Showing posts with label healthy cat food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy cat food. Show all posts
Which is worse for a dog eating human food or cat food for a week?
Which is worse, feeding a dog canned cat food for a week or feeding it pizza, fried chicken (no bones) and steak? I have a bet that dogs wont be harmed on either diet since its only for a week.
Can you purchase hills prescription diet cd cat food in germany?
I have a ten year old male cat that is required to eat Hills Prescription Diet CD. I am considering moving to Germany, but I am unsure whether I can purchase my cats food abroad. Does anyone have any personal experience with this?
Do you have any suggestions for healthier catkitten food?
I have two cats that eat out of one anothers bowls so I need to feed them the same cat food. One is a kitten (9 mos) and the other is an adult cat (6 years). I am currently feeding them Purina Kitten Chow its giving both cats VERY loose stools that have a horrendous odor. It gives the kitten horrible, horrible gas. Yes, its funny to read but not when you have to live with it. Any suggestions on a good healthy cat food that they both can eat that might help the dirreaha/odor problems? Please dont suggest Iams, I refuse to buy from a pet food company that mistreats their animals they use for testing their food products. Thanks for any suggestions you have!!
What is the nutritional difference between dog food and cat food?
If my chihuahuas eat cat food, are they missing out on any important nutrients? which ones?
Are animal shelters more in need of cat food or dog food?
I have gotten coupons in the mail from Purina. I can get a free 10lb bag and a free 25lb bag. I am not feeding this to my pets (yuck), but Im donating it to the shelter. So, should I get 25lbs of cat food and 10lb of dog food, or vice versa? What are they more in need of? Thanks!
Why does my cat only eat one particular brand of food?
He does not steal food like normal cats, he does not eat meat, no chicken, no meat at all, ive tried all cat foods but none work apart from "go cat" dried food and even then he only eats the green ones which are the vegs. ive given food from my plate all he does is smell it and scruches his face up and runs away. i know theres nothing wrong with my food, all he eats are dried veg cat food and only 1 brand at that.
Why is my cat throwing up hard cat food?
I have tried several brands of cat food (grocery store brands) even the "hairball" kind and my indoor cats (especially one of them) regularly throw up the hard food almost whole. Any suggestions why and how to help them? Thanks!
At what age do you start a kitten on cat food?
My cat had one kitten three weeks ago and of course is still nursing....but I was wondering when I should start introducing cat food into the kittens diet?
How do i get my cat 3yrs old to stop eatting my younger cats 9months kitten food?
Ive had my 9month old cat for a month now and my 3 year old cat is starting to eat the kitten food instead of his own adult cat food. I leave food for them in their bowls all day because they eat at different times of the day. I cant stop the older cat when Im gone at work all day, only when I catch him.
What would be good to mix into cat food?
I have adopted a new cat that is stuck on dry food. In the past I have not seen cats benefit from dry food alone. They need something more, any suggestions? My other cats live on a diet of both dry and canned food.
What is the best cat food for pregnant cats?
I was just wondering if there was any really healthy cat food for pregnant cats. There is a cat food with carnation milk pieces, but is it better than other food. I was just wondering because my cat is pregnant...again...lol
What is a good cat food to help him gain weight?
My cat is pretty thin from hyperthyroidism and needs a cat food, both dry and moist to help put some weight on him. The vet gave him a liquid vitamin for twice per day, but I want to feed him a high quality food that hopefully does not contain added salt or fish (any seafood). I am hoping there is a food for very active cats available, so to give him extra calories.
How are cat treats different than dry cat food?
What would make them different? Same size, same flavors (Chicken Delight, Ocean Fish, Whisker-Lickin Tuna), same texture...My cat acts like its Christmas when I open the Feline Greenies bag, though. Does he just *think* its something better because he gets it less frequently than the cat food, which is available regularly? Or is it really different?
Do they make a cat food that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside?
Is there any cat food similar to those Whiskas Temptations treats? Im having a hard time finding a cat food that mt cats will eat...They seem to like the crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside thing..Do they make a cat FOOD that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside??
Has the original happy cat cat food been discontinued? not the hard one the soft one from the pourable bottle
Louetta
The original Happy Cat was a soft "dry" food that came in a pourable container. The Happy Cat that is available online today appears to be a hard dry food only.
Humberto
I dont know if its discontinued... but that food is terrible. Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Alix
If you are talking about a moist food diet, those are being generally discontinued. The harsh use of chemicals and preservatives in them to keep them from spoiling was really bad for cats. On pets. ca, a very reputable site with very smart users, one of them said that if you feed your cat a diet of those kinds of soft dry foods, you can cut your cats life expectancy in half. A shame I cant find the actual link to what I am talking about though.
Adena
Hahaha!!! I remember Happy Cat!!!My kitties used to LOVE it way back in the day!!! Im not sure if they still make it but thanks for the flash back!! LOL
The original Happy Cat was a soft "dry" food that came in a pourable container. The Happy Cat that is available online today appears to be a hard dry food only.
Humberto
I dont know if its discontinued... but that food is terrible. Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Alix
If you are talking about a moist food diet, those are being generally discontinued. The harsh use of chemicals and preservatives in them to keep them from spoiling was really bad for cats. On pets. ca, a very reputable site with very smart users, one of them said that if you feed your cat a diet of those kinds of soft dry foods, you can cut your cats life expectancy in half. A shame I cant find the actual link to what I am talking about though.
Adena
Hahaha!!! I remember Happy Cat!!!My kitties used to LOVE it way back in the day!!! Im not sure if they still make it but thanks for the flash back!! LOL
What is the best cat food for persian kitten 1month above?
Cathryn
Im afraid to let my kitten eat a table food coz she might get rid of it... or may be she will no longer eat a cat food anymore when i try to feed her a table food... Thanks in advance... :D
Judy
Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Kimiko
Science diet
Marisol
Meats that are plain are fine for snacks. Your cat is a carnivoreFor regular food, you need to do your researchNutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s healthContrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat. Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or is it meal or other things? Learn what meal and other things mean here. http://www. catinfo. org/#Learn_How_To_Rea…Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u. t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms of food allergies probably from the grains. Constipation? Dry food, not enough moisture. Blockages? Again not enough moisture in the food and you are risking something serious. People on this board say feed fiber but this is a cat not a dog and cats are obligate carnivores unlike dogs an they dont eat cereal and dont need fiber. The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food (Cats are not naturally big drinkers) but inDry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and dont use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive. You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesnt have corn at all or grains at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food as it uses a muscle meat as the first ingrediant. 9lives, friskies whiskas are lower grade canned but still better then dry and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. The optimum food to feed cats has no grains whatsoever, cats have no use for them and many have trouble processing them as well as the carbs. IBD is another disease that is rapidly becoming common amoung cats because of the inappropriate diets being fed. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? Why do people constantly repeat this old wives tale and put teeth over the organs like the kidneys?? (I have no clue) http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/bp…Please read about cat nutrition. http://www. newdestiny. us/nutritionbasics…http://www. catinfo. org/feline_obesity. ht…http://maxshouse. com/feline_nutrition. ht…
Ela
Do not feed your kitten table food. There are many things that are harmless to us but toxic for kittens (onions and garlic for example.) Feed your kitten a good dry food with a high protein number (38% or higher.) Purina One Kitten food is a great choice.
Bridgett
Sorry but I dont understand what you are asking. What is a "table food"? What do you mean she might get rid of it? You also ask about a Persian kitten "1 month above". Do you mean your kitten is one month old? I really hope not. A Persian should not be taken from its mother until it is at least 12 weeks old (a domestic breed can leave a bit sooner at around 8-9 weeks).If your kitten is that young it will not have been weaned by its mother, nor will it have been taught proper behaviour by its siblings and you may end up with an aggressive cat as it will not know the difference between playing and fighting. You either need to take it back to its mother (this would be the best thing to do) or consult your vet about milk substitutes (never give ordinary milk). When it gets a little older it should be fed a proper kitten food mixed with a little water and then gradually leave the water out. Persians are notorious for having stomach problems so you really need to learn what you are doing and never introduce a new food too quickly. You must always mix it gradually with the old food or they will get diarrhoea.
Delpha
Science diet.
