Cat Foods

[semiferal]

Originally Posted by sharky

Pro plan isnt quite ideantical to one but very close... they both were in the grocery store once upon a time/.///

I put pro plan a notch above eukanuba and SD cause it doesnt have chemical pres and the corn and by products are not the primary ingrediant ( usually 4-10 place)

Pro Plan used to be in the grocery store?

Interesting. I heard that Purina One was developed fairly recently to compete with Iams, because Purina realized that people who preferred a higher quality food than Cat Chow but did their cat food shopping in the grocery store were buying Iams so they were losing that market. So they repackaged Pro Plan under a different name and put it on grocery store shelves.

But now that I think about it, if that were true then it would not make much sense for PETsMART et. al. to stock both Pro Plan and Purina One.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by semiferal

Pro Plan used to be in the grocery store?

Interesting. I heard that Purina One was developed fairly recently to compete with Iams, because Purina realized that people who preferred a higher quality food than Cat Chow but did their cat food shopping in the grocery store were buying Iams so they were losing that market. So they repackaged Pro Plan under a different name and put it on grocery store shelves.

But now that I think about it, if that were true then it would not make much sense for PETsMART et. al. to stock both Pro Plan and Purina One.

Yup it was ... at the very beginning... I was quite young so it is a bit fuzzy ... now pro plan is more specialized with some decent allegy food s than the one to add too $$$ ..lol..

 

[rang_27]

After reading everything here, I'm going to try something a little differnt. Unfortunately I can't afford to feed exclusivly wet food, but at night I'm mixing half wet & half dry food. They are very happy & frankly the last couple nights they've actually let me sleep through the night. As I said before they get Nutro Natural (weight management for the boys & the little princess is still on kitten) & nutro Max for the canned.
I do have one question about the nutro max I noticed that there are carrots peas & peppers in the canned food. Why? I read somewhere that cats only have a very small amount of taste buds, so do they include these things for the cats or for the owners?

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Rang_27

After reading everything here, I'm going to try something a little differnt. Unfortunately I can't afford to feed exclusivly wet food, but at night I'm mixing half wet & half dry food. They are very happy & frankly the last couple nights they've actually let me sleep through the night. As I said before they get Nutro Natural (weight management for the boys & the little princess is still on kitten) & nutro Max for the canned.
I do have one question about the nutro max I noticed that there are carrots peas & peppers in the canned food. Why? I read somewhere that cats only have a very small amount of taste buds, so do they include these things for the cats or for the owners?

It is a flavor issue... I originally thought only the seniors had it but I have found others do... it is a smell issue and many many of the "good" brands have veggies in the wet food... Most all I serve cept for Authority...

 

[starlie]

Miko has to eat Science Diet C/D for the rest of his life. He prefers the dry formula so I only give him a small amount every morning. I don't like the ingredients in SD, and neither does his vet so when she says he has to eat it, I'm going to listen. I've been feeding him Merrick's Cowboy Cookout and California Natural's Chicken and Rice to balance out SD.

As for Kionu and Sebastian, they both eat Felidae Chicken & Rice (canned).

 

[jcat]

I have a hyperactive cat, who used to bounce off the walls for two or three days at a time, meaning he could go without sleep for 2 - 3 days. Through trial and error and very expensive allergy tests, I've learned not to feed him foods that contain grains other than natural rice. I'm very suspicious of "vegetable proteins" now, and avoid any foods with corn, soybeans, etc.. I've taken him to several vets, and most of them presented me with a choice between giving him Ritalin, or cutting grains to an absolute minimum.

 

[sophiacat]

I have a 5 1/2 moth old siamese cat. I ahve been feeding her science diet kitten and purina kitten chow mixed. I got a free bag of science diet from the vet so I have been mixing them together. I was wondering what everyone thougth about purina kitten chow. I am a college student with a tight budget, but I also want to feed sophia something healthy and good for her. Is there a premium food that anyone would suggest that isn't going to break the bank? Thanks!!

Sophia's mommy

Also she only eats dry food

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by sophiacat

I have a 5 1/2 moth old siamese cat. I ahve been feeding her science diet kitten and purina kitten chow mixed. I got a free bag of science diet from the vet so I have been mixing them together. I was wondering what everyone thougth about purina kitten chow. I am a college student with a tight budget, but I also want to feed sophia something healthy and good for her. Is there a premium food that anyone would suggest that isn't going to break the bank? Thanks!!

