Trader Joe's Cat Food?

[otto]

Originally Posted by darlili

Just my opinion, and I also have a cat who had struvite crystals....please please please consult with the vet before changing from prescription food. Although to a lay person the ingredients in Hills C/D, let's say, may not look great, to me the proof is in the pudding - does the cat stay healthy on C/D. In my case - yes he does, as shown in follow-up urine draws.

That said, it certainly wouldn't hurt showing a vet the TJ wet and asking about substituting it for C/D - but, I myself, will never change from prescription foods without making sure my vet is on board with the change.

Vets don't get kick backs from selling the c/d. They carry it as a convenience to their customers, and the space for storage is a problem for many vets. They could just as easily write you a prescription and force you to get it elsewhere.

In many cases c/d (or other prescription food) IS the only thing that will keep the cat healthy and crystal free.

My Mazy is one. Yes I had to adjust her feedings, because she gained weight initially. It wasn't hard to do. She's been on the c/d for 5 1/2 years now. I have tried several times to switch her to a high quality non prescription canned food. The crystals always come back. She is not over weight. She has a nice soft coat and is very energetic. And most importantly, she is crystal free.

Please be very wary and watch your cat extremely closely. FLUTD in males is extremely dangerous.

 

[unigeezer]

Originally Posted by otto

Vets don't get kick backs from selling the c/d. They carry it as a convenience to their customers, and the space for storage is a problem for many vets. They could just as easily write you a prescription and force you to get it elsewhere.

In many cases c/d (or other prescription food) IS the only thing that will keep the cat healthy and crystal free.

My Mazy is one. Yes I had to adjust her feedings, because she gained weight initially. It wasn't hard to do. She's been on the c/d for 5 1/2 years now. She is not over weight. She has a nice soft coat and is very energetic. And most importantly, she is crystal free.

Please be very wary and watch your cat extremely closely. FLUTD in males is extremely dangerous.

Haha, I should not have used that term, "kickbacks". I actually just repeated what I had read in a different cat forum. But they certainly make a profit selling it! They are in business just like anyone else, and are not going to sell someone else's product out of the kindess of their heart, and not make a dime doing it! Same goes for all the other products they sell.

But rather than blindly trust your vet and take as gospel what they say about the food your cats should eat, have you researched exactly WHAT is it about CD canned that makes it--in the opinion of at least MY vet--the ONLY food I should feed my cat? If it's not the ingredients, and/or the quality thereof, and the percentages in the "guaranteed analysis", then what "magical" qualities does CD have, that other premium cat foods don't? Inquiring minds need to know.

Edit: I just called two local vets and asked them what makes CD canned a 'prescription' food? And what makes it specifically helpful for cats with urinary issues. Neither could answer that question.

 

[darlili]

All I know is that I will follow protocols set by vet schools and the experience of hundreds, sorry, thousands, of vets. C/D is not the only prescription line carried for urinary health, but is one of the most easily available. But, any vet will prescribe one of the other prescription foods as needed.

In my case, my vet worked with me (and straight way mentioned that CD is calorie dense) to find the correct portion size. My male has lost weight on it. And, I honestly don't find the pricing out of line with premium foods available outside vet offices, given the portion sizes I feed.

Vets don't make a huge profit on prescription foods, or rabies shots, etc. In fact, when I think about it, I wonder why vet fees and prices are so low, considering the number of trained staff they have to have on hand, the equipment and the continuing professional education.

Were I a certified feline nutritionist, and a DVM, I might feel myself qualified to analyze prescription foods. I'm not - nor are most folks on the internet, when you think about it.

I want my cat to be healthy so I'm going to take the advice of the trained medical providers who see him at least twice a year. Now, that's just me.

But, please, make sure your cat is going in at least quarterly for urine analysis if you change foods AMA - and be extremely vigilant regarding his bathroom habits. It also doesn't hurt to have a senior panel run twice a year, just to catch any medical issues early.

 

[unigeezer]

Originally Posted by darlili

All I know is that I will follow protocols set by vet schools and the experience of hundreds, sorry, thousands, of vets. C/D is not the only prescription line carried for urinary health, but is one of the most easily available. But, any vet will prescribe one of the other prescription foods as needed.

In my case, my vet worked with me (and straight way mentioned that CD is calorie dense) to find the correct portion size. My male has lost weight on it. And, I honestly don't find the pricing out of line with premium foods available outside vet offices, given the portion sizes I feed.

Vets don't make a huge profit on prescription foods, or rabies shots, etc. In fact, when I think about it, I wonder why vet fees and prices are so low, considering the number of trained staff they have to have on hand, the equipment and the continuing professional education.

