Premium, Schremium!

Howdy Gang,

Two months ago I switched my kittens from IAMS to Nutro because so many people everywhere sing its praises as being a superior product. However, I noticed that my kittens would have more frequent cases of loose stools, dirty bums, and smelly poo!

I just switched them back to IAMS a week and a half ago and the litterbox smells so much cleaner and the stools are much firmer.

Q: Shouldn't this be a much better indicator of what food to give my cats rather than how "premium" it is?

My cats have always been raised on Iams (with occasional Nutro Max if I ran out or show "prizes/samples". My rex is 15 yrs old (and his "sister" is 17 yrs old; many rex breeders swear by Iams - none of the rex breeders I'm good friends with feed other then Iams.

One of the worse foods to feed rexes is ProPlan! It drys the coats out too much.

The best food to feed your cat is the one that is both healthiest for them and that they'll actually eat.

Zissou is an Iams junkie. That's all she'll eat, and I've tried several. She was liking Merrick too but just totally lost interest. I've found she does very well on it so far. If it were up to her she'd be eating 9lives all day, so I think we've reached a happy compromise for now.

And yes, I would say that what you observe your cat's health to be on a diet is the best indicator you'll get. Some people's cats do the opposite on Iams and get stinky and puky. But not mine!

I noticed the same thing with Nutro...but I'm not willing to try Iams because of the presence of by-products and the company policy. They have a nearly identical formula to Science Diet, which my cats did ok on, but they do much better on Felidae, which is what they surrently eat.

If you ARE interested, there are other super-premium foods out there other than Nutro. Personally, I wasn't impresed with Nutro, and I wasn't impressed with Innova EVO either. I've had VERY good luck with California Natrual and Felidae. If they're doing fine on Iams, then they're doing fine on Iams, but IMHO, it's not something I would PERSONALLY feed.

I'm having great luck with Nutro. In fact, I took in a foster cat and switched her from Purina Kitten Chow (she's nursing still) to Nutro Natural Choice kitten food and I could tell the difference in the litter box odor the next day. It was amazing.

I actually switched to a premium food because my other 2 cats were hungry ALL the time on Purina Cat Chow. I then tried Purina One, then Pro Plan and finally Nutro Natural Choice. Once I switched from regular chow to a better quality, I noticed a difference in their coats, and their appetite significantly decreased.

I also would never try Iams because of some of the company's practices. Nutro works well for my kitties!

The whole food thing is a hug controversy. FEED WHAT YOUR CAT WILL EAT!

It really doesn't matter what anyone has to say about your food. Now granted, if you came on saying that your cats were on Iams and had bad gas and wicked diarrhea, then I could see someone saying "Feed your cat something better." However, there is NOTHING wrong with you feeding Iams when it's working out for your pet.

I personally know farm dogs raised on the $8 50lb bag of feed store "farm dog" food, and they have all lived to be 16, 17, and 18 years old. It really depends on the animal. People are finding more and more that their pets can't handle certain foods, this is due to overbreeding, inbreeding, and over exposure to the same ingredients over and over again.

Personally, I feed one of my dogs Exclusive and my other dog Hill's t/d the t/d has basically "crap" ingredients. Corn and by products etc. However my dog has a shiny coat, she's healthy, and she has clean teeth, so clearly the food can't be that bad. People want to blame certain ingredients in food for illness and early death, but what constitutes early death? Cats in the wild don't die of renal failure, and it isn't because of their diet, it's because in the wild they don't live to be 20 years old.

I will say, there is definitley differences that I have seen stool wise when it comes to feeding. When I initially fed my cat raw his stools had less odor and were nice and firm. I had to switch him off of that due to allergies, and on a 100% meat diet his stools were just like the raw, they didn't smell so bad and were well formed. Now that he's on a mostly fish diet, it's the same thing. When he was on science diet his poop smelled HORRIBLE and I would have to take out of the litter immedietly or I would die hehehe.

So it really depends on what you're wanting to do. My one dog is fine on the t/d, nice shiny coat and everything, completely healthy. My other dog does great on the Exclusive. It really depends on the animal. I do like feeding better foods, only because I feel that you see more results. With better quality feeds you can feed less, so the money goes farther. On science diet my dogs got nearly 2 cups a day, on the exclusive my one dog is down to 1 cup a day. My dog on the t/d still gets 2 cups a day to maintain her weight.

Sorry for the novel, feed what YOU feel is best for your cat, not what someone tells you to feed. I for one am not going to judge you if you feed Iams. If you decide you want to feed something quote "better" I can list off some names for you, however if the Iams works for you, go with it.

Nutro works best on mine! That was the very fist food we tried with Mishka and then I tried other brands, but he showed no interest in them. Every time he smells Nutro food- or treats- he just goes crazy over it!!!! But I'd say- stick to what he likes, BUT Iams are not the greates choice after all- I've heard it is like a fast food for people!

Sorry for the novel, feed what YOU feel is best for your cat, not what someone tells you to feed. I for one am not going to judge you if you feed Iams. If you decide you want to feed something quote "better" I can list off some names for you, however if the Iams works for you, go with it.

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Well I never said I'd judge anybody who patronizes Iams either. It's a personal choice I will not make. And that is all I said.

SOME cats will be healthy on dog food or the junkiest cheapest food available. OTHERS will do a LOT better on premium!

IAMS and Royal Canin and Nutro are NOT premium. THEY are filled with grain and cats have no use for grain. Grain in dry food is just fillers.

