Adopting a cat--food recommendations?

[okeydokey]

We feed our cats Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. They eat far less of it than the corn based foods.

 

[tvguy]

Oh, I hear ya with the vets. Funny how most of them sell expensive foods like Sciene Hill, isn't it?

A vet I really liked told me once that the most important two things in a dog or cat food were:

1. Meat (not meal or by product) is the first ingredient.

2. No corn. It makes the animals fat. It's not supposed to be a "food grain". Barley, rice, much much better.

No worries, I didn't think you blamed the FF, I know how the vets cringe with it tho. That's why I mentioned the study. A girl who runs a blog about cats with kidney disease mentioned the study on her board. Made me feel better....it's kinda considered "kitty crack" cause Fancy Feasters just won't go back to other cat food suposedly...lol.

Our cat's issue was an allergy to beef, chicken and turkey protein. The food she eats now is a combination of fish with rice.

 

[wdwmom2]

We feed our cats Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. They eat far less of it than the corn based foods.

That's what I feed my two cats and they do great on it

 

[si-am]

What you want to look for is food that is as close to what they would eat "in the wild" as possible. Cats wouldn't normally chow down on an ear of corn or a bowl of rice. Grain free is best.

I fed my cat cheapo Cat Chow for years until he developed diabetes. The poor ole' pancreas can't handle all those bad carbs.

Now he eats canned food, low carb stuff. Anything from Evo to Wellness to Fancy Feast to Friskies (pate, not gravy). Canned is best. If that's just too difficult, then a high quality low carb dry food (if you can find it) is okay too.

 

[BubblPopElectrc]

Natural Balance, Wellness, and Chicken Soup are all great.

 

[marie1203]

We feed our dogs and cats Taste of the wild. It is grain free great quality pet food. Our cat is a persian he is almost 4 and never had a hair ball.

 

[Robindianne]

Weruva brand. It's human grade in BPA-free cans. Specifically my cats like Marbella Paella, Mediterannean Harvest, and Mack and Jack. You don't want to feed all tuna meats so the mix is good. It's food you could eat (plus cat nutrients like taurine, sunflower seed oil, etc). http://www.weruva.com/ (is it OK to post links?). And Amazon delivers!

PS Congratulations on adopting a treasure

PPS: for dry food Orijen won awards as best. My cats love the fish. It's made in Canada which has stricter codes for pet consumption.

Hi all, DF and I have had our application approved and we are adopting a cat. I would prefer an older shelter cat but DF is leaning towards a younger cat. The decision may ultimately be up to him since the cat will live with him in his apartment. We will visit the shelter again in May and select our cat then.

We would ask a vet but we will not be seeing the vet until May when we bring in the cat. So we're keeping busy by getting everything together like scratching posts, toys, and litter supplies.
However, I would like some feedback on what food is best for cats.
I know we have to keep feeding the cat whatever the shelter is currently feeding it and then gradually introduce a different brand.
I also know that there are different foods available depending on the age of the cat.

So, what do you feed your cats/kittens? And do you recommend it?
Thank you.

 

[bitohoney]

Wellness. I get mine from amazon or petfooddirect.

 

[Wall-E1]

Seriously, they've done studies and Fancy Feast isn't the crap food everyone thinks. And Science Diet is full of corn and "meals" (as per dry food) wet is more expensive, but really, ick, my cat won't eat it. Since he's only got so much time left, i'm continuing to feed him what he loves. Most cats with Kidney Disease die from starvation, they just don't eat. I'll be darned if I'm gonna try to force feedhim that C/D science stuff. He'd starve first.

Iams, Science, Eukanuba, all have corn and meal in their dry, no idea what they have in wet, but I bet they ain't got no cheese or spinach, like Fancy Feast does. lol

Oh, I hear ya with the vets. Funny how most of them sell expensive foods like Sciene Hill, isn't it?

A vet I really liked told me once that the most important two things in a dog or cat food were:

1. Meat (not meal or by product) is the first ingredient.

2. No corn. It makes the animals fat. It's not supposed to be a "food grain". Barley, rice, much much better.

When I first got a cat and was still relatively naive about cat foods, I used the Science Diet brand that he recommended and sold at his office. The cat had digestive issues and would often throw up the cat food, even though it was the "sensitive stomach" food. I wanted to stick with dry food, and after an extensive search, I found Halo brand cat food. It's all natural ingredients - real meat, no corn meal. It solved the digestive problems in our cat. It's only sold at Petco for some reason. They do have different varieties of it - ex. younger/older cats, wet/dry, etc. That would be my recommendation.

 

[Safetyal]

We feed our cats Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. They eat far less of it than the corn based foods.

Same here.

