What is the best Cat food?

emb_78

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
3,095
Purraise
1
Location
Wisconsin
I have been hearing a lot of things about cat food. I am a vet tech and have always fed my cats Iams... What is the BEST???
 

danalee2682

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
145
Purraise
1
Location
san diego
this is a decision i'm working on too. without repeating everyone's opinions, there is some good discussion about brands on the "meow mix kitten food" thread.

much luck!
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
heres my badic kitty food ed..lol.. if it dont make sence just ask...

wild kitty eats meat .. yes meat and maybe a few organs and some skin and bones...

Many pets foods contain by products ... chn by products are heads feet and internal organs( this includes eggs and brains ).... these are not nearly as digestable as say chn like back thiegh ...

Most food contain corn or grd corn ... think you ... do you digest corn??? kitty does only at 50% on contrast rice is 70-80 depending on white ( more digestable ) or brown with germ good nutrients thou insouble... corn gluten meal is 60 plus protein vs corn at about 10%

many also have wheat the jury is out for some kittys this is fine others it isnt

chemical presvatives ... in a word I dont for me so I wont for them


good foods are digestable have good fatty acid levals , may have some type of hairball stuff usually oat of some kind...

Cats are obligate carnivores they need meat not grain... I like a 1 to1 ratio so not 7 grains and two meat sources

I am sure others will fill in on what they think is best
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
any time...

suggested foods
Nutro ( I am biased I work for them)
Royal Canin
Natural Balence( love there allergy formula )
Innova
Solid Gold
Feline Caviar
Felidae
 

pat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
11,045
Purraise
58
Location
Pacific NW
Here are links to two previous and very long threads on this:
Comprehensive Food Poll and Thread on Natural cat foods .

A good page on cat nutrition is: article on feline nutrition and while these are two sites which are pro raw, they also contain great reading overall on cat nutrition and diet and discuss homemade (be it cooked or raw versus commercial foods):cat nutrition dot org and Cat Info dot org

I shoot for foods that don't make a heavy use of grains - I don't want to see soy, wheat, whole or cracked corn plus rice and millet - some foods use 2-3 or more of these in the same formula, no need for tons of veggies and fruits either...I want to see quality proteins, minimal grains, no added sugars, dyes or flavorings, no animal digest or by-products, no bha/bht, ethoxyquin, no garlic


I am wanting at this point to eventually change to a homecooked diet for all my cats (unless they need a prescription diet for which there is no comparable homecooked formula).

Wysong has a line of "just meat" canned foods (though they are not nutrionally complete and require supplementation), Active Life - once back in production has an excellent line of whole-food, minimally processed canned foods, if feeding raw and wanting to purchase premade recipes, Steve's Real Foods freeze-dried for cats is good, and Raw Advantage (their recipe w/out garlic) is another superior quality brand. Other good canned brands include the various flavors by PetGuard (especially their rabbit and rice, turkey and rice, and their organic chicken and veggies), Felidae.

In terms of dry kibble, I consider Felidae, PetGuard, Nutro's Natural Choice Complete Care line, Innova, California Natural Chicken and Rice, Natural Balance - their Green Pea and Venison (their allergy formula that Sharky mentioned as well) to be excellent brands.
 

sunnicat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
2,788
Purraise
1
Location
Central Illinois
Since joining TCS, I have become a thorough cat and dog food nutrition label reader. I always look for meat as the first ingredient, try to avoid by-products and follow the advice that I have found on these forums. Sophie eats Nutro now and loves it. Out of all the labels I read at PetSmart, it was the one I found to be affordable and healthy.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

emb_78

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
3,095
Purraise
1
Location
Wisconsin
Thanks for your insight!!!
 

scamperfarms

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
7,299
Purraise
2
Location
Minnesota
You have gotten some great advice in this thread. I sure cant add much. Other than I have had good sucess with my kids on Purina Pro Plan, its not the best on the market it does have corn and by products. but it has lots of good stuff as well.

I think it goes with Label, what you can afford and how your kids do on it
 

mybabies

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
1,431
Purraise
3
Originally Posted by sharky

heres my badic kitty food ed..lol.. if it dont make sence just ask...

wild kitty eats meat .. yes meat and maybe a few organs and some skin and bones...

Many pets foods contain by products ... chn by products are heads feet and internal organs( this includes eggs and brains ).... these are not nearly as digestable as say chn like back thiegh ...

Most food contain corn or grd corn ... think you ... do you digest corn??? kitty does only at 50% on contrast rice is 70-80 depending on white ( more digestable ) or brown with germ good nutrients thou insouble... corn gluten meal is 60 plus protein vs corn at about 10%

many also have wheat the jury is out for some kittys this is fine others it isnt

chemical presvatives ... in a word I dont for me so I wont for them


good foods are digestable have good fatty acid levals , may have some type of hairball stuff usually oat of some kind...