Laurena
Hey when i got my persian kitten precious i didnt really know what too feed her so i asked my vet and he recomended whiskas kitten push out pouches so i tried it and she loved it shes now 11 months and is like a little trooper i really hope this helps as it did the world of good for my kitten good luckP. S you can buy it in your local vet or a pet supply shop
Chung
HOLISTIC FOOD! Ask your vet and local reputable pet store. Grocery store cat food is made of fillers and corn meal to fill them and not give them the nutrition they need. The foods where the first ingredient is chicken and meat (Not meal or by-products) will also FILL you pet and give them better and proper nutrition. Fillers will cause your pet to overeat because their body needs more nutrition. Look for Holistic. Its very important for their development. Hope this helps! Good luck! FEED HOLISTIC FOOD TO YOUR PET!!SPAY NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!ADOPT FROM A SHELTER NEAR YOU!!!!=0)
Elois
Wellness. Science Diet has too many fillers and starches that they dont digest all that easily. Wellness is organic, and really amazing, my cats are full of energy. Please remember to have your cat spayed at 5 months, be part of the overpopulated solution, not the problem.
Krysten
You need to get it kmr kitten formula if it is only 1 month old it needs nutritious liquid as its main food since the mom isnt around to feed it breast milk. dont feed any table foods unless its some kind of meat and dont feed it a lot if u do. after its 2 months or 3 months feed it canned food like 9 lives.
Im afraid to let my kitten eat a table food coz she might get rid of it... or may be she will no longer eat a cat food anymore when i try to feed her a table food... Thanks in advance... :D
Judy
Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Kimiko
Science diet
Marisol
Meats that are plain are fine for snacks. Your cat is a carnivoreFor regular food, you need to do your researchNutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s healthContrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat. Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or is it meal or other things? Learn what meal and other things mean here. http://www. catinfo. org/#Learn_How_To_Rea…Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u. t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms of food allergies probably from the grains. Constipation? Dry food, not enough moisture. Blockages? Again not enough moisture in the food and you are risking something serious. People on this board say feed fiber but this is a cat not a dog and cats are obligate carnivores unlike dogs an they dont eat cereal and dont need fiber. The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food (Cats are not naturally big drinkers) but inDry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and dont use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive. You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesnt have corn at all or grains at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food as it uses a muscle meat as the first ingrediant. 9lives, friskies whiskas are lower grade canned but still better then dry and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. The optimum food to feed cats has no grains whatsoever, cats have no use for them and many have trouble processing them as well as the carbs. IBD is another disease that is rapidly becoming common amoung cats because of the inappropriate diets being fed. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? Why do people constantly repeat this old wives tale and put teeth over the organs like the kidneys?? (I have no clue) http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/bp…Please read about cat nutrition. http://www. newdestiny. us/nutritionbasics…http://www. catinfo. org/feline_obesity. ht…http://maxshouse. com/feline_nutrition. ht…
Ela
Do not feed your kitten table food. There are many things that are harmless to us but toxic for kittens (onions and garlic for example.) Feed your kitten a good dry food with a high protein number (38% or higher.) Purina One Kitten food is a great choice.
Bridgett
Sorry but I dont understand what you are asking. What is a "table food"? What do you mean she might get rid of it? You also ask about a Persian kitten "1 month above". Do you mean your kitten is one month old? I really hope not. A Persian should not be taken from its mother until it is at least 12 weeks old (a domestic breed can leave a bit sooner at around 8-9 weeks).If your kitten is that young it will not have been weaned by its mother, nor will it have been taught proper behaviour by its siblings and you may end up with an aggressive cat as it will not know the difference between playing and fighting. You either need to take it back to its mother (this would be the best thing to do) or consult your vet about milk substitutes (never give ordinary milk). When it gets a little older it should be fed a proper kitten food mixed with a little water and then gradually leave the water out. Persians are notorious for having stomach problems so you really need to learn what you are doing and never introduce a new food too quickly. You must always mix it gradually with the old food or they will get diarrhoea.
Delpha
Science diet.
Laurena
Hey when i got my persian kitten precious i didnt really know what too feed her so i asked my vet and he recomended whiskas kitten push out pouches so i tried it and she loved it shes now 11 months and is like a little trooper i really hope this helps as it did the world of good for my kitten good luckP. S you can buy it in your local vet or a pet supply shop
Chung
HOLISTIC FOOD! Ask your vet and local reputable pet store. Grocery store cat food is made of fillers and corn meal to fill them and not give them the nutrition they need. The foods where the first ingredient is chicken and meat (Not meal or by-products) will also FILL you pet and give them better and proper nutrition. Fillers will cause your pet to overeat because their body needs more nutrition. Look for Holistic. Its very important for their development. Hope this helps! Good luck! FEED HOLISTIC FOOD TO YOUR PET!!SPAY NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!ADOPT FROM A SHELTER NEAR YOU!!!!=0)
Elois
Wellness. Science Diet has too many fillers and starches that they dont digest all that easily. Wellness is organic, and really amazing, my cats are full of energy. Please remember to have your cat spayed at 5 months, be part of the overpopulated solution, not the problem.
Krysten
You need to get it kmr kitten formula if it is only 1 month old it needs nutritious liquid as its main food since the mom isnt around to feed it breast milk. dont feed any table foods unless its some kind of meat and dont feed it a lot if u do. after its 2 months or 3 months feed it canned food like 9 lives.
Is pet promise natural canned cat food a good choice?
Eladia
I had my cats on Science Diet dry food but heard that dry food isnt good and Science Diet isnt good. So I recently bought Nutro Max and then was told that that isnt the best either. What about Pet Promise natural canned cat food? Any reviews on Science Diet, Nurtro Max, or Pet Promise? Thanks!
Meda
Hi You have to go with what you can afford. One good thing is cats seem to eat a bit less when fed food that isgoo for them and thats not cause they like it less but they dont have to eat more to get the stuff they need.. Instead of giving you reviews on food, i am going to give you my normal nutrtion post whch tells you what to look for and how to read labels. For me, i would ratherr fee a medium grade canned food then the bets dry out there. Good for you for making the switch Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s healthContrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat. Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things? http://www. catinfo. org/#Learn_How_To_Rea…http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring04…Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u. t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptomsThe problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but inDry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and dont use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive. http://www. catinfo. org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_…You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesnt have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/bp… Please read about cat nutrition. http://www. newdestiny. us/nutritionbasics… http://www. catinfo. org/feline_obesity. ht… http://maxshouse. com/feline_nutrition. ht… Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring04…
Lavonna
Pet Promise canned cat food is a decent food with no by products but does sit high on veggies and fruits. If you are comfortable with that, its a good choice. SD - I would rather you stay as far away as possibleNutro Max - used to be a good brand but there has been numerous complains about this company so I am very cautious when it comes to it. Other great brands to look into:-By Nature Organics http://www. bynaturepetfoods. comCalifornia Naturalhttp://www. californianaturalpet. comEagle Pack http://www. eaglepack. comEvangers http://www. evangersfood. comEVO http://www. evopet. comFelidae http://www. canidae. comMerrick Before Grainhttp://www. beforegrain. comNatural Balancehttp://www. naturalbalanceinc. comNatures Logichttp://www. natureslogic. com/Natures Variety http://www. naturesvariety. comWellnesshttp://www. wellnesspetfood. comWeruvahttp://www. weruva. com/Wysonghttp://www. wysong. net/========================For a smaller budget, but is very decent food as well. Chicken Soup for the Cats Lover Soulhttp://www. chickensoupforthepetloverssou…Authority® Premium Adult Formula In Canshttp://www. petsmart. com/product/index. js…
Shaun
Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
I had my cats on Science Diet dry food but heard that dry food isnt good and Science Diet isnt good. So I recently bought Nutro Max and then was told that that isnt the best either. What about Pet Promise natural canned cat food? Any reviews on Science Diet, Nurtro Max, or Pet Promise? Thanks!
