switching food again...

rubsluts'mommy

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... and I need advice. I'v been using a mixture of Iams Multicat (which they liked for a while) and Nutro. I use Purina Pro Plan canned, which they do like, most of the time I'm not worried about canned right now.

More and more, I find I have to throw out the Iams in the bowl, because they aren't eating very much of it. it's mixed in with the Nutro, so it goes in the bowl regardless. Well, the last couple of weeks, I've found they're not very happy with the Nutro either.

I have had concerns about the Nutro anyway, because of Jack's teeth problems... i.e. he doesn't have any teeth behind the fangs. Nutro food is rather large, IMO, for a cat who can't crunch his food as well. This is why I bought the Iams with it, because they're smaller pieces. He has been eating both, amazingly.

Well, I'm nearing the bottom of the food locker now and will be heading out for more food this week. I'm kinda liking the Royal Canin Indoor formula, but any other suggestions? Petsmart has this stuff called Authority. Who makes it ... or is it a 'house brand'? I want something with smaller bits, but still healthy for them. I liked the Iams Multicat because it's for a household with cats of different weights... like mine. JoJo is chunky and Jack is skinny. They need to eat the same dry foods...

Any suggestions?

Amanda
 

sharky

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How old are your cats???

If one has teeth trouble why not all wet??

Royal canin has some formulas with small kibble.... I am unsure about Authority as I havent used there dry ..
 
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rubsluts'mommy

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JoJo is nearly 4 and Jack is 3 and a half. He's had tooth and gum problems for two years... He's getting better, eating more now, gaining some ounces.... he was under weight for too long...

They like the wet... usually the loaf style... though sometimes they like the shredded meats as well... chunks just get the gravy licked off. But much of the time, half the wet food gets left, uneaten, in the bowls.

I free-feed the dry and give half a can (the small cans) each, once a day. As for how much I put out of dry each day, it's about one cup... adding to what's already left over in the bowl.

Amanda
 

sharky

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is the nutro natural choice??? that is a big kibble my Zoey eats it ...


I would say look at the food that are flat or have wholes in the middle... Petsmart often has pictures...
 
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rubsluts'mommy

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I've always looked for pictures... never find any...

they also have this stuff called BLUE. here's the description on the petsmart site: "Deboned Chicken is the first ingredient, plus the goodness of whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruit and brown rice in a tasty recipe for healthy adult cats age one year and older. Enhanced with LifeSource bits to help defend against environmental toxins, strengthen the immune system and support the specific lifestage requirements of adult cats. "

here's the RC one I'm looking at: "Royal Canin Indoor Formula is formulated to meet the needs of adult cats who live indoors all the time. The lower protein formula contains the Opti-Odor system for better digestion and less stool odor. An optimal calorie level helps these less active cats maintain a healthy body weight, while the Hairball Transit System helps in the elimination and formation of hairballs. This is especially important as limited light and temperature variations may interrupt normal shedding cycles. "

They both sound good...

Amanda
 

renny

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If you like nutro, you could try natural balance that's what i switched mine to after nutro natural choice. It's very similar but very small kibble which they like. No problems so far!
 

renny

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If you like nutro, you could try natural balance that's what i switched mine to after nutro natural choice. It's very similar but very small kibble which they like. No problems so far!
 

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I was having that problem with OX (my soon to be 17 yrs senior)-I thought it was the smaller food particles and he liked Felidae which is hard to find. I had some MAX cat which is bigger pieces and he is eating that in the meantime. The rest are nutro natural. Sometimes I think OX likes his own special dish and would eat nutro too if I gave him some. I found a independent pet store that had given me lots of samples totry for OX (he ate them all!)
 
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rubsluts'mommy

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it looks like all the RC foods are smaller bits. I like the RC Indoor 27. If both cats were overweight, I'd go with the Light 37, but Jack is not even at a good full healthy weight yet. He's hovering just under 10 pounds... and he should be about 12. Six months ago, he was 8 and a half. He's slowly gaining, which is fine. JoJo is about 14 and a half pounds... mostly solid, but a little extra hanging down... so she needs to trim down and Jack needs to bulk up...

I think the RC will be my best choice. I looked at BLUE, and although the Petsmart site saiys it's decent, I found a review online for it and it said their cats were so-so about it. Anyone here tried it?

Amanda
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

The Authority is a house brand of Petsmart, comparable to Iams. The kibbles liik kind of like Cal Natural kibbles.
authority is higher end than Iams(IMHO).. no by products or chemical preservatives... it does have corn .. Cal natural is a lovely three prong shape now if only Zoey would eat it..lol ..