Cats are obligate carnivores they need meat not grain... I like a 1 to1 ratio so not 7 grains and two meat sources

I am sure others will fill in on what they think is best
YOU hit the nail RIGHT ON THE HEAD! Cats do NOT need or utilize grains! A vet online once tried to say they did and so many people wrote to "corect" him he changed his mind - ONLINE!

The BEST food (unless your cat needs a restricted protein diet) is EVO< the Felidae, Wellness and then Chicken soup and Blue and Nutro (too many grains), etc. My cats are on mainly EVO except Missy who holds out for her fancy feast!

A LOT Of people feed raw BUT you have to be sooooo EXTREMELY careful where you get the meat from! Then cooking or steaming is next best! I used to feed raw to my dog and to my late Corkie but I never bothered to research it and things did not go well!

There are group like Holisticat, and A Natural Healthy cat on yahoogroups as well as feline nutrition that can tell you more!
 

petfriends

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Messages
19
Purraise
0
Location
Indiana
Originally Posted by emb_78

I have been hearing a lot of things about cat food. I am a vet tech and have always fed my cats Iams... What is the BEST???
We like Wellness from Old Mother Hubbard
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

emb_78

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
3,095
Purraise
1
Location
Wisconsin
Originally Posted by sharky

any time...

suggested foods
Nutro ( I am biased I work for them)
Royal Canin
Natural Balence( love there allergy formula )
Innova
Solid Gold
Feline Caviar
Felidae
Sharky, are these in the order you would suggest?
 

princessrandom

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Aug 22, 2005
Messages
10
Purraise
0
Location
Nashville, TN
I'm fairly new at this, so I don't know how much my opinion counts...I just got a siamese kitten on Sunday and bought purina kitten, which she would barely nibble on. My brother & his wife swear by all organic food for their own diets and highly recommended it for the kitten since it supposedly significantly extends their life expectancy. So, I went to Wild Oats and found an organic dry kitten food (much smaller pieces than purina) which my new baby seems to love. I was a little worried that she wasn't eating, but now she's just fine.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I use nutro and Canine caviar ... in the past have used premium edge natural balance and royal canin... the best one is depending on you situation ... Is price a matter>??? Ages of cats, can they be feed seprate formulas??

I currently use Nutro indoor kitten mixed with nutro adult and Canine caviars chn and salmon she like s alot of variety
... my old cat eats canned homemade and raw only
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by PrincessRandom

I'm fairly new at this, so I don't know how much my opinion counts...I just got a siamese kitten on Sunday and bought purina kitten, which she would barely nibble on. My brother & his wife swear by all organic food for their own diets and highly recommended it for the kitten since it supposedly significantly extends their life expectancy. So, I went to Wild Oats and found an organic dry kitten food (much smaller pieces than purina) which my new baby seems to love. I was a little worried that she wasn't eating, but now she's just fine.
Off course your opinion counts... Welcome
to TCS ... I like organic for me but in kitty foods i find the formulas are too complex and have lots kitty doesnt need ... Oh and I live in the "sticks" no wild oats or big health food stores..
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

emb_78

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
3,095
Purraise
1
Location
Wisconsin
Yes there is a bit of a money issue
I would like to get the cheapest GOOD food for them. They are adults
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Nutro should work for you ... in the sdult has three flavors and 20lbs at most stores are about 25-30 $
 

amaruuk

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
121
Purraise
61
Location
Canada
My Mikko used to be on Iams dry, til I found out about the whole testing thing. I had her on Nutro, dry and canned, for a while, then went with the Wellness canned for the last year of her life, being concerned that she get the best nutrition I could offer her.

Now I'm possibly getting a kitten from a person I work with, and am wondering what the best kitten food is. I imagine there's oodles of threads on this already, and I'm off to search for them, but if anyone has anything specific or a link to a thread that's particularly helpful, I'd much appreciate it. I want the best for any baby kitty I end up with.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by Amaruuk

My Mikko used to be on Iams dry, til I found out about the whole testing thing. I had her on Nutro, dry and canned, for a while, then went with the Wellness canned for the last year of her life, being concerned that she get the best nutrition I could offer her.

Now I'm possibly getting a kitten from a person I work with, and am wondering what the best kitten food is. I imagine there's oodles of threads on this already, and I'm off to search for them, but if anyone has anything specific or a link to a thread that's particularly helpful, I'd much appreciate it. I want the best for any baby kitty I end up with.
It a few threads down with a poll I think it is call cpmprehensive feed poll
 
Top