!  Exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

I recently switched one of my cats to Authority Sensitive Solutions. I like it a lot so far - he eats it happily and has stopped throwing up, and the ingredients are better than most dry foods IMO.

I agree with thehistorian and catsallaround that smaller bags are better for a single cat. I've found in the past that once a bag has been open for 2-3 months, cats tend to lose interest in it. An average size cat only eats around 4-5 pounds a month, and that's if the dry food is all they're eating.

If you're leaning towards Authority, then maybe check out Simply Nourish, as grain free option. Authority and Simply Nourish are house brands of PetSmart

Amazon. Com delivers to Canada

Amazon won't ship dry or wet food to Canada.

Amazon.ca has wet/dry food now, but if OP hasn't tried these brands before, I wouldn't recommend going and buying giant bags or crates of it online where it can't be returned or anything.