#1
|
|||
|
|||
Cat food
I am trying to find a good cat food for my cats. My vet suggests Medi-cal, but one of the main ingredients in it is corn and I heard that this is bad for animals. Are the all natural cat foods better? Any suggestions on what brand is good?
|
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Try this: http://catinfo.org/
|
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Kalou,
My knowledge is more with canines, but IMO most grains (including corn) are not suitable in a diet for a dog or a cat, but especially a cat because they are strict carnivores. It's not that corn is necessarily bad, just inappropriate in a carnivore's diet. There are much better foods you can find for your cat. Most of the users on here like Orijen. Their website is www.orijen.ca. I feed my dogs Orijen and they do wonderfully on it. They have a Cat & Kitten formula, and a 6 Fish Cat. Hopefully, some cat owners will be along soon to provide more advice.
__________________
My babies: Sassy - Maltese X (9), Furby - Shihtzu X (7), Brynn - Boxer (3), Diesel - Boxer (1) "Many of the Earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects, and even micro-organisms that we know as rare may not be known at all by future generations. We have the capability, and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late." - Dalai Lama |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
Check out the link that Ozzie posted for the most comprehensive info on the subject. But in a nutshell, wet food, not dry, is what you want to feed. Preferably with little to no grains, and a quality source of muscle meat (for instance, "chicken", not "meat by-products").
Forgot to mention a couple more things: try to limit fish-based foods to no more than once or twice a week (more info on why here), and feed lots of variety (rotate several different brands and flavours). It's a myth that you should feed your pet the same food, day in and day out, for ever and ever. That's how allergies and addictions develop, not to mention the increased risk of health issues should a particular food have a deficiency (or an excess) of vitamins/minerals, or tainted ingredients. Transition between brands slowly if your cat has a sensitive digestive system, or use probiotics during the changeover.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler Last edited by Ford; June 2nd, 2010 at 10:22 PM. Reason: additional info |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I like Merrick....; Wellness; and Tiki Cat
Merrick probably has more grain than the others, (I haven't re-read the ingredients lately but the fact(S) that it is 1) privately owned company 2) available in several different varieties (so you can rotate variety within the same company and fairly reasonably priced. My cat prefers Wellness packets (he won't eat ANY brand of wet/canned food in a pate style; it has to pass what I call the "Lucky shake test"; ie I have to be able to hear a bit of 'sloshing' around of the gravy, etc. He does love Merrick's "Grammy's Pot Pie"
Tiki cat is wonderful but also pretty $$....even w/just one cat; I can't afford to feed it every day. I just recently discovered they also produce dog food ..... Anyways, good luck, I included a few links below. http://www.naturalpetsupplyonline.com/catfoods.asp (Link to a local pet store we love, they have some great info, plus links to all the products they sell, including the ones I mentioned above) Tiki cat http://www.petropics.com/ |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Nature's Variety Instinct (canned of course) is my favourite and supplement with homemade raw.
__________________
Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Cat food???
My cats are on the MEDICAL Preventative formula that I get from the vet and I am thinking of changing them over to one of these other brands:
Halo Orijen Arcana Are these good brands? Is one better than the rest? Also I used to feed wellness to my cats but I found out that it wasn't approved by the AAFCO, does anyone know if these other brands are approved? Thanks!! |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Any canned food is better than any dry food you can feed your cat(s). Hands down. Wellness canned is one of the top names as far as ingredients go. Please take some time to puruse: www.catinfo.org I am sure some cat gurus will be along soon to help answer some questions. I unfortunately have to go to work.
__________________
Assumptions do nothing but make an ass out of u and me. We can stick our heads in the sand for only so long before it starts choking us. Face it folks. The pet population is bad ALL OVER THE WORLD! |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Quote:
Chicken Meal, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Corn, Chicken Fat, Dried Egg Powder, Natural Flavour, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Tomato Pomace (Source of Lycopene), Dried Tomato (Source of Lycopene), Calcium Sulphate, Dried Beet Pulp, Flax Meal, Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine,...Too much plant-matter, not enough meat, and most importantly, not enough water. If your cats have had urinary tract issues in the past, water is the most important ingredient you can feed them. Yes, FEED them. They need water IN their food, and they should not be eating any kibble whatsoever. Please read this link on why that is: http://www.catinfo.org/feline_urinary_tract_health.htm So with that in mind, I wouldn't feed any of the above foods. Orijen and Acana (both made by Champion Pet Foods) don't have a canned version, only kibble. Halo isn't horrible, but it's pricey for what you get, which tends to be too much vegetable matter (I'm talking about the Halo's Spot's Stew canned). Better foods would be Wellness, Nature's Variety, Innova, ZiwiPeak, By Nature..... or the ultimate, a raw diet. Quote:
An excerpt: Quote:
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler Last edited by sugarcatmom; June 4th, 2010 at 08:22 AM. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
No, they are on it because the vet said that it was good food. I am looking for an alternative dry food because I can't afford feeding wet food.
|
#11
|
||||
|
||||
It's not a good idea to feed any urinary tract food without a specific reason to do so, because long-term ingestion of an acidifier (DL-methionine) by cats that don't need it can cause a whole host of problems, not the least of which is an increased risk of developing calcium oxalate crystals (which can only be surgically removed).
Quote:
Perhaps you should consider a raw diet then. There are members here (Love4himies comes to mind) that feed several cats a homemade raw diet for much cheaper than could ever be achieved even with dry food. Check out the link that 14+ gave you, it's very educational. What it comes down to is that there are no good reasons to feed cats dry food, and very many not to. Even the cheapest canned is better than the most expensive dry.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler Last edited by sugarcatmom; June 4th, 2010 at 08:24 AM. Reason: apparently the mods didn't like my wording |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
I will definitely read up on the canned cat food. What canned food do you feed your cats?
|
#13
|
||||
|
||||
hey kalou,
why not ask about purina? i seen it in canada a lot, and most of the stuff they have here in kuwait is purina aswell. i feed kiko purinas friskies canned food.
__________________
"For those whom Islam has embraced, the greatest witness to God's unremitting, pursuing, sustaining, and guiding love is the Qu'ran. Like a vast magnificent ocean, it lures you deeper and deeper into its dazzling waves until you are swept into it. But instead of drowning in a sea of darkness, as described above, you find yourself immersed in an ocean of divine light and mercy." - Dr.Jeffrey Lang |
#14
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
One way to save money on canned food is to buy the largest cans (12.5 - 13 oz) by the case. Many pet food stores will give you a 10% discount or a free can when you get a case, and often the $/oz of a good quality food like Innova works out to be cheaper than the small 3oz tins of lesser quality food.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
|
|