What is the the best food on the market?

[pat]

Originally Posted by xomycatsxo

I wish it was just much easier to understand what is good and what's not. Just the facts, not opinions- but obviously that's not the case.

<snip>I've been thinking of making my own food but I have so much going on that I would think it's a big commitment- so I need to do a lot more research.

Any time there is something I've stated that you would like me to post a link to any articles that led me to that conclusion, let me know

I am about to spring for Dr. Strombecks book on homemade diets, I think in the long run, it will save money on vet bills as I now have mainly senior kitties (gulp!).

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Any time there is something I've stated that you would like me to post a link to any articles that led me to that conclusion, let me know

I am about to spring for Dr. Strombecks book on homemade diets, I think in the long run, it will save money on vet bills as I now have mainly senior kitties (gulp!).

$$$ are saved by homemade and high quality wet... Kandie costs about $3.50 a week .. Zoey I figure costs double that with dry wet and homemade....

 

[maiseycat]

I have seen the homemade diet mentioned here before, and I'm curious. Do you feed your cat portions of your meals, or make food especially for the cat? I distrust all cat food on the market. I feed my kitty dry food because I knew of no other alternatives. After reading some comments on here about various dry food brands, I'm more uncomfortable than ever about giving Maisey store-bought cat food. She eats quite a bit of human food as it is. I've been trying to give her more lately, but she doesn't like it very well. Guess she's used to the dry cat food - I gave her cubed steak, and she licked at it and reluctantly ate it after she realized I wouldn't be giving her any cat treats until she finished it. She snuck a potato chip off my plate, though, and gobbled it up!

Must be stuck on the dry food regimin.

Anyway, I live alone and usually make more food than I can eat. Instead of saving it for leftovers, I'm going to give more to my cat. She likes tuna, chicken, and turkey. I'm curious about the homemade diet - I really don't want to get into reading books to make up special recipes for my cat, though. Homemaker I am not - I eat healthy enough, though, and I want to know that what my cat is eating is remotely healthy, too. I don't trust those little dry kibbles - anything under the sun could be mashed up and processed into that... Anyway, could someone give me just a brief synopsis of what this homemade diet entails? Can I give her dry food in addition to human food, at least until she gets accustomed to it?

 

[lionessrampant]

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

He certainly is such a precious baby!

Serenity eats Innova regular. I strongly support and recommend Natura's products.

I'm with you here...although Leo's tummy problems haven't gone away completely, he's faring much better with Cal natural...he's vomited a grand total of twice (and at least one of those times was because we added wet food and it took his tummy a day to get used to it) since we put him on this food, as opposed to once or twice a week on the Science Death. And Lola is growing like a weed eating Evo...her worms and parasites were SO. BAD. when we found her that the vets thought she would a) never survive and b) if she did survive, she would never put on weight or grow to a normal size. Well, she's a bit of a shrimp, but I'm proud to report that miss Lola is now a whopping 6 pounds, up from being 3 pounds, 4 ounces at 18 weeks (she's 6 months and a few days old now). She'll always be a petite girl and she'll probably never be plump, but her coat grew completely back and the diareha has stopped completely and she's putting on some muscle. She'll also always look funny sitting next to my 14 pound Leo since I'm guessing she'll end up being about 7.5 pounds when fully grown

These products work very well for my two, which of course is no gurantee they'll work well for yours. But it's worth a shot. Natura has a very good reputation as far as quality.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by maiseycat

I have seen the homemade diet mentioned here before, and I'm curious. Do you feed your cat portions of your meals, or make food especially for the cat? I distrust all cat food on the market. I feed my kitty dry food because I knew of no other alternatives. After reading some comments on here about various dry food brands, I'm more uncomfortable than ever about giving Maisey store-bought cat food. She eats quite a bit of human food as it is. I've been trying to give her more lately, but she doesn't like it very well. Guess she's used to the dry cat food - I gave her cubed steak, and she licked at it and reluctantly ate it after she realized I wouldn't be giving her any cat treats until she finished it. She snuck a potato chip off my plate, though, and gobbled it up!

Must be stuck on the dry food regimin.

Anyway, I live alone and usually make more food than I can eat. Instead of saving it for leftovers, I'm going to give more to my cat. She likes tuna, chicken, and turkey. I'm curious about the homemade diet - I really don't want to get into reading books to make up special recipes for my cat, though. Homemaker I am not - I eat healthy enough, though, and I want to know that what my cat is eating is remotely healthy, too. I don't trust those little dry kibbles - anything under the sun could be mashed up and processed into that... Anyway, could someone give me just a brief synopsis of what this homemade diet entails? Can I give her dry food in addition to human food, at least until she gets accustomed to it?

