Eukanuba Dry for Cats and Kittens...opinions?

[danimarie]

I saw other threads about food but didn't want to hijack anyone's thread.

So Eukanuba dry usually runs much more expensive than Nutro where I buy it. (The Petsmart near me)

Last week there was a sale...so I bought two 6.5 pound bags of their kitten food for about $10 each.

(the nutro would have been 17.99 for an 8 pound bag)

So my question is about the quality of Eukanuba. It has gone over VERY well with all the kittens in my house, and even 8 month old sophie likes to nibble on it.

I was worried about finding a dry the kittens would eat but it is the perfect tiny little size and they love it. (in between their twice a day wet feedings and Mom of course, although they're weening more and more)

Opinions???

 

[kitytize]

I love Eukanuba. Many people here will not support Eukanuba because it has by-products. By-products contain nutrients that can not be found in muscle meat alone. I would much rather my cats be eating by-products than glutens.

Also people will say by-products have diseased and euthanized animals. Now that is possible but my understanding it is the smaller rendering companys that buy those animals. Iams/Eukanuba uses a large reputable rendering company who buy from slaughter houses that do not use diseased animals. I know this is very well possible because of an article in my local paper. It was a livestock auction place stating to a concerned citizen that the diseased, sick and dying animals were not sold to slaughter houses but were euthanized and cremated. It was not one letter but many from employees and the head guy. I am confident that the by-products in Eukanuba are safe and much more healthy for my cats to eat than glutens. And wouldn't muscle meat come from the same rendering companys? So if by-products were diseased wouldn't it possible for the muscle meat to be diseased?

Also Eukanuba has a much higher meat protein content than other pet foods. This is why they do not need to add taurine. They also are lower in carbs than most other cat foods. This is why many breeders feed Eukanuba.

 

[sharky]

TOO many by products( I feed by products THAT iknow what they are exactly.. ir chicken liver.. chn by product meal could be 50 % liver( too high) and 50% beeks).. the PROTEIN is NOT all meat derived and the quality of the meat is ??? able ... plus WAY to much corn for my taste

...IMHO Eukanuba is one of the priciest grocery quality foods

 

[littleraven7726]

The ingredients aren't fabulous, but I've known a lot of kittens who did the best on it. Taste-wise, a lot of kittens seem to prefer it too. (when I worked at the shelter we often had kittens who couldn't stomach the standard Purina Kitten Chow, and would switch them to Nutro or Eukanuba)

That said, personally I would prefer to have a kitten on Nutro. I've also heard good things about Wellness Kitten and Royal Canin Baby Cat.

 

[kitytize]

Eukanuba and Iams still do not use gluten in their dry products.Taurine is still very high in these foods without any extra added. This means there is real meat in the product. It means that the protein listed is primarily from meat and not gluten or soy. Any meat imo is questionable of quality not just because it is a by-product.

 

[littleraven7726]

Originally Posted by kitytize

Any meat imo is questionable of quality not just because it is a by-product.

I have to agree. Technically many of the higher end foods do use by-products. They just call them liver, etc. on the label. My cats prefer wet foods that do have by-products. They won't touch most of the "by-product free" foods.

As I mentioned, I've known a lot of kittens to do well on Eukanuba kitten formula. Some couldn't digest Nutro but did fabulous on Eukanuba.

Each kitty is different I guess.

I know what I would prefer my cats to eat is very different from what they actually will eat.

 

[danimarie]

Well let me just tell ya, Eukanuba was the second to the most priciest brand at the store (beat only by Royal Canin by just a couple of dollars) and I got a huge deal at paying only 10 bucks for a small bag each.

Nutro is great and all, but I've never seen the cats get so excited about a dry food and they did with this one. I'm probably not going to stick to it because of the price factor, but it's working so far.

My husband says I'm getting obsessively picky about cat food since joining this board and I think he may be right.

My 17 year old baby was always fed the cheapest grocery store brand and her 21 year old cousin never had wet or quality dry in her life and lived a very happy life.

Obviously I'm trying to improve, but I'm getting a little too obsessed.

Comparing Eukanuba to Iams is almost an insult to me because Iams is less than half the price.
Plus Eukanuba here is only available at petstores such as Petsmart, I've never once seen it in a grocery store.

Maybe I just live in an area where the prices are higher or something.
You would think the higher the price, the better quality the food.
Obviously I don't want my cats to develop health issues, but like my husband said to bring me back down to earth "I hope these cats are going to save the world because they eat better than we do".

 

[littleraven7726]

When my cats were young adults, and Eukanuba had just come out I fed them that. It was VERY pricey. And to be honest I don't miss that.

Comparing Iams and Eukanuba isn't really an insult, they are made by the same company. One is just their "high end" line. Iams used to only be available in pet stores and vet clinics and was actually a pretty good food back then. I think it was in 1999 that Eukanuba cat food came out, and Iams changed.

My cats prefer Nutro Max for their dry food. I just go with the flow.

It's also easier on my pocket book while giving the cats nice coats and lots of energy.

 

[sharky]

READ and compare ingrediants ... That is why I compare it to grocery cause that is where many of the ingrediants are..

It truly comes down to what works for you kitties... What theyll eat and you can afford

Iams and Eukanuba read very much alike...

No glutens but the lowest quality of rice and corn are USED ...

kitten food a
ngredients
Chicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Corn Grits, Chicken By-Products, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate

kitten b
ngredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Corn Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Inositol, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate

Guess which is sold everywhere and which is sold in only pet stores

one is Eukanuba the other is Iams

 

[tiger1206]

I think feeding Eukanuba is FINE! It's better then feeding most grocery store brands I believe. At least the first ingredient is Chicken.

My hubby also says I am becoming to "obsessed" and "stessed" over food. So I'm feeding what I feel comfortable with and what my cats like, and if it isn't the "best" so what! My cats are healthy and happy and that's all that matters to me