Science Diet Opinion?

consumerkitty

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Originally Posted by CMan

So the question begs to be asked... What IS a good cat food that I can buy at say a PetSmart?
The PetSmart I go to carries Innova, Royal Canin, and Nutro. All of these have better sounding ingredients than Science Diet, Eukanuba, or Iams.
 

maverick_kitten

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i'm from the uk. does anyone know if have these brands?

i'm feeding science diet kitten and have had no real problems with it but now reading all this think maybe i should switch.

would petsmart ("pets at home" is our version) own brand kitten be any good?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

i'm from the uk. does anyone know if have these brands?

i'm feeding science diet kitten and have had no real problems with it but now reading all this think maybe i should switch.

would petsmart ("pets at home" is our version) own brand kitten be any good?
I would say Royal Canin and Nutro should be avail to you..
 

maverick_kitten

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i think royal canin might be but nutro i did a google search for and didnt find any places selling it


i need to run my own cat store, that way i can have access to all the food i need!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

i think royal canin might be but nutro i did a google search for and didnt find any places selling it


i need to run my own cat store, that way i can have access to all the food i need!
Some days evan here I feel that need.. Royal canin is good if you can find the sensible choice that is the higher end for royal canin and better in my book..
Look for these things not to be in the food... by products( heads feet and internal organs) corn or ground corn ( corn gluten is fine) and any chemical presevatives... You should be abole to find foods without these at the local store.. do you have any MOM and POP privately run stores??
 

maverick_kitten

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no many. they've all sold out to the big chain stores that stock nothing but over priced junk.

our local pet store has literally no stock as the baliffs came in and took it all as payment because they had an argument with their suppliers and wouldnt pay the bills.

i should also add to make it even harder i need kitten food not cat! found some websites selling the royal canin and think my local pet supermarket sells the chicken soup one but i doubt theres a kitten version.
 

rogerssund

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I have found that my cats prefer the smellier foods to the not-so smelly ones. Luckily there are some higher quality, smelly food, PetGuard's Premium feast is a fav right now. They are also fond of the Pet Gold brand. I was told to stay away from the SD.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

no many. they've all sold out to the big chain stores that stock nothing but over priced junk.

our local pet store has literally no stock as the baliffs came in and took it all as payment because they had an argument with their suppliers and wouldnt pay the bills.

i should also add to make it even harder i need kitten food not cat! found some websites selling the royal canin and think my local pet supermarket sells the chicken soup one but i doubt theres a kitten version.
you just had a litter right??
can you get kitten wet??
have you seen natural balance , they say it is for all ages( I am not a fan of all age food but if you can get it)
 

jettafer99

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This is sooo interesting and yet disturbing. My Vet has been great with Bella -- pretty much saving her life by being the one who diagnosed her IBD (the other vet missed it) and quickly doing surgery as her blood count was rapidly deteriorating. His recommendation was Hills w/d wet and dry and I have been very strictly feeding her only this since. She has thrived on it the last 3 months, gaining back her weight and looking beautiful again. BUT.. I did notice lots of ingredients on the Hills pkg that seem a little sketchy. Like corn and what I would guess are fillers. Yet the Vet says a high fiber, specialty diet is needed and since she is doing so well, no need to look any further. But is he misleading me?
 

pat

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Originally Posted by jettafer99

This is sooo interesting and yet disturbing. My Vet has been great with Bella -- pretty much saving her life by being the one who diagnosed her IBD (the other vet missed it) and quickly doing surgery as her blood count was rapidly deteriorating. His recommendation was Hills w/d wet and dry and I have been very strictly feeding her only this since. She has thrived on it the last 3 months, gaining back her weight and looking beautiful again. BUT.. I did notice lots of ingredients on the Hills pkg that seem a little sketchy. Like corn and what I would guess are fillers. Yet the Vet says a high fiber, specialty diet is needed and since she is doing so well, no need to look any further. But is he misleading me?
When it comes to prescription food, though I may not have liked the ingredients, my sweet Joshua (RB) had an extra 3 years of life thanks to Hills Z/D - the only thing that tamed his IBD. If it's working well for your girl, I sure wouldn't change!
 

elizwithcat

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Yea, yea, yea-my vet also told me to have my cats on it. They even gave me some canned SD when one of my cats was sick. Needless to say, he wouldn't eat it. I don't think its' a good food either-didn't it also use by-products, which are a no-no? But still, it got to be better than Friskies or Wiskas healthwise.
 

