What Is A Good Food For My Cats?

[iheartlife]

What is a good food for my cats? What ingredients should I specifically look for and which ones should I specifically avoid? Should I go grain-free or not? Is chicken (or any other type of) meal bad or okay as an ingredient? Should I avoid foods with fish as an ingredient? Are fruits and vegetables good (my vet made a comment that she avoided fruits and vegetables as ingredients)? Is rice good or bad (I've heard both)? What is an example of a good ingredient list? What foods would you specifically recommend? Neither of my cats will eat canned food; they will lick the liquid off but won't eat any of the canned food itself? I've tried raw food/raw snacks, freeze dried raw food and neither cat will have anything to do with that. Does a pure read cat have differ by dietary needs than a mixed breed cat or do all cats basically need the same things? One of my cats has a sensitive stomach and is prone to throwing up after eating; what would be a good recommendation for her?

 

[abyeb]

My guide for a good cat food is:
- grain-free
- carrageenan-free
- potato-free
- meat listed as the first ingredient

Purebred cats don't have different dietary needs than mixed-breed. The only exception is the Chausie (Abyssinian x Jungle Cat hybrid), which is so close to their wild roots that they can't digest plant matter. The plant matter then inflames the intestines and prevents other nutrients from being absorbed, causing chronic malnutrition. So, unless you have a Chausie, a purebred cat can eat exactly the same food as any other cat.

 

[destinyz12]

It sounds like your cats will only eat dry food, from your description? Definitely go for grain-free, although you mentioned rice- if a cat food had to have a grain, rice is probably the easier of the grains for them to digest, but ideally no grains is best. Avoid the brands that have a lot of fruit/veggie fillers since they are hard to digest as well, as explained above. I especially avoid cranberries in the ingredients since those are highly controversial as potentially being harmful over time. Most of the good quality grain-free brands will have some kind of veggie binder though, mainly peas and/or potatos (most will have both of those). My cats don't seem to have an issue with peas or potatoes, but cats with a sensitive stomach might. You may have to experiment with some brands before finding the right one. Minimal fish ingredients is also best as too much can lead to health problems. For the sensitive stomach cat, a limited ingredient diet might be best, since they generally have more simplified ingredients. the brand Merrick has a Limited ingredient line that is good quality. Their Turkey flavor has peas and potatoes but their chicken flavor just has peas and chickpeas as binders.

 

[M1Linda]

For what I believe to be a Chausie (pictures forthcoming!) I need to feed food with no vegetable proteins or carbs. For dry food without fillers and without vegetable ingredients, including pea protein, potato, etc, I slowly introduced Wysong Epigen 90 - Chicken Meal, Organic Chicken, Meat Protein Isolate, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Gelatin, Natural Flavor, Coconut Oil, Chia Seeds, Taurine, Apple Pectin, Fish Oil, Yeast Extract. The rest is mostly vitamins and biotics.
For canned food, I use Orijen 95% animal ingredients - for example, the Regional Red flavor has Tuna, Chicken, Salmon, Whole Sardine, Chicken Liver, Fish Bone Broth, Beef Bone Broth, Beef, Lamb, Beef Kidney, Shrimp, and the rest are vitamins, etc.

 

[Alldara]

You'll hear a lot of different opinions on cat food because studies on what is actually best for otherwise healthy cats is ongoing.

What's in My Cat's Food?: Designer Diets, Grain Free Diets | VCA | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals

I do not choose grain free dry food because they substitute legumes for grain and we don't know yet if that causes more issues.

Meal as an ingredient is fine. It means the tissues, bones etc that make up parts humans might not eat. Cats would normally eat that.

Different cats may need different friends based on genetics. Studies are ongoing. But you'll hear a lot of, my cat lived this long on X diet, which may mean that the human found a good diet for that cat's specific needs.

What I think is best is feeding a cat a diet that is within your budget so that you can afford yearly or bi-annual vet visits with bloodwork. The bloodwork over time will help your vet to recommend if a diet change will be necessary.

Personally, I like Purina Pro Plan and would still feed my cats that if one wasn't allergic to beef.

If you can get them to eat at least a 1/2 can of wet food per day with extra water added, you'll extend their life, but fed is best. You can check out other ways to keep them hydrated. If they'll lick the food you can make a "soup" of it with extra water. That's great for them!
Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake - TheCatSite.