I know you guys are sick of his question, but I am just worn out from researching kitten food so I decided I should take advantage of the "research of the masses " on this site! I am looking for a canned kitten food without grains, wheat gluten, guar gum or carrageenan! Preferably with a texture approaching Royal Canin kitten instinctive, which Sami, my 11 wk old Ragdoll, loves. But that stuff has all sorts of undesirable ingredients: wheat gluten, cellulose, guar gum,pork plasma, gelatin by-product just to name a few. Every time I think I have found something good, it ends up having something like carrageenan or gum or gluten or some undefined protein by-product in it! Arrrgh! Is there even a food out there that meets what I am looking for or am I wasting my time looking? Is an all-stages food really acceptable for a growing kitten? I am totally frustrated!
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Worn out from researching
- Thread starter ragsmom
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I don't really have any answers but I also feel the same way when looking for food. I go and feel like I am so lost. I get frustrated and get my brood what they always eat. I want to feed them better I just am so lost.
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Yep, lost is the word. I am currently feeding Royal Canin kitten wet supplemented with Blue Buffalo dry grain free kitten. Have Some Evo Cat and Kitten dry and a case of Earth Born Holistic wet in my cart at Chewy.com, but just not sure. I wish they would let you put together a sampler of maybe 6 different canned foods to try. Money is not really a factor....I would spend more for my baby than myself...but I don't like having to buy a whole case only to find out she won't eat it! At least the SPCA is getting some good stuff when I end up with something that doesn't meet Sami's approval!
Only Natural Pet sells canned foods in singles .. They have lots of different brands to chose from ..
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/search/cats/food/canned
I feel your pain ... It is very frustrating . My cats are super picky I have tried so many different brands that they will not even look at . They will only eat Friskies kibble and two flavors of Friskies Classic Pate . At least they are eating ..
I hear you on giving cans away to Shelters. BUT, I've discovered Pet Club in my area, and they do sell brands like Earth Born...they ONLY sell better brands, and t very good prices. Also Choice Pet Market, which is pretty much the same in only selling higher end foods, AND they price match, which is great. Both of these store also sell commercially prepared raw food. Not sure where you live, but you might see if you have either of these stores in your area, as they sell by the can, or will order in cases if you want.
As to kitten food with your requirements, that's a dilemma, as there really isn't that much kitten food on the market.
As far as carrageenan AND guar gum free, here is a thread that covers many foods that fall into that category. it's an older thread, but gets updates to it occasionally. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240335/canned-food-without-carrageenan-or-guar-gum
BTW, just because I wanted to know, I asked the Earth Born people about their cans, and they told me they are BPA FREE
Honestly, you may want to consider just making your own cat food if you have that many restrictions on feeding. It's not that hard, and its going to be superior quality to what you can buy. I make some home cooked for my kittens and they love it.
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Thanks everyone. I don't have a PetClub anywhere within driving distance, in fact the nearest large pet store is over an hours drive so I pretty much have to order online. The lists, however, are very helpful and I will go through them. Raw homemade is not an option for me, for several reasons. Looks like I will have to accept guar gum as an ingredient. While not necessary in a cats diet, at least it's not carrageenan, and so far has not been shown to cause cancer!
A homemade diet doesn't have to be raw. You can do a cooked diet. There is more info here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources Some recipes can be complicated and require a bunch of things but the easiest method is to use a pre-mix such as U Stew with meat that has been cooked in some water. Supermarket meat is fine as long as it has not been enhanced with flavorings, broth, preservatives, etc. Ground meat is ok since it will be cooked (raw feeders avoid pre ground meat) and you can also buy whole cuts of meat and grind or chop it up yourself to save money.
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An all-stages food is fine for a kitten, you just have to make sure they get more of it on a daily basis (versus what is specifically "designed" as a kitten food & already has higher caloric intake). Kittens need to have a good amount of calories per day as they grow up.
(In the wild, in weaning a kitten, a mom would not stalk and seek out "kitten only prey" for their kitten to eat, as a prey mousie doesn't wear tags that say, "I'm for the Kitten Stage of a Growing Cat"... while another one has an "Adult Only Prey" on its tag, heh
they just stalk and seek "Yummy Good Prey Food, all stages of Feline & for Feline-Adults-In-Training Too" and teach kitten how to do the same, if that makes sense)
It is hard finding good grain-free, carrageenan- & guar gum- free, filler-free etc., canned foods for kitties. So many of us have been and still go through that struggle all of the time, and the other posters on this thread give great advice and links. Good luck!
