I am at my wits end trying to figure out what to feed my cats. It seems that for every single claim that some ingredient or other is just AWFUL, there is a counter claim that it is just fine. For every ratings site that evaluates some brands as high quality, there is at least one that puts that same brand as not so good. I don't know where to turn to find trustworthy information anymore.
I find it really ironic that years ago I didn't care, and assumed everything was fine, and had a cat that lived to be 21 despite her indoor/outdoor lifestyle without a sick day in her life after surviving being bit through the skull as a kitten by the dog across the street! She ate large DOG kibble for the most part, with a rare treat being the occasional box of actual CAT food such as Meow mix or Tender Vittles. Now I am scrutinizing everything ever since that massive pet food debacle in 2007, but nothing is ever simple enough to figure out without getting a Phd in feline nutrition and a completely transparent ingredient list and sources from each manufacturer.
At this point, I am looking to feed a variety of brands and flavors so that I'm not dependent on any one thing to be complete for the kitties, and just trying to avoid complete junk food without spending a fortune. How does anyone make sense of the vast amount of misinformation out there? Even some of the dedicated and supposedly unbiased review sites are baffling in their conclusions, which makes everything suspect and overwhelming. I feel like I have to do a new research project every few months when the cats stop liking something that had been staple before or some brand changes hands in a merger.
All of this concern started when I got a diagnosis of kidney issues on the last kitty, and I am starting to wish I had never learned anything at all about any of it. It seems like it doesn't matter what I give them I am bound to feel like something is killing them and its all my fault. I try to consider the source whenever I read something, but even the so called experts can't seem to agree about how to choose a quality food. I don't know what to think except that maybe nature will help balance things out by them hunting outside as it seemed to be the case with my first cat.
The dogs I worry about a little less, as at least there is some consensus and consistency across the reviews and ratings for dog foods, maybe because they can tolerate more omnivorous diets? But the cat foods are shrouded in mystery and frustration for me. I am so stressed out just trying to figure out how to keep them from starving to death because nothing that is available is safe. Is there any comparable site that does cat food as thoroughly as the dog food advisor website does dog food? I really like that they explain why each food gets the rating it does, unlike catfooddb, which can seem highly inconsistent in their conclusions even within review of one product. I cannot fathom why Lotus is considered so below average a brand there, while it is consistently a top tier (and high priced) brand by other measures?
What are we to do to make sense of anything?
I find it really ironic that years ago I didn't care, and assumed everything was fine, and had a cat that lived to be 21 despite her indoor/outdoor lifestyle without a sick day in her life after surviving being bit through the skull as a kitten by the dog across the street! She ate large DOG kibble for the most part, with a rare treat being the occasional box of actual CAT food such as Meow mix or Tender Vittles. Now I am scrutinizing everything ever since that massive pet food debacle in 2007, but nothing is ever simple enough to figure out without getting a Phd in feline nutrition and a completely transparent ingredient list and sources from each manufacturer.
At this point, I am looking to feed a variety of brands and flavors so that I'm not dependent on any one thing to be complete for the kitties, and just trying to avoid complete junk food without spending a fortune. How does anyone make sense of the vast amount of misinformation out there? Even some of the dedicated and supposedly unbiased review sites are baffling in their conclusions, which makes everything suspect and overwhelming. I feel like I have to do a new research project every few months when the cats stop liking something that had been staple before or some brand changes hands in a merger.
All of this concern started when I got a diagnosis of kidney issues on the last kitty, and I am starting to wish I had never learned anything at all about any of it. It seems like it doesn't matter what I give them I am bound to feel like something is killing them and its all my fault. I try to consider the source whenever I read something, but even the so called experts can't seem to agree about how to choose a quality food. I don't know what to think except that maybe nature will help balance things out by them hunting outside as it seemed to be the case with my first cat.
The dogs I worry about a little less, as at least there is some consensus and consistency across the reviews and ratings for dog foods, maybe because they can tolerate more omnivorous diets? But the cat foods are shrouded in mystery and frustration for me. I am so stressed out just trying to figure out how to keep them from starving to death because nothing that is available is safe. Is there any comparable site that does cat food as thoroughly as the dog food advisor website does dog food? I really like that they explain why each food gets the rating it does, unlike catfooddb, which can seem highly inconsistent in their conclusions even within review of one product. I cannot fathom why Lotus is considered so below average a brand there, while it is consistently a top tier (and high priced) brand by other measures?
What are we to do to make sense of anything?