Interested in starting cat on "GOOD" dry cat food, thoughts?

hayleym72

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I have a cat who had abdominal surgery a couple of months ago to remove BB pellets from her abdomen (yes, you read right:/). She is recovering but here and there has bad days which can be expected. At this point i'm not suspecting the food so much as the surgery and recovery time. BUT, what i am wondering about is the kind of cat food she is on and if it's really necessary. Everything i seem to read is either biased or goes off topic.Before the surgery she was eating iam's because i thought hey higher price, better quality? never really had any problems or complaints though. Since she is recouping the vet has her on science diet kibble for tummies. She likes the taste and eats it just fine but the price seems a bit ridiculous after reading some of the information i found on it. Yes, my vet does carry a lot of this food and is naturally going to push it, so i want to make sure i'm doing the best thing for my cat and pocket book:) So...i don't want her back on iam's but would like her on something more natural and don't want to give her garbage. Other than a raw diet, what kibble food is good? Some of you are going to prefer one over the other of course, but from experience or knowledge of cat food, what is your recommendation? This is also a brand i'd like her to continue on once she's allowed back on regular food. I just don't see the cost justification for science diet vs. another possibly better brand, for a lower price. Thoughts? 
 

Kat0121

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Most people here do not feed a dry only diet. A lot of people here do not feed dry at all and those that do use it to supplement a mostly canned diet. We also have a lot of raw feeders. Cats are obligate carnivores and they require a high protein/low carbohydrate diet which most dry foods do not provide. It is obviously up to you what you feed your cat based on your budget and what your cat will eat. An all canned diet is more expensive than a dry only diet,. Cats are not big water drinkers by nature and therefore get most of their fluid intake from the food they eat. Obviously, dry food does not give them that. My cats started out on Science Diet dry as well. It was recommended to me by the people at the Humane Society. I found out after the fact that the reason they feed this has nothing to do with nutritional benefits. It is because they are sponsored by SD and do not pay for food. Only shipping. 
  I did my own research and decided that an all wet food was better for my cats' health in the long run. They are also VERY picky eaters and that made the decision that much easier. They did eat the dry food but with no enthusiasm whatsoever. I keep a rotation of foods handy and they truly enjoy their meals now. This site has TONS of threads about canned vs dry vs raw vs a combination. You can also find a lot of information about feline nutrition from Dr. Lisa Pierson's website http://www.catinfo.org   Dr. Pierson is a highly respected expert when it comes to feline nutrition. You asked for a recommendation for a dry food. Like I said, I personally do not feed dry but did get some for when I had to go out of town for a couple of days.I got some automatic feeders and the dry I put in it was Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient turkey. The only other dry I'd consider would be Orijen if I needed some for a situation like that again. These are not inexpensive brands though. I believe that both are more expensive than SD but are of a higher quality.  The important thing is to find a food that has real meat as a first ingredient and is as high in protein and low in carbs as possible. I'd also avoid one that has too many things like artificial colors and things like that. 

I'm really sorry to hear about what happened to your cat. There are a lot of very sick people in this world and I hope your cat has a full recovery. 


Here are some links to articles from this site that are very informative

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

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-compare-cat-foods-calculate-carbs-dry-matter-basis

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

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-feeding-my-cat

Good luck. I hope you find something that works for both of you. 
 
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LTS3

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Are you feeding any canned food? If not, is there a reason why? Is adding one can a day to the diet possible?

There are TCS members who feed only dry food for one reason or another. They tend to stay quiet because the majority of TCS is pro-canned food (with some pro-raw).

For something better than Science Diet, try Nature's Variety Instinct. It's available at Petco and other chain pet stores and at independent pet stores. You can sign up on the Nature's Variety web site to receive coupons via email. Here's a current coupon for $4 off a bag of NV Instinct Raw Boost dry food: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/nvcoupon/96
 

NewYork1303

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One of my cats refuses to eat more than one bite of canned cat food at any time so wet food isn't an option for him. We feed Merrick Purrfect Bistro. It is grain free food. Meat is the first ingredient in all their products. It is around 30 dollars for a 12 pound bag. I like it. My cats like it. And our pet store has a deal where once you buy 10 bags in a year you get one free.
 

2cats4me

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I have a cat who had abdominal surgery a couple of months ago to remove BB pellets from her abdomen (yes, you read right:/). She is recovering but here and there has bad days which can be expected. At this point i'm not suspecting the food so much as the surgery and recovery time. BUT, what i am wondering about is the kind of cat food she is on and if it's really necessary. Everything i seem to read is either biased or goes off topic.Before the surgery she was eating iam's because i thought hey higher price, better quality? never really had any problems or complaints though. Since she is recouping the vet has her on science diet kibble for tummies. She likes the taste and eats it just fine but the price seems a bit ridiculous after reading some of the information i found on it. Yes, my vet does carry a lot of this food and is naturally going to push it, so i want to make sure i'm doing the best thing for my cat and pocket book:) So...i don't want her back on iam's but would like her on something more natural and don't want to give her garbage. Other than a raw diet, what kibble food is good? Some of you are going to prefer one over the other of course, but from experience or knowledge of cat food, what is your recommendation? This is also a brand i'd like her to continue on once she's allowed back on regular food. I just don't see the cost justification for science diet vs. another possibly better brand, for a lower price. Thoughts? 
My two cats eat two wet   meals  per day of Fancy Feast Classic and they like it very watered down . I also give them one meal of kibble . They love Wysong Optimal Vitality & Wysong Uretic .  I get it on Chewy.com  for  about $30.00 including shipping  for two  5 lb bags .
 

nora1

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Since no one has mentioned it - Orijen and Acana are great kibble options in my opinion. High protein, low carb, grain free and several meat/flavour options. However I will also add that if it's possible, to add some wet food into their diets as well. I know a lot of people feed a low quality (cheap price) wet, and a high quality dry food to help balance out the costs :)
 

new kittenmom

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I like to feed my cat Taste of the Wild. It's an affordable grain free kibble that my cat loves. Her favorite is the venison flavor. I don't know how much it costs in your area, but I can get a decent sized bag for about 11.50

That said, I also recommend some wet food if your cat will eat it. Just for the fact that a recovering kitty should probably have plenty of fluids. 
 
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