Meda
Hi You have to go with what you can afford. One good thing is cats seem to eat a bit less when fed food that isgoo for them and thats not cause they like it less but they dont have to eat more to get the stuff they need.. Instead of giving you reviews on food, i am going to give you my normal nutrtion post whch tells you what to look for and how to read labels. For me, i would ratherr fee a medium grade canned food then the bets dry out there. Good for you for making the switch Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s healthContrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat. Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things? http://www. catinfo. org/#Learn_How_To_Rea…http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring04…Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u. t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptomsThe problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but inDry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and dont use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive. http://www. catinfo. org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_…You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesnt have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/bp… Please read about cat nutrition. http://www. newdestiny. us/nutritionbasics… http://www. catinfo. org/feline_obesity. ht… http://maxshouse. com/feline_nutrition. ht… Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Spring04…
Lavonna
Pet Promise canned cat food is a decent food with no by products but does sit high on veggies and fruits. If you are comfortable with that, its a good choice. SD - I would rather you stay as far away as possibleNutro Max - used to be a good brand but there has been numerous complains about this company so I am very cautious when it comes to it. Other great brands to look into:-By Nature Organics http://www. bynaturepetfoods. comCalifornia Naturalhttp://www. californianaturalpet. comEagle Pack http://www. eaglepack. comEvangers http://www. evangersfood. comEVO http://www. evopet. comFelidae http://www. canidae. comMerrick Before Grainhttp://www. beforegrain. comNatural Balancehttp://www. naturalbalanceinc. comNatures Logichttp://www. natureslogic. com/Natures Variety http://www. naturesvariety. comWellnesshttp://www. wellnesspetfood. comWeruvahttp://www. weruva. com/Wysonghttp://www. wysong. net/========================For a smaller budget, but is very decent food as well. Chicken Soup for the Cats Lover Soulhttp://www. chickensoupforthepetloverssou…Authority® Premium Adult Formula In Canshttp://www. petsmart. com/product/index. js…
Shaun
Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
What brand of cat food do you feed your kittenscats?
Blythe
What brand of cat food do you feed your kittens and cats? And which one is best?
Carmelia
Um go to petco they have good food
Elma
I like to feed Wellness
Collen
I strongly believe they should have Purina Kitten Chow for at least their 1st year
Johnna
My cat loves Purina Fancy Feast and their indoor dry formula.
Derick
Any canned food is better than any variety of dry. However, its best to find a canned food that is all meat, with no grain, fruits, or vegetables as fillers. Fancy Feast is a good, readily available brand that is all meat, although you should avoid the ones with gravy.
Becki
You can try a few different kinds, but some cats have reactions to different brands. My two kittens loved Purina, but it gave them really bad gas. Just try a few, and see what works best for your cat.
Anja
Wellness core. also wellness wet food
Chauncey
The Science Diet stuff is really good (and really expensive). I go for food that has a good protein (like chicken or beef) listed as the first ingredient as that is the main component of the food. Most brands have rice or wheat or barley listed first and cats are carnivores so they need protein. My boys are on Iams and pretty happy about it.
Adam
My kitty was on Science Diet Kitten Food. He stayed on that for his first year. He loved it. He is now on a mixed diet of Science Diet Adult and Science Diet Hairball Controll. He loves picking out the Hairball Control food first to eat. Any name brand (Science Diet, Purina, etc.) kitten food would be good. It is just important that they are on kitten food and not adult food.
Fanny
You will find many opinions on this subject however, the sayings, "you get what you pay for," and "you are what you eat," ring true with regard to pet food. We all know that what food we, as humans eat, plays a major role in our health. This is also true for our pets. I encourage you to feed your cats/kittens a high quality diet. If you have a natural food store near you such as "Whole Foods" or "Wild Oats," you will find some examples of these types of foods. Many feed stores are also specializing in more holistic types of pet foods these days. You will need to shop around your area to see whats available. I try to stay away from "by-products" listed on the label of any pet foods I buy. I personally feed my cats "Instinct" by Natures Variety. Its grain-free. Wellness brands of cat food also offer grain-free canned and dry food as well but you have to read the label. If you think about what a cat would eat in the wild, that should give you some idea of what you may want to mimmic in your pet food. Foods with a lot of fillers and grains are generally not recommended because how many cats do you know that would choose to eat that sort of thing? Cats are carnivores by nature. There is an excellent web site for those people interested in a more holistic way of raising, feeding and treating their cats at www. holisticat. com They even have a discussion group that you can get on and talk to other people who have the same interests and concerns about their cats as you have with your cat(s).
Clarisa
I feed my kittens Felix pouches - they cant get enough! We sampled a few other brands but Whiskers was too rich for them and upset their tummys but Felix seems to be a winner! I also give them Go-cat kitten biscuits to compliment the wet food.
Delphia
I feed my cats EVO canned and dry. I truely believe this is one of the best and nutritiuos cat foods out there. EVO has a variety of formulas. Theres Chicken and Turkey, Venison, Duck, Beef, and a Cat/Kitten formula. It has no grains, and no by-products... Great stuff!!!
Odessa
Good for you for looking into what food would be best for your cat! many many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs forever, but better choices can and should be made. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be good. And canned is certainly better than Dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. In the wild, cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. So they do not drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it need from dry food and are almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it. But it will never meet its water intake needs from drinking form a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections, with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is a better all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. Also dry kibble does NOT clean teeth. Its an old myth that has been disproved for years but vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long that people still believe it. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. They are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet 2 great places to start are http://www. catinfo. org/ and http://www. catnutrition. org/If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class - contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you on a per bag basis much more. Just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your search for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed stores. Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Brand is a good holistic food. Merrick canned is also a great source of nutrition. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system. Side note… Please don’t feed Iams / Eukanuba. It’s ALL fillers, byproducts, animal digest and CRAP. Read the ingredients! There is nothing good for your cat in that food. Not to mention they conduct the most appalling animal testing you have ever seen. http://www. iamscruelty. com to see the terror they create. Foods I can recommend based on personal experience prior to switching my cats to a completely organic raw diet - Drs. FS Food Link - http://www. drsfostersmith. com/Product/Pr…Wellness Food Link - http://www. omhpet. com/wellness/cat_welln…Merrick Foods: http://www. merrickpetcare. com/store/cann…You can find more great food options and research more foods at http://www. onlynaturalpet. com
Chase
Mine have felix and science plan
Celeste
I like Purina Kitten Chow, mainly because its what my vet reccommends for my kitten through her first year, and because its inexpensive. :)
Refugia
Ok, here is my thought on the cat food thing, I am seeing alot of other people saying they feed only fancy feast, purinia, and some other grocery store junk food, now I believe that giving some canned food like EVO or fancy feast is fine if the dry they have to eat is of adiquate nutrician, feeding dry like purina meow mix and some of the other grocery store foods(even though petco sells it ) is just like you and I making a steady diet of mcdonalds, donuts, chocolate and potato chipsScience diet, ..... now this is funny, cats as we all know are carnivores they like meat, but if you look at the main ingredient in science diet its CORN, corn is very hard to digest and is also an allergy inhancer, (not good) I worked for a vet while I was going to college, and I found out the reason Vets push the science diet so much is because they get paid on the company sales, almost like profit sharing,... My vet doesnt even carry the stuff, he says its crap, I feed Royal Canin Kitten formula #34, it is loaded with vitamins and minerals and no by products, my cats poo doesnt smell, They have smaller poos, because they use more of the nutrients in the food, (no fillers) and their coats are simply georgeous, it is a bit pricey, and depending on where you live and the cost of living will of course affect the price, I live in Gladstone, mo, and it runs about 25.00 for a 10lb bag, but it even smells good, and my cats love it, I hope I have helped some what, if you need more info, sweety, I would be more than happy to send it to you,
Erminia
I feed my big cats Alley cat most of the time. But what I do is I mix in Purina kitten chow in the winter about six to one. And in the summer I feed the big cats Alley cat with Purina hairball control mixed in six to one. The kittens get Purina Kitten Chow mix with wet Purina cat food and as they get older just Kitten chow. To much Kitten chow gives the big cats the poops. Birth to three weeks old kittens get cat milk formula. Then 3 to 10 week old kittens get cat milk formula with a pureed hotdog for extra protein.
Emelda
My two young cats would eat the kitchen sink but my eldest cat only eats Whiskas seafood flavors and "people" food. Only thing they all like so far that no one gets sick from is Nutro hairball formula.
