Hills Healthy Advantage Kitten Vet Exclusive - good or bad ingredients??

Hi. I'm posting on behalf of someone else who doesn't have an account.

She has a 9 month old male kitten that's going in Wednesday to be fixed. She wants to switch his food from Whiskas to something more substantial so he doesn't gain weight and stays healthy as he grows. I recommended several different types of cat food (Wellness, Orijen etc.)  but the vet has recommended that he go on Hills Healthy Advantage. She's torn and needs some help deciding.

List of ingredients:

 

Chicken, Brown Rice, Dried Egg Product, Whole Grain Wheat, Pork Fat, Chicken Meal, Soybean Protein Isolate, Pea Protein Concentrate, Flaxseed, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pork Protein Isolate, Soybean Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Lactic Acid, Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Oat Groats, Fish Oil, DL-Methionine, Vegetable & fruit blend (Green Peas, Apples, Cranberries, Carrots, Broccoli), L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Oat Fiber, Soybean Oil, Choline Chloride, 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), Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Natural Flavors.

Nope. In my opinion hills food is crap. Brown rice as the second ingredients? Terrible. Cats don't need rice they're obligate carnivores. Something like Orijen is a much better choice, but your friend should also try and incorporate wet food into kitties diet too, don't just feed dry food as that's very dehydrating and can trigger urinary or kidney issues. 

Vet's tend to "push" whatever the sales reps tell them is good.  Each Vet has their own line they push.  Mine happens to push Purina. 

Certain of the PRESCRIPTION foods have a place, but other than that, i agree with missmims...there are much better foods out there. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-choose-the-right-food-for-your-cat

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

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

to all of the above comments.

Just becaues a vet recommends a food does not mean that's it's the only thing you have to feed to your pet Many vets simply do not know a thing about proper nutrition (it's not taught much in vet school) and buy into whatever the pet food company rep tells them. It's ok to diagree with the vet about food and to feed whatever brand you want. The vet cannot control what you feed to your cat or how you care for your cat in your own home. If the vet gets really pushy about diet, then maybe a new vet is needed.

The ingredients for that Hills food is horrible. There are much better quality foods out there that your friend can feed.

Is dry food the only thing your friend is feeding? Canned foods are healthier than dry foods and it's ok to feed both. Some people can only do 50 / 50 while others feed mostly canned and leave a little dry food out for snacking on. Some canned food in the diet is better than nothing at all IMO.