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  #1  
Old September 2nd, 2006, 11:57 PM
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Nervous about cat food

Hi

I'm new to the site, but I need some advice. I have two cats, a 1 1/2 DSH and a 7mos old DSH. I have been feeding them Hill prescription T/D for a while. They have both been doing very well on it, but the Hills brand contains BHA and BTH, a known carcenogin.

I have since decided to look into the more holistic brands, but its hard to get straight answers from sales people.

Has anyboy ever tried Innova Evo cat food? And should I use it even though its very high in protein. And how does it compare to others?

Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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  #2  
Old September 3rd, 2006, 02:06 AM
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The evo's got 50% protein... I honestly haven't done much research on kitty foods (don't have a cat) and I don't know of anyone feeding Evo to their kitties either.. I can't see it hurting if the dog version doesn't hurt dogs... If you're wary of the protein, you can always feed the regular innova cat food (they're 36%). The ingredients are certainly good.
Innova cat dry

Another good one is Felidae from Canidae: http://www.canidae.com/

Good luck!
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  #3  
Old September 3rd, 2006, 07:42 AM
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List,there are tons of good cat-foods in pet-supply stores.
I have 3 cats and I always try new things,they tend to get bored with,the same food all the time.
At the moment they eat,Wellness,Solid Gold and Chicken-soup-for-catlovers-soul.I never buy a HUGE bag..
Mind you,mine eat canned as their main meals,dry as supplement 24/7.
I would not feed a cat only dry food,especially neutered males like my 3.
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Old September 3rd, 2006, 08:53 AM
vfrohloff vfrohloff is offline
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I feed my guys Felidae and they are all doing really well on it. In my opinion, anything holistic is better than Hill's. I'm wondering why Innova Evo has so much protein compared to other foods, does anyone know?
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  #5  
Old September 3rd, 2006, 12:03 PM
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The only ones I've tried for my cats are Natural Balance and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover. I wasn't real impressed with the Chicken Soup, but they did really well on the Natural Balance.
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Old September 3rd, 2006, 12:06 PM
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This is the reason on their website:


Innova EVO Cat & Kitten

Evolutionary Diet for the Modern Feline

Innova EVO Cat & Kitten food was created to supply the key nutritional benefits of a raw food diet in a safe and convenient manner. Innova EVO can be fed exclusively as a total diet for your pet or in combination with a raw diet to provide a solid nutritional base of the important vitamins and minerals your feline might otherwise be missing.

Innova EVO is based on ground chicken and turkey meat, bones, fat, cartilage and connective tissue. It includes whole, raw fruits and vegetables which contain health promoting phytochemicals and micronutrients. EVO has Hi-Protein, Low-Carbs, and No Grains.

* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten is made WITHOUT GRAINS!
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten has the HIGHEST MEAT CONTENT of any dry cat food!
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten contains 50% PROTEIN, 22% FAT, and only 7% CARBOHYDRATES, the lowest in the industry!!
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten is made with the same ingredients as you might find in a typical ''wild'' feline diet - RAW, MEATY BONES & cartilage, veggies & fruit.
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten has ADDED PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS.
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten is EXTREMELY PALATABLE!
* Innova EVO Cat & Kitten is formulated for ALL LIFE STAGES!

Innova EVO Cat & Kitten food is the first dry cat food made with absolutely no grains. Another Natura Pet Products first! This formula truly connects with the carnivore in your cat!

Innova EVO Cat & Kitten food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.

Innova EVO is available in 15.4 lb., 6.6 lb., and 2.2 lb. packages.

Innova EVO... What to feed when you can't feed raw.
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  #7  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 04:43 PM
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Just thought I'd give my input here since I just recently switched our furry family over to better food! We have three cats - one is very overweight, and one was just recently diagnosed with diabetes (not the fat one, go figure). We also have a 2-year-old dog. The cats have all been eating Hill's Science Diet R/D dry for quite some time. They lost weight on it about a year ago, but it hasn't done anything for them since then. It's just cost their mommy a lot of money The pup was also eating Hill's - regular adult dry. I spent about 2 weeks researching other options and the kitties have finally adjusted to canned Natural Choice and pup loves his new Innova Evo dry! I feel so much better feeding them these things. I'm convinced the cats' weight gain was from the Hill's food. They now eat three small meals a day of canned and they get just a very small amount of dry at night with their third meal (except for the one with diabetes - she gets all canned).

So, I don't mean to ramble on, but you might want to give Nutro Natural Choice a try. It has even been suggested as a good food for our diabetic kitty since it's lower in sugar and chemicals. We're trying to bring her sugar levels down with diet alone. Just hoping we don't have to resort to insulin Good luck. I'll be curious to know what you decide to go with!!
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Old October 3rd, 2006, 05:14 PM
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Thanks for all the replys. After some taste tests my cats have finally decided on a winner. Out of all the premium brands they liked Felidae the best. My kitten goes absolutely nuts for it and my older kitten misses the large kibble of the T/d but finishes the felidae with gusto. And on top of that, its well priced. You really can't beat that. I've also started giving them a little wet food as well (felidae, merricks, DVP, Wellness, I like to mix it up).

