Whats really in pet food? - Page 2

Although there's some dispute about commercial food, I feed all of them Science Diet. With all the info I have gathered over the years, and trying several foods, it's the best compromise for us. It's the only food that all of them tolerate well

Chicken fat is not a filler. It is a highly digestible source of energy, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid and is often included in cat foods which use "lean" meats such as chicken, turkey as the amount of fat already in these meats may not be enough to ensure a proper supply of essential fatty acids.

AngelzOO, do you think maybe they didn't really believe you? I think as Americans it is difficult to understand how this could be. I grew up thinking ads, food labels etc were regulated so as not to be deceptive to customers. Not only does the government allow deceptive claims and terms, but it allows 4-D ingredients and aids in keeping that knowledge 'under the rug'. Not to be melodramatic but I don't think that's the type of nation our forefathers envisioned.

Glad you like the links both of you! It's pretty interesting and once you learn to read labels it's so much easier to pick a food. It's just crazy that reading a 'food' label is so complex!

I'm sure that some of them didn't. But I think it's that most of them didn't care.

I've noticed that people who aren't really 'in' to animals, and don't see me as some big animal activist kinda just shrug off the things that I say. But the people who DO love their pets and know that aspect of me, always say responces like "Oh really! I never knew that, I feel so horrible now, I'll never do that again." lol

Learning to read food labels really isn't that hard. Specially when you sit at home looking at ingredients online, or going to the store and reading bag after bag, you start to familurise yourself quickly!
I must say that I have learned what just about every darn ingredient in cat/dog/ferret food possible is! Can I rememeber all of those off the top of my head? No, lol.

When I read ingredients I sit here saying in my head "that's good, that's bad, that's really bad, that's impressive, and that's not good, but it's not going to get any better." lol

I just see when good's out weight the bads, and I never go for the REALLY bads.

I'm sure I have totally lost you now but that's alright.

Before I chose to keep my cats on Solid Gold, I read every single brand of cat food, to compare ingredients! I understand what cats need and what they don't need. In the wild would a cat eat corn?

My oldest cat Twinkles was on 9 Lives for 9 years, she is now 10. She was skinny with a very dry coat. Now that I've switched to Solid Gold she has a beautiful coat and she actually has meat on her bones!

I believe that as long as a cat gets food, it doesn't matter what brand you feed. If you can afford it, a high quality food lasts so much longer.

I am very happy, my cats are happy and healthy, what else matters?!

I've recently tried to switch my kitties dry food to something healthier for them. I have bought Nutro products so far. For now I am mixing the new brand with some of their old brand til they get used to it. I would like to try Solid Gold. Where do you all find it? I do not have access to any ordering on-line due to no credit card so I would need to go to a store. Also, what wet canned food is considered good for them? I presently use Fancy Feast but I would like to give them something that is better for them.

Lisa

I feed my cats Nutro wet food. They only get it as a treat!

To find out where they sell Solid Gold in your area:

Go to www.solidgoldhealth.com and go to "Store Locator". Choose your city, or closest city, and click "Locate". That's how I find all the pet stores that carry Solid Gold in my area !

Crazy: LOL. Oh I know! My whole cat nutrition kick started over 3 years ago now. And what I feed them soley depends on how much money I have to spend on it!

With Tage, the whole time I've had him, no matter what food he was on, his coat was always wirey and greasy, but now that he's been on Solid Gold for 3 months (and it took a good 2 months to show) his coat is finally softer and SHINEY instead of greasy. I thought nothing was going to ever change his coat.

With Isha... for 3 years, she has been underweight, I have tried almost EVERYTHING to get her at a healthy weight, I have fed all kinds of food, top of the line and bottom of the line. I've crammed so much food down her, any other cat would have exploded, lol! etc etc. But now that she's been on Solid Gold (again at about 2 months) I've noticed a huge change, she doesn't look positively skinny my danty gal has some meat on her and it's wonderful!

Lisa: If you can find a store close enough to you, and even if they don't carry Solid Gold at that time, a lot of smaller stores will offer to have it special ordered for you (at no additional cost). Then when it comes in, you can just pick it up from that store.
About fancy feast, for coming from a low grade company such as Purina, I really don't think it's all 'THAT' bad. It's booming with all sorts of meat/fish products, it has the real meat in it, I open a can and say "oh hey look it's a big peice of shrimp!" lol.

Besides, for most cats I feel their main diet should be a high quiality dry food, and wet food only as an occasional TREAT. I only feed it every 2 or 3 days.
But if you feed A LOT of wet food, it would probably be better to get the best diet you can afford, and that they will eat.

You can go to this thread for a long list of canned food!
Canned Cat Food

[quote]Originally posted by hissy
[b]Outcry leads to changes in disposing of animals

>By William Lamb
>Of The Post-Dispatch
>Trisha Howard And Shera Dalin Of The Post-Dispatch Contributed To >This Report.

Hi,
I was wondering, do you have a link for this article? Thanks

Well, my cats and I eat only free range chicken or organic lamb and beef. I don't eat the beef because of the high amount of trans fatty acids which are bad for humans. I add organic bran, balance the Ph with Ca and add a complete multi-vitamin,mineral and amino acid supplement. I use only organic vegetables, many of which I grow myself and only free range eggs, (yolks only once a week for my cats.) They also get a free range chicken neck each three or four times a week. My Supplier guarantees his chicken and eggs free of hormones and antibiotics.

I worm regularly - my Vet is most impressed with my kittens. There is so much junk in canned food; dry food is implicated in causing diabetes in cats.
patcatpet

Hi Pat,
Sounds like you're feeding a great diet. Just curious, what do you worm? I'm on a list with a lot of raw feeders and we don't worm our cats and don't have a problem. What are you worming them with and how often, may I ask?

I use Felex Worm Paste for Felines. I wormed them every three months when they were kittens but now look for evidence of worms/parasites in the faeces and have not bothered. A lot of folk are concerned about parasites but I believe that a cat fed an appropriate diet for an obligate carnivore has enough active antibodies to overcome most problems. Scrupulous cleanliness is essential in preparation, and what is not eaten in 15 minutes goes back in to the fridge. They don't get any more until they "ask". I defrost naturally in the fridge.

We have not been cursed by flea or mosquitoes for some years now so I am not worried about parasites born by these insects.

patcatpet

My cats were wormed as kittens at the shelter we adopted them from but I haven't wormed them since. I do have fecal exams and so far, they've been fine.

Thanks for your comment and the terrific pics

Thanks, Patcatpet!

Lauren