New Cat Diet.

[motylek]

Hi everyone,
So my cat is over a year old and I have been feeding her freeze dried food, but she doesn't seem to like it much. so I was thinking of maybe going back to wet food but I can't seem to find the best quality one. any suggestions ?

 

[duckpond]

Thats a question that you may get different answers from everyone! we all have our own brands we like, and that our cats will actually eat, that's the hard part sometimes.

Right now mine are eating quite a bit of the Tiki chicken and egg, and tiki after dark flavors. Now that they have complete foods i have been trying the Almo nature, they like the chicken and green beans, and the chicken with apple quite a bit. American journey minced flavors is a good staple. I almost always have one or two of the Weruva foods in the rotation. and Merrick back country, they are liking the rabbit quite a bit. Nulo minced flavors usually go over well also. I just ordered a few different flavors of Nutrisca today, have never used this one before, not sure why, so i have no idea if they will like it or not.

I try to keep it as high protein, moderate fat, and low carb as possible. She does not have all the brands i feed on this list, but its a very good place to start.

http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[motylek]

I also give her a snack when I come home from work which is the purina chicken fillet or tuna one.

 

[cheeser]

Thats a question that you may get different answers from everyone! we all have our own brands we like, and that our cats will actually eat, that's the hard part sometimes.

True dat!

I spent a ridiculous amount of time and money looking for the perfect wet food that met all of my preconceived requirements. I wound up having to settle for something a little less perfect that our cats would actually eat. And in Oscar's case, Fancy Feast classic flavors and Sheba are as close to that ideal as we could get.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
These two articles might help in addition to the great advice you've gotten;

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food (canned, Raw, Or Homemade)

What Do I Need To Know About Feeding My Cat?

Try toppers if you find that your kitty doesn't want to transition easily to a combination/rotation of expensive and inexpensive wet food. If your cat loves kibble, you could use that as a topper.

• boiled unseasoned chicken or turkey,

• sardines,

• tuna,

• tuna juice from the tuna can,

• canned kitten food,

• kitten replacement milk powder or liquid as an add-in,

• bonito flakes,

• heating the wet food slightly,

• parmeson or shredded cheddar cheese,

• fortiflora

• mackerel

There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper, Tiki Cat has a mousse topper, etc.

Also, take a look at some of the not-big-brand canned and pouch foods and treats that are available now in local grocery stores and Walmart. There are three-four that aren't horrible in each, such as Pet Pride, Pure Balance and luvsome, Sheba meaty sticks treats (also a good topper option), Delectables treat pouches, Special Kitty, Abound.
In addition, Purina has a line called Muse.

 

[Furballsmom]

And Pet Food Guide provides another database to look at regarding bad additives and which brands have them, the last update for this chart was Nov 2017 and some manufacturers have made changes since then, so keep an eye on the ingredient lists of whatever you decide to purchase.

To clarify in case you're unfamiliar, additives that people typically do not like are agar agar, carrageenan, the various glutens(such as wheat gluten, etc), menadione bisulfate which is a synthetic vitamin K, and some people find that their cats don't do well with the starches (pea starch, potato etc), or they try to avoid grains, or some vegetables.

Other ingredients that aren't liked but can be found in cat foods are artificial colors, sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, BHT, BHA, Ethoxyquin, sodium selenite - selenium, sodium, glucose, sucrose, corn syrup, propylene gycol, propyl gallate.

Rendering products are a challenging additive/ingredient since the consumer has no real way of knowing by looking at a label - I'm hoping that someone else creates a database we can use since I heard back from the people at Cornucopia regarding the Pet Food Guide, and they're not going to continue maintaining it. Reviews . com also has a cat food page that might be of use.

Depending on what you can afford and what concerns you the most versus the least, the VERY most important thing is what will your cat eat - that is the best food.

Many members try and offset the bad additives by rotating foods, some expensive with some that is not, some with one bad ingredient, then the next day or two feeding something that doesn't have that bad thing but might have something else.

The idea is to give the cat's system a better chance to deal with bad stuff. Also, a variety can help if the manufacturer discontinues a favorite brand, which happens more frequently than it should.

 

[abyeb]

There are some great suggestions in this article: Top 5 Brands Of Wet Cat Food Our Members Love The Most

 

[motylek]

Thank you all for you replys