Cat/kitten food debate

julebean

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Hey all, I've just adopted an adorable mixed 8-week-old kitty
and I'm clueless
as to what kind of food to feed my kitty (new to the whole cat thing). I'd like to stick with the traditional pet store pet foods (ie. no raw meat, etc). I've searched around the forums and found that some cat owners place a strong emphasis on quality cat foods. Although I've read lot (a lot, a lot!) about all the different types of food, I'm wondering if it is worth the extra money to feed my kitty better quality kitty foods.
The rescue has been feeding her Iams kitty food, but I looked around and it didn't seem like many people were feeding their kitties Iams. Any suggestions? What are some of the higher and lower grade kitty foods? Any help would be so GREATLY appreciated. Thanks


Jules.
 
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julebean

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Oh also.. what kind of kitty litter do you find is the most valuable for the buck? Thanks
 

elizwithcat

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Here is a review of premium dry cat foods:
http://cats.about.com/cs/nutrition/t...drycatfood.htm
I use Nutro Natural Choice but might have to find something else for my cat because he has urinary problems. My cats like this food and prefer to to more pricier ones on that list. Nutro also has coupons, I just got a whole book of coupons if you go on there website, you can sign up for the coupons. As for the litter, I use World's Best, altough it's expensive it's all natural made from corn. I also get coupons on it from cats and kittens magazine (2 $ off). Also, both Nutro and World's best have frequent buyer programs, where you get a free bag if you buy so many...
One more thing-if you going to change foods, do it slowly, by adding small amounts of new food to the old food to aviod gastrointestinal problems.
 

sol

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I would recommend one of the high quality canned foods such as Innova, Felidae and EaglePack.
 

scamperfarms

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Ok your going to find alot of varied opinions on what is best in the food and litter deparment..let me make my first hands up for Purina's yesterdays news, for litter. Its receycled newspaper, low on dust, and very absorabant. Safe for little ones, and low tracking. Its about 10.99-12.99 for a 30lb bag. a 30lb bag lasts me between 2-3 weeks. of course I have 5 adult cats and Seven now kittens. One kitten a large bag should last a LONG time.
Yesterdaysnews.com, thats the website for yesterdays news.

Now as for food, I also feed my kitties, and dogs Purina, Pro Plan. Its their high end vs the Cat chow, and the slightly above that Purina One.

Useing my own brand of choice, I will show yout he diffrence in ingridents..even to show how it can vary within a brand.

Here is the ingrident list for Purina's Regular Kitten Chow:
Poultry by-product meal, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, soy flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), fish meal, brewers dried yeast, wheat flour, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, salt, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline chloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), L-Alanine, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, copper sulfate, citric acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
A-4530

Better than some, but you will notice the first ingrident is a By product Meal. VS real meat. Corn is the third ingrident...farther down than on some brands.

Here is the list for Purina, Pro Plan chicken and Rice:
Chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), whole grain corn, soybean meal, wheat gluten, poultry by-product meal, fish meal, animal digest, egg product, phosphoric acid, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, taurine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ascorbic acid (source of Vitamin C), manganese sulfate, DL-Methionine, niacin, calcium carbonate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
O-4628

First Ingrident is the real chicken, again that corn shows up. Which I may not like. But over all I enjoy this product.

Ingridents for Canned Pro plan Kitten chicken, Liver flavor:
Chicken, liver, fish, meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, natural and artificial flavors, brewers rice, guar gum, potassium chloride, titanium dioxide color, tricalcium phosphate, salt, taurine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), copper sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), cobalt carbonate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, potassium iodide, biotin. B-4651

All In all I enjoy this product. I have dogs and cats on it and have great results. They all have shiny coats, good weight, active and happy, low tartar. We dont have to much smell in the box, and we dont have a ton of poo either always a plus. My vet asked me what I switched them too, when I took them fromt he regular cat chow, to the Purina Pro Plan, and was impressed with the change she could see the diffrence, as could I.

