New to This - What Should I Feed My New Girl?

permanentruby

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Hello!

I adopted my cat a few days ago, and have stuck to what she was eating in her foster home (Purina One dry food and she eats about half a can of Fancy Feast turkey or chicken wet food at night).

However, I've noticed in the past couple of days her poop is verryyy smelly and she seems to have lots of kitty farts after eating dinner.

I plan to ask her vet about what she should be eating when I bring her next week (she needs to gain some weight, too), but I'd love to hear what suggestions you might have for the meantime, especially for wet food! Ideally, if there's something in a comparable price range that's better for her, I'd want to get her that to eat at least until we go to the vet, since I don't want her getting used to FF.
 

molly92

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If you're looking for budget-friendly foods I actually recommend the Fancy Feast, but only the classic pate-style line. These are basically all meat, which reduces stool odor and is healthier, too. If you're willing to spend a bit more, there are several high quality wet food brands that are high in animal proteins and low in plant-based carbohydrates. Wellness CORE, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Nature's Variety Instinct, Nature's Logic, Hounds and Gatos, Holistic Select, Evo, Whole Earth Farms, and many more I can't think of off the top off my head, but double check the ingredients for any flavor you get just to be sure. Look for meats high on the ingredient list and any vegetables, grains, or starches to be very low on the list or not there at all.

For dry food, the best quality brand I know of is Orijen, although it is significantly more expensive than Purina! Some of the brands listed above also have dry food lines that are good, but dry food is always going to have more plant material just because it's what binds kibble together. 

Most vets are not very nutrition-focused so don't be surprised if they don't have a whole lot of advice in that area. Cats are obligate carnivores and digest meat much better than anything from a plant, so they have much less gas and stinky stools when they are on a high-meat diet. Do be careful when switching foods, especially between foods of drastically different qualities. Mixing a little of the new food in with the old food and gradually phasing out the old food is the best way to avoid an upset digestive system.
 

destinyz12

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In my experience, Purina dry food made my cats litter box smell VERY bad- she was getting fed that when we adopted her so we bought a bag of that along with a bag of much healthier grain-free food to try and gradually wean her off it.  After about a month when she was finally off of the Purina, the smell of the litter box improved tremendously.   It seems that the lower the quality of the food is, the worse it will smell because of all the unnecessary fillers and grains.  The brand of dry we currently feed is Canidae Pure Elements (grain-free), and wet food is a rotation of  Nutro Natural choice, Weruva, Soulistic, Merrick Purrfect Bistro trays, and we are still experimenting with some brands since she is young
 
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jaspurrr

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For wet foods, Hound and Gatos, Merrick Purrfect Bistro, and Nature's Variety Instinct are what my kitten eats and you can usually find them for a pretty decent price. There's definitely more, and I recommend you go to a local pet food store to see what there is and try out what your girl will like.

Purina isn't a great cat food. Definitely look into getting something better. I'd recommend grain-free since grains are something that a cat never usually eats in the wild and can make the litter box smelly. It'll be more expensive, but what you spend extra in cat food you will save in vet bills. It's well worth the investment just for that. And a not as smelly litter box is an added bonus too.
 

sargon

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For dry, I've had good luck (as in my cat both likes and tolerates it well digestively)  with "Solid gold, Indigo Moon", which is good quality grain free and sanely priced made in the USA food.

For wet foods, many of the Nutro max cat line are simialrly priced to fancy feast and and are better quality foods.  Shop around for deals.. I got a max cat kitten 3oz 24 pack for just over 10 bucks on jet.com a few days back ( sadly that sale is over atm)

Another wet food option that won't break the bank is cooked, such as "Ustew", where you buy meat and cook it, then add the mix.  It is a little more work than opening a can of fancy feast, but you get excellent quality food at a reasonable price and without the hassles of the more popular raw food.
 

dorimon

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For wet foods, many of the Nutro max cat line are simialrly priced to fancy feast and and are better quality foods.  Shop around for deals.. I got a max cat kitten 3oz 24 pack for just over 10 bucks on jet.com a few days back ( sadly that sale is over atm)
I actually prefer the Fancy Feast Classic/Pate line over Nutro Max.  Nutro Max is not grain-free and also contains carrageenan.  Fancy Feast Classic/Pate is grain-free, low-carb, and does not contain carrageenan.

I wouldn't feed any of the non-Classic/Pate varieties of Fancy Feast, however.
 

sargon

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I actually prefer the Fancy Feast Classic/Pate line over Nutro Max.  Nutro Max is not grain-free and also contains carrageenan.  Fancy Feast Classic/Pate is grain-free, low-carb, and does not contain carrageenan.

I wouldn't feed any of the non-Classic/Pate varieties of Fancy Feast, however.
That's a good point, especially if a cat is sensitive to grains or carrageenan. I still prefer the Nutro, because of the higher quality meat, even if it does have a little rice, since all the fancy feast include by-product meal.  it is all a series of compromises especially at the lower end of the cost spectrum.
 

destinyz12

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Sargon- If you like feeding Nutro, I'd recommend their Natural choice line- have you tried that? All of their canned food is grain-free, and some of the varieties are carrageenan-free (not all, but a decent amount are)
 

sargon

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Sargon- If you like feeding Nutro, I'd recommend their Natural choice line- have you tried that? All of their canned food is grain-free, and some of the varieties are carrageenan-free (not all, but a decent amount are)
I have, their soft loaf kitten is the mainstay of the canned part of my cat's diet, in fact.  It is good stuff, but not in the budget that the OP mentioned.
 
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permanentruby

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Thanks for all the input, everyone!

I bought a couple cans of the turkey and chicken classic pate lines, and while she's eating it, she doesn't seem as interested in the pate styles. I've also noticed in the past few days there have been a couple of instances of her making a hacking noise at night (I feed her wet food when i get home from work). I'm not sure if that's from the food, or maybe hairballs?

Another thing - she doesn't eat it as quickly, so there are more leftovers. I opened a can two days ago and have been storing it in the fridge since. I add hot water to the can and stir it around a little to warm it a bit before feeding her, and put it back in the fridge within a half hour or so of taking it out. Can I feed her the rest tonight, or should I move on to a new can?
 

destinyz12

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I recently tried the Fancy Feast Classics with my cat and she wasn't crazy about them either- there seems to be less moisture in them than other foods that she's used to, so your cat might be picky about that as well.  If youre looking for other options in the same price range, Sheba pates are very similar in ingredients and have a little more moisture in them, and also the Sheba cuts would have more gravy as well I assume (haven't tried them yet) .  As for leftovers- a lot of cats are picky with that as well and won't eat anything that's been in the fridge.  Mine is usually like that with pate style foods but is fine with shreds or chunks.
 

ailish

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When I adopted my cat in August she was on Friskies wet and dry. Gassy, yep. Horrendous smelling poop, yep. Switched to a better dry and Fancy Feast/Sheba wet and quickly to all wet. I fed her how much was recommended, but she rarely finished her plate. Gas went away, poop not so bad. Gradually switched to many different brands and flavors of somewhat pricier wet, all without grain of any sort She eventually started licking her plate clean at every meal, no gas, poop stench down to a reasonable level. Give your cat awhile to get to her normal eating habits.
 
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