In the few weeks that I've had them on the felidae I noticed a considerable difference in their fur. Much shinier and softer. Yay for felidae
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  #9  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 05:25 PM
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Mind if I ask how much a bag of Felidae costs?
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Old October 3rd, 2006, 05:35 PM
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For a 5lbs bag it's $13.99, for the 10lbs bag it's $23.99. It's much cheaper than a lot of the other good brands. And a lot cheaper than the T/D I was feeding them which ran me $18.99 for a 4lbs bag (and I had to feed more of it).
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Old October 3rd, 2006, 05:51 PM
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Glad you found something your kitties like, List!
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  #12  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 06:01 PM
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All my cats are on Evo and they love it. I usually go from Felidea to Evo . I must say they love they dry version felidea and can honestly say they "hate" the wet. DOn't understand
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Old October 3rd, 2006, 07:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by List
For a 5lbs bag it's $13.99, for the 10lbs bag it's $23.99. It's much cheaper than a lot of the other good brands. And a lot cheaper than the T/D I was feeding them which ran me $18.99 for a 4lbs bag (and I had to feed more of it).
Thanks (I'm trying to get my friends to switch, but without the price, I'm stuck...).
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  #14  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 07:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chico2
Mind you,mine eat canned as their main meals,dry as supplement 24/7.
I would not feed a cat only dry food,especially neutered males like my 3.
WHy ? I haven't had time to research good food for Monsieur le chat yet,he's on cheap food right now
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  #15  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 08:02 PM
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Wet makes sure they have water in them so they're less likely to build up crystals (that's what you were asking right?).
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  #16  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 08:09 PM
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Yep,I tought dry was better for their teeth.
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Old October 3rd, 2006, 08:11 PM
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Quote:
Yep,I tought dry was better for their teeth.
who needs teeth for eating canned wet food?
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  #18  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 08:17 PM
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Quote:
All my cats are on Evo and they love it. I usually go from Felidea to Evo . I must say they love they dry version felidea and can honestly say they "hate" the wet. DOn't understand
It's so weird. I've heard this a lot but my kitties love it . Do you feed the evo wet? What do your cats think of that one? My male kitten will eat anything so he liked the Evo but my female cat ate it only if she had to. So I haven't tried the wet yet.
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  #19  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 08:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by technodoll
who needs teeth for eating canned wet food?
Oh yes,that would be too cute! Monsieur le chat with no teeth! So now you guys got me all mixt up about cat food....I will go with the better food they sell here ( wich is probably not so great) Is it more expensive to buy canned food ? Sorry List,I'm threadjacking your thread....
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  #20  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 09:07 PM
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Frenchy, they say it's not the texture but the quality that keeps the teeth clean. Canned is generally more expensive though.
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  #21  
Old October 3rd, 2006, 10:27 PM
Maggie Barron Maggie Barron is offline
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I've been feeding Innova Dry (and sometimes canned) to my cats for the past year or so and it seems to be good for them. It was recommended as a brand to feed my 3-year old cat, Poley who suffered from a case of urinary crystals last December. So far, no more urinary problems, so I plan to keep feeding them this brand. For canned food, I usually buy them 'Natural Balance' which is a bit cheaper but just as good as Innova.

Maggie
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Old October 4th, 2006, 07:00 AM
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I was looking for Felidae at my pet-supply store and they have everything except Felidae,they've never heard of it
It surprised me and they have very helpful knowledgable staff,maybe Pet-Smart,Pet Value???
Frenchy,I remember waaay back,probably before you were born A beautiful Maine Coon I had,died at 3 yrs because of severe UTI.
My vet at the time said NEVER feed a neutered male dry food
However,those were the days of limited foods,Purina Cat Chow and Pussn'Boots,but although we now have good quality dry foods,I still cannot forget what Dr Smith said and my cats love their canned food twice/daily and snack on dry 24/7.
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Old October 4th, 2006, 07:07 AM
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I just bought a bag of Holistic Blend for my cats on Sunday. They are gulping it down like nothing else!
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  #24  
Old October 4th, 2006, 11:31 AM
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I will look into it thanks. I started to reduce his kibble,I was overfeeding him.So yesterday,I gave him the right amount.Boy was he pissed at me this morning,woke me up at 5h00 am and kept me awake by talking up a storm,I think I heard him swear.....

Last edited by Frenchy; October 4th, 2006 at 06:37 PM.
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Old October 4th, 2006, 01:47 PM
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Though I think this thread is pretty much done in terms of solving the original question, I just found it and wanted to add my comments.

