What is the very best food to feed my cat?

Sol

My little Queen has had a litter of kittens, all born healthy as can be. Im now very concerned with her and my kittens health when it regards their food. I looked at the ingredients list of their dry food, and Im shocked. Corn meal being number one, an poultry by-product meal being second. What is the best, and most affordable, cat food I can give them, and how may I supplement their diet?



Belkis

Its great that you are so concerned about your cats diet, it shows how much you care! Dry food is really bad for cats, being the #1 cause of feline diabetes, obesity and associated with UTDs, renal failure and more. Cats on dry food are dehydrated as they are designed to get most of their water from their food. You would do a lot of good by switching your cats to wet onyl diet. As long as its high quality it doesnt even have to be kitten food, although if its available you should try. I personally feed Bozita, high quality and affordable, but not available in states I think. Wellness Core ad Blue Buffalo are great foods. Store bought brands are usually oaded with the same stuff as dry, corn, grains, by-product etc. Read the labels and look for ones that are grain free and list muscle meat as first ingredient. Here are some helpful sites on cat nutrition that helped me a lot! Good luck, your on a good way!



Eli

Catinfo. org has great information on giving your cat the best possible food. I feed my kittens a combination of raw chicken thighs, egg yolk, salmon oil and wellness wet food for the taurine and other vitamins.



Kristine

Alot of cat food contains corn gluten/ meal, however there are some that contain very little to none, it just depends on how much money your willing to spend. Royal Canin (Sensible Choice) is the best however its expensive. Purina one and IAMS is what i buy when i cant afford the other.



Cassondra

There are a number of premium foods available for cats, and of those in which real meat is the first ingredient and that contain no corn and no by-products, none is inexpensive. For a nursing queen, a kitten food is essential, because that will permit her body to make kitten food for her little brood while replenishing the nutrients she needs to make good milk, that would otherwise be leached from her body in order to feed her babes. And so, before you even look at the heirarchy of ingredients on the label, look at the kittens themselves and the mother cat. IF they are all glowingly healthy, whatever you are feeding now is doing the trick, as they are getting enough protein and all the nutrients they need. This is critical. Your queen needs that kind of food, and lots of water, because of course, milk is mostly water and thats what she is making. Beyond that, if you want to purchase a grain-free kibble KITTEN FOOD, that is up to you. But I would just keep her on what she is eating and then supplement with a wet food that is corn and byproduct free, and add extra water to it. There are so many, many brands: Evo comes to mind because it is high fat and excellent. Another that comes to mind is Wellness. Halo, which is Ellen Degeneris pet food brand, is excellent (my cat wont eat it -- too many vegetables), or the Wellness Core brand, which is just about all protein, as is Merricks BG (which means "Before Grain" and includes little cans of quail, among others). None of these is inexpensive, though, and pound-for-pound really do cost more than what you eat. The other alternative with a wet food is to make your own, and there are a number of cat food recipes online -- Anitra Frasier (author of "The New Natural Cat" which is an excellent cat care book) has a recipe there for a huge batch of chicken cat food, and you might want to look at it, as you can freeze what you do not use immediately, and bring it out as needed, and it is all people-grade food and veggies. This is affordable. But the old addage "If it aint broke, dont fix it." really would apply here. No matter what brand you are feeding your lady right now, if it is working, I wouldnt change it, as some cats react badly to changes in their diet, and to change something that is working well for you, just because you found something on the label you dont think you should like may actually create problems. I really think you should stick with your current kitten food (it IS kitten food, isnt it?), and if you really think its not good for your brood, change it later when a dietary hiccup has less potential for harm to your little family.



Edyth

Good for you for looking at their nutrition properly. You need to go to a large pet shop and look at what you can afford and then compare the ingredients listed and choose the best one. Cats tend to eat less good quality food so it may turn out cheaper that you expect.



Lucy

Raw chicken thighs, egg yolk, salmon oil