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Eukanuba vs. Nutro
- Thread starter emb_78
- Start Date
Yeah, all this food stuff is so confusing. I'm learning more every day but so many people all say different things!
I know when I was the nutrition advisor, I usually tried to list reasons and/or articles and links to show how I came to my opinions. I will not comment here unless you have a specific statement I've made that you want me to elaborate on...otherwise, I'll just let others also comment
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- Jan 30, 2005
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Basically I read the labels and then do research ... unfortunately AFFCO has limited what you can get off there site without a subscription...
I personally do not like the thought of my kids eating corn( I dont digest it and there tracts are shorter) by products can be too many things ( organs would be great and some companies do just organs )... I try to avod chemical pres at all cost ...
I will only say I disagree with your vet and would give you mines number as she has turly researched nutrition( she taught me a lot in just a few visits)
I personally do not like the thought of my kids eating corn( I dont digest it and there tracts are shorter) by products can be too many things ( organs would be great and some companies do just organs )... I try to avod chemical pres at all cost ...
I will only say I disagree with your vet and would give you mines number as she has turly researched nutrition( she taught me a lot in just a few visits)
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My cousin is a vet. She did say that Eukanuba is an acceptable food(she feeds a can to both dogs & the cat a day, but also feeds Merrick
). It is nowhere near as good as Innova, Cal Natural, Nutro, Wellness, etc.
Personally, I would like my cats to eat Merrick canned food. Since they are stubborn, I give them Nutro pouches because Twitch usually won't eat any canned unless she licked tons of gravy off of it. I feed them Eukanuba cans because they also contain large amounts of gravy. I feel a little better about feeding Eukanuba since Twitch also gets Innova, but I wouldn't give it to my kitties as the sole source of nutrition. There are other brands that have better ingredients, IMO.
Your best bet would be to read labels on cans. There are many websites out there that will explain what everything means. It is really confusing. It doesn't help that many vets aren't educated in nutrition. Basically, you have to make the decision yourself.
Good Luck!
Personally, I would like my cats to eat Merrick canned food. Since they are stubborn, I give them Nutro pouches because Twitch usually won't eat any canned unless she licked tons of gravy off of it. I feed them Eukanuba cans because they also contain large amounts of gravy. I feel a little better about feeding Eukanuba since Twitch also gets Innova, but I wouldn't give it to my kitties as the sole source of nutrition. There are other brands that have better ingredients, IMO.
Your best bet would be to read labels on cans. There are many websites out there that will explain what everything means. It is really confusing. It doesn't help that many vets aren't educated in nutrition. Basically, you have to make the decision yourself.
Good Luck!
Mine eat Nutro and do very well on it. I've researched some and had tried them on Felidae and Wellness but they HATED them and we ended up donating them to the shelter. They also get Sheba moist food once in a while and adore that, it's not the best nutritionally but as far as I'm concerned, it's like buying your kids a McDonald's Happy Meal once in a while, it doesn't hurt anything and keeps them happy
You know I wouldn't go to my vet for anything apart from medical advice - most of them know nothing about cat breeds and colours.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
It looks like there is corn in both Eukanuba and Nutro? I am also very interested in this comparison... I know a cat that was on Friskies its whole life and it had some serious coat issues (long-hair). They switched her to Eukanuba as that is what my mom fed our cat as I grew up. The coat has changed and everyone is commenting on the difference. Now I know that switching from a crappy food to any premium food was a huge step for this cat. But I wonder if its worth switching her to another food again if the results are so good? I know Nutro is a really good food but I don't see a huge difference in the ingrediants list.
This site is useful for comparing ingredients in various foods: http://naturapet.com/display.php?d=comp-wiz&animal=Cat
I couldn't agree more with this. I told my vet I feed Dori Innova light dry and Merrick wet.. He looked puzzled and knew nothing of these brands
Eukanuba Indoor Formula: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Liver, Corn Grits, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Powdered Cellulose, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Brewers Dried Yeast, etc.