Honey
Poppy eats raw meat but Sophie still eats canned. I chose Natures Variety Instincts because its grainless, I can get it locally and it agreed very well with Poppy who has a sensitive system. Best is a relative term - but Instincts was best for me.
Tomeka
Catiator..., Kat and RuneAmok have given you the best answers. Their advice is the advice I took and I have not regrets at all (other than not having started feeding raw sooner). Please read their links. The key to feline nutrition is:No carbohydrates ever! This means no grains or starch in your wet food and no dry food ever as that is basically grains dusted with meat flavour. ALL dry food is bad for cats, including expensive premium brands sold at the vets. Just because some clever marketing campaign tells you a product is good for your cat, why should you believe it without checking the facts. If you want a quality brand of raw food that meets all nutritional requirements, which is the best you can do for a cat, go for Felines Pride.
What brand of cat food do you feed your kittens and cats? And which one is best?
Carmelia
Um go to petco they have good food
Elma
I like to feed Wellness
Collen
I strongly believe they should have Purina Kitten Chow for at least their 1st year
Johnna
My cat loves Purina Fancy Feast and their indoor dry formula.
Derick
Any canned food is better than any variety of dry. However, its best to find a canned food that is all meat, with no grain, fruits, or vegetables as fillers. Fancy Feast is a good, readily available brand that is all meat, although you should avoid the ones with gravy.
Becki
You can try a few different kinds, but some cats have reactions to different brands. My two kittens loved Purina, but it gave them really bad gas. Just try a few, and see what works best for your cat.
Anja
Wellness core. also wellness wet food
Chauncey
The Science Diet stuff is really good (and really expensive). I go for food that has a good protein (like chicken or beef) listed as the first ingredient as that is the main component of the food. Most brands have rice or wheat or barley listed first and cats are carnivores so they need protein. My boys are on Iams and pretty happy about it.
Adam
My kitty was on Science Diet Kitten Food. He stayed on that for his first year. He loved it. He is now on a mixed diet of Science Diet Adult and Science Diet Hairball Controll. He loves picking out the Hairball Control food first to eat. Any name brand (Science Diet, Purina, etc.) kitten food would be good. It is just important that they are on kitten food and not adult food.
Fanny
You will find many opinions on this subject however, the sayings, "you get what you pay for," and "you are what you eat," ring true with regard to pet food. We all know that what food we, as humans eat, plays a major role in our health. This is also true for our pets. I encourage you to feed your cats/kittens a high quality diet. If you have a natural food store near you such as "Whole Foods" or "Wild Oats," you will find some examples of these types of foods. Many feed stores are also specializing in more holistic types of pet foods these days. You will need to shop around your area to see whats available. I try to stay away from "by-products" listed on the label of any pet foods I buy. I personally feed my cats "Instinct" by Natures Variety. Its grain-free. Wellness brands of cat food also offer grain-free canned and dry food as well but you have to read the label. If you think about what a cat would eat in the wild, that should give you some idea of what you may want to mimmic in your pet food. Foods with a lot of fillers and grains are generally not recommended because how many cats do you know that would choose to eat that sort of thing? Cats are carnivores by nature. There is an excellent web site for those people interested in a more holistic way of raising, feeding and treating their cats at www. holisticat. com They even have a discussion group that you can get on and talk to other people who have the same interests and concerns about their cats as you have with your cat(s).
Clarisa
I feed my kittens Felix pouches - they cant get enough! We sampled a few other brands but Whiskers was too rich for them and upset their tummys but Felix seems to be a winner! I also give them Go-cat kitten biscuits to compliment the wet food.
Delphia
I feed my cats EVO canned and dry. I truely believe this is one of the best and nutritiuos cat foods out there. EVO has a variety of formulas. Theres Chicken and Turkey, Venison, Duck, Beef, and a Cat/Kitten formula. It has no grains, and no by-products... Great stuff!!!
Odessa
Good for you for looking into what food would be best for your cat! many many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs forever, but better choices can and should be made. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be good. And canned is certainly better than Dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. In the wild, cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. So they do not drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it need from dry food and are almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it. But it will never meet its water intake needs from drinking form a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections, with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is a better all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. Also dry kibble does NOT clean teeth. Its an old myth that has been disproved for years but vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long that people still believe it. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. They are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet 2 great places to start are http://www. catinfo. org/ and http://www. catnutrition. org/If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class - contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you on a per bag basis much more. Just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your search for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed stores. Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Brand is a good holistic food. Merrick canned is also a great source of nutrition. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system. Side note… Please don’t feed Iams / Eukanuba. It’s ALL fillers, byproducts, animal digest and CRAP. Read the ingredients! There is nothing good for your cat in that food. Not to mention they conduct the most appalling animal testing you have ever seen. http://www. iamscruelty. com to see the terror they create. Foods I can recommend based on personal experience prior to switching my cats to a completely organic raw diet - Drs. FS Food Link - http://www. drsfostersmith. com/Product/Pr…Wellness Food Link - http://www. omhpet. com/wellness/cat_welln…Merrick Foods: http://www. merrickpetcare. com/store/cann…You can find more great food options and research more foods at http://www. onlynaturalpet. com
Chase
Mine have felix and science plan
Celeste
I like Purina Kitten Chow, mainly because its what my vet reccommends for my kitten through her first year, and because its inexpensive. :)
Refugia
Ok, here is my thought on the cat food thing, I am seeing alot of other people saying they feed only fancy feast, purinia, and some other grocery store junk food, now I believe that giving some canned food like EVO or fancy feast is fine if the dry they have to eat is of adiquate nutrician, feeding dry like purina meow mix and some of the other grocery store foods(even though petco sells it ) is just like you and I making a steady diet of mcdonalds, donuts, chocolate and potato chipsScience diet, ..... now this is funny, cats as we all know are carnivores they like meat, but if you look at the main ingredient in science diet its CORN, corn is very hard to digest and is also an allergy inhancer, (not good) I worked for a vet while I was going to college, and I found out the reason Vets push the science diet so much is because they get paid on the company sales, almost like profit sharing,... My vet doesnt even carry the stuff, he says its crap, I feed Royal Canin Kitten formula #34, it is loaded with vitamins and minerals and no by products, my cats poo doesnt smell, They have smaller poos, because they use more of the nutrients in the food, (no fillers) and their coats are simply georgeous, it is a bit pricey, and depending on where you live and the cost of living will of course affect the price, I live in Gladstone, mo, and it runs about 25.00 for a 10lb bag, but it even smells good, and my cats love it, I hope I have helped some what, if you need more info, sweety, I would be more than happy to send it to you,
Erminia
I feed my big cats Alley cat most of the time. But what I do is I mix in Purina kitten chow in the winter about six to one. And in the summer I feed the big cats Alley cat with Purina hairball control mixed in six to one. The kittens get Purina Kitten Chow mix with wet Purina cat food and as they get older just Kitten chow. To much Kitten chow gives the big cats the poops. Birth to three weeks old kittens get cat milk formula. Then 3 to 10 week old kittens get cat milk formula with a pureed hotdog for extra protein.
Emelda
My two young cats would eat the kitchen sink but my eldest cat only eats Whiskas seafood flavors and "people" food. Only thing they all like so far that no one gets sick from is Nutro hairball formula.
Honey
Poppy eats raw meat but Sophie still eats canned. I chose Natures Variety Instincts because its grainless, I can get it locally and it agreed very well with Poppy who has a sensitive system. Best is a relative term - but Instincts was best for me.
Tomeka
Catiator..., Kat and RuneAmok have given you the best answers. Their advice is the advice I took and I have not regrets at all (other than not having started feeding raw sooner). Please read their links. The key to feline nutrition is:No carbohydrates ever! This means no grains or starch in your wet food and no dry food ever as that is basically grains dusted with meat flavour. ALL dry food is bad for cats, including expensive premium brands sold at the vets. Just because some clever marketing campaign tells you a product is good for your cat, why should you believe it without checking the facts. If you want a quality brand of raw food that meets all nutritional requirements, which is the best you can do for a cat, go for Felines Pride.
Is feeding a cat dog food bat for it?
Ping
Sometimes when i run out of cat food I just give my cat some dog food. Is it bad for the cat? Thanks in advance.
