You said on your first post you needed help in walking AWAY from Purina, towards a healthier food.I guess my main point is that a cat can live a healthy long life eating a diet of purina brand cat food. Many here seem to think not but have not offered any real evidence other than disgruntled customers. I'm waiting for someone to prove to me that before all this "natural" hype hit the market cats were suddenly dropping dead in families homes due to lower quality food. As I mentioned before..when I was a young kid we had a family outdoor cat that lived on nothing but Chef's Blend and died of old age.
Why then would that cat have needed to be fed a raw diet or a diet of NB, EVO, Wellness or any other?
I think it's just a case of people who follow blindly the trends of the day instead of using common sense. I mean, if it makes you feel like your doing your cat a favor by purchasing the most expensive cans of cat food filled with garden greens and cranberries go ahead but I doubt it really makes any difference.
Is that your true goal? Or do you want to open a discussion on what type of food is best for cats, kibbles, low cost kibbles, such as purina, vs premium brands, Canned, etc?
Because what I took from your post, was you need help with transitioning to a better quality of food - evidently, from that post, it is clear you know Purina One is not the best choice.
There is plenty to read on the subject - lots, and lots here on TCS, and lots of links we can post here on cat nutrition.
But the confusion remains, to me of what do you want out of this thread.
As for the below:
IMHO, no. Nothing to do with a trend, lots to do with knowledge. Cats are, no matter what one thinks, and this IS a FACT, obligate carnivores. If you want to use common sense, a diet as close to what an obligate carnivore would eat, would be using common sense, IMHO, and the closest to the optimum diet. That is a diet based on meat, organs and bone - a diet simulating what a cat would eat on its natural habitat, a prey.Why then would that cat have needed to be fed a raw diet or a diet of NB, EVO, Wellness or any other?
I think it's just a case of people who follow blindly the trends of the day instead of using common sense.
LDG had posted great paper from a Harvard Grad that has a lot of information for you- it is long, but outstanding
Deconstructing the Regulatory Façade: Why Confused Consumers Feed their Pets
Ring Dings and Krispy Kremes
This is a long thread, but also with a great discussion on the topic http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239691/nutritionally-complete-assurances-for-our-pet-food
If you want some basics on feline nutrition, a good place to start is here: http://www.catinfo.org/
Another article on Nutrition: The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats
More Links - Diet/Health related:
Carnivore Digestion and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Diet, Kidney Disease and the Urinary Tract
Diabetes and Obesity: Preventable Epidemics
Feline Urinary Tract Health
My Cat is Doing Just "Fine" on Dry Food
Now, they say the proof in in the pudding.... I won't bore you preaching a raw diet, and repeating myself to the others as they have heard this many times, I am sure.
But as much as yes, health IS related to genes, I have solid proof, in my house, that a species-appropriate diet is pretty much the best thing you can offer your pet, health-wise. IMHO, it is the pillar of good health.
I have a cat with IBD, Bugsy, who was in awful shape. He was never healthy in his life, really.... All along, his vets and I, blamed on his genes - I am sure it IS to be blamed on his genes. He had all issues you can think of. Stomatitis, UTIs, URIs, IBD, reactions to every drug under the sun. You name it, he had it - he was my lemon kitty, I used to call him.
He took a round of antibiotics for an UTI, and from that day on, his IBD got out of control - he had over 14 months of violent diarrhea - DAILY. Nothing worked. Many vet trips, all diets you can imagine, soooooo many meds, emergency trips..... We were Hopeless - Literally hopeless. He wasn't doing good at all. He was days from a very serious, big (let alone dangerous), exploratory surgery. But, no matter what, I wouldn't be able to treat him, as he had taken so many meds at that point, his liver couldn't take any more meds. I went to raw as my last resort......... and lo and behold. It worked.
From the day he went on Raw, he has been 100% good. one-hundred-percent.
No more meds, no more vet visits. No more diarrhea. He is SO good, in fact, that even his stomatitis medicine has been discontinued.
I am thrilled, his vet is thrilled, and he is, for the very first time in his life, HEALTHY.
Lucky, my other cat, used to throw up almost every day - I thought it was normal. She even had a blockage for hairballs...... Thought..... Well, she is a very long hair cat.
No more vomit, and her hairballs have reduced to almost none - I think she had one, since transitioning. She only throws up now when she goes too long without eating - that is my fault, not hers :doh3:
So, yes, I am sure genes play a great deal on their health..... And many, many live for many years on low quality carb heavy foods...... BUT, I am also certain, that an appropriate diet will make them thrive, and not just survive. Will allow them live the longest they can live, the healthiest they can be.
Sure, it would be much easier to toss some kibbles in a plate and forget about it...... MUCH easier.....
But now that they are eating raw, to me, it is MUCH easier to have them healthy.... To not be going to the vet every week, or in the middle of the night with Bugsy..... Or worrying the little time I am going to have with him, and that this little time he is in pain. That is Much easier, for sure.
It takes minutes to prepare their meals, and it has become a routine..... And IMHO totally, totally worth it.
That is my honest opinion and experience..... Not about trends.... Not at all.... Quite the contrary - I was one that was completely against raw - like you couldn't believe it! But Bugsy's health let me in a corner.... I tried. I did a LOT of reading - about the industry, about nutrition, about raw.... and all that information, combined with my own experience, left me with no doubt that I have made the absolute right choice.
Hope you can get on a healthier path with your baby - they DO have a mind of their own, and are very very stubborn on their convictions, that's for sure! :lol3:
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