What are the best brand names in cat food?

Catheryn

Im currently feeding my 2 cats friskies wet and dry food and whiskas dry food. I was told that these are bad for a cat because of all the "fillers", what are the best brands of wet and dry cat food that you can buy in a regular grocery store or a place like petsmart? My mom feeds her cats 9lives in the can, is that any better? I have noticed that most of my cans of friskies has wheat gluten in it which is what started the recall so i stopped feeding them cans that contain wheat gluten but need a good brand of wet and dry food. Thanks!!!



Adele

I am so glad that this whole recall is finally making people take notice of the crap they feed their animals. I’m glad you’re looking into a new food for your cats. Right now, wheat gluten is the big suspect in cat food that everyone is trying to avoid, and it SHOULD be avoided. Should have been avoided before and even more so now. But corn should always be avoided as well. It’s a huge filler worth NOTHING. Corn as an ingredient in cat food is a joke. Ever seen a cat chewing on a corn cob in a field? No you haven’t. Cats are carnivores. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein! Be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) those found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers - are typically made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, "grocery store" foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.-Premium foods – ( Iams, Purina and such)often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices - contain higher-grade ingredients, but may still include some elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients. Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible.- Healthy foods – (Wellness, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster and Smith) the newest addition to the pet food market - provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Foods in the Healthy class - contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use whole, fresh fruits and vegetables, real meat as the primary protein source, and carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food. With all that in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, look at the first ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever is listed first there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”, who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder. The ingredients also should not include any byproducts whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the floor of meat and poultry plants, which should just go into the trash but go into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer. Be aware though that when switching to a better food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you. But to me, they are well worth it. What are some good foods I recommend? I feed my cats Drs Foster and Smith Holistic Adult Lite Dry cat food. I purchase it online and have it automatically delivered to my door so I never run out and never have to go get it. It’s one of the best foods on the market and has no fillers in it. It is also very reasonably priced compared to other holistic foods as well. If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blrans. Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Brand is a great holistic food. As is Eagle Pack Dry Cat food. Merrick canned is also a great source of nutrition and they will be coming out with a dry line this summer. Some brands, not all, of Nutro cat food are ok is you want to spend less money, however I personally would never chose their food for nutritional value. I highly recommend people take the time to research for themselves, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new food for your cats! Side note… Please don’t feed Iams. It’s ALL fillers and CRAP. There is nothing good for your cat in that food. Not to mention they do the most terrible animal testing you have ever seen. www. iamscreulty. com to see the terror they create.



Emeline

Good for you! And even better for your kittys! Make sure you do the food switch over atleast a week though as not to upset thier tummys. Do 25% new to 75% old food for a few days, then 50/50 for a few, then 25% old to 75% new. Then finally make the full switch. Good Luck! Your kittys will thank you!



Alleen

I dont know about dry food but i feed mine kitty quisine its a wet cat food



Amos

Try Purina, my cats LOVE it its main ingredient is meat. Royal Canon is good, too.



Brenna

Theres a big difference between the best brand names and the best quality! A lot of tinned food consists of absolute rubbish but most cats are quite happy with it and remain healthy. We have 13 cats and feed them Eukanuba dry food, which is arguably the best. If you have a good vet, ask them. They will not publicly denounce Whiskas or mainstream products but may politely suggest a certain brand that is of better quality. As a treat, we occasionally add some sardines, salmon or boiled chicken but no more than once a week or they get fussy.



Ashely

If you are budget conscious, then Purina isnt that bad. As for me I think Eagle Pack is good. Organic and as far as I know, no recall. Even though it is expensive, it is easy for the cat to digest and all the nutrients needed for my kitten, so, in the long run, less Vet trip for your pet. Maybe just check the Eagle Pack. com and see for yourself. Hope this is useful for you...!!!Good luck...!!!



Alfonso

For my cats, I use 9 Lives wet and Purina Cat Chow dry food. However, I do not necessarily believe these are the best products on the market. Iams, Science Diet, and Eukenuba are a lot better quality products than either of the two I use but I choose to use a little lower quality for a better price. At one time I had a cat who was severely diabetic and our vet recommended to feed him only Science Diet in wet and dry. His diabetes was much easier managed while he was eating Science Diet. Hope this helps.



Alberta

A lot of breeders use Iams/Eukanuba or Royal Canin. Those are both good quality foods and they are readily available at PetSmart. Iams is available in grocery stores and WalMart too. There are other natural brands that are good too, but as you alluded to, they are not available at a lot of mainstream stores all the time. My kitties all eat Iams Multicat and Iams Regular for their dry food. I also use Royal Canin Baby Cat for rescued kittens. I give my cats Iams wet food too, or even Friskies just as a snack. You are right about the fillers. The filler wheat gluten is thought to be the problem in all the foods that are being recalled right now.



Manuel

I HAVE 8 CATS, MY VET. TOLD ME TO FEED THEM NUTRO HARD FOOD WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT PETCO PETSMART STORES. FRISKYS ETC. HAS INGRIDENTS THAT WILL HELP YOUR CATS GAIN WEIGHT, BUT NUTRO HARD CAT FOOD GIVES THEM THE VIATMINS THEY NEED TO BE HEALTHY IT IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. HARD FOOD IS BETTER FOR THEIR TEETH, BUT ITS OK TO GIVE THM A LITTLE TREAT ONCE DAILY LIKE FANCY FEAST OR FRISKEYS.



Claude

Take a pass on Petsmart. Theyre a good source for toys, but their food is pretty much supermarket quality. Just FYI. But here is a list of the best canned foods. There are other good ones out there, but the people who put this list together I guess just havent gotten to them all! I believe the article also mentions how to identify good food, but if not, its basically this - meat listed first or at least in the first three. No byproducts, no "meal", no grains - definitely not corn, wheat or soy, but even other ones are undesirable.



Shad

Some of the best kinds are:Natura Innova EVO, Wellness, Felidae, Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Holistic Blend, Orijen, Petcurean Go! Natural, Petcurean Foundations, Petcurean Summit, Natura California Natural, Natura Innova, by Nature, Nutram. Check out their websites to see if they are available at a store near you. Avoid foods with by-products and chemical preservatives. High meat content is great too, low grains or grain-free. Canned is best, but if your cat doesnt like canned that much or you cant afford an all canned diet, feed a bit of canned and add water to it a couple times per day, put it in the fridge after 30 min though so it doesnt go bad. A can should last a few days to a week. Then leave dry food out all day.



Abigail

My cats get Innova



Cori

Well i currently feed my cat royal canin hard food..its reallyy good...but the recall scared me so i kinda stopped feeding my cat canned food as much as i used to, maybe just once a week...the canned food i feed her is purina - either friskies or fancy feast.



Flossie

Whiskas



Pok

Rancid CatRabid Cat



Alvera

Iams is one of the most famous and most reliable quality pet food supplier (http://us. iams. com/iams/global/IamsGloba…See list of all cat food suppliers at http://cats. about. com/cs/catfood/a/blman…



Lucien

Science diet and nutro make very healthy foods for pet. They are high quality and vet recommended. I use both. I just put out seperate dishes for them to eat.