Food Recommendations

iheartlife

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Hi,

I am in need of some recommendations for quality cat foods for my fur babies. I have two cats with very different tastes.

Fur baby #1 is a four year old female domestic shorthair. She will not eat wet food no matter what I try. I think it's a texture thing, not a taste thing because she will lick the juice off the wet food but she won't eat the moist food itself. It's like she doesn't know what to do with it; she just pushes it around with her tongue. But she tends to throw up a lot of in digested food. Right now she eats Purina indoor and Purina complete from Walmart mixed 1:1 ratio.

Fur baby #2 is a 7 month old male domestic longhair. He will eat wet or dry food, but he refuses to eat any meat flavored foods. I have tried chicken, turkey, and beef so far and he barely touches them. He loves salmon, but I worry about feeding him food made with fish because I've heard it's bad for cats. His dry food he eats is Purina kitten chow from Walmart. The canned food he eats is Nature's Variety Instinct from Prtsmart. It was the closest thing I could find to no byproducts, grains, soy, etc. and it's made with real meat, vegetables, and fruits. The problem is it only comes in beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, venison, and salmon; he doesn't like the meat ones, and I heard salmon isn't good for them. He has an easily upset stomach too and he is also resistant to medications (if that can affect digestion/nutrition in any way). He does not have feline leukemia or feline AIDS thank God. He is currently being treated for Feline Infectious Anemia (hemobartonella). He caught it because we couldn't get his fleas under control because his body was resistant to the flea treatment our vet uses (Advantage ll).

I want good quality foods for both my cats, dry and canned. I don't want something that has grain, gluten, soy, meal, or any byproducts. I want it to have real meat, fruits, and vegetables. Can you recommend some good quality fm at foods please? Even the ones my vet carries and recommended don't have real ingredients and are full of meal and byproducts.
 
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amandad

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Hi! Good thing I came across this thread before I logged off! 

It's a good thing you're trying to get your animals on better food. Purina is an okay food but it isn't the best. It has corn in it, by-products, etc... 

Is price an issue for you? 

I feed my cats Blue Buffalo and my rats and hamster Oxbow. Blue buffalo, Wellness, Halo, Merrick, Natural Balance Wild Pursuit,  Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet, Solid Gold, Natures Recipe, Natures Variety Instinct do not contain by-products, corn or soy. They also come in Grain Free versions as well, with dry and wet recipes.

Soulistic, as far as I am aware, only do wet foods and do not contain by products, soy, corn, and they are grain free. 

Nutro has soybean oil in it by no meat by products, or corn. They have grain free food as well. 

I would say go with Natures Variety Instinct, Wellness CORE, or Halo. If your kitties, after switching to a healthier grain free food, aren't feeling better with their tunny issues, you may want to find a sensitive stomach formula or a Limited Ingredient Diet (LID) Formula. Their tummy issues may go away after you get them on a better food, do you may not need Sensitive stomach or LID just yet. 

As for the "meal" you are referring to, "meal" is just dehydrated meat containing 5% moisture. This is okay for your animal to have. You want to watch out for "...by-product meal". 

Also, I've heard that fish isn't good for cats, but I've never really believed it as I can not get a definitive answer from anyone and I've never thought to ask my vet. My vet for my 14 year old pushed Science Diet, the other vet for my 7 month old wanted me to put him on Kitten Chow. I looked at him and said "Like Purins Kitten chow?" He shrugged and said "Yeah." I gave him a blank look and said "No. I'm feeding him a mixture of natural balance and blue buffalo to transition him to blue." So, in this case it's really about which food company gives the vet's kicks and stuff and which company the vet has as it's prescription line. 

But here you go! Hope this helps! :) 
 

amandad

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