maverick_kitten

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Originally Posted by sharky

you just had a litter right??
can you get kitten wet??
have you seen natural balance , they say it is for all ages( I am not a fan of all age food but if you can get it)
yep a litter of one.

i'm feeding hi-life wet kitten food which i'm pretty pleased with except for the fact it has pork as he wont really touch dry yet if he can help it.

its so hard because all the nearest pet shops are two bus rides away so i have to really plan ahead to buy the food.

found a website that sells most of the brands. which dry would you reccomend for a nursing female 13months old and a 6 week old kitten? would petsmart own be ok?
 

maverick_kitten

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Originally Posted by elizwithcat

Yea, yea, yea-my vet also told me to have my cats on it. They even gave me some canned SD when one of my cats was sick. Needless to say, he wouldn't eat it. I don't think its' a good food either-didn't it also use by-products, which are a no-no? But still, it got to be better than Friskies or Wiskas healthwise.
i bought one tin of canned sd and it smelt putrid. i threw it away.
 

pat

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Whatever you choose, for now, I would feed your nursing mom the same kitten food you will be feeding your kitten, she can use the extra's that the kitten food contains, while nursing.

Choose the best quality kitten you can get - if by petsmart own you mean what I see here - Authority Brand, it's a decent food.
 

maverick_kitten

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she's been getting hills s/d and hi-life (a uk brand) kitten. was feeding s/d because my vet reccomended it. what a surprise!!

because she was a year old when she got pregnant she had yet to be switched of kitten food.

the trouble is its hard to get any of the good brands here as the smaller stores have folded and the bigger ones dont stock the stuff i need!


i think it would be Authority brand but becase here we have Pets At Home instead of Petsmart* i'm not 100% sure if its the same thing.

*Petsmart got closed down nationwide here following a tide of bad publicity for cruelty to animals charges
 

sharper16

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I too am a bit disturbed at reading all these comments. Last August, my 2-year old Cheeto was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet recommended SD. He said he has had the highest success rate with SD for cat's with crystals. Since, I switched Cheeto last August to SD, he has been absolutely perfect!

Also, 2 months ago, my 14-year old TOby was diagnosed w/diabetes. He is currently on Hills prescription W/D and after 2 months of food and insuling treatment, his glucose levels are perfect! He is acting like a kitten again. He has gained 2-1/2 pounds back and is strong as ever.

I guess the bottom line is that different foods work for different cats.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by sharper16

I too am a bit disturbed at reading all these comments. Last August, my 2-year old Cheeto was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet recommended SD. He said he has had the highest success rate with SD for cat's with crystals. Since, I switched Cheeto last August to SD, he has been absolutely perfect!

Also, 2 months ago, my 14-year old TOby was diagnosed w/diabetes. He is currently on Hills prescription W/D and after 2 months of food and insuling treatment, his glucose levels are perfect! He is acting like a kitten again. He has gained 2-1/2 pounds back and is strong as ever.

I guess the bottom line is that different foods work for different cats.
I have consistently said that when it comes to prescription foods, my personal experience with Hill's Sciece Diet is that they have been a lifesaver - I may not like the ingredients, but if it works to alleviate a condition, it's what I'll use. I would not discount one's vets opinion ever when it comes to a prescription food. If you wish an alternative, do the research, see if anything comparable is available, and then consult with one's vet.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I have consistently said that when it comes to prescription foods, my personal experience with Hill's Sciece Diet is that they have been a lifesaver - I may not like the ingredients, but if it works to alleviate a condition, it's what I'll use. I would not discount one's vets opinion ever when it comes to a prescription food. If you wish an alternative, do the research, see if anything comparable is available, and then consult with one's vet.
Exactly... My cess was with the z/d for allergies it is great to find out ... If the vet says rx is needed do it and then research..
 

pat

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Yup....z/d saved Joshua's life, and we had another 3 years with him we would not have had.
 

keltednora

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Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

she's been getting hills s/d and hi-life (a uk brand) kitten. was feeding s/d because my vet reccomended it. what a surprise!!

because she was a year old when she got pregnant she had yet to be switched of kitten food.

the trouble is its hard to get any of the good brands here as the smaller stores have folded and the bigger ones dont stock the stuff i need!
Here in the US royal canin is available at petsmart and petco. I've tried royal canin babycat--it's a great food, very tiny kibble, and easy for the little ones to eat. But at 6 weeks you probably don't need one for tiny babies. I'd go with the slightly bigger sizes. Kitten would work.
 
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