Kandie gets recipes based off holistic cats site... I do tweak them so they are okay for all to eat

 

[pat]

Originally Posted by maiseycat

I have seen the homemade diet mentioned here before, and I'm curious. Do you feed your cat portions of your meals, or make food especially for the cat? <snip> I'm curious about the homemade diet - I really don't want to get into reading books to make up special recipes for my cat, though. Homemaker I am not - I eat healthy enough, though, and I want to know that what my cat is eating is remotely healthy, too.

No, it is not feeding your kitty portions of your food or human food. The recipes need to be properly formulated to supply a cats particular needs - Dr. Strombecks book is wonderful because it has a variety of recipes to meet various needs - i.e. for cats needing lower protein or lower phosphorous content, lower sodium etc. with each recipe giving stats re per centage of protein etc.

I would not recommend you try any recipe without running it by your vet first. I decided to get the book to better educate myself about what goes into proper supplementation of such a homecooked diet (I choose not to do raw), and because he is a very well respected vet.

If you do not wish to get his book, you can see an example of some of his recipes here:click here and scroll to dr. strombeck's recipes for CRF kitties
Now these are his recipes for kitties with kidney issues, and I will say some of the other recommedations and recipes by others on this page, are not recommended by me! But..this will give an example of a recipe for a particular condition.
I'm sure others here who are now doing homecooked will comment

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

No, it is not feeding your kitty portions of your food or human food. The recipes need to be properly formulated to supply a cats particular needs - Dr. Strombecks book is wonderful because it has a variety of recipes to meet various needs - i.e. for cats needing lower protein or lower phosphorous content, lower sodium etc. with each recipe giving stats re per centage of protein etc.

I would not recommend you try any recipe without running it by your vet first. I decided to get the book to better educate myself about what goes into proper supplementation of such a homecooked diet (I choose not to do raw), and because he is a very well respected vet.

If you do not wish to get his book, you can see an example of some of his recipes here:click here and scroll to dr. strombeck's recipes for CRF kitties
Now these are his recipes for kitties with kidney issues, and I will say some of the other recommedations and recipes by others on this page, are not recommended by me! But..this will give an example of a recipe for a particular condition.
I'm sure others here who are now doing homecooked will comment

Pat
where have you been hiding that link.. it is great ... Kandie said thanks cause this is a bit easier to get her to eat some of those combos..

 

[pat]

Originally Posted by sharky

Pat
where have you been hiding that link.. it is great ... Kandie said thanks cause this is a bit easier to get her to eat some of those combos..

I've posted it a number of times, just don't ask me to remember which threads or when!! I honestly thought you had that one..sorry!

 

[cyberkitten]

I think you have to check by ingredients and just as I would never recommend a particular medication over another (it all depends on the situation), I don't think it is my place to instruct you what to feed your kitties.

That said, it is first good to search for cat food containing 34 to 38 percent protein and 19 to 22 percent fat provides a healthy balance. Cats need human quality food - food that is made with the same ingredients you yourself would eat and not the leftovers some companies call food that has no value at all. They are carnivores and thus the need for protein and meat.

Canned food is so much better for cats than dry food. It more closely approximates their natural diet in both protein content and water content. Cats who only eat dry food may not get enough water, which can lead to various diseases. I do give my kitties some Wellness dry food but I call it their "junk" food and it has more carbs which they do not really need. But variety os good.

The "current" standards for cat food - and maybe dogs food too (I am not sure) were est in the 80's so are not really up to date and this companies can get away with minimum ingredients.Dry foods esp have too many grains and preservatives. Propylene glycol - a carcinogen - was an ingredient I read in a grocery store the other day! (For legak reasons, I won't mention the food but I was shocked. That chemical is also used in the same way as antifreeze tho it is less toxic. (but not obviously good). Look for natural preservatives like vitamine C, vit E, rosemary. Foods thsat come from rendering companies are esp bad in thus regard - and this all scares the heck out of me (I had a cousin die of CJD and have since discovered a number of human cases of this horrible diease that the health authorities never report!!!) Ad you can bet rendering cos who use beef are also using for pet food even more than for human food.

I am noy a vet but I do have several degrees in biochemisty and I feel stronglyt the increased number of diabetes in cats is likley a direct correlation to the amount of dry food - with so many carbs - that cats have been eating. It's only common sense if you think about it. Cats are not made to eat grains and carbs - they need protein!! Royal Canin Slim 38 is supposed to be good for diabethic cats. But you want your kitties to not get there in the first place. Cats also need taurine which can be found in good auality food (Royal Canin, Wellness, Hills Science) and it is found even in Whiskas' cat milk.

There is an excellent article here on what's in cat food:

http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm

Good luck in choosing a diet food for your cat - I hope these sites help. No doubt you will recieve as many recoomendations as there are ppl willing to share their ideas - you need to determine what is best for YOUR kitty.

 

[maiseycat]

Thanks, you guys! I'll check out the Strombeck link and search for holistic cats' sites.