What food to feed?

[stevekukla]

I've been doing quite a bit of research on this topic and thought I'd share my thoughts

There seems to be widespread agreement that minimizing grains in the food is a good idea. There also seems to be a consensus that a varied meal (to an extent) is a good idea... In this vain, I'd suggest going for both wet and dry food, finding a stable high-nutrient dry food made with high-quality ingredients and low in grain, and combining this with a tasty and varied high-quality wet food. Its probably a good idea to get the two types of food from two completely different companies as well, to make sure that whatever particular nutrient your cat needs that may be missing from one will be covered by the other. I would vary the taste of the wet food (so use the Tuna one day, the chicken the next, etc), while maintaining the taste of the dry food.

When it comes to the dry food, I've found convincingly good reviews and been quite impressed with Innova Evo. Wet food varies somewhat more, but read the ingredient list and make sure "real meat" is/are the primary ingredient(s).

Hope that helps!

 

[sharin]

Here is a couple of web sites to check out. Best thing to do is take the time to educate yourself..is really worth it to your pets in the long run.

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

http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcanned ... cial_Foods

http://tippedearclan.wordpress.com/tlc/ ... food-dish/

I do research and I find this Lady's site confusing but I am adding it anyway.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Cat-Food-Review ... atings-Wet

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I feed a combo of wet and dry food.

They get canned food in the morning, either brand ..Dr Foster & Smith or Natural Balance Ultra. With different flavors everyday.

And they are free fed the dry food( yes, I know what some say about free feeding and/or dry cat food but it works for us)
They get both Dr Foster & Smith, Newmans own(sometimes) and Innova EVO dry.

I think with the dry food issues... it is the quality of the food that will make a difference.

They are all happy, healthy and love their food!

 

[layitdown]

I'm getting overwhelmed again. I have some brands of dry that I will try out and mix/rotate. What I'm looking at is: Nutro Max,Chicken Soup,Diamond naturals, blue buffalo spa, and when $$$ allows, timberwolf. Out of those choices, which is the worst? From my understanding they're midlevel premiums? How often should I switch out?

Now on to wet, since the drys will have grains, should I strive for a grain free wet? Locally, I've been able to find is the brandon farms 95% meat. Ricky Bobby eyes went like this

when he was eating it earlier.

I'm still looking at felidae, and eagle pack as well. Any recommendations for wet?

BTW once I get my head on straight here with these foods and everything, I am going to consult my vet and see what they think. I just want to have it all straight before I approach them with this.

 

[snake_lady]

Originally Posted by LayItDown

I'm getting overwhelmed again. I have some brands of dry that I will try out and mix/rotate. What I'm looking at is: Nutro Max,Chicken Soup,Diamond naturals, blue buffalo spa, and when $$$ allows, timberwolf. Out of those choices, which is the worst? From my understanding they're midlevel premiums? How often should I switch out?

There's only one question I can answer LOL.... How often to switch.

I do not switch. I mix. Because kitties tummies are sensitive, I don't want him to have to readjust to new food every switch, so what I do is mix the foods together once I've tried them and made sure he tolerates them. I feed TOTW, chicken soup and some junk food (whiskas).

BTW once I get my head on straight here with these foods and everything, I am going to consult my vet and see what they think. I just want to have it all straight before I approach them with this.

very good idea to go in well informed

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by LayItDown

I'm getting overwhelmed again. I have some brands of dry that I will try out and mix/rotate. What I'm looking at is: Nutro Max,Chicken Soup,Diamond naturals, blue buffalo spa, and when $$$ allows, timberwolf. Out of those choices, which is the worst? From my understanding they're midlevel premiums? How often should I switch out?

Now on to wet, since the drys will have grains, should I strive for a grain free wet? Locally, I've been able to find is the brandon farms 95% meat. Ricky Bobby eyes went like this

when he was eating it earlier.

I'm still looking at felidae, and eagle pack as well. Any recommendations for wet?

BTW once I get my head on straight here with these foods and everything, I am going to consult my vet and see what they think. I just want to have it all straight before I approach them with this.

Yes those drys are all IMHO solid mid level premiums ( Ie no artificial stuff , no animal by products, some have corn or corn gluten mainly for UTI health) ... I will pm about Timberwolf , just likely sending you off for more research ...
I switch based on kitties , with one it was every 6 ish months ... now with five likely every 2-3 months .. IE varies on the cat or cats involved

The wet is a IMHO good one ... only ?? read the label and see if it is "100% balanced " or says supplemental..... for wet GIVE what theyll eat( for some this means things like fancy feast or friskies , same with dry

YES, consult the vet ... BUT do not be surprised if vet goes and says Science diet or Iams ... As I stated earlier , the experts can not agree and most vets have 1 class on nutrition and that is sponsored or even Taught by food company reps that make RXs ...

 

[layitdown]

Originally Posted by sharky

YES, consult the vet ... BUT do not be surprised if vet goes and says Science diet or Iams ... As I stated earlier , the experts can not agree and most vets have 1 class on nutrition and that is sponsored or even Taught by food company reps that make RXs ...

Thanks Sharky, you're right, off for more research!

But I love it! I have always been a huge researcher and 75% of my time spent online is researching different topics that I'm interested it and learning as much as I can.

I kind of figured that about the vets, that's why I want to go in with as much info as possible for my sake. So I won't be persuaded.

lol Thanks!