Which cat food is best for my one year old male cat?

Alexia

Currently, Im feeding my kitty one cup of Iams diet adult cat food(indoor formula) with hairball control and a third of a can of Fancy Feast as a treat. What cat food would you recommend for my indoor kitty?



Isabella

Most vets recommend Science Diet, but Iams is a very good brand too. Dont change cat food too often or not at all the cat will have a hard time digesting different brands. So I have been told by my vet.



Dorinda

Wellness is the best, in my opinion.



Jacqui

Not sure why you are feeding your one year old DIET adult food. he should have been on kitten (dry or can) for his first year. unless you cat is now overweight, i wouldnt be feeding him diet food. if you cat is overweight cut down a little on his dry food. science diet is a good brand.



Devora

Science Diet, Fancy Feast and Iams are very poor quality foods. You asked so I am telling you. He is not going to die or anything and improving the quality of his food will benefit him for his long-term health. Its great that you are feeding him some canned food. It is important especially for male cats who can have urinary tract problems to have adequate moisture in their food so their urine does not become too concentrated and irritate their bladders. This is going to mean more $$$$ and you will not be throwing money away by buying inexpensive grocery store food made with inferior ingredients -- cheap corn for 2/3 of his food, the throw-away parts from the chicken (not the good lean muscle meat that goes into your food) and lot of suspect other meat sources. CA Natural, Wellness, Natures Variety (Prairie)and Natural Balance all make excellent dry foods. Real meat, chicken livers and rice, pea, oats or even tapioca for fillers. Natural Balance also has a venison and pea. The venison is an excellent protein source. I checked with the company and the deer are "farmed" in New Zealand so I think thats good. Its hard or impossible to find much duck or rabbit because those prey animals are not economical to raise for the manufacturers. Wellness has changed its formulation on the dry food and my cats dont like it much anymore. Its still a good food so your cat might do OK with it. Please read a recipe for switching dry foods by clicking on my name at the icon. Its important to take a change gradually to avoid any tummy upsets or diarrhea. I have been using a lot of the NB canned foods lately and all my cats seem to like it. They have a chicken and chicken liver, a turkey with giblets, an ultra and an indoor variety. Its good to use a single protein source food - thats the natural way when cats eat in the wild. They dont have a little bird, a little mouse and or a little lizard at one feeding. Its important to give your cat variety in his diet. Use one bag of a dry, then another different kind. I am usually rotating between three for my cats. I dont give much canned with fish in it as fish is not so great for our cats. I am searching now for some other canned foods as good as the Natural Balance and am still looking. Feed your cat "meals". Maybe some dry food in the AM. And pick up what isnt eaten when you leave for work. When you come home a can of meat is great. Cats need time between meals to adequately digest what they have eaten - especially dry food.



Ezra

I have also read a lot of _scientific_ bad things about Iams and Science Diet (they are produced by the same company). I have read good things about cat food produced by a company called Felines Pride; I have also read recommendations on Natures Variety; Innova Evo... there is a list of high-quality cat foods, with or without grains, at http://www. catinfo. org Anyway, canned food is highly recommended. Dry food causes dehydration (I saw that in my cat when I switched him to canned food - he is still drinking the same amount of water...), and the cooking causes a lot of the goodies that cats need to disintegrate. Canned food does not result in runny stools, by the way - on the contrary, canned food is digested much better, resulting in fewer and much more compact stools. For more info there, check out http://www. catnutrition. org Good luck!



Dorinda

Try Innovas EVO...there are no animal by-products in it



Rebekah

Fancy feast is garbage, expensive garbage at that. Iams and Science Diet are not owned by the same company - Iams is owned by Proctor and Gamble, SD is owned by Colgate Palmolive. Purina is owned by Nestle. Ingredients are not a good way to look at the quality of foods. By products are the organ meat by law (AAFCO) heart, kidneys, liver - what cats prefer in the wild. Of all the commercial foods, Science Diet is i the only one with anitioxidants to prevent aging changes to the kidneys. Dont think if you see "chicken" as an ingredient it is the muscle meat that you eat - chicken as an ingredient of pet foods can contain bone, and skin. Canned food is good - it causes the cat to drink more water on its own (read the Carnivore Connection by Dr. Zoran.)The best food is Advanced Protection by Science Diet. My last cat was on Science Diet and he lived to 20 years old, and I see in the clinic I work at that cats on good diets like Iams and Science Diet live longer with less health problems than cats eating bad foods like Innova, Natural Choice, and California Gold.



Tambra

My vet recommended Eukanuba or Nutro. Neutered males have problems with urinary tract blockage, so you have to use the right food from the start to keep them healthy. I feed a combination of Nutro-Hairball Formula dry and a canned food like Wellness. Canned food is good because it gives kitty extra moisture and also helps with that nasty urinary tract (UT) problem. Check the magnesium level of both the wet and dry food and make sure number is lower, too high will cause the UT problem. (Dont mean to dwell on that, but had a cat with serious UT problem that I had to put down because of it, unfortunately some cats just prone to it). Make sure the first 2 or 3 ingredients on the bag of dry food are meat (chicken, fish, turkey, beef, lamb), with no by-products and no corn, rice, wheat or such in those first few ingredients. More expensive is not always better, but, going to a good pet food store is worth the trip. A good one will have a good selection of good, high quality food and the people in the store are usually very knowledgeable about the products they carry. I currently have 3 cats, 2 males and a female (all "fixed") and have owned cats all of my 50 years and just put two down within the last year, one was 18 years old and the other was 20 years old. Their little bodies just got tired and their kidneys started to fail, not unusual in cats their age. The most important thing I did was feed them good food and DID NOT let them outside, ever. Good luck with your boy.