Cathey
It wont hurt it short term, but long term will cause blindness and heart failure due to lack of vitimins that cats need in thier food that dog food does not have. Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Leonard
Small amount wont hurt, but cats need meat in there diet
Leeanna
For a prolonged diet yes. Cats need much higher protein than what is in dog food and different balances of ingredients. I have realized Im out of cat food when I cant possibly go get more and i just feed them a little dog food with some tuna mixed in. But I have never done this more than 3 days and that was during a snow storm. So if its for a day or two keep a can of tuna (or wet cat food) in your cabinet for times like these and get cat food as soon as you can.
Charline
No its not okay. thats why they have different foods for different animals.
Hilary
It wont hurt them but dog food lacks nutrients that cats need while having others that they dont need. a lot of it is too hard for cats to chew too. just get her cat food it is cheaper than dog food.
Cyndi
I personally dont believe it is. I have two cats and three dogsand one of our cats likes to eat the dogs food. He has not shown any ill effects. You must be very careful to make sure that your dogs dont eat cat food, we were told that dogs can not tolerate Cat Food.
Lonna
Do not give you Cat TOO MUCH Dog food, only a hand full, because they can vomet and get diareea from the dog food.. No offence, i dont mean to be rude seriously but you should buy more cat food, so when you run out then you dont have to go to the shops over and over again...HorseLuver xx..
Brianna
I wouldnt do it but thats just me....im sure its not dangerous.
Dino
Why is it a no-no to give dog food to cats? A. As we often say, "Cats are not small dogs." In the case of diet, it is important to realize a cats nutritional requirements are much different than those of a dog. For example, cats require higher levels of protein than dogs. Cats must have the amino acid called taurine in their diet; dogs can actually make their own taurine. A cat eating food deficient in taurine can develop severe heart disease and other health problems. Almost all cat foods now contain added taurine. Cats require a different form of Vitamin A than dogs do. Dogs can use beta-carotene as a source of Vitamin A; cats cannot. Cats can not manufacture the fatty acid called arachidonic acid and must have it supplemented in their diet; it is not essential for dogs to have this fatty acid in their food. So, you see, if a cat is allowed to eat a significant amount of dog food, the cat would be eating a diet deficient in many of the cats required nutrients. For your cats health, be sure she is eating quality cat food.
Herman
Its okay if they have a very small amount every couple of months (I sometimes see one of my kittens eating out of the dog bowl), but if a cat eats too much dog food, it could make the cat go blind. Id say if you run out, it would be better to give the cat a bit of "human food", like small bits of meat or cheese.
Bonita
Yes, cause your cat will become a dog(lol j/k)no thats nothing wrong with that
Cole
You should not feed dog food to a cat...their diets are really distinct
Dalton
There are some who believe that it is all right to feed dog food to cats. There are others who feel that it is all right to feed cat food to dogs. It is time to set the record straight on the nutritional habits of our favorite furry family friends. "Cats are very peculiar in their dietary requirements," says Dr. Allan Paul, small animal Extension veterinarian at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine at Urbana. "They are not small dogs." The first major difference between cats and dogs, explains Dr. Paul, is that cats are true carnivores, requiring a diet mainly of meat and meat products. Dogs are omnivores, having the ability to exist on a diet of meat and plant products. "There are certain nutrients that cats need that can only be found in animal sources," claims Dr. Paul. "Dog foods are higher in grain products and lack some of these essential nutrients." Taurine is an essential amino acid that is crucial for a cats￭ health and is only found in animal tissues. Without taurine in the diet, cats can experience heart problems, blindness, andrespiratory problems. Dr. Paul remarked that the blindness caused by a lack of taurine in the diet was first seen in cats that were fed strictly dog food. The next nutrient Dr. Paul mentioned was vitamin A. Dogs have the ability to convert beta-kerotene to vitamin A. Cats on the other hand need pre-formed vitamin A in their diet, which can only be found in animal tissues. Arachidonic acid, a necessary fatty acid, can be synthesized by a dog using linoleic acid. The cat is unable to do this and needs to ingest arachidonic acid in their diet. This, too, canonly be found in animal tissues. Finally, Dr. Paul stated that cats have a much higher protein requirement than dogs because they use protein as an energy source. "Because of all of these differences, you should not feed dog food to your cat," states Dr. Paul. "Because cat food is not formulated for dogs, you should not feed cat food to yourdog.
Sometimes when i run out of cat food I just give my cat some dog food. Is it bad for the cat? Thanks in advance.
Cathey
It wont hurt it short term, but long term will cause blindness and heart failure due to lack of vitimins that cats need in thier food that dog food does not have. Let me share with you what I have learned about feline nutrition to help you make an informed decision on what diet you should feed your cat. Many brands of manufactured cat foods claiming to be "healthy" really are not. In fact they are made of the lowest ingredients possible. Im not saying that a cat cant live off them... just the same as you could live off hot dogs and Mac and cheese forever, but better choices can and should be made for your feline friends. I would not venture to say that any manufactured food is "best" for a cat but a grain free organic wet food would be a good start. Feeding canned is certainly better than feeding dry in all cases. Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. It is also bogus that kibble cleans teeth. DRY FOOD DOES NOT CLEAN TEETH. Its an old myth that has been scientifically disproved for years, but old-school vets drilled it into peoples heads for so long (and sadly still do) that people still believe it. Cats can not “chew”. They do not have flat “chewing” teeth. Their molars are not for grinding food. They have meat ripping pointy carnivorous teeth. You may see them “crunch” a piece of food once to crack and break it… but they are absolutely unable to chew a hard piece of food. Want your cat to have clean teeth? Give them an appropriately sized raw bone to chew on. :o)I personally feed a Raw Meat and Bones based diet to my cats and they are very healthy on it. I HIGHLY recommend it. Once I got the hang of it and felt comfortable with it its a snap to prepare. Its something you might want to consider someday. Cats are obligate carnivores after all and must derive ALL their nutrients from meat based sources. They are unable to absorb them from any other source. Despite thousands of years of domestication they remain strictly carnivorous. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein from meat! If you are interested in feeding a raw diet some great places to start learning are http://www. catinfo. org/ , http://www. catnutrition. org/ , and http://www. felinefuture. com/nutrition/ .If you would like to try raw with your cats and don’t want to get all technical about it but want to try a trusted, time tested and balanced raw diet you can order from http://www. felinespride. com/products/cat… . I purchased this myself when I first started and my cats loved it! Another premade Raw you can try is Natures Varity. I personally have never used this but know many people that do and it’s pretty easy to find http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la…If raw is not an option for you please be aware that there are three Categories of manufactured Pet Foods: -"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands) Those foods found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers are 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/Eukanuba, Purina One, Hills Science Diet, Nutro and such) Foods often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices that contain higher-grade ingredients, but still include many elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients such as corn and wheat products, by-products and even animal digest. Yuck! Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are sometimes of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible. But don’t be fooled, some of those same so called Premium brands are sometimes worse than grocery store foods, but they charge prices like they are better. They aren’t! - Healthy foods – (Wellness, Merrick, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster 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. Some better retailers are starting to carry them now. Complete Petmart carries a few healthy brand foods. Foods in the Healthy class contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use real meat as the primary protein source, carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley and whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. 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 so it often evens out or cost’s les than feeding foods filled with cheap non-nutritional by-products fillers. With all that information in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, study the ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever ingredients are listed first on the list, 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 by-products or animal digest whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the filthy floors of meat and poultry plants. They should just go into the trash but they put them 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 in both cats and dogs. Bad Bad stuff and it’s in almost every cat treat on the market. :(So, in summery of the ingredients… if you see the words by-products, Animal Digest, the word “meat” alone, Corn, Corn Gluten, Wheat Gluten, or BHA or BHT… stop reading, put down that product and move on to the next. Be aware that when switching to a Healthy, Holistic or Organic food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you more than cheaper products, just like steak costs more than hotdogs. But again, you will be feeding a better food and improving the over all health of your pet. This in turn leads to less vet visits for illness now and more importantly later in life in their geriatric years. You will also feed less of this food on a per animal basis because a smaller amount of food contains what your cat needs. Overall healthy wet foods are well worth it, if only for the piece of mind that the ingredients are better for your cat than cheap crap. You can start your research for a healthy cat food here if you are not ready to try feeding a Raw diet: http://www. onlynaturalpet. comIf you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart is a good store and carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Also check with your local feed/grain stores. I highly recommend you take the time to research for yourself, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a healthy food!********IMPORTANT*******Don’t forget to switch your Pets food slowly over a period of 10 to 14 days, if you can. Mixing 25% new to 75% old. Then 50/50… then 75% new to 25% old. And finally switch over to 100% new. Take it slow as not to upset their digestive system.
