Are all cat food’s the same?

[sharky]

I am not ignoring you ...lol.. I am sick and quite tired but you got good advice..

Meat( ie chn poultry or meat ) can be heads, ft ,intestines, undeveloped eggs

Corn not great digestabilty but in a chn based or beef based corn gluten meal or a touch ( ie fourth or later ingrediant) serves a purpose

Wheat and soy can be ALLERGEN S

.. wheat is decent in digestabilty but I try to avoid it

NO artificial colors or flavors ... ie red and yellow arent natural cat food

Yes using a lesser quality wet is better than high end dry .... ie if kitty will eat natural life wet and dry ( this is a good wet but ??? able dry found at Walmart) //// USE the wet ...

With my

Kandie she ate raw and high end canned with some lower end decent canned..... that diet kept her evan with stage 2-3 CRF for about 2 yrs ... the prior she had eaten low and high end dry and canned... I think the canned let her make it till 14 before CRF ( she pasted 5 weeks shy of 19)

Zoey eat s whatever Fishy wet I can get her to ... she likes wellness , solid gold , california natural ,nutro and some raw ... she eats Natural choice dry ( true premium and the only one she wants

)

My dog eats 50 raw 50 homemade..

Feed the cat the best you can afford and the cat will eat

hollor if I didnt answer something

 

[cococat]

No, they are not all the same as you have learned

There are two really important books you should pick up, I am sure they are even at the library as they are popular:
http://www.drpitcairn.com/books/pitcairn_book.html
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html

And here are some other additional sites that were helpful to me:
http://www.nzymes.com/Articles/whats...inpetfoods.htm
http://www.preciouspets.org/report.htm
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html* Every year the Whole Dog Journal rates dog foods, many of the few select that make the good list also have cat food available

And here are some actual sites that go thru the brands and give more specific information on the brands:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
http://www.naturapet.com/tools/comparison.asp

Good luck on your search, using a better food will be beneficial to your cat in so many ways. Here are two more: http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catnutrition.org/home.html

 

[cococat]

Oh, and another thing, if you are interested in home cooking join a list that talks a lot about home cooking and feeding a good diet, here are three good ones
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CatNutritionInfo/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Holisticat/
one:http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/T..._Home_Cooking/

Also buy Pitcairn's book if you are interested in cooking and feeding a species appropriate diet. I love that book and enjoy the way it is written, it is very common sense and is available pretty much anywhere, even at Barnes and Noble.
If you are interested in learning more about raw, there are also lists like that out there.

Good luck, I am glad you are doing your research!

 

[sharky]

Let me Preface CHECK with a Nutrition minded vet prior to homemade or raw diet undertaking...

Books mentioned are great reference

 

[kibasgirl]

All cat foods aren't the same, as some are not healthy for cats. To determine good from bad, just check the label and watch out for harmful ingridients. ~

 

[beandip]

You've already received a lot of great advice. I don't know what I can add, except my own experience.

My cats used to eat Cat Chow and the occasional can of Friskies.

While it "seemed" like they were doing fine...I found out differently later, after getting away from those foods and seeing the enormous differences for myself. Beandip struggled with bladder/urinary tract issues for a long time...while I struggled to find the right food to feed him...all the while forcing 3 or 4 different meds on him to keep his issues somewhat under control, but not very well.

Beandip's issues prompted me to check into the options. I found out that a high quality "wet" diet would be the best thing for him. He wasn't enthused. I offered him a pre-made commercial frozen raw and he gobbled it up, so that's what we went with. Canned would have been OK with me, but it was up to Beandip, to a point. He did very well on that. After more research, I put him on a home made raw. I no longer spend my days and nights wondering if he's peed yet, LOL

It was really that bad. It was a daily problem and now it's all but disappeared.

So now 6 of mine eat a variety of premium wet (mostly grain free) and Beandip and Junior get the raw. They've never been healthier, it's great. Their poop used to clear the house, it was so bad.

Now I don't even notice it. Shiny coats, more energy, fewer vet visits, fewer hairballs, less trouble!