What to look for in canned food?

I am new to the forum and have been combing the Internet trying to find information on appropriate, high quality canned cat foods that have had little to no recalls to feed.
I have a 5 week old kitten, and before anyone jumps the gun and assumes anything, Maggie was found in the middle of the road at 3 weeks old very emaciated and screaming. Never did find any Queen nursing and decided to keep her. Bottle fed, and still getting formula between feedings. Currently she is on Fancy Fiest "white fish", when ordering it the label read chicken... either way, wasn't going to make a deal out of it, Maggie is well fed, has hit proper weight and doing extremely well!
What should I be looking for in a kitten food and is it an absolute must to feed kibble on the side? Would Orijen Kitten be too much protein levels? Thoughts on Taste Of The Wild's cat food? I do believe it does contain peas and potatoes, something I'd personally like to avoid in the future.
Essentially I would like the most meat listed food with less unreadable ingredients without actually going raw.
I just don't know much about CAT based raw diet. My Feist, however, WAS on raw. It became a struggle with her being picky to the point she went back onto Orijen and that's where we have stayed.

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

If a cat or kitten will eat canned food, there is no reason at all to feed any dry food except as an occasional treat or as a very small meal that is left out for snacking while you are away at work or school or something. Canned food can be left out all day since the product is cooked. It may get a little dry but most cats are ok with that. You can use a programmable timed feeder to provide canned food meals when you are not home.

Kitten specific food isn't necessary IMO. Most cat foods are "for all life stages" and are ok for kittens. You would just have to feed more of the food to meet a growing kitten's need.. It's perfectly fine to feed both kitten and "adult" food in rotation.

There's a subforum on raw and home cooked diets for cats: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food There are commerical raw cat foods that you can buy that are complete balanced diets so it isn't nescessary to make your own. Rad Cat is a popular raw brand that doesn't have fruits and veggies and other stuff in it.

Thanks for the informative response. Really appreciate it!

I personally feed red barn foods because they are high protein and low phosphorous and also natures logic which contains no added synthetic minerals or materials. My cat, Bear suffers from cystitis and so I feed primarily wet food only! I have to admit that my fur-babies do get a snack of dry food before bed.

Achristine, I was looking at Red Barn and Rad Cat foods for Mag. What are the preventions for tooth decay, teeth cleaning in cats that eat wet food? I assume regular brushing, perhaps?

MaggieKitty said:

Achristine, I was looking at Red Barn and Rad Cat foods for Mag. What are the preventions for tooth decay, teeth cleaning in cats that eat wet food? I assume regular brushing, perhaps?

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Rad Cat is great food! Our cats love the turkey and chicken... I just took out their first container of pork and hope they like that, too.

In terms of canned food, you're already doing the right thing by looking for foods with maximum meat and minimum fillers: I keep the carbs low for our cats, avoiding ingredients like potato, peas and other legumes, grains, tapioca (except in an occasional "treat" food), and the like. They do very well on that. I agree with @LTS3 that there's no need to feed dry food. Growing kittens especially need protein for development and wet food is a better source of good meat protein than is dry food. (When we adopted our cats at 10 months, the vet kept saying "protein" and "meat" -- she's a big fan of high-protein wet food for cats.) Also, I'd be careful not to feed too much fish, that's another recommendation from our vet, in part because of heavy metals.

As for tooth cleaning, yes, brushing is good. If your cat enjoys the toothpaste, brushing is almost like a treat. (I'm lucky that our cats love their toothpaste: it's CET, one cat prefers seafood flavor, the other prefers poultry.) Dry food doesn't really clean teeth anyway, so brushing's a good idea no matter what. Here's a Cat Site article about dry food and teeth: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/does-dry-food-actually-clean-your-cats-teeth

Have fun with your kitten and welcome to The Cat Site!

LisaHE, Thank you! I really am leaning towards Rad Cat for her diet and sticking to more home based "treats" as well. I hate when I look at a package and find a list of unreadable ingredients or added junk. Had My dog not been so picky she would still be on raw, but she would refuse to eat the necessary foods to sustain her in prey model... I hope Maggie isn't extremely picky and goes right for raw.
I'll be looking into toothpaste and working on her with that idea. She is young now that handling and grooming may set her up for easy cleaning later on.

MaggieKitty said:

LisaHE, Thank you! I really am leaning towards Rad Cat for her diet and sticking to more home based "treats" as well. I hate when I look at a package and find a list of unreadable ingredients or added junk. Had My dog not been so picky she would still be on raw, but she would refuse to eat the necessary foods to sustain her in prey model... I hope Maggie isn't extremely picky and goes right for raw.
I'll be looking into toothpaste and working on her with that idea. She is young now that handling and grooming may set her up for easy cleaning later on.