(In the wild, in weaning a kitten, a mom would not stalk and seek out "kitten only prey" for their kitten to eat, as a prey mousie doesn't wear tags that say, "I'm for the Kitten Stage of a Growing Cat"... while another one has an "Adult Only Prey" on its tag, heh
they just stalk and seek "Yummy Good Prey Food, all stages of Feline & for Feline-Adults-In-Training Too" and teach kitten how to do the same, if that makes sense)
It is hard finding good grain-free, carrageenan- & guar gum- free, filler-free etc., canned foods for kitties. So many of us have been and still go through that struggle all of the time, and the other posters on this thread give great advice and links. Good luck!
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One of the reasons I don't want to get her started on homemade food may seem silly to many, but to me it's important: I am 66 years old and there are probably even odds that Sami may just out live me, or at least have to be cared for by someone else if I should become ill. Not too many people would be willing to prepare adequate and nutritious home made meals for her, and going from years of homemade back to commercial may be extremely difficult for her as well as the caregiver. I know, I am a worry wart but her future is important to me.
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Well, I'm a worry wart and perfectionist to boot (probably like you), and what I've come to realize is that no commercial food is perfect... we just have to decide upon our "least liked" versus the "most liked" options. And many people find a handful of canned foods that the kitty likes, and that meet most of our standards, and then do a rotation of foods so that some of the gums and carrageenen and food fillers and whatnot don't get a permanent foothold on the kitty's diet and health.
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Exactly the conclusion I came to this morning! Rotation of god, if not perfect foods. In addition it just might keep her from becoming finicky and only wanting one specific food and then I don't panic if there is a recall or the food suddenly becomes unavailable. 
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What's hard about being a perfectionist, though, is that every day I feel like I still want to say, "D*** it, why the heck does this food have carrageenen! and sweet potatoes! I hate this!"
LoL. But the cat likes it.
The most important thing is to get as knowledgeable about food as you can, then shimmy right up to that line of the highest quality for your budget and lifestyle, and that the cat will eat it!
(Sigh!)
:rub:
LoL. But the cat likes it.
The most important thing is to get as knowledgeable about food as you can, then shimmy right up to that line of the highest quality for your budget and lifestyle, and that the cat will eat it!
(Sigh!)
:rub:
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- #15
Sweet potato I don't mind too much, as long as my kitty doesn't, but just plain potato aggravates me....pure starch and little else since I am sure the skin, which contains most of the nutrients in a white potato, is not included. I think it's just a slick way of adding a filler that they can say is not a filler. It's all about money. That being said, I had a kitty that lived to be 22 on a diet of Meow Mix and Fancy Feast before his kidneys finally gave out. That was pre-Internet before we could research such things and we just took the manufacturers word that their food was a "complete and balanced diet".
Exactly! I feed an occasional can of food with carrageenan, an occasional pouch with a lot of tapioca (ick!), occasional fish, and so on and so forth. Though I will not budge on starchy vegetables so boycott them: potato's out anyway because one cat can't eat it, but all the peas in cat foods irritate me no end!
I think a bit part of my not feeding homemade is that I worry (my mother's a retired dietitian so I grew up with all sorts of food safety and dietary instructions!) and am a perfectionist. It's a tough row to hoe!
Exactly again! Beyond the spreading out of ingredients you don't like, there are lots of benefits to our cats' finicky palates.Exactly the conclusion I came to this morning! Rotation of god, if not perfect foods. In addition it just might keep her from becoming finicky and only wanting one specific food and then I don't panic if there is a recall or the food suddenly becomes unavailable.
Good luck finding a rotation for your kitten!
I wrote to all the companies I wanted and 80 per cent sent me free samples. I simply told them I wanted to try before bulk buying! This is how I learned my cats favorites and mine were not always the same.
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I rotate about 12 different ones
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Hmmm...looks like she is going to make the decision for me! She has refused anything but Royal Canin canned kitten. Tried sneaking in a bit of Weruva , then a bit of Earth Born which a friend gave me to try, and tonight even a tiny bit of Fancy Feast Classic. Each time I just got this disdainful look, like "what in the heck have you done to my food? " Each time she proceeded to try to cover it up. :lol3:
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To add to the list of brands/ wet food that were mentioned in the previous threads, here are a couple more that are grain free, and has no carrageenan, guar gum and xanthan gum:
- Lotus's Just Juicy
- Ziwi Peak
- Lotus's Just Juicy
- Ziwi Peak
