Diet Questions

[sarahbeez]

I'm new to the diet thing... when I was growing up we never gave our cats diet much thought. But now that I'm out on my own and have a new kitty I'd like to make sure I'm feeding him the absolute best thing for him. With our first cat we fed him canned Science Diet for most of his life and with our last two cats we fed them canned food for a while then switched to dry.

Now with Maui I have been feeding him Authority (Petsmart brand as I'm sure you all already know) for kittens (he's 6 months so I'm told) and he seems to be doing well considering he's only been with me & eating it for about a week. I'd like to continue feeding him the Authority and then also maybe give him some canned food each week to give him the best of both worlds.

How much/how often should I give canned? Like once or twice a week?

Should I mix them together or just serve canned one day and then go back to dry the next?

Any particular brands anyone would like to recommend?

Also- if you have a better suggestion please let me know! I've been trying to read about different diets but everything I find on this site is too advanced- everyone already knows what they're talking about! I need a newby breakdown!

On my sugar glider site they have like a research area that you can get different diet recommendations & how to prepare it all... plus they have a section just for diet chit chat!

 

[jlphilli]

I would make canned food the MAJORITY of the diet. It mimmicks the cat's natural food the best (w/ all the moisture). Canned foods are fortified just like dry foods, so they aren't just considered a "treat," they are more nutritious than dry foods. As to how much canned to give, how much does your kitty weigh? I would feed two canned meals a day and leave dry out in case he gets the munchies.

Dry food I would recommend:

Innova (www.naturapet.com)
California Natural (www.naturapet.com)
Felidae (www.canidae.com)
Natural Balance (found at Petco)
Royal Canin (www.royalcanin.us---found at Petsmart and Petco)
Chicken soup (www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com)
Solid Gold (www.solidgoldhealth.com)
Eagle Pack (www.eaglepack.com)
Eukanuba (most hate it, but I like the high meat content--up to your discretion)
Spa Select (found at Petsmart)

Canned foods I would recommend:

Meow Mix (pouches and "tubs")
Natural Balance
Innova (and Innova EVO)
Felidae
California Natural
Nutro Natural Choice
Spa Select
Eagle Pack
Chicken Soup

Grats on your new kitty!!!!!!!!!

 

[katiemae1277]

I think everybody feeds their kitties a little bit differently around here

so I'll just tell you what I do

I have 10 cats right now, and as much as I would like to, I can't afford to feed them wet food more than once a day, so I do that at dinner time, everyday. I would like to feed them breakfast also, maybe once I get everything in order

I also leave quality dry, Chicken Soup brand, out all day so they can nibble as they want. Most people on this site will tell you to feed your kitty wet everyday as a wet diet is much better than a dry one, before I came here I never knew how beneficial a wet diet is for a kitty, but after making the feeding change, I can see it in my kitties' appearance

As far as which wet food to feed, just read ingredient labels and look for meat, but not by-products, as the first few ingredients. Good luck! Maui is a super name too!!

 

[sarahbeez]

Thanks- Maui is so fitting for him too

As of Monday, when he went for his first vet visit, he weighed 5.9 pounds!
So would you feed like a half a can in the morning & a half a can at night, then make sure to have dry food available all day? Or should it be a can in the morning & one at night?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm at work so I don't have a can I can look at for the serving size. Also- is Authority ok for dry food?

 

[katiemae1277]

I think half a can morning and night to start would be good for his weight, but don't quote me on that

I have a very complicated formula for divvying up my kitties' food

I think Authority is decent, but there is better out there. at my Petsmart, Chicken Soup is not available, so I buy it at Pets Supllies Plus, don't know if you have that store in your area or not, but Nutro is also a good choice, I think the prices are similar.

 

[sharky]

Authority is premium ( has a few things I am not fond of )... It is a good food for those on a budget ... I like Nutro and Chicken soup better in the dry and they are about the same price ... for wet try all of the " good" one s and find out which is liked, I personally rotate aumong 10-15 brands ...