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You're very welcome! A lot of cats seem to go for Rad Cat right from the start: I hope it works out that way for you, too! (I first fed it to our previous cat, when she was very, very sick, had no appetite, and would barely eat... She was a senior cat who'd never eaten raw food until her last weeks but she took to chicken Rad Cat immediately and it was one of the very few foods she would eat then. Our new cats devoured it from the start, too, and still love it!)

If you're thinking about homemade, EZcomplete is very good: we've been feeding that to our cats for almost a year now and they do very well with it. (The cats get several commercial raw meals a day, one homemade cooked meal with EZcomplete, and one canned meal... one cat gets bored with her food very easily!) All you need for EZc is the supplement and boneless meat, either raw or cooked.

MaggieKitty said:

Achristine, I was looking at Red Barn and Rad Cat foods for Mag. What are the preventions for tooth decay, teeth cleaning in cats that eat wet food? I assume regular brushing, perhaps?

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Hi Maggie!
Sorry I haven't been on here for a while.
I'm actually a dental assistant and dry food for cats is like humans eating potato chips and saying the bits help clean our teeth. It's a lie. Brushing is excellent if you can manage it! Cats suffer mostly from periodontal disease and not tooth decay. That means that tartar builds up below their gum line, destroys the bone around their teeth, creates pockets, and then bacteria thrive in those pockets and cause infection. Dry food would actually cause more cavities because the dry bits get stuck up by that gum line. Unfortunately while cats eat game and clean their teeth by eating bones and lean meat.

Good luck brushing you kitties teeth. None of mine would ever stand for that and I've been trying since they were all kittens.

achristine said:

Hi Maggie!
Sorry I haven't been on here for a while.
I'm actually a dental assistant and dry food for cats is like humans eating potato chips and saying the bits help clean our teeth. It's a lie. Brushing is excellent if you can manage it! Cats suffer mostly from periodontal disease and not tooth decay. That means that tartar builds up below their gum line, destroys the bone around their teeth, creates pockets, and then bacteria thrive in those pockets and cause infection. Dry food would actually cause more cavities because the dry bits get stuck up by that gum line. Unfortunately while cats eat game and clean their teeth by eating bones and lean meat.

Good luck brushing you kitties teeth. None of mine would ever stand for that and I've been trying since they were all kittens.

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Sorry if you thought I meant kibble. it was actually just a general question in regards to tooth care and what people do to prevent issues. Maggie has never touched kibble a day in her life.
Admittedly I am apprehensive about a lot of things, especially when it comes to my pets are ingesting.

I've not yet had issues with Maggie figthing me when it comes to tooth brushing. I got Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic poltury and she ragdolls out on me.. will lay on her back chewing on the brush. I think she just assumes it's a game. Lol! She's a pretty easy going kitten. She even plays in shallow bath tub. When I get the chance I will post a video for you.

LisaHE said:

You're very welcome! A lot of cats seem to go for Rad Cat right from the start: I hope it works out that way for you, too! (I first fed it to our previous cat, when she was very, very sick, had no appetite, and would barely eat... She was a senior cat who'd never eaten raw food until her last weeks but she took to chicken Rad Cat immediately and it was one of the very few foods she would eat then. Our new cats devoured it from the start, too, and still love it!)

If you're thinking about homemade, EZcomplete is very good: we've been feeding that to our cats for almost a year now and they do very well with it. (The cats get several commercial raw meals a day, one homemade cooked meal with EZcomplete, and one canned meal... one cat gets bored with her food very easily!) All you need for EZc is the supplement and boneless meat, either raw or cooked.

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By metals you mean mercury trace in the fish and fish products, correct? I'm aware of that and one of the reasons why I honestly hate commercial grade foods, even in my dogs diet (Orijen: regional red) they have mackerel and mackerel meal. It's almost impossible to avoid it all together unless you feed raw, and with Kimi, that's impossible! She is too picky to be fed a staple prey model diet which is why she's on Orijen and given human grade fish oil capsules that I got from the vitamin shoppe.
As for the Kitten food.. we went on amazon and ordered 24 cans of "chicken" and got fish... go figure, right? I wasn't going to complain and ask to spend another 35 on chicken since it was between paychecks and had bills to pay, so just fed that.
We have 2 cans left and then we'll be switching right over to radcat chicken cold turkey. Do I still need to worry about Taurine deficiency if she is eating only radcat? Should there be suppliment of canned? I was considering doing Red Barn or Taste Of The Wild canned on the side IF need be if not I will simply stick to radcat alone.

