Help recommend a food?

[ravenology]

Originally Posted by sharky

Mine are not "broken" but also not "normal" ... they eat a Variety diet ... a moderate premium only avail at one store ... canned food from FF ( the no grain no by product types) to Evo )... they also get raw and cooked meats per there needs

Basically figure out what you will and wont allow in your cats food and I can make much better suggestions.... right now I have three kinds of raw ( one made me and two commercial) , 8 brands of canned and two kinds of dry ( one with grain one without )

Wow, sorry I let the thread go for so long, its been a bit hectic here o_o
Basically I dont want to be feeding her corn and rice balls. That seems to be the main ingredient in most of the dry foods. Id like to go on a wet diet, but that doesnt really seem to be an option for me at this time. I know at the shelter I got her from they only feed Royal Canin, and she was quite trim when I got her, so Id like to go back to that but I dont know WHICH Royal Canin it was, but its definitely something Id like to find out

 

[ravenology]

After a bit of research I think this looks pretty good:
http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/e...ein-Preference

Thoughts?

 

[kittysback]

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Here is the list of canned foods I've been feeding my fosters:

Before Grain 96% Chicken Formula Canned Cat Food ''1''
Before Grain 96% Turkey Canned Cat Food ''4''
Before Grain 96% Quail Formula Canned Cat Food ''5''
Before Grain 96% Beef Formula Canned Cat Food ''6''
By Nature Natural 95% Meat Beef and Liver Formula Canned Cat Food
By Nature Natural 95% Meat Chicken and Chicken Liver Formula Canned Cat Food
By Nature Natural 95% Meat Turkey and Turkey Liver Formula Canned Cat Food
by Nature Organics Chicken & Chicken Liver Canned Cat Food
by Nature Organics Turkey & Chicken Canned Cat Food
by Nature Organics Turkey & Turkey Liver Canned Cat Food
Felidae Grain Free Cat and Kitten Formula Canned Cat Food
Go! Natural Grain Free Chicken,Turkey & Duck Canned Cat Food
Innova Cat and Kitten Formula Canned Cat Food
EVO Cat & Kitten Canned Cat Food
EVO 95% Beef Canned Cat Food
EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey Canned Cat Food
EVO 95% Duck Canned Cat Food
EVO 95% Venison Canned Cat Food
Natural Balance Grain Free Limited Ingredient Chicken & Green Pea Canned Cat Food
Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck Formula Canned Cat Food
Natural Balance Green Pea & Venison Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Beef Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Duck Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Lamb Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit Formula Canned Cat Food
Nature's Variety Instinct Venison Formula Canned Cat Food
Wellness Beef & Chicken Formula Canned Cat Food
Wellness Chicken Formula Canned Cat Food
Wellness Turkey Formula Canned Cat Food
Wellness CORE Grain Free Chicken, Turkey and Chicken Liver Formula Canned Cat Food

Regards.

AC

I'm curious the ages of your cats? I have 4 cats all under the age of 5. I've read threads that suggest an all grain-free diets aren't the best for cats, especially males. But perhaps that is only if feeding dry? I'd like to feed an all-wet diet, but I'm confused about whether it should be all grain-free cans or a mixture? I have 2 males and 2 females.

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by kittysback

I'm curious the ages of your cats? I have 4 cats all under the age of 5. I've read threads that suggest an all grain-free diets aren't the best for cats, especially males. But perhaps that is only if feeding dry? I'd like to feed an all-wet diet, but I'm confused about whether it should be all grain-free cans or a mixture? I have 2 males and 2 females.

Hiya, Kittysback!

Sometimes, folks who feed kibble will buy grainy kibble because feeding grain-free seems to cause diarrhea in their cats, and kibble with grains seems to "correct" that issue. Unfortunately, what's really happening is the cat's body is reacting to being fed kibble - which is not a species-appropriate food - and the addition of grains is covering up one of the symptoms of that reaction. The solution isn't to add a product that doesn't belong in the cat's diet, it's to switch to a more digestible and feline-appropriate product altogether; for most, that's canned, for the rest, it's raw (either commercial or home-prepared).

Looking for canned products that are grain-, fruit- and vegetable-free and have a high percentage of a named meat (i.e. "turkey" instead of "poultry") is a good place to start. Wellness, Natural Balance and Felidae all have grain-free varieties, and Nature's Variety Instincts and Evo 95% meat products are all grain-free. A "grain-free canned cat" search on petfooddirect.com will yield a veritable cornucopia of options, and you can conduct a side-by-side analysis of the ingredients and nutritional profiles.

Feline-nutrition.org has a nice article on deciphering pet food labels under their Nutrition section that offers additional insight into choosing different products.

I'd also recommend feeding your kitties a rotation of foods; this will keep them from becoming fixated on any one product (a problem if they change or stop producing it) and protect them from potential quality control issues by diluting their impact. Since cats can develop hypersensitivity when continually exposed to the same proteins or ingredients for extended periods, it will also help prevent food intolerance issues (and the associated diarrhea and vomiting).

Dr. Hofve has a great article with even more reasons for rotating foods: Switching Foods.

Best regards!

AC

 

[kittysback]

Thanks AC, appreciate the reply. Didn't mean to hijack the thread, so I apologize to the OP.

I'm familiar with those sites and like I said, I am hoping to switch to an all wet diet. Currently I feed a 50-50 diet of TOTW dry and a variety of wet foods, mostly grain free like NV Instict, Wellness and Natural Balance, and others like Chicken Soup, Feladae and Blue Buffalo. Of course with 4 cats and not much left in the budget, I can't quite go 100% wet. Trust me, I'm trying through. My only real question was with regard to males and total grain-free diets. But after I posted last night, I read a myriad of threads with discussions of this, so I don't need to open that can of worms again!

The only real issue I currently have , except for the lack of funds for an all-wet diet, is trying to feed 4 cats! 2 of them need to lose a few pounds, and one of those is a complete vacuum cleaner - I have to watch him like a hawk or else he will shove the others out of the way and eat theirs. I'm going to have to start feeding them all separately, I think.

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by kittysback

...

The only real issue I currently have , except for the lack of funds for an all-wet diet, is trying to feed 4 cats! 2 of them need to lose a few pounds, and one of those is a complete vacuum cleaner - I have to watch him like a hawk or else he will shove the others out of the way and eat theirs. I'm going to have to start feeding them all separately, I think.

Or go raw.

Home-prepared raw will likely cost you considerably less than feeding canned, will help normalize the various weights, and may help settle down your vacuum cleaner.

Actually, on the cats' weights - once you shift to all canned, you'll likely see a drop in weight anyway.

AC

 

[minka]

Originally Posted by Ravenology

After a bit of research I think this looks pretty good:
http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/e...ein-Preference

Thoughts?

This food has a nice marketing scheme, but is exactly what you didn't want: corn and wheat balls.