Sophia's mommy

Also she only eats dry food

For a tight budget I recomend Nutros Max cat or chn soup for the kitten lovers soul.. both are better than average quality without by products grd corn and chemical pres..

 

[erinandseamus]

I used to feel a little bit guilty because my boys ate Fancy Feast wet food. I tried buying them the Merrick and Wellness and other more premium canned food. I loved the names of some of the Merrick flavors, Thanksgiving Dinner and Turducken. Seamus sniffed it and walked away. He never even tasted them. Anyway, my vet said FF is fine, just with more fat then others. The two boys each get a can in the morning and then at noon I freefeed them Nutro Indoor Kitten food and Adult food. They seem happy and healthy.

Now that we got a puppy, I'm more concerned about them eating the puppy food.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by ErinandSeamus

I used to feel a little bit guilty because my boys ate Fancy Feast wet food. I tried buying them the Merrick and Wellness and other more premium canned food. I loved the names of some of the Merrick flavors, Thanksgiving Dinner and Turducken. Seamus sniffed it and walked away. He never even tasted them. Anyway, my vet said FF is fine, just with more fat then others. The two boys each get a can in the morning and then at noon I freefeed them Nutro Indoor Kitten food and Adult food. They seem happy and healthy.

Now that we got a puppy, I'm more concerned about them eating the puppy food.

As long as they dont eat much of the puppy food your fine... dont let the puppy get any cat food

 

[semiferal]

Originally Posted by sharky

For a tight budget I recomend Nutros Max cat or chn soup for the kitten lovers soul.. both are better than average quality without by products grd corn and chemical pres..

Around here Max Cat is around $25 for a 20# bag and Chicken Soup is $18-$20 for an 18# bag.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by semiferal

Around here Max Cat is around $25 for a 20# bag and Chicken Soup is $18-$20 for an 18# bag.

chn soup is better $$ in most area if you need a big bag .. here a 6 lb chn soup is 12 or so and max can be found for 10 .. so size is an issue

 

[lisalee]

Sash eats Natural Balance dry and Royal Canin light dry but we are going to be switching to Royal Canin for Sensitive stomachs since my vet suggested this for his sensitive tummy. He also eats Natural Balance, Nutro and Eagle Pack canned daily.

 

[rang_27]

A question for those that feed the raw food diet. What are the risks associated with cats eating raw food? obviously people can get very sick what about kitties (I'm a graduate student so I don't have the money or the time tofeed a raw food diet now, but maybe someday)

 

[pat]

Originally Posted by Rang_27

A question for those that feed the raw food diet. What are the risks associated with cats eating raw food? obviously people can get very sick what about kitties (I'm a graduate student so I don't have the money or the time tofeed a raw food diet now, but maybe someday)

Hi, I know you want to hear direct experience, but while waiting for the raw feeders to comment, these two sites are excellent on the topic of cat nutrition and feeding raw: www.catinfo.org and www.catnutrition.org

 

[jcat]

Originally Posted by Rang_27

A question for those that feed the raw food diet. What are the risks associated with cats eating raw food? obviously people can get very sick what about kitties (I'm a graduate student so I don't have the money or the time tofeed a raw food diet now, but maybe someday)

I don't feed raw, but know many people who do. One concern is salmonella, another is pseudo-rabies http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...d=pseudorabies, which can be got from raw pork (keep in mind that raw beef is often placed next to raw pork in butchers' display cases). I live in Europe, which is unfortunately affected by avian influenza, so the warning being passed around among raw feeders is: No poultry! Some tigers and domestic cats that ate raw poultry died of avian flu in Asia, so the threat is real. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/influenza.htm

 

[solaritybengals]

I feed raw and pork is a big nono for a billion reasons. I don't feed beef either because its more expensive. I'm glad we don't have the problems with avian flu because I'd be out of options! My guys are on turkey and chicken.

I'm also not to concerned with salmonella. Their stomach acids are much stronger than ours and able to kill it since cats can easily scavenge in the wild wihtout getting sick. There are grapeseed extract and other rinses you can use for the meat though that will kill bacteria.