Authority and Royal canin are quite simliar in ingrediants ... Blus is good but IMHO way to grainy.... I like one meat to one grain max one meat to one and a half grains... Natural balence is a very rich food but it is a flat like kibble.. Evo is a small kibble
 

menagerie mama

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I would suggest switching to planned meal times. That way they either eat when you feed them, or go hungry till next time. (It sounds bad, I know, but missing a meal once or twice won't hurt them) Their senses will kick in and tell them soon, you better eat now or you'll be hungry later! When I first got Pedro, he was free fed. I switched that, because Rain eats meals, and she and the cats would eat his food if it was left out all day for him. Sometimes he doesn't eat breakfast, but he eats lunch and dinner. He's learned, and your cats will too. I'd say feed 1/2 can in the morning, split between 2 plates, a 1/2 can split at night, and maybe 1/2 cup morning and night in another bowl after they've eaten the wet, and see what happens. I've found that feeding meals makes them hungrier, therefore they eat the wet right up, and only nibble on the dry in between. It's healthier too.
Good luck! Let us know how you get along!
 

moggiegirl

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Among the Natural Balance foods I find that the original formula is too rich, about 585 calories per cup and the weight control formula is too low in protein, about 27%. So I feed my kitties the Natural Balance Venizon and Pea dry food, 32% protein and 450 calories per cup and I supplement with a lot of wet food, a variety of different brands and flavors. The kibbles are small enough to be swallowed whole but they can still crunch it.

I agree that it's good to feed wet food twice a day and dry food in between but I try to limit the quantity of dry food I put out because both of my cats are slightly overweight. So I split a half a can (5.5 or 6 ounce) of wet among my 2 cats twice a day and feed no more than a half a cup of dry food for my cats to share but I split it up into multiple meals. It's not a whole lot of food and would by no means be overfeeding but I think because my cats are living in a small 2 bedroom condominium that Spotty is always going to be a little on the heavy side.
 
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rubsluts'mommy

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I was giving them a variety of canned. each day I'd have either the Pro Plan or something else. Most of the others got sniffed at and then walked away from. Especially Science Diet. They just didn't like it. So this last round of buying, they got just Pro Plan.

As for feedings. I'd considered at one point of going to only leaving food out during the day, and pulling it up at night. Or vice-versa. I fill the dry food at night, also refreshing the water bowl at the same time. They know that routine. Leaving it down at night would be easier. not such a huge switch of routine.

i don't mind them being active at night. They are nocturnal critters... also, most nights, these two are only active for a couple of hours, then they settle down. JoJo sleeps on her chair, and Jack... well, he changes around sometimes. Most nights he sleeps in the carrier portion of the cat stroller, which sits on my bedroom floor, in the corner. He sometimes sleeps on the couch or elsewhere, though.

Okay... food will come up for the day, as soon as I post this message.

I'll also stop at Petsmart today. I'm picking up some moving boxes (start early... despite the move being months away) for free and can stop at PS as well.

Thanks!
Amanda
 

lj_cox

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If you have an underweight cat, watch the indoor-only foods, which tend to be lower fat. We've got one cat that could stand to bulk up a little and one who could lose some, both indoor cats. I tried the IAMS mature indoor catfood (both are 13 years old) and found that their coats got dull and the skinny one was losing ground. Switched to the RC Active Mature (for outdoor cats) and they loved it, and the higher fat content seems better for their coats and health. The skinny one has bulked up a bit and the fat one isn't gaining perceptively (may be losing slowly). Hope this is helpful!

Linda C.
 
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rubsluts'mommy

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the RC Indoor 27 has 13% Crude Fat.
RC Adult Fit, for indoor/outdoor kitties has 15%.
There's also RC Intense Hairball 34 (which JoJo gets... Jack does the hairball hack, but nothing comes out) which has 15% crude fat.

I know i'll pick an RC line... just not sure which one...

Amanda
 

lj_cox

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Ayep, the IAMS indoor mature has 14% fat, similar to the numbers quoted above, and that seemed too low for our cats. They are doing much better on the RC 28, which is 23% fat. As always, YMMV.


Linda C.
 

tanjkn3

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I picked up a sample of RC Mature 27 and I was suprised about how tiny the kibble was! We had been feeding Nutro Natural with no problems but I saw the sample sized bag and it was only $1.99 so I just bought it Tria seems to love it, she also loves her Nutro so I will probably alternate, She also gets Nutro Natural cans/pouches.
 
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