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor Formula:
Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Rice Flour, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flaxseed Meal, Tomato Pomace, Brewers Dried Yeast, Natural Flavors, Dried Beet Pulp, Mixed Vegetable Fiber (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), Potassium Chloride, Menhaden Fish Oil, Oat Fiber, Soy Protein Concentrate, Cranberry Powder, etc.
**I will say I was stunned to see "garlic flavor" listed further down in the Nutro Natural choice - I do not believe this is in all their other foods, as I haven't seen it in the one formula of theirs that I feed.
I have highlighted in red the ingredients I would not want to feed my kitties, eukanuba has more red than the nutro
I just went to the pet store and bought 37 5.5 oz. cans of cat food!
All different kinds that were recommended by some on this site: Merrick, Chicken Soup, Innova, Nutro, Eagle Pack, Natural Balance, and California Natural....I'm keeping a log or something about which kinds they seem to prefer over others. Meanwhile, I think they're enjoying the taste testing!
They seem to love anything that has peas in it, like the Nutro Chicken Casserole...I was laughing when I was reading the labels for the Merrick..."Turducken?"
"What do you feed your cats?" "Oh, last night they had some California roll, and tonight they're having London Broil. Tomorrow I'm making Grammy's Pot Pie....."
My cats are eating better than I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
But the checkout lady and people behind me weren't as amused by all of this....
They also like Thanksgiving dinner.
We did not feed wet until a few months ago and now they come and let us know when their wet food is due. Often I hardly get it out of the can and into the dish before they get into it. Well Bijou anyway - he can hardly wait for the food.
That's how it is with Gracie! Leo is my more stubborn kibble addict. He eats the wet food, but he's not as enthusiastic as his "sister".
Leo eats holistic pheasant and Gracie eats Turkey and salmon. Occassionally they get whole crab (from whole foods) or Grammy's Pot Pie or Cowboy Cookout!
A simple read of the ingredients is all you need to know which food is better. In this case it's a no-brainer - Nutro wins.
Having worked at several vet offices, I would have to say that their knowledge of nutrition is lacking at best. The vets I have worked for recommend Purina and Iams! Sorry, but no way.
Having worked at several vet offices, I would have to say that their knowledge of nutrition is lacking at best. The vets I have worked for recommend Purina and Iams! Sorry, but no way.
I think the reason vets recommend Eukanuba or Science Diet is because those companies have marketing reps that visit vets' offices and offer incentives to promote their products. They also give information packets with free samples for vets to give to their patients. My vet recommended Eukanuba but after learning about ingredients I started buying Nutro.
The truth is, once you get right down to it, you can try to feed your kitty the best food there is, BUT if the kitty doesn't like it and won't eat it, then it isn't the best food for your kitty.
Over the years I've fed all dry and what some would consider junk cat food and I've been lucky to have healthy cats who lived long lives.
After being educated here, I've tried to switch our 2 over to mostly wet food and a good quality. I tried about 6 different brands of wet - they wouldn't touch Nutro, Natural Balance, Wellness and the others. However they love Merricks - so they get Merricks since it has no by-products and seems to be a quality food.
Over the years I've fed all dry and what some would consider junk cat food and I've been lucky to have healthy cats who lived long lives.
After being educated here, I've tried to switch our 2 over to mostly wet food and a good quality. I tried about 6 different brands of wet - they wouldn't touch Nutro, Natural Balance, Wellness and the others. However they love Merricks - so they get Merricks since it has no by-products and seems to be a quality food.
Yeah nutrition isn't one of most vets strong vets. Vets get paid here by companies to say Hills is the best!Originally Posted by squirtle
I couldn't agree more with this. I told my vet I feed Dori Innova light dry and Merrick wet.. He looked puzzled and knew nothing of these brandsHe recommended Iams over those 2. I laughed and gave him a nice explanation as to what led me to my decisions to feed her those brands and he actually told me he was very impressed with my knowledge and agreed with my decision