Raw or CANNED is best and other wise the best DRY foods are EVO, Wellness, and Innova. There ARE others too but those are 3 of the VERY top!

ONE of mine is on Science diet as she is way overweight from eating EVO which was supposed to satiate her and not make her want to eat much. HA she pigged out on it and NOW only gets about 3/4 cup of SD WD a day.

My 2 BOYS are on Innova light (but occasionally do get a treat of Fancy Feast dry or Evo dry)

My skinny girl will ONLY eat Fancy Feast dry and occasionally Evo.

YES you HAVE to feed what they will eat but IF you can do it the Premium foods ARE better.

Feeding what your cat will eat is good advice - but for some of us our cats will eat anything! So what I feed mine is down to what I like for him. I've recently started to pay attention to what I feed them, especially the older one who will be 9 next week, and have become a bit of a label reader (I was genuinely shocked to discover that the felix and whiskas pouches I had been feeding contained only 4% meat). He's fine on what he's already on (James Wellbeloved dry and a pouch of felix a day) but sometimes they look ok on the outside but aren't so good on the inside, and by the time you discover they have a problem it may be too late to reverse it. I think there are 3 main factors in choosing a food - the quality/ingredients, the cost and what the cat likes. Each of those will have a different level of importance for each of us (and may well change over the cat's lifetime). For me at the moment the first is the most important so I'm looking for good quality foods with a high proportion of meat and no artificial additives (except for vitamins etc.). I think nutrition is as important for pets as it is for humans. I wouldn't criticise anyone for feeding what I consider a poor quality food to their cats - not if their cats liked it and were well on it but knowledge is power and I like to know what's healthy for them and what's not so good.

feed your cat(s) what there systems can tolerate and what they thrive on. Loki has food allergies and it is tough to find a food premium or not that he can eat without getting bloody diarreah. He has already become allergic to one food he was doing so well on for 4 years now we are on to Natural Balance and I am hoping we can stick with it.

Cats are like humans some things they do well with others they don't. It's trial and error and when you find a food that works stick with it. It's not always greener on the other side of the fence.

Hm. I wonder if this is our current problem. We are slowly switching over to Nutro (both wet and dry) and I've noticed diarrhea in the litter box. Is this normal with an initial switch over? If not, what are some other good quality choices? I looked at some wet food at Wal-Mart this afternoon just to see what they had in them and wasn't too impressed--but I couldn't look at too many of them as I had DD with me. We do have a Petco, though.

It certainly can be a problem depending on your cats tolerance level. How long have you been adjusting the food?

Look at Royal Cannin or Natural Balance but before switching again give your baby enough time to adjust to the new food. Another switch too quickly can really do a number on his/her system.

Since....Saturday? How much longer do you think I should wait?

If Nutro and Iams aren't premium, I give up.

I don't believe these premium foods (and I do consider Nutro and Iams premium) are really any different from regular cat food (every healthy cat I've known spent his life on regular foods, and I've known cats on premium food that threw up a lot and had persistent digestive upset). I don't believe feeding humans organic food makes a difference, either... it's just a way for companies to charge more money to people who are willing to pay it.

Feed the best your cat will eat and do well on...

I use Natural choice dry on one...

I use canned and raw on another

I use raw , canned and reintroducing dry to another...

I asked my vet to give me good dry cat foods ( she feeds raw ) she said Nutro and Solid gold worked best on hers....

I am feeding by products but as Pat so sweetly put on another thread ... they are HUMAN grade and happen to be raw( this is my preference)


If you want to look at foods that are more"premium" than Iams ... I would since Natural choice didnt work look for one like Eagle pack that have corn or go the opposite like Premium edge ..

BOTTOM line do what works.... It may not "BE" the best but it is what works

Bottom line, feed what your cat will eat and keeps him/her healthy. I try to keep mine on at least high quality grocery food or nutro/pro plan. That usually means purina one, nutro, nutro max or pro plan. I have occ fed iams but have been staying away from it more and more. My cats usually get a mix of a couple foods, and I slowly adjust the mixture if I'm adding adding a food they haven't eaten in awhile. I think it's a good idea so they don't get hooked on just one brand or flavor.. What if it isn't available anymore or a formula gets changed. So far my kitties have done well.

Wet food is my problem. One kitty, who should have lysine in the wet seems to ONLY like friskies turkey & cheese. I can't just serve it to one cat, so the other kitties eat it too, however I think they should get better food than that, so I have tried to mix it up with some higher quality brands.. Lately they have been more accepting of pate style so that is helping things.

Originally Posted by emmylou

If Nutro and Iams aren't premium, I give up.

I don't believe these premium foods (and I do consider Nutro and Iams premium) are really any different from regular cat food (every healthy cat I've known spent his life on regular foods, and I've known cats on premium food that threw up a lot and had persistent digestive upset). I don't believe feeding humans organic food makes a difference, either... it's just a way for companies to charge more money to people who are willing to pay it.

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Well organic foods aren't better for people nearly as much as they're more environemntally responsible, but that's a topic for another forum

Actually Nutro changed ownership about a year ago. Since then they had been changing leadership, facility....etc. etc. So there had been some inconsistant quality control issues.

I noticed that some of the food became quite crumbly. Not all, though.

If it is possible, you should buy the oldest bag they stock. The ones manufactured before they got brought were much better.

The same thing happened to Burts Bees Skincare.

When companies change hands there usually is a "trial and error" period.

If you dont mind me asking..When did Burts bees change.. I noticed a difference but thought I was crazy