Feeding Kibbles

[meuzettesmom]

Yes... I do STILL feed dry food to my nine cats. That is mostly by their choice and my money flow problem. Some is better than none. Their choice is Purina ONE for kittens. I try to move to better Blue Buffalo Widerness, Core and Wellness. But alas, they like the Purina ONE kitten food. That one too has more protein than to other grocery brands, that is why I like it. they get 1/4 cup a day.
Plus I give a tablespoon of wet food once a day. I feed twice a day to the three old cats (they get lunch)
Their favorite is Meow Mix. I can't move them past that either.
Does this mean it is ok by my cat family? I do have one cat over 17 and two that are past 10. One is at ten. But he ates all can food and will only eat dry.
My youngest is two. He keeps the others thin by teasing and playing. That is his job.
A mouse came into the house that is their new toy. He is hiding in the boxes. But only two of the younger cats play with that. My two females are over the ten year mark. I was told they were the hunters of the clowder. Maybe another female is in order

 

[procat]

Anything with ground corn as the first ingredient is a bad, bad, bad cat food.

Honestly, Meow Mix is one of the worst cat foods you could give to your cats. It's cheap, because it contains more fillers than it does meat, and more fillers means more unhealthy, fat inducing carbohydrates. Cats need to eat meat (protein) not corn (carbohydrates).

I don't want to sound overly pushy, but if you're buying MM to save money, you may just wind up spending that savings (and a lot more) on future vet bills for chubby, unhealthy cats.

If you need to watch the spending, at least try look for foods that have a meat source as the first ingredient. The further down the fillers (corn, wheat, etc) are on that list, the better. 

 

[peaches08]

I can absolutely appreciate someone doing the best that they can and cats being stubborn kibble heads.if they get 1 meal a day of wet, that's better than all dry if you can. Also check out the TCS article about getting more water into your cat. Even when drinking from a bowl occasionally, there's a good chance they're dehydrated. Just like many humans.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I agree that Meow Mix is not good at all.  If you could at least feed every one Purina One, that is better than the Meow Mix.  For you old ones that prefer Meow Mix, you could try slowly mixing in some other kibble into the Meow Mix until there is more of the new stuff than the old stuff.  Then, voila, they are eating better

. 

Have you actually tried crushing up some Meow Mix and sprinkling it on top of canned food for the one who hates canned?  Sometimes using beloved kibbled on hated canned does the trick  (In this case, it's ok to use the bad stuff, since it's only used as a lure to bring them to the table, so to speak

)

 

[laralove]

Chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), fish meal (source of DHA), whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, soy protein isolate, caramel color, salt, choline chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, Vitamin E supplement, taurine, zinc sulfate, DL-Methionine, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, copper sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. 

ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, beef tallow (preserved with mixed tocopherols), animal digest, calcium carbonate, turkey by-product meal, salmon meal, ocean fish meal, phosphoric acid, choline chloride, salt, potassium chloride, titanium dioxide (color), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate [source of vitamin B1], riboflavin supplement [source of vitamin B2], pyridoxine hydrochloride [source of vitamin B6], menadione sodium bisulfite complex [source of vitamin K activity], vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (ferrous sulfate [source of iron], zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, yellow 6, yellow 5, red 40, blue 2, rosemary extract.

And noting that there's not much actual protein in Meow Mix. Even the ingredients from animals are by-products, so not muscle. Then there are unnecessary carcinogenic food dyes, and I think taurine should be higher on the list.

Feeding a higher quality food would likely save you money. They would eat less as more of it is processed, and their health would benefit reducing future vet costs.

 

[Willowy]

Dry Meow Mix is like Cheetos for kitties . Try to get them to eat the Purina ONE.

Or (I just re-read that part) do you mean they like the wet Meow Mix? It's not terrible, about the same as the other cheaper brands like Friskies. I don't know which flavor they like, so I just picked one at random:

mackerel, water sufficient for processing, chicken, beef liver, tuna, tuna by product, modified food starch, natural & artificial flavors, titanium dioxide (color), salt, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, caramel color, guar gum, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, pantothenic acid, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), biotin, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity)), minerals (ferrous sulfate monohydrate, zinc oxide, manganese sulfate monohydrate, copper proteinate, sodium selenite, potassium iodide), choline chloride, sodium nitrite (to promote color retention).

Oh, the nitrites aren't good, and it's a little heavy on the fish, and the colorings (but not the numbered kind so that's a little better). But it's wet, so that's good for the older cats' kidneys, and it does have meat as the first few ingredients, so if that's what the older kitties want I wouldn't quibble .

 

[meuzettesmom]

My cats will eat popcorn, but not potatoes or rice. So I go by that.
With their dry choice Purina ONE they are eating what they want.
The Meow Mix is a wet food. They love it but I will try to get them away from that. I knew it wasn't
"good".
I have tried to feed cooked chicken. But only three will out of the nine will take me up on it. So I gave up on trying for raw. Seems the best way to go as far a feeding. The only ones who profit from commercal cat food is the companies (when you start reading labels).
They love babyfood too. But I only feed it as a treat. Can't afford that everyday. Chicken, turkey and beef.
I don't feed the cat treats that are out there (they smell cemically)
When you try so hard to do right and it isn't what is recommended, it is troublesome.
But to those of you who help, you do. So, thank you. Your voices are in my head as I am shopping.
I know that may make me slightly nuts No wonder people steer clear when I come.

 

[peaches08]

I agree with Willowy, the wet Meow Mix isn't terrible. I mistakenly thoughtyou meant Meow Mix dry.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I agree with Willowy, the wet Meow Mix isn't terrible. I mistakenly thoughtyou meant Meow Mix dry.

Me too!  So if you are feeding Purina One as the only kibble, then Meow Mix wet food, I would say you're doing ok.  Fancy Feast CLASSICS would be better (and still reasonably inexpensive), but at least it's not the Meow mix kibble.

As to feeding just cooked chicken or baby food, neither of those is actually nutritionally balanced for cats, so if they do eat them, be sure not to let them eat them as more than 15% of their overall diet.

As to treats, I give mine 100% pure dehydrated meats, like Purebites or Wholelife.  They're pricey, but I only give them one or two per day, and I break them up into tiny pieces so one bag lasts quite a long time.  Plus I buy the bags for dogs vs cats, which are WAY less expensive for the exact same thing

  Here are what other people here at TCS have to say about Purebites:  http://www.thecatsite.com/products/purebites-cat-treats/reviews

 

[procat]

I agree with Willowy, the wet Meow Mix isn't terrible. I mistakenly thoughtyou meant Meow Mix dry.

I'm the one who misunderstood it first, so I'll take the blame.

 

[meuzettesmom]

No biggie.
This wet food of Meow Mix is a new product. The little tubs don't give much. But they love it.
I moved them to Iams new cans of Purrfect Delight. It suppose to have no grains. I haven't been able to read the label yet. You have to use a magifying glass. I don't carry one in my purse.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Here are the ingredients:  (I looked it up on their website...this is for their new chicken flavor):

Chicken Broth, Chicken, Tuna, Turkey, Rice Flour, Carrots, Sunflower Oil, Calcium Sulfate, Natural Flavors, Titanium Dioxide, Salt, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Spinach, Taurine, Carrageenan, Minerals (Iron Glycine Complex, Zinc Glycine Complex, Manganese Glycine Complex, Copper Glycine Complex, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Biotin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K3)), Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1).

They also have a new line of Purfect Delicacies