Cat Food - please help

[kit1469]

i have two cats Cleo who has been on wiskas food since he was a tiny kitten (hes around a year now) - a VERY picky eater and Satis , she was just neutered and the vet says that we need to change her diet (something about "triple fat" ) .. they say that wiskas is very bad for them and suggested thier vet type brand ( MEDI*CAL Preventitive Formula - wich goes for about $50 for the sme size bag that i get now for $19.95 ish) im not sure what to do i want to give my cats good food but i dont have that kind of money to spend and dont know how to get cleo to eat anything else .. any suggestions??

[sugarcatmom]

Have you ever tried canned food for your cats? They might go for that, if not right away maybe after a nice slow introduction. Whiskas dry is a really lousy food, but Medi-cal actually ain't much better. The Preventive formula is usually prescribed if there are crystals present in your cat's urine but the absolute best way to minimize crystal problems is with a wet food diet. Prescribing a dry food is completely illogical (just so you know, vets really are not the best source of info on feline diets).

I know you say that money is an issue but the thing with nutrition is that if cheap out in that department, you WILL pay more in vet bills in the long run. Please read this very informative website on what is the ideal diet for cats: http://www.catinfo.org/

[want4rain]

find yourself a high quality dry food such as Felidae or i think Wellness had a dry cat food.... Eagle Brand is also good. i cant think of the others but i think there are several others better than what i mentioned.... im rambling. anyway, hunt through the cat and dog food forum and find a high quality kibble and supplement with either raw eggs a day or two a week or a high quality wet food.

there are also quite a few of raw meat only feeders here if you are interested!

-ashley

[kit1469]

its not that i dont want to spend the money its that i litterally dont have it .. me and my fiancee (both under 20) are getting financial help through our school so that we can go full time (part time for me due to illness) and its pretty much impossible to find anyone who hires students here so we r on a tight budget till graduation next year... what if i was to get a dry food (better than this one or this one ) and give them wet food as well?? what kind of brands would u recomend? (ps i will be reading that website in detail thank u )

[want4rain]

eggs are a fantastic supplement for your cats. very nutritional and an almost perfect source of protein AND very inexpensive! make sure you serve the eggs whole and as mixed as possible. the biggest beef with dry cat food aside from its dryness are the fillers. they are a very very LOW source of protein. cats are obligate carnivores, the must have animal meat as a source of nutrition. preferably cats should be on a raw meat and organ and bone ONLY diet (those of mine that will eat it do amazingly on it) but in a pinch, feeding a reasonable kibble (ie one that has fewer fillers in it or uses whole grains instead of 'glutens' and 'hulls' and so on) and uses chicken MEAL instead of just chicken.... whatevers along with supplementing with 'people' food will go a long way towards a healthier cat. raw meat on the bone (chicken breast has smaller bones in it!) and fresh raw liver is good, eggs (as i said before) are fantastic. a good meal would be a bone or two with a touch of meat on it from chicken breast, a slice of liver (2/3g) and an egg without the shell. that can make up 2 or 3 meals a week. when you get chicken breast for you to cook, get it with the skin and bones on it instead. pull the bones off for your cat and you eat the rest!! its way cheaper than getting deboned chicken breast anyway.

-ash

[rainbow]

Do you have a Costco near you? Their Kirkland kibble is about the best of the cheap brands. I would supplement with canned food though.

[kit1469]

sounds doable... i live in a tiny town .. sometimes its hard to find meat for myself or even catlitter (ya its rediculous) there are 3 grocery stores here IGA , extra foods and co-op its just a matter of figureing out wich has stock at the time .. ill see if we have that kind of food ... i think i willl start to supplement with soft food wich is the baest brand?? i do tend to give my kittys trats of "people food" - meats .. so at least i was doing something right ... i feel so bad that i wasnt feeding my babies right !!

[danaekitty]

My vet always told me that Whiskas is "The McDonald's of cat food". I got a chuckle out of that. I stick with Purina, which is slightly better, I guess. Will try the costco stuff.

One time they were out of the kind the girls usually like, so I bought them a generic brand that boasts three flavours/colours, and they ONLY ATE THE BROWN ONES! The purina is brown, so that may be why.

It was hilarious.