MaggieKitty said:

I've not yet had issues with Maggie figthing me when it comes to tooth brushing. I got Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic poltury and she ragdolls out on me.. will lay on her back chewing on the brush. I think she just assumes it's a game. Lol! She's a pretty easy going kitten. She even plays in shallow bath tub. When I get the chance I will post a video for you.

By metals you mean mercury trace in the fish and fish products, correct? I'm aware of that and one of the reasons why I honestly hate commercial grade foods, even in my dogs diet (Orijen: regional red) they have mackerel and mackerel meal. It's almost impossible to avoid it all together unless you feed raw, and with Kimi, that's impossible! She is too picky to be fed a staple prey model diet which is why she's on Orijen and given human grade fish oil capsules that I got from the vitamin shoppe.
As for the Kitten food.. we went on amazon and ordered 24 cans of "chicken" and got fish... go figure, right? I wasn't going to complain and ask to spend another 35 on chicken since it was between paychecks and had bills to pay, so just fed that.
We have 2 cans left and then we'll be switching right over to radcat chicken cold turkey. Do I still need to worry about Taurine deficiency if she is eating only radcat? Should there be suppliment of canned? I was considering doing Red Barn or Taste Of The Wild canned on the side IF need be if not I will simply stick to radcat alone.

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Chewing the toothbrush is a good sign Maggie will be happy (or at least okay!) with actual toothbrushing. Our cats both chewed first.

Yes, mercury is one of the biggest concerns. (Our vet is pretty against fish largely because of that. She sees it as a now-and-then treat.)

As for Rad Cat, it's a complete food on its own. Has Maggie already tried Rad Cat or a similar raw food? Not all cats take to them immediately... ours did but that's not always the case.

LisaHE said:

Chewing the toothbrush is a good sign Maggie will be happy (or at least okay!) with actual toothbrushing. Our cats both chewed first.

Yes, mercury is one of the biggest concerns. (Our vet is pretty against fish largely because of that. She sees it as a now-and-then treat.)

As for Rad Cat, it's a complete food on its own. Has Maggie already tried Rad Cat or a similar raw food? Not all cats take to them immediately... ours did but that's not always the case.

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I figured I wouldn't have issues. She's pretty calm in personality, she just goes with the flow. Lol!

Majority of the vets here will scoff at raw or anything other than the almighty "HILLS" brand they try shoving down people's throats. I changed my dogs vet twice so far due to them complaining that I was feeding Orijen or that I wanted titer testing anually.. Most, unfortunately, won't even bat an eye over the fish products having mercury, why would they? They knowingly give rabies with unsavory ingredients. This is one reason why I use the vet I have for Maggie. He is one of the very few that offers IMRAB 3 TF.

Not yet. We are going to pick it up tomorrow, having two cans left of the "junk" food I can figure out a way to get her interested. If she turns out to snub her nose up at it I can go with a high quality canned product.. I am hoping she takes to it without issues.

Great resource!

So they didn't have Radcat in Stock and won't until the end of this month.. I placed an order online, but In the mean time I bought RedBarn and something called Nulo? She wouldn't even consider the redbarn.. she liked the Nulo chicken and duck though. Would it be okay to feed this until her Rad gets here?

The ingredients of Nulo:
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Duck Broth, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Whites, Duck, Dried Ground Peas, Spinach, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Ground Flaxseed, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Cranberries, Pumpkin, Blueberries, Flaxseed Oil, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Inulin, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, D-calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.

(calculated) 894 kcal/kg or 76 kcal/can

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (Min) 10.0%
Crude Fat (Min) 3.5%
Crude Fiber (Max) 1.0%
Moisture (Max) 82.00%
Taurine (Min) 0.10%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (Min) 0.50%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (Min) 0.10%


Compared to her old wet food (fancy feast)

Ingredients: ocean whitefish, liver, meat by-products, fish broth, chicken, milk, egg product, artificial and natural flavors, calcium phosphate, guar gum, added color, potassium chloride, salt, taurine, vitamin e supplement, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin a supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin k activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide

Crude Protein (Min)12.0%Crude Fat (Min)4.0%Crude Fiber (Max)1.5%Moisture (Max)78.0%Ash (Max)3.5%Calcium (Min)0.3%Taurine (Min)0.07%

And RedBarn

Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Vegetable Broth, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavors, Agar-Agar, Calcium Carbonate, Carrots, Cranberries, Parsley, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Dried Green Lipped Mussel (Source of Lysine), Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D2 Supplement, Folic Acid.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein: 8% Min.
Crude Fat: 5% Min.
Crude Fiber: .5% Max.
Moisture: 82% Max.

I heard Cranberries over time can cause issues, true? because this is short term use I assume it will be okay? I picked wet food without fish by products of fish that listed meat and organ in the first few ingredients. They didn't even carry weruva.