I have 3 cats, one is a neutered male. He is about 6 yrs younger than the girls, so started out eating kitten food while they were eating "adult" food. He never had any problems until I tried to switch him to the Innova Evo, then he developed bloody diarrhea (all over the carpet in my condo which was for sale at the time--it was *horrible*!) and had to go to an emergency vet. Over a year later, and after being on prescription food (Medical Gastro) for nearly that whole time, I'm just about done getting him transitioned to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Reduced Formula (lower fat). I tried him on the Venison & Green Pea they offer, and he loved it, didn't get sick, but wasn't losing weight (and he's quite chubby), so I'm trying the Reduced. I would highly recommend Natural Balance--my dog has been on it for a few months as well. When he (dog) was transitioning to it, he'd actually pick out the new food from his bowl and leave all the old stuff behind.

The idea behind the "high-protein" foods is based on science; cats are what is called "obligate carnivores", as in their bodies are built to digest meat protein. If they don't get the right amount of protein (depending on which source you check, it can range from 20-40%), they will get sick. Most commercial cat foods contain somewhat less protein than sources tell you cats need, and so there are a few of the high protein foods out there. Personally, though I have a zoology degree, and understand the metabolism of a cat relies on meat protein, I also have had too many problems with trying to feed my cat(s) a high protein food. Cats I've had or lived with seem to be healthy and live a long life (my mom's cat is 19 and probably should have died before 12 based on his lifestyle as an indoor/outdoor cat) on "regular" protein amounts, and because I've seen first hand what happened when my cat's body couldn't process the extra protein, I'm personally avoiding the high protein foods. There have also been studies showing that long-term feeding of higher-than-necessary protein foods can cause kidney damage (a large amount of excess protein is secreted in urine), and Evo is a full 10% higher than even the highest # I could find for how much cats need.

I also wanted to comment on the wet vs dry food situation. Urinary problems (FUS/FLUTD) are not caused strictly by diet. Diet can be a contributing factor, and certainly was a few years ago, until mineral levels were identified that contributed to the problem, and these have since been corrected (in the standards set out by Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)). Here are a couple of really good articles (IMO) about it: http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/fusfaqs.html
http://www.asah.net/feline_urinary_disease.htm

The current thinking is that pH of the urine may be a contributing factor to urinary troubles. Too much or too little acid, and the level seems to vary depending on the cat. Dietary water intake (in canned food) is not necessarily a preventative measure. I grew up with a male cat, and he got only a teaspoon of canned food a day, and never once had a urinary problem. I now have 2 females and a male cat, and only the male gets wet food of any kind (~1 tbsp canned food mixed with canned pumpkin, to fill his tummy as he is on a diet). Of those 3 cats (the girls I've had 7 yrs), one of the females had a urinary infection, and this was about 3 weeks after I got her. It was cleared up with antibiotics and she hasn't been sick since.
Ultimately, your food choices are up to you, but you are paying for 70% or so water in canned food. If you want to increase the amount of water your cat gets, you'd have just as much success in soaking the dry food in warm water until it swells up as in feeding canned food.
From the AVMA (Alberta Veterinary Medical Association):
Quote:
Dry vs canned/wet food
Both dry and wet foods can provide the same level of nutrition. Dry food generally costs less per serving, stays fresh when left in a bowl all day, and requires less space to store. Feeding dry food may also keep your pet's teeth cleaner, although many other factors play a role in dental health.
Anyways... your final choice is up to you, based on what you're comfortable with, what your vet recommends for your cat (if he or she has special needs-I don't feed what my vet recommends), what works for your cat, and your finances (if that's a consideration). If you're truly concerned about dental health, regardless of whether you feed wet, dry, a combination or homemade, your best bet on that is to teach your cat to allow you to brush their teeth.

Good luck!
Melissa
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  #26  
Old October 4th, 2006, 07:21 PM
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Dogmelissa, have you tried wetting the food for the kitties? I've heard not too many like it.
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Old October 5th, 2006, 11:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prin
Dogmelissa, have you tried wetting the food for the kitties? I've heard not too many like it.
I think a lot of that is dependent on the cat. Taz will eat anything, and when he was his sickest, I did wet his veterinary food (once he was eating solid food again, ugh). He still ate it. I've also soaked "regular" food for the girls, and Rusty ate it, but Aubrie didn't.
I knew someone who's cat had to have all of her teeth removed (it was a medical condition, not just because she was old and they were rotten, the cat was only 4), but who hated all canned food. They had a routine, and knew exactly how long they needed to soak the food (in warm water) for it to be soft enough for her to eat. She was demanding about it, too... like "MOM, gimme my food!!!"

So I guess like most things in life, it depends on the individual.

Melissa
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