Leonard
Small amount wont hurt, but cats need meat in there diet
Leeanna
For a prolonged diet yes. Cats need much higher protein than what is in dog food and different balances of ingredients. I have realized Im out of cat food when I cant possibly go get more and i just feed them a little dog food with some tuna mixed in. But I have never done this more than 3 days and that was during a snow storm. So if its for a day or two keep a can of tuna (or wet cat food) in your cabinet for times like these and get cat food as soon as you can.
Charline
No its not okay. thats why they have different foods for different animals.
Hilary
It wont hurt them but dog food lacks nutrients that cats need while having others that they dont need. a lot of it is too hard for cats to chew too. just get her cat food it is cheaper than dog food.
Cyndi
I personally dont believe it is. I have two cats and three dogsand one of our cats likes to eat the dogs food. He has not shown any ill effects. You must be very careful to make sure that your dogs dont eat cat food, we were told that dogs can not tolerate Cat Food.
Lonna
Do not give you Cat TOO MUCH Dog food, only a hand full, because they can vomet and get diareea from the dog food.. No offence, i dont mean to be rude seriously but you should buy more cat food, so when you run out then you dont have to go to the shops over and over again...HorseLuver xx..
Brianna
I wouldnt do it but thats just me....im sure its not dangerous.
Dino
Why is it a no-no to give dog food to cats? A. As we often say, "Cats are not small dogs." In the case of diet, it is important to realize a cats nutritional requirements are much different than those of a dog. For example, cats require higher levels of protein than dogs. Cats must have the amino acid called taurine in their diet; dogs can actually make their own taurine. A cat eating food deficient in taurine can develop severe heart disease and other health problems. Almost all cat foods now contain added taurine. Cats require a different form of Vitamin A than dogs do. Dogs can use beta-carotene as a source of Vitamin A; cats cannot. Cats can not manufacture the fatty acid called arachidonic acid and must have it supplemented in their diet; it is not essential for dogs to have this fatty acid in their food. So, you see, if a cat is allowed to eat a significant amount of dog food, the cat would be eating a diet deficient in many of the cats required nutrients. For your cats health, be sure she is eating quality cat food.
Herman
Its okay if they have a very small amount every couple of months (I sometimes see one of my kittens eating out of the dog bowl), but if a cat eats too much dog food, it could make the cat go blind. Id say if you run out, it would be better to give the cat a bit of "human food", like small bits of meat or cheese.
Bonita
Yes, cause your cat will become a dog(lol j/k)no thats nothing wrong with that
Cole
You should not feed dog food to a cat...their diets are really distinct
Dalton
There are some who believe that it is all right to feed dog food to cats. There are others who feel that it is all right to feed cat food to dogs. It is time to set the record straight on the nutritional habits of our favorite furry family friends. "Cats are very peculiar in their dietary requirements," says Dr. Allan Paul, small animal Extension veterinarian at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine at Urbana. "They are not small dogs." The first major difference between cats and dogs, explains Dr. Paul, is that cats are true carnivores, requiring a diet mainly of meat and meat products. Dogs are omnivores, having the ability to exist on a diet of meat and plant products. "There are certain nutrients that cats need that can only be found in animal sources," claims Dr. Paul. "Dog foods are higher in grain products and lack some of these essential nutrients." Taurine is an essential amino acid that is crucial for a cats￭ health and is only found in animal tissues. Without taurine in the diet, cats can experience heart problems, blindness, andrespiratory problems. Dr. Paul remarked that the blindness caused by a lack of taurine in the diet was first seen in cats that were fed strictly dog food. The next nutrient Dr. Paul mentioned was vitamin A. Dogs have the ability to convert beta-kerotene to vitamin A. Cats on the other hand need pre-formed vitamin A in their diet, which can only be found in animal tissues. Arachidonic acid, a necessary fatty acid, can be synthesized by a dog using linoleic acid. The cat is unable to do this and needs to ingest arachidonic acid in their diet. This, too, canonly be found in animal tissues. Finally, Dr. Paul stated that cats have a much higher protein requirement than dogs because they use protein as an energy source. "Because of all of these differences, you should not feed dog food to your cat," states Dr. Paul. "Because cat food is not formulated for dogs, you should not feed cat food to yourdog.
Do you have any suggestions for healthier catkitten food?
Jed
I have two cats that eat out of one anothers bowls so I need to feed them the same cat food. One is a kitten (9 mos) and the other is an adult cat (6 years). I am currently feeding them Purina Kitten Chow its giving both cats VERY loose stools that have a horrendous odor. It gives the kitten horrible, horrible gas. Yes, its funny to read but not when you have to live with it. Any suggestions on a good healthy cat food that they both can eat that might help the dirreaha/odor problems? Please dont suggest Iams, I refuse to buy from a pet food company that mistreats their animals they use for testing their food products. Thanks for any suggestions you have!!
Alfredia
WOW, I just get blown away when I read the answers to questions like this. I CANNOT believe that people are still being victims in the commericial pet food world and believe that foods like Iams, Science Diet, Purina, Nutro, Eukanuba, and so on are good for their pets. Puppyluvtwo, Im disappointed. Here you are a VET and you promote Iams and Eukanuba products. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE INGREDIENTS?? I cant say one way or the other whether Iams is guilty of animal cruelty but I can say they are guilty of making a horrible, cheap, low quality food. Did you know that your university nutrition courses were probably funded by either Iams or Science Diet. Two companies that produce some of the lowest quality foods on the market. Why have more vets not realized that the times have changed and that there are companies producing much better foods now. Here are the ingredients of a typical Iams cat food for an Adult cat:Chicken (this is okay but because it does not say "meal" it means that it is 70% water, when cooked you will actually have very little meat left)Chicken By-Product Meal (horrible, this is the beaks, feather, organs, of diseased or dead chickens that were deemed unfit for human consumption)Corn Grits (cats CANNOT digest corn so this is a cheap filler that has NO nutritional value)Corn Meal (same as the above)Chicken Fat (this is okay but really doesnt add a whole lot of nutrition)Fish Meal (why wont the company list the type of fish....what is it hiding)Dried Beet Pulp (this is a low grade filler that shouldnt be in pet foods)Natural Chicken Flavor (just a flavouring, no nutritional value)Dried Egg Product (egg shells and undeveloped eggs that were not fit for human consumption)Salt (should NEVER be in pet foods)Iams has NO nutritional value and is filled with cheap fillers so the company can make a huge profit. NOW, look at the ingredients in INNOVA which is probably the worlds healthiest pet food. You WONT ever find a vet food that even comes close to being this good:Turkey Chicken Meal Chicken Potatoes Egg Ground Barley Chicken Fat Rice Herring Sunflower Oil Apples Carrots Whole Pasteurized Milk Fish Oil Taurine Alfalfa Sprouts Vitamins/Minerals Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms SEE, no fillers, no by-products, just whole, fresh, human grade ingredients. You cannot trust the majority of vets when it comes to foods as they are biased in their opinion. They are taught that Iams and Science Diet are the best and only those that actually take the time to a little research find out that they have been misled. Someone like myself has taken numerous nutrition courses (for health professionals) and have spent years researching various foods and the companies. I have yet to find any that stand up to Natura (makers of Innova, Karma) in its quality and integrity as a company. I hope that you are someone that will realize that pet nutrition is more than "what is the most popular brand" and take some time to find out what REALLY goes into pet foods. there are some great foods out there, you just need to find them. Good luck.
