Hills Ideal Balance -Slim & Healthy and Chicken & Rice

Hi everyone, 

I have a cat who's 1 year and 3 months old. She's decent in size, but petite, fairly active and very vocal. She's a very picky eater. Here's our story:

I went on an internship over the summer, leaving my cat with some friends with instructions of how much to feed her daily. Needless to say, they overfed her and I returned to an overweight, slightly lazier kitty with bad eating habits (would not eat if the bowl wasn't entirely full, then would devour the entire thing in one sitting and ask for more because it was empty). 

When I left, she was 10 months old, and knowing I would be gone and wanted to have say in the food change, I switched her over from Iams kitten food to Hills Ideal Balance Chicken and Rice formula a little earlier than recommended. When she ran out in august, one of the family members chose what she thought to be a better food to put her on, Pura Vita by Nutrisource. Unfortunately, I am unable to get that food up at school, so had to change her back to a different food. I tried the new PURE ocean, which she wouldn't touch. She would leave every kibble in the bowl and eat the Pura Vita instead. I went and bought the Ideal Balance Slim & Healthy and she ate it no problem and loved it. She also had no issues transitioning to it, unlike her change in kitten food as a 4 month old, where she had loose stools and didn't feel good even though I transitioned super slowly. 

I had her on Slim & Healthy for two months and saw a great improvement in her weight and attitude. she became more active and happy and in general back to her normal self before the summer. Her coat also got very glossy and soft. I cut down the amount of food she was getting on a daily basis from a full bowl all the time to a "scoop" morning and night, to now one scoop a day, which is the recommended feeding amount per instructions on the bag for a cat her size. 

Unfortunately, I went to go pick up more when she was running low to find they were out of stock and only had the original Chicken and Rice, so I had no other choice but to put her back on that since there are no other food stores in the area that carry it and the biggest thing was I knew she would eat it, unlike my second choices of food at the store. I transitioned to this with no problems either. 

I know there will be a lot of people who will tell me to put her on a wet food, but she is very well hydrated and drinks often. In fact, she has two water sources available for her because she plays hard and sometimes drinks more than one bowl a day. I also know I have changed her food too often, but am finally happy with the results I am getting. 

Anyways, I would like to know what people think of the Ideal Balance food, specifically the Slim & healthy and the Chicken & rice. Which one of the two is better? is there another that would be better? 

I am open to suggestions on other food, but please be considerate of a college student's budget who is trying her best to give her cat the best food she can afford. I did a lot of research to finally put her on this food, as I feel like although it is not the most high end of the bunch, it was the best food for the price range. 

Thanks! 

I would have a look at the ingredient list on the foods.   Ideally, you want good sources of protein first with little veggies and no grains.   Also watch out for harmful preservatives like ethoxyquin or BHT.   Its a good idea to avoid food colorings as well.   Good luck.

Here are the ingredients for each:

Chicken & Rice:
 

Ingredients:

Chicken, Brown Rice, Yellow Peas, Brewers Rice, Pea Protein Concentrate, Chicken Fat, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, Lactic Acid, Vegetable & Fruit Blend (Green Peas, Apples, Cranberries, Carrots, Broccoli), Fish Oil, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Iodized Salt, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Lysine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors 

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min.) 28.0%; Crude Fat (min.) 19.0%; Crude Fiber (max.) 3.5%; Moisture (max.) 9.0%; Vitamin E (min.) 500 IU/kg; Taurine (min.) 0.2%; Ascorbic Acid* (Vitamin C) (min.) 85 mg/kg; Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min.) 0.5%; Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min.) 3.0%

Slim & Healthy: 

Ingredients:

Chicken, Yellow Peas, Pea Protein Concentrate, Potato Starch, Oat Fiber, Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Powdered Cellulose, Flaxseed, Hydrolyzed Chicken Livers, Coconut Oil, Lactic Acid, Chicken Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Vegetable & Fruit Blend (Carrots, Green Peas, Apples, Cranberries, Broccoli), DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Calcium Sulfate, minerals (Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors 

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein (min) 34.0%, Crude Fat (min) 11.5%, Crude Fiber (max) 6.0%, Moisture (max) 10.0%, Vitamin E (min) 500 IU/kg, Taurine (min) 0.2%, Ascorbic Acid* (Vitamin C) (min) 85 mg/kg, Carnitine* (min) 325 ppm, Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (min) 0.5%, Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (min) 1.8%.

My biggest issue is that its protein is mostly coming from peas. If you could supplement at least a small can of food each day that would probably be best to up the animal protein. Something like Sheba pate or Fancy Feast Classics are good choices that offer grain, fruit, veggie free foods to help fill in the gap so to speak and run under 50 cents per can. Otherwise if she does well on it AND eats it then stick with it. "The best" is only the best if the cat will actually eat it.

Though I would suggest splitting her daily rations into at least 2 feedings again.

I agree with CHWx that the food has too much plant protein/too little animal protein. It is also high in carbs, as rice, peas or other starches are high up the list.

I would also agree that adding canned food or replacing the dry with wet entirely would be a good move. Cats do not have a thirst drive comparable to humans or more other animals, so if they are drinking plenty of water that means there is not enough water in their food.

http://animalendocrine.blogspot.com/2011/10/daily-water-requirements-and-needs-for.html

Fancy Feast classics, Friskies pate, or Sheba are affordable canned foods. Fancy Feast and Friskies are available in bulk packs at Costco, although these packs have more fish than I would care to feed. You can also buy online to get cheaper pricing or buy bigger cans and freeze portions for later use.

I notice that the Slim & Healthy has coconut oil. This is probably what is causing the nice coat. Many cats will lick coconut oil from a spoon, and since it is the new health food, it can be easily found.