 

[luvwinnie]

If I knew 15 yrs ago what I know now, i would probably choose Wellness, but one important point is to be sure to include canned food. A strictly dry diet can be tough on their kidneys. My Tigger refused to eat canned food for some reason and she did pass away last year from kidney failure. Now of course, I don't know for sure that was the reason, but general opinion is that the moisture in canned food is much better for their kidneys. My 15 yr old Pepper will ONLY eat Purine ONE because that is what she started on when she was young. I've tried the grain free foods and she will not eat any of them...she also loves my dog's holistic canned salmon food every now and then...go figure. But she won't eat canned CAT food.

For financial reasons, the 3 outdoor cats who adopted us last year (2 of whom come in when it's cold, one prefers his outdoor cat house) get Friskies and I try to give them fresh chicken and beef when I can. We rescued them, fixed them and vaccinated them. I figure they are still ahead of the game with Friskies...better than the garbage they were eating before.

 

[luvwinnie]

I'll say up front, I'm very opinionated about what I feed my cats. I base my opinions on the best facts I can get. I belong to a Siamese cat web forum (I have two Siamese mixes), and one of the members works in a food science lab and has analyzed a dizzying array of major and minor brands.


As of two months ago, I switched to "Now Fresh" from Petcurean. It's high-quality, grain free, and has a better protein percentage than Evo. My cats all really like both the dry and canned. It's gotten good reviews. My lab "source" is going to be analyzing it soon, but based on his initial inspection, he believes he'll get good results.

I think grain free, U.S. or Canadian made, with meat as the primary ingredient are the most important criteria. Making an effort to give them good food pays dividends later.

Our bulldog who is allergic to a million things eats Go Natural Salmon & Oatmeal by Petcurean. Took FOREVER to find a food for him and he has done well on it.

 

[FredinFL]

Cats drink barely enough water to survive, it's just how they run. The canned food adds much needed moisture to their diet.

My vet recommends adding 1-3 tsps of water to the wet food to give them even more moisture. Especially if they are suffering from kidney problems.

Cats also need high protein, which is tough on kidneys, so they recommend low protein for cats with kidney troubles...problem is, my cat says the Science Hill K/D tastes like crap and won't eat it. lol So we went back to his old stuff.

 

[luvwinnie]

Cats drink barely enough water to survive, it's just how they run. The canned food adds much needed moisture to their diet.

My vet recommends adding 1-3 tsps of water to the wet food to give them even more moisture. Especially if they are suffering from kidney problems.

Cats also need high protein, which is tough on kidneys, so they recommend low protein for cats with kidney troubles...problem is, my cat says the Science Hill K/D tastes like crap and won't eat it. lol So we went back to his old stuff.

I've read that vets are starting to rethink the low protein approach now...especially holistic vets. I believe the issue is the muscle wasting it can cause...they suggest a high quality protein instead. So you may be better off without the K/D. Took a long time to get my cat to switch to it.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

This thread needs more pictures.

 

[FredinFL]

I've read that vets are starting to rethink the low protein approach now...especially holistic vets. I believe the issue is the muscle wasting it can cause...they suggest a high quality protein instead. So you may be better off without the K/D. Took a long time to get my cat to switch to it.

Oh, he's good and spoiled even rottener now. Soulistic with Pumpkin Soup, Fancy Feast Medleys with greens, Cheese bits, you name it. AND, no more of this twice a day crap. Oh no...4-6 times a day thankyouverymuch. lol. I give him about a tablespoon or so with water when he calls me "MAAAAAH!" lol

 

[Butterball]

Thanks all! We have decided on the Wellness brand of cat food.
Once we establish the age of the cat we're getting then we're good to. I hope no one minds if I share pictures in May of our new furry family member. Thank you again, I appreciated all the responses!

 

[PatriciaH]

Orijen dry. WeRuVa, Addiction, Instinct and TiKi Cat wet. We used to feed Wellness and Innova Evo but they got bought out by bigger companies. Innova by P&G and they ruined Eukanuba.

 

[LuvMickey36]

We acquired a 7yr old kitty about a month ago. Boy is he fat!! Not sure how much help I will be, but right now he is eating the Iams all natural weight loss/management. He needs to lose some weight.

Our previous kitties always ate the Royal Canan? (I think that is the name/spelling) it has been over 2 yrs since I had to buy it. They never had any troubles and loved it.

 

[MichelleVW]

We just recently switched all of our pets (3 dogs and 3 cats) to taste of the wild. Our kitties litter box has vastly improved. I would recommend a grain free formula such as taste of the wild, blue buffalo, or wellness to name a few. Yes, they cost more but they are so worth it. Btw, I don't think they're any more expensive than science diet which is full of corn and other fillers.

We feed our cats Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. They eat far less of it than the corn based foods.

Chicken Soup for cats and Diamond Naturals (made by the same company) and Taste of the Wild are the only food my 4 cats will eat. Luckily for me, it's what I want to feed them!

Thanks all! We have decided on the Wellness brand of cat food.
Once we establish the age of the cat we're getting then we're good to. I hope no one minds if I share pictures in May of our new furry family member. Thank you again, I appreciated all the responses!

Great choice!!!