Chau
Well we have fed our kitten regulaur cat food since he was a few month old and he is a year old now. We stopped feeding the purina kitten chow because it gave our kitten loose stools like the problem your having and it was making the adults fat. I dont even know the brand we feed now
Berniece
Holistic food maybe at least you know its all healthy stuff. I also wouldnt have my older cat on a kitten food she needs the nutrients of an adult food to keep her healthy
Margaret
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers SoulOne of the highest quality cat food available and not very expensive. No by products and no corn. Fresh meat and good veggies and such in it. Check out www. chickensoupfortheloverssoul. comThey have great foods and I have used them for years. My pets look great and are in great health.
Carl
Slowly mix and switch them to a young adult cat food the kitten is old enough to have a young adult cat food and the adult is way to old for kitten food!
Brigette
The kitten could eat a "GOOD" adult food before the adult could eat kitten chow.... Try Purina "ONE"...... Theres different ones. It has more of natural ingredients in it, with less fillers...
Janene
Try iams. or you can use a canned food like friskies that is for both adult and kitten.
Crista
First of all read up on Iamstruth. com not the PETA propaganda crap, its amazing how many years old this issue is and how the American Humane Society, Toronto Humane Society and many reputable Humane Organizations vindicated Iams and the problems they had with OUTSIDE labs not their own. Please be informed people. Iams animals are adopted out to new owners after they have run with their test groups, also Iams wants the animals to live longer healthier lives - thats how they make their money. I have worked in the veterinary field for 15 years and have studied animal nutrition in University and with Veterinary Nutritionists, I have also worked with many rescue groups but it is sad that one or two propaganda slanders(blown out of proportion) ruins the reputation of a GREAT food company. Personally I feed my puppy Iams smart puppy and he does great on it and the vets at work recommend it as well. We do not get any money from the company for this as we do not sell it ourselves but only sell prescription foods but many times a client will come in and tell us what they are feeding their dog/cat and if it is Iams or Eukanuba we do not ask them to change. It sounds that with your multicat household you need a better brand like Iams or Science Diet that has prebiotics in it that help with the bowels. P. S Hey Paws, I have probably forgotten more about animal nutrtion than you know, Do you even really know that by-product means between brands? or that Beet pulp( actually not Beets but sugars) as a filler is not meant to be digested but actually is filled with prebiotics to help for healthy gut. What I am shocked at is the fact anyone can come along and say that they are a nutritionist yet know so little. And no Iams etc does not fund the programs I have gone to nor did it help educate the Veterinary nutritionists I have closely worked with. Also I have seen what happens to older animals after being fed years of the Barf diets and yes the unregulated homemade recipes that people try their pets on. Ever heard of Rubber Jaw? How about a vegetarian cat-nice kidney failure issues and no taurine for the heart. By products come in many levels for example human grade!!So I would actually research more before you give bad advice-we do not make any money off our recommendations and also if a client wants a homemade diet we provide proper TESTED recipes with free vitamin supplements at our clinic. We are for the open-minded but want the BEST for their pet and want to educate them properly. I apologize but I am so sick and tired of everyone getting on-line scares about by-products etc when it is knowing what is needed for different species not if you can add rosemary to the diet and get on the naturopath kick. By the way we have a naturopath vet at our clinic who does acupuncture etc and he recommendes Hills, Science Diet etc. And do realize by the way these foods are now(for many years) preserved with Vitamin E not BHT or anything else thats all old news. Plus to before you slander good companies about what actually is in their foods - go to the web site-READ the ingredient list-call them and talk to them because most of what you say is their ingredients is wrong. Oh and by the way what world do you live in Vets are not paid HUGE amounts of money to recommend anything-we LOVE animals and WANT them to live longer lives. Iam ( no pun intented HA! HA!)so dissapointed you have such a poor attitude to people who go into debt for years to learn how to HELP animals not HARM them. Oh ya and dont you sell the foods YOU recommend? Maybe money in YOUR pocket we are talking about, right? Geez you have ticked me off large-Iams has no nutritional value-guess thats why animals GROW on it-with healthy joints, heart and coats etc. What a wide sweeping inaccurate statement. What would you the nutritional consultant(?) recommend for a cat in kidney failure then? or a dog with pancreatitis? or lets see a dog with liver disease? I am sure with your vast medical knowledge and PROVEN experience you could inaccuratley recommend something. Its people like you who help otherwise great owners make poor choices. By the way what the HELL does it mean you know pet nutrition for health professionals? What experience is that?. Dont use the internet to promote yourself thats just plain sick.
Ima
I would recommend Science Diet. They have a version for kittens and a bunch of different ones for adult cats. My kitten tends to eat the adult food and my adult cat eats the kitten food but neither have loose stools or gas. It is a lot more expensive than Purina but sounds like your cats arent digesting it very well. Definitely time to switch!!!! Youll have to mix the two foods together until they get used to it but you should start seeing a difference within the first day. Good luck!!!
Kittie
Purina One CompleteMine has tried EVERYTHING, and she like this. Also, Science Diet, and Iams was very hard for her to digest
Georgie
Feed it a good food like Science Diet (cheap cat foods make their litterbox smell). Also, they will be healthier and have shiny coats.**GOOD LUCK**
Carma
Here are the best brands, all are high quality and I have had several vets recommend them to me: Neutro Max or Neutro Complete Care, or Science Diet (I prefer neutro because it is cheaper)
Antione
I use Nutro and think its the best food Ive ever fed. They make canned and dry foods for kittens and adults, and they have a new holistic line of food. Any changes in diet should be made slowly to avoid diarrhea - gradually mix more new food in with what youve been using until theyre switched over. http://www. nutroproducts. com/Canidae is another great, all-natural, no by-product food. My friends use this and love it. http://www. canidae. comI dont feed IAMS because of the by-products in it. But I think the recent claims against them may be bull. Go to their website and see the companies and organizations that have come to their defense. I used to work for CCI as a service dog trainer and if CCI officials inspected the IAMS kennels and said everything is fine - I believe them. Most, if not ALL, dog food companies have kennels where they test their dog foods. Better to test it there than on YOUR pet, right? I dont know whether the rumors and websites claiming this are true or not. Check out and decide for yourself:http://www. iamstruth. com/ If you believe the claims are true, write IAMS a letter and explain why youre not buying their product. If people vote with their $$, companies will quickly change their ways. Some people have said that PETA is responsible for the anti-IAMS campaign - they are notorious for attacking their detractors or people who won’t support their radical agenda. They don’t believe that anyone should own pets at all – even if they’re loved and well-cared for.
Elfreda
KITTENS EAT KITTEN FOOD AND CATS EAT CAT FOOD DUH! SWITCH TO A QUALITY FOOD LIKE NATURAL CHOICE OR IAMS!
I have two cats that eat out of one anothers bowls so I need to feed them the same cat food. One is a kitten (9 mos) and the other is an adult cat (6 years). I am currently feeding them Purina Kitten Chow its giving both cats VERY loose stools that have a horrendous odor. It gives the kitten horrible, horrible gas. Yes, its funny to read but not when you have to live with it. Any suggestions on a good healthy cat food that they both can eat that might help the dirreaha/odor problems? Please dont suggest Iams, I refuse to buy from a pet food company that mistreats their animals they use for testing their food products. Thanks for any suggestions you have!!
