Considering Switching Foods, Seeking Opinions

lemondrop · Sep 14, 2015

Apologies in advance for the very long post! I'll try to keep things simple to read. Food names will be links to details about the food, to avoid having massive ingredients lists and guaranteed analysis charts in this post.

I am currently feeding Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Adult Chicken and Whole Brown Rice. My three boys share one heaping cup of this spread between three puzzle feeders every night, as well as 2oz of canned food each in the afternoon. The canned food is usually Friskies pate, with other brands and varieties mixed in.

I originally picked this food because it had chicken as the first two ingredients, no corn/wheat/soy/fish, and very few fruits and veggies. They had been on a Purina chicken and rice food and had very runny poop, so I also appreciated the higher fiber content of this food. Their poop is well-formed now. They're not doing poorly on this food at all, so sticking with this is an option.

I'm considering switching their dry food because I want to do the best I can afford for my boys. I've learned a lot since I picked that food and now I'm iffy about having peas that high up on the ingredients list. In addition, their litter box still STINKS to high heaven, so I'm wondering if there's something better I can be doing about the runny poop issue, which I'm assuming will come back if I switch to a lower fiber dry food. (I'm also open to suggestions about that!)

Option 1: Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Duck and Turkey Meal Formula (without the freeze-dried raw pieces, unless they really make a huge difference)

What I Like: Meat as the first five ingredients, no corn/wheat/soy

What Concerns Me: Fish and tapioca as fifth and sixth ingredients

What I'm Unsure About: Montmorillonite Clay, lots of fruits and veggies

Option 2: Nature's Variety Instinct Ultimate Protein Chicken Formula Grain-Free

What I Like: Supposedly almost entirely chicken, no corn/wheat/soy/fish (except salmon oil)

What Concerns Me: Tapioca as the second ingredient

What I'm Unsure About: Montmorillonite Clay, lots of fruits and veggies

Option 3: Canidae Grain-Free Pure Elements

What I Like: Poultry as the first three ingredients, no corn/wheat/soy

What Concerns Me: Peas and potatoes in top five ingredients

What I'm Unsure About: Wide variety of protein sources

Option 4: Orijen Cat and Kitten

What I Like: Lots of chicken and turkey

What Concerns Me: Lots of fish

What I'm Unsure About: Lots of fruits and veggies

All opinions welcome! Thanks!

mrsgreenjeens · Sep 14, 2015

I like Orijen, except too much fish.

I voted for the Natures Variety due to the 1st five ingredients

lemondrop · Sep 14, 2015

mrsgreenjeens said:
I like Orijen, except too much fish.

I voted for the Natures Variety due to the 1st five ingredients

Thanks for your input! I really liked those ingredients, too, but I'm a little wary about having any fish in the top five ingredients. Do you think it's low enough on the list to not contribute to urinary issues or other problems? I've also heard tapioca is too sugary for cats.

missmimz · Sep 14, 2015

lemondrop said:
Thanks for your input! I really liked those ingredients, too, but I'm a little wary about having any fish in the top five ingredients. Do you think it's low enough on the list to not contribute to urinary issues or other problems? I've also heard tapioca is too sugary for cats.

I fed Orijen exclusively up until last year. None of my cats developed any urinary issues, and my oldest is almost 13 and in perfect health. They now eat Orijen mixed with Ziwipeak as a snack between their wet meals. I personally don't think there's a coloration between fish and urinary issues. But I do think its best to limit feeding fish as the exclusive first or second ingredient.

mrsgreenjeens · Sep 14, 2015

lemondrop said:
mrsgreenjeens said:

I like Orijen, except too much fish.

I voted for the Natures Variety due to the 1st five ingredients

Click to expand...

Thanks for your input! I really liked those ingredients, too, but I'm a little wary about having any fish in the top five ingredients. Do you think it's low enough on the list to not contribute to urinary issues or other problems? I've also heard tapioca is too sugary for cats.

Lots of cat food companies use Tapioca...even Weruva uses it in some of their canned food, if I'm not mistaken. I've not heard that it's too sugary...perhaps if made into pudding.

There are no guarantees that any cat won't cat urinary problems. Some cats fed an entirely wet diet, with NO fish, still get them. Sometimes it's just genetics. But I think with either of these foods, the fish is low enough on the list not to cause the "average" cat issues.

lemondrop · Sep 14, 2015

Thanks so much for your help, everyone!

Sounds like the general consensus is Orijen or Instinct duck and turkey. I'm leaning towards the Instinct food, but I'll probably have to compare prices at my LPS. Does anyone have any ideas for better ways to handle the runny poop issue if it comes back on a low fiber food? I know pumpkin is helpful for dog digestion, so would that work for a cat as well? What would the "dose" be?

missmimz · Sep 14, 2015

lemondrop said:
Thanks so much for your help, everyone!

Sounds like the general consensus is Orijen or Instinct duck and turkey. I'm leaning towards the Instinct food, but I'll probably have to compare prices at my LPS. Does anyone have any ideas for better ways to handle the runny poop issue if it comes back on a low fiber food? I know pumpkin is helpful for dog digestion, so would that work for a cat as well? What would the "dose" be?

I use this probiotic to help with stool issues. I mix it into their wet food in the AM. It's helped my cats SO MUCH. I highly recommend it. My cats did get some soft stool issues with Orijen at first because its pretty rich. I suggest any time you switch kibble you mix it with the old stuff to help with digestion issues.

Kat0121 · Sep 14, 2015

mrsgreenjeens said:
I like Orijen, except too much fish.

I voted for the Natures Variety due to the 1st five ingredients

Same here

ellag · Sep 14, 2015

i've been using natures variety instinct raw chicken and my cats love it. but it is pricey so they don't get it everyday. they also get natural balance chicken and salmon dry, natural balance ultra whole body wet, weruva cats in the kitchen (different flavors with pumpkin mixed in) and occasionally i order some tiki as a treat. they get bored with the same food all the time. out of 5 cats i have 4 fairly picky eaters. i also rotate in fancy feast and meow mix pate toppers occasionally. my first priority is that it is grain free! cats don't need corn, wheat, soy etc...and most of their diet is wet.

i don't think you can go wrong with any nature variety instinct!

btw, chewy.com and petco are both having a great sale now on all natural balance foods with free shipping!

mrsgreenjeens · Sep 15, 2015

You can definitely use pumpkin to add fiber to CAT's diets. 1 teaspoon per meal, up to 3 times per day, of coursed best mixed with canned food.

I, too, add probiotics to my furkids food, just to keep their gut flora happy

. When switching out dry food, you'll want to do it slowly, to prevent tummy issues. Start with maybe 1/4 new food mixed with 3/4 old food, then after a few days if no issues, go 1/2 and 1/2, then if no issues, 3/4 new...you get the picture

lemondrop · Sep 15, 2015

Thanks guys!
I know to transition food slowly. Their previous food continued to give them runny poop for MONTHS, which is why I switched them to the Nutro food in the first place.

I'll look for probiotics around town before ordering them online, especially knowing I can fall back on pumpkin if I need to.

Considering Switching Foods, Seeking Opinions

Which Food?

Stick with Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Adult Chicken and Whole Brown Rice

Switch to Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Duck and Turkey Meal Formula

Switch to Nature's Variety Instinct Ultimate Protein Chicken Formula Grain-Free

Switch to Canidae Grain-Free Pure Elements

Switch to Orijen Cat and Kitten

Other (please specify)

lemondrop

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mrsgreenjeens

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