Were I a certified feline nutritionist, and a DVM, I might feel myself qualified to analyze prescription foods. I'm not - nor are most folks on the internet, when you think about it.

I want my cat to be healthy so I'm going to take the advice of the trained medical providers who see him at least twice a year. Now, that's just me.

But, please, make sure your cat is going in at least quarterly for urine analysis if you change foods AMA - and be extremely vigilant regarding his bathroom habits. It also doesn't hurt to have a senior panel run twice a year, just to catch any medical issues early.

Low??? You haven't been to MY vet! But again, you are not answering, or simply avoiding my concern, which is, what are the ingredients in CD that makes it a prescription food? And what makes it more effective in preventing crystals compared to other high quality canned cat foods? Wouldn't you at least like to know? I sure would.

I'm sure if your doctor wanted to put you on a special prescription diet, you would at least want to know WHAT was in it, wouldn't you? I sure would. But as I mentioned before, the ingredients are right there on the can, including the guaranteed analysis breakdown. Unless there is something not listed that makes CD so special, there is scant difference between it and TJ, for example. I still think the most important thing a cat MUST have is plenty of WATER!

I'm getting a cat fountain later today, since he used to love drinking from running faucets. Keeping your cat(s) sufficiently hydrated will help immensely, in preventing FUS and related problems. So Morty has now gone from a mostly low-grade dry diet, with inadequate water consumption for the last 10 years, to LOTS of water, NO DRY, and a high quality wet ONLY diet. I think he will not only be healthier, lose weight, but be happier and more contented. He already is!

 

[otto]

Hills will be very happy to answer your questions about how their foods are made and why.

http://www.hillspet.com/products/prescription-diet.html

Mazy has been tried on other, all canned high quality diets several times. The crystals always come back. She is genetically prone to crystals and a prescription diet is the only diet that keeps her healthy. She likes the c/d, and it WORKS for her, and so I am happy with that.

Yes, I did a ton of research on FLUTD and diet when Mazy was first diagnosed, and I continue to read. You should feel free to do the same.

As to Vets making a profit, I certainly do not have a problem with that. If they didn't, they wouldn't be in business for long, and then where would we all be?

The on line stores that sell Hills Prescription c/d (with a prescription from the vet only) are not any less in price than what my vet charges.

I hope all your cat needs is a canned diet and the crystals don't return, and he doesn't block. For my cat, the only thing that works is a prescription diet.

Incidentally, regarding the price of food, Mazy's prescription diet is the least expensive food I buy.

 

[ziggy'smom]

To go back to TJ food I have to agree that it is a good food, especially for the price. My boy with IBD and chronic diarrhea was doing very well on it. Unfortunately though both my cats that eat wet food finally got tired of it and started to not want to eat it at all so we had to switch. My IBD cat now eats Fancy Feast because it's the only food he will eat enough of which is a huge issue.

 

[gloriajh]

... according to Dr. Pierson - website: http://www.catinfo.org/

even though your cat is drinking a lot of water, (when on a dry food diet) that amount still only provides 1/2 of the water needs that your cat has to flush out the bladder.

A cat consuming a predominantly dry-food diet does drink more water than a cat consuming a canned food diet, but in the end, when water from all sources is added together (whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in their diet plus what they drink), the cat on dry food consumes approximately half the amount of water compared with a cat eating canned food.

I'm not sure how the prescription Dry makes up for that ????, that's why I give the dry - Prescription - only as treats.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I usually feed both of my boys Wellness canned. Shadow, my feral is pretty picky and only likes one kind (Turkey and Salmon). I decided to try 2 of the TJ's wet foods this week. He loved them both. I will definitely be back for more next week.

 

[gloriajh]

Originally Posted by ShadowsRescue

I usually feed both of my boys Wellness canned. Shadow, my feral is pretty picky and only likes one kind (Turkey and Salmon). I decided to try 2 of the TJ's wet foods this week. He loved them both. I will definitely be back for more next week.

RE: Trader Joes
Yes, our feral-born, and stray enjoy TJ's - often times over the Wellness Grainfree canned foods. This week they prefer the Chicken label, maybe next week they'll be back on the Turkey ??? - I absolutely do not give them the TJ's Tuna - I think that's how one of our other cats (KiKi) developed the crystals - the Tuna was the only food he wanted, and I stupidly gave it to him -, along with Natural Balance Ultra DRY food - boy!, was I setting him up for major problems - but, you live and you learn.

You may or may not know this, but as the Speciality Pet Store person told me, if the label shows fish as "ocean fish", it means the fish could be anything - not like Wellness "Turkey and Salmon" (a favorite here), or "Chicken & Herring" (another big favorite with our Buddy).

 

[minka]

Contains Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol, which is toxic to the liver. Do not feed.