And I am ALWAYS getting asked what I feed my dogs, because their coats are so shinny, they even ask if i supplement. Which I dont.

So there is my humble opinion.

Proplan.com is rhe site for product information if your interested. You will find many opions on the matter. But I think what it comes down to, is what you can afford, and what your kitty does well on.

But in the long run, a Quality food is less costly, they eat less, and seem to be over all healthier!
 

arlyn

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I'd recommend a high quality diet, but really, it all boils down to what your cat will eat that will agree with her stomach.
It doesn't matter how high the quality is if she won't eat it.


You need to strike a balance between her taste and the quality of the food.
 

pat

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I would say the best quality that you can afford - more expensive is worth it over cheaper foods in that 1)better quality ingredients 2) more fully utilized by the body which means needs less to fulfill daily nutritional needs and means less waste material aka less poop and possibly a less odiferous stool.

Poor quality foods will make use of corn gluten as the first ingredient (it is a protein source), and many carbs such as wheat or soy flour, cracked corn, corn meal, have little real protein - making use instead of by-products or by-product meal (and we simply aren't talking fresh mice innards when we are talking by-products), artificial flavors and colorings to try to make it palatable.

Quality pet foods will include no by-products (imo of quality), no corn, no soy or wheat, no artificial colorings or flavorings, no preservatives such as BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin, and the first ingredients should be protein - chicken or chicken meal etc.

Petsmart Authority brand is a sensibly priced brand that is decent, I love Nutro's new Natural Choice Complete Care line of dry foods, Felidae and PetGuard have excellent foods (but are formulated for all lifestages, do not think they have a "for kitten" formula), and these are just some.

Diet may well play a part in some of the illnesses elderly cats develop such as Chronic Kidney Failure, so decisions you make re diet are truly important.

Poor quality food may wreck havoc with a cat with food allergy issues, or simply show up as poor coat quality, dandruff issues, poor energy levels, etc.


hth,
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I would say the best quality that you can afford - more expensive is worth it over cheaper foods in that 1)better quality ingredients 2) more fully utilized by the body which means needs less to fulfill daily nutritional needs and means less waste material aka less poop and possibly a less odiferous stool.

Poor quality foods will make use of corn gluten as the first ingredient (it is a protein source), and many carbs such as wheat or soy flour, cracked corn, corn meal, have little real protein - making use instead of by-products or by-product meal (and we simply aren't talking fresh mice innards when we are talking by-products), artificial flavors and colorings to try to make it palatable.

Quality pet foods will include no by-products (imo of quality), no corn, no soy or wheat, no artificial colorings or flavorings, no preservatives such as BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin, and the first ingredients should be protein - chicken or chicken meal etc.

Petsmart Authority brand is a sensibly priced brand that is decent, I love Nutro's new Natural Choice Complete Care line of dry foods, Felidae and PetGuard have excellent foods (but are formulated for all lifestages, do not think they have a "for kitten" formula), and these are just some.

Diet may well play a part in some of the illnesses elderly cats develop such as Chronic Kidney Failure, so decisions you make re diet are truly important.

Poor quality food may wreck havoc with a cat with food allergy issues, or simply show up as poor coat quality, dandruff issues, poor energy levels, etc.


hth,
ditto

I would use a product with corn Way over by products( heads feet internal organs undeveloped eggs) and chemical preservatives( bht bha ethoxaquin sodioum hexametaphosphate)
 

starlie

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I agree with Pat. In my opinion, "quality food" does not contain corn (whether it be meal, gluten, etc.), by-products, and chemical preservatives (BHT, BTA, etc.), soy and wheat. The brands I consider "quality" are Innova, Felidae, California Natural, Natural Balance and Chicken Soup. Another good thing about the quality brands are that they're formulated for all life stages. It makes feeding time easier when you have a kitten and an adult cat. On the other hand, some cats do well on the store brands (Iams, Purina, Whiskas) while others do better on the quality brands. In the end, it really depends on how much you can afford and how well your cat does on any particular formula.
 
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