Which Ultra-Premium Food?

Hi all! Now that we live in a city where I actually have stores that offer foods like Innova, Wellness, and Felidae, I'm wondering which of these foods to feed my boys. I'm going by to pick up some samples today, but thought I'd get a public opinion poll going, too.

Do any of you feed your cats these foods or have you tried them out with bad results? What do you think of these in both the wet and dry varieties.

I've heard that Wellness canned food is pretty popular, as is their dry. I've also heard some good things about Innova EVO dry. I've heard less favorable mention of Felidae.

Any thoughts?

Mine eat California Natural (made by the same company, Natura, that makes Innova), and it's been great for us - they like it, their coats look great, and there haven't been any problems wiht upset stomachs or anything. We tried Felidae as well, and Esmeralda had a bad reaction to it (the others were fine) and ended up quite sick (throwing up, diarrhea, etc.) - the vet told me that it was a very rich food, which is too much for some cats, and to use something less rich, which California Natural is. I believe Wellness has garlic as an ingredient (I *think* it's Wellness, I may be thinking of something else), which debatably is not a good thing (I won't feed garlic), but I know some people are okay with that.

Thanks, Juniper, for responding. I've not heard of Cali Natural. I'll have to see if the supply store carries that one so I can compare ingredients.

That's interesting about the garlic. I know that any veggie in the onion/garlic family is harmful and poisonous to cats. I'll have to research that, too.

My Zoey eats Feline caviar and evo mixed ..

Miko and Kionu eat Natural Balance's Venison & Pea Forumla now but they've eaten Felidae before. Kionu LOVED Felidae, but Miko didn't really care for it. Sebastian eats Innova and my Mom gives her cats Innova EVO. They both seem to love it. They are eating less and their poop doesn't seem to stink as bad. Oh, and I've also fed them California Natural (they loved it too), but it's no longer available here.

I'm working on upgrading my kitty right now (we've moved up to Royal Canin, but still has corn grr) and I read the Wellness label. The pet store's resident cats were eating it and it looked so good I think I could even eat it. The label didnt have anything bad that I remember, it looked top notched (which I am having trouble finding), but I didnt look for garlic! The owner said her cats only get Wellness and they dont eat much at all of it, they are so satisfied.

Originally Posted by CDubbie

The label didnt have anything bad that I remember, it looked top notched (which I am having trouble finding), but I didnt look for garlic!

Click to expand...

After looking at the labels on the sample bags, it looks like Innova is the one with garlic in it, NOT Wellness. Even so, I wonder if it's enough that it's even a cause for concern.

Regarding Innova canned food & garlic...I talked to an Innova company rep. about garlic in their canned food. All Innova cans stamped "best by 6-2006" or later is garlic free.

Originally Posted by xocats

Regarding Innova canned food & garlic...I talked to an Innova company rep. about garlic in their canned food. All Innova cans stamped "best by 6-2006" or later is garlic free.

Click to expand...

That is correct. I won't feed Dori any foor with garlic in it either, and contacted Innova last year and found out the same thing. They also told me that there were still some bags of Innova in circulation that listed garlic as an ingredient but they had all ready stopped using garlic in the food, they just were using the last of their bags
I feed Dori Innova dry and Merrick wet food. I am pleased with both.

My cats eat Wysong Vitality Dry. It's a premium food and my cats do well on it. Their coats are shiny. The only complaint I have is the smell of my cat's feces can clear a room!! Does anyone know much about Natural Balance? I had bought a sample of that and my cats did dive into it.

Wellness wet does have garlic (at least all the cans I've checked). I used to feed my babies Precise, but it has a lot of corn. I switched them over to Felidae Platinum (for my senior baby..the other one is almost "senior" as well) a few weeks ago, and they are doing quite well on it. It doesn't have any wheat, corn or soy, which I think is great. As for wet foods, they can be very picky, so I rotate through several different brands and flavors, including Merrick, California Natural, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, and Natural Balance. I had to stop the wet food a while back to rule it out as the cause of diarrhea in my older baby, but they really liked a lot of those foods.

Both of my kitters eat 2 servings of Felidae dry food and one serving of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul canned food per day.

They love it! Good luck finding a food that they enjoy!

for wet I make most of it homemade due to kidney girl .. I use pro pacs beef and nutros veal pate or salmon and shrimp chowder with a little bit of meow mixes pouch and authoritys catfish

Whats up with garlic? I have always been told it was a great antioxidant and protects against cancer. Are cats allergic to it? I know a lot of Ultra premium dog foods use it and Solid Gold really pushes it. Ive done my homework with dog food but not so much with cat food, though Geisha started on Chicken Soup and then went to Newmans Own and then to Wellness and now is back on Newmans Own. I just browsed this topic to see what everyone else feeds their cats and was a little surprised to see that garlic was a concern.

Pat please put up the articles... not as big a deal with dogs butit could be deadly for a cat ..

Like I said, I havent done too much cat food research.............Ive always had dogs. I looked at my Newmans own ingredients and it doesnt have garlic (which is good apparently). Why is it deadly? I guess I could find out myself. Im glad I know this now though...................(sorry if I stole a thread...........I just got informed)

Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

Whats up with garlic? I have always been told it was a great antioxidant and protects against cancer. Are cats allergic to it? I know a lot of Ultra premium dog foods use it and Solid Gold really pushes it. Ive done my homework with dog food but not so much with cat food, though Geisha started on Chicken Soup and then went to Newmans Own and then to Wellness and now is back on Newmans Own. I just browsed this topic to see what everyone else feeds their cats and was a little surprised to see that garlic was a concern.

Click to expand...

Apparently it's good for people but not for cats.

WEIRD..................I have yet to look this up since I have been busy backing you up in the other thread . Geisha goes back and forth between brands since she is a diva and becomes bored with something if I feed it long enough and sometimes one of the brands is on sale.........the only one I know for sure doesnt have garlic is Newmans Own. She eats Wellness and sometimes Chicken Soup. Ive considered feeding her Solid Gold but I dont know if it has garlic in the cat food. They cater more to the canines anyway. I know she does LIKE their dog food, as she used to sneak into the Chihuahuas bowl and eat his sometimes. But I think the dog food has garlic in it. I guess its time to do some research. Once again sorry for stealing the thread.........

Here you go Sharky

article one on garlic as toxic
and a vet article on garlic and onions: click here

The amount of garlic it takes to cause damage varies from cat to cat, I choose not to risk it.

Originally Posted by Geisha_Girl

(sorry if I stole a thread...........I just got informed)

Click to expand...

You aren't stealing a thread, this is one of those topics we've had come up a lot on this forum...and def. belongs in a discussion on what is a good ultra-premium food. Links to articles given in the message above.