Oh, erm, the thread went off topic. This was in response to the original TJ's food we were talking about.

 

[gloriajh]

Originally Posted by Minka

Contains Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol, which is toxic to the liver. Do not feed.

Oh, erm, the thread went off topic. This was in response to the original TJ's food we were talking about.

(

Did you notice that the original post was in 2005?
Long live the TJ's Thread.

)

I'm looking at the ingredients for the CANned food - the Turkey & Giblets Dinner - and there's no menadione dimethylpyrimidinol listed. Were you talking about just the TJ's Dry cat food?

The TJ's cat canned food gets a positive review, no mention of MD.

http://www.consumersearch.com/cat-food/canned-cat-food

Trader Joe's, a grocery store chain with outlets in many parts of the country, has a private label cat food that's earned some kudos. For example, CatInfo.org's Lisa Pierson puts it on her list of high-quality canned foods with grains but no wheat, corn or soy, though she adds that she has not reevaluated the food in several years and advises her readers to examine the label on their own before buying. The store's Chicken, Turkey & Rice Dinner (*Est. 60 cents for a 5.5-oz. can) lists chicken broth, chicken, turkey and ocean fish as its first four ingredients. User discussion is limited, but all we've seen is positive, and Trader Joe's cat food gets a good score from those posting at ZooToo.com.

 

[minka]

I was just looking at what the original poster Lionessranmpant listed as the ingredients for the dry food she was looking at when she went to TJ's.

And lol, no I didn't notice how old the post was from. xD

The canned food seems to check out fine with me.

 

[empirefalls]

i bought 20 TJ cans of cat food,tune,one of my cats loves it.

i noticed TJ had two cases of the cat food on the shelf. do they sell it by the case? or did they a stock person forget to open and shelf the cans.

if they sell it by the case,is it discounted? I live 2 hours from the nearest TJ

 

[unigeezer]

I've tried to find feeding guidelines for trader joe's wet food, along with Kcal info, but can find neither. If anyone has a good link or know the calorie counts f the turkey & gibs wet food (5.5oz) I'd be much obliged!

 

[gloriajh]

I call ahead and ask them to reserve cases for me.  They have no problem with doing that for me.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I've tried to find feeding guidelines for trader joe's wet food, along with Kcal info, but can find neither. If anyone has a good link or know the calorie counts f the turkey & gibs wet food (5.5oz) I'd be much obliged!

Is there not a phone number on the can to call with questions?  That would be my suggestion is there are no feeding instructions.  How strange, though.  Did you get out your magnifying glasses to make sure you didn't just miss them

?

 

[jambot]

I response to the issue of cats with Struvite Crystals, one of my cats was diagnosed that way and my vet pushed the Hill's on us. I flat out told her I refused to feed him that and brought her several cans of wet food that I considered OK for him. She agreed that Wellness would be fine and 5 years later he hasn't had any issues since. 

If you have a cat with crystal issues, you should really talk to your vet and demand a better food option than Hill's. 

I've compared the Wellness and the TJ's brand foods and they are very similar in all the % contents with only 1% less protein and .5% less taurine. And less ash which if memory serves is better for cats with crystals. Switching my cats over this week.

 

[redvelvetone]

I like the TJs wet food. I mostly feed my cat's grain free wet food but I do also use TJs to help even out the cost of it, and with the exception of it containing some grain, I think it's  a decent wet food and my cat likes it.  And yes it has a lower ash content than S/D. I remember talking to my vet about foods to feed my cat when I first got him and he was dissing all the brands I was mentioning (mostly premium, holistic, grain-free foods) and saying their ash content was too high and the cat should eat S/D. I then looked at the ash content on the foods and it was the SAME AS or LOWER than S/D. So he obviously did not know what he was talking about. I like that vet because he's great with my cat and he's good in other way, but I don't go to him for nutrition advice. There's a newer vet at this same place and whenever I've gone to her she doesn't push the S/D and she's fine with some raw feeding as well as grain-free wet food feeding and doesn't try to get you to feed the cat S/D. I'll have to ask her about some of the foods next time I'm there.

I don't feed dry food (other than a few kibbles of Blue Buffalo Wilderness duck formula as a treat) so can't comment on their dry food. (though by the ingredients shown it does not sound all that great - not as bad as some, but nothing I'd rave about either). 

 

[kittylover23]

Is TJ sold in Canada? It looks good for my feral kitties and I haven't seen it around.

 

[gloriajh]

Sorry to repeat this ... BUT ... the DRY FOOD ingredients are NOT great - it's the CANNED food that has good ingredients.

Not sure about TJ's in Canada - but you could do a Google Search.
http://www.traderjoes.com/
they need a zip code at their website ... so ???