Alfredia
WOW, I just get blown away when I read the answers to questions like this. I CANNOT believe that people are still being victims in the commericial pet food world and believe that foods like Iams, Science Diet, Purina, Nutro, Eukanuba, and so on are good for their pets. Puppyluvtwo, Im disappointed. Here you are a VET and you promote Iams and Eukanuba products. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE INGREDIENTS?? I cant say one way or the other whether Iams is guilty of animal cruelty but I can say they are guilty of making a horrible, cheap, low quality food. Did you know that your university nutrition courses were probably funded by either Iams or Science Diet. Two companies that produce some of the lowest quality foods on the market. Why have more vets not realized that the times have changed and that there are companies producing much better foods now. Here are the ingredients of a typical Iams cat food for an Adult cat:Chicken (this is okay but because it does not say "meal" it means that it is 70% water, when cooked you will actually have very little meat left)Chicken By-Product Meal (horrible, this is the beaks, feather, organs, of diseased or dead chickens that were deemed unfit for human consumption)Corn Grits (cats CANNOT digest corn so this is a cheap filler that has NO nutritional value)Corn Meal (same as the above)Chicken Fat (this is okay but really doesnt add a whole lot of nutrition)Fish Meal (why wont the company list the type of fish....what is it hiding)Dried Beet Pulp (this is a low grade filler that shouldnt be in pet foods)Natural Chicken Flavor (just a flavouring, no nutritional value)Dried Egg Product (egg shells and undeveloped eggs that were not fit for human consumption)Salt (should NEVER be in pet foods)Iams has NO nutritional value and is filled with cheap fillers so the company can make a huge profit. NOW, look at the ingredients in INNOVA which is probably the worlds healthiest pet food. You WONT ever find a vet food that even comes close to being this good:Turkey Chicken Meal Chicken Potatoes Egg Ground Barley Chicken Fat Rice Herring Sunflower Oil Apples Carrots Whole Pasteurized Milk Fish Oil Taurine Alfalfa Sprouts Vitamins/Minerals Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms SEE, no fillers, no by-products, just whole, fresh, human grade ingredients. You cannot trust the majority of vets when it comes to foods as they are biased in their opinion. They are taught that Iams and Science Diet are the best and only those that actually take the time to a little research find out that they have been misled. Someone like myself has taken numerous nutrition courses (for health professionals) and have spent years researching various foods and the companies. I have yet to find any that stand up to Natura (makers of Innova, Karma) in its quality and integrity as a company. I hope that you are someone that will realize that pet nutrition is more than "what is the most popular brand" and take some time to find out what REALLY goes into pet foods. there are some great foods out there, you just need to find them. Good luck.
Chau
Well we have fed our kitten regulaur cat food since he was a few month old and he is a year old now. We stopped feeding the purina kitten chow because it gave our kitten loose stools like the problem your having and it was making the adults fat. I dont even know the brand we feed now
Berniece
Holistic food maybe at least you know its all healthy stuff. I also wouldnt have my older cat on a kitten food she needs the nutrients of an adult food to keep her healthy
Margaret
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers SoulOne of the highest quality cat food available and not very expensive. No by products and no corn. Fresh meat and good veggies and such in it. Check out www. chickensoupfortheloverssoul. comThey have great foods and I have used them for years. My pets look great and are in great health.
Carl
Slowly mix and switch them to a young adult cat food the kitten is old enough to have a young adult cat food and the adult is way to old for kitten food!
Brigette
The kitten could eat a "GOOD" adult food before the adult could eat kitten chow.... Try Purina "ONE"...... Theres different ones. It has more of natural ingredients in it, with less fillers...
Janene
Try iams. or you can use a canned food like friskies that is for both adult and kitten.
Crista
First of all read up on Iamstruth. com not the PETA propaganda crap, its amazing how many years old this issue is and how the American Humane Society, Toronto Humane Society and many reputable Humane Organizations vindicated Iams and the problems they had with OUTSIDE labs not their own. Please be informed people. Iams animals are adopted out to new owners after they have run with their test groups, also Iams wants the animals to live longer healthier lives - thats how they make their money. I have worked in the veterinary field for 15 years and have studied animal nutrition in University and with Veterinary Nutritionists, I have also worked with many rescue groups but it is sad that one or two propaganda slanders(blown out of proportion) ruins the reputation of a GREAT food company. Personally I feed my puppy Iams smart puppy and he does great on it and the vets at work recommend it as well. We do not get any money from the company for this as we do not sell it ourselves but only sell prescription foods but many times a client will come in and tell us what they are feeding their dog/cat and if it is Iams or Eukanuba we do not ask them to change. It sounds that with your multicat household you need a better brand like Iams or Science Diet that has prebiotics in it that help with the bowels. P. S Hey Paws, I have probably forgotten more about animal nutrtion than you know, Do you even really know that by-product means between brands? or that Beet pulp( actually not Beets but sugars) as a filler is not meant to be digested but actually is filled with prebiotics to help for healthy gut. What I am shocked at is the fact anyone can come along and say that they are a nutritionist yet know so little. And no Iams etc does not fund the programs I have gone to nor did it help educate the Veterinary nutritionists I have closely worked with. Also I have seen what happens to older animals after being fed years of the Barf diets and yes the unregulated homemade recipes that people try their pets on. Ever heard of Rubber Jaw? How about a vegetarian cat-nice kidney failure issues and no taurine for the heart. By products come in many levels for example human grade!!So I would actually research more before you give bad advice-we do not make any money off our recommendations and also if a client wants a homemade diet we provide proper TESTED recipes with free vitamin supplements at our clinic. We are for the open-minded but want the BEST for their pet and want to educate them properly. I apologize but I am so sick and tired of everyone getting on-line scares about by-products etc when it is knowing what is needed for different species not if you can add rosemary to the diet and get on the naturopath kick. By the way we have a naturopath vet at our clinic who does acupuncture etc and he recommendes Hills, Science Diet etc. And do realize by the way these foods are now(for many years) preserved with Vitamin E not BHT or anything else thats all old news. Plus to before you slander good companies about what actually is in their foods - go to the web site-READ the ingredient list-call them and talk to them because most of what you say is their ingredients is wrong. Oh and by the way what world do you live in Vets are not paid HUGE amounts of money to recommend anything-we LOVE animals and WANT them to live longer lives. Iam ( no pun intented HA! HA!)so dissapointed you have such a poor attitude to people who go into debt for years to learn how to HELP animals not HARM them. Oh ya and dont you sell the foods YOU recommend? Maybe money in YOUR pocket we are talking about, right? Geez you have ticked me off large-Iams has no nutritional value-guess thats why animals GROW on it-with healthy joints, heart and coats etc. What a wide sweeping inaccurate statement. What would you the nutritional consultant(?) recommend for a cat in kidney failure then? or a dog with pancreatitis? or lets see a dog with liver disease? I am sure with your vast medical knowledge and PROVEN experience you could inaccuratley recommend something. Its people like you who help otherwise great owners make poor choices. By the way what the HELL does it mean you know pet nutrition for health professionals? What experience is that?. Dont use the internet to promote yourself thats just plain sick.
Ima
I would recommend Science Diet. They have a version for kittens and a bunch of different ones for adult cats. My kitten tends to eat the adult food and my adult cat eats the kitten food but neither have loose stools or gas. It is a lot more expensive than Purina but sounds like your cats arent digesting it very well. Definitely time to switch!!!! Youll have to mix the two foods together until they get used to it but you should start seeing a difference within the first day. Good luck!!!
Kittie
Purina One CompleteMine has tried EVERYTHING, and she like this. Also, Science Diet, and Iams was very hard for her to digest
Georgie
Feed it a good food like Science Diet (cheap cat foods make their litterbox smell). Also, they will be healthier and have shiny coats.**GOOD LUCK**
Carma
Here are the best brands, all are high quality and I have had several vets recommend them to me: Neutro Max or Neutro Complete Care, or Science Diet (I prefer neutro because it is cheaper)
Antione
I use Nutro and think its the best food Ive ever fed. They make canned and dry foods for kittens and adults, and they have a new holistic line of food. Any changes in diet should be made slowly to avoid diarrhea - gradually mix more new food in with what youve been using until theyre switched over. http://www. nutroproducts. com/Canidae is another great, all-natural, no by-product food. My friends use this and love it. http://www. canidae. comI dont feed IAMS because of the by-products in it. But I think the recent claims against them may be bull. Go to their website and see the companies and organizations that have come to their defense. I used to work for CCI as a service dog trainer and if CCI officials inspected the IAMS kennels and said everything is fine - I believe them. Most, if not ALL, dog food companies have kennels where they test their dog foods. Better to test it there than on YOUR pet, right? I dont know whether the rumors and websites claiming this are true or not. Check out and decide for yourself:http://www. iamstruth. com/ If you believe the claims are true, write IAMS a letter and explain why youre not buying their product. If people vote with their $$, companies will quickly change their ways. Some people have said that PETA is responsible for the anti-IAMS campaign - they are notorious for attacking their detractors or people who won’t support their radical agenda. They don’t believe that anyone should own pets at all – even if they’re loved and well-cared for.
Elfreda
KITTENS EAT KITTEN FOOD AND CATS EAT CAT FOOD DUH! SWITCH TO A QUALITY FOOD LIKE NATURAL CHOICE OR IAMS!
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