What Cat Food Has Your Cat Done Best On?

[Daisy6]

I don't buy for one second anything the clean label project states.

Why not?

 

[BonitaBaby]

I have tried a whole array of foods (feels like basically everything under the sun) but right now I've gotten Mika on TikiCat mousse pouches. She loves the salmon, salmon and chicken and the chicken and egg ones! Even though she's gone nuts for tuna flavored foods before (got my hopes up with them, but then wouldn't touch them later) she refuses to even touch any of their tuna flavored foods. She doesn't like chunky so the rest of their wet food line is out of the question.

I'm thinking about trying their dry food to see how she does on that too!

I hate that TikiCat does not have a turkey flavor for the velvet mousse. I'm pretty sure my cat won't like the flavors they do offer. Chicken is too bland for her, I think, and she doesn't like fish. She licks her food, so I think she'd like mousse.

 

[Azazel]

How do you prepare your raw food?

I follow the recipe on catinfo.org but I don’t cook anything. I adapted the recipe a bit too based on guidelines on feline-nutrition.org and had it validated by my vet.

 

[Daisy6]

Did any of you that feed mainly dry food consider that a kitten needs hydrating and extra nutrition that only wet food gives? In nature they don't eat berries or fruit or veggies, they eat meat. They get additional hydration from meat. When they were younger they only got food from their Mom, who only ate meat. I keep seeing cats that have only been fed dry develop problems later, especially urinary problems, diabetes etc. The cat food industry is NOT out to feed your cat what it needs, they are out to make the largest amount of money they can the cheapest way possible. That... is why you see so many "filler" foods on the list of ingredients. It's not because they are good for your cat, it's because it's CHEAPER.

Please, feed your cats, especially kittens, WET FOOD for their health. Would you want to eat dry wood pellets sprayed with a yummy scent all your life?

I wish more people who only feed wet food to their cats would say stuff like this. All pet food companies have sneaky tricks to make people think dry food is healthy for cats.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I wish more people who only feed wet food to their cats would say stuff like this. All pet food companies have sneaky tricks to make people think dry food is healthy for cats.

True. *Love your little banner, btw, and wish everyone believed likewise and acted upon it.*

 

[duckpond]

I hate that TikiCat does not have a turkey flavor for the velvet mousse. I'm pretty sure my cat won't like the flavors they do offer. Chicken is too bland for her, I think, and she doesn't like fish. She licks her food, so I think she'd like mousse.

do you use toppers or treats that she likes. Some of the brands of food i feed may not smell much, or be bland maybe. I have found that if i top it up at least the first few times i feed it they will eat better. So if she has some fav treats that might help with chicken, or more bland foods??

 

[BonitaBaby]

do you use toppers or treats that she likes. Some of the brands of food i feed may not smell much, or be bland maybe. I have found that if i top it up at least the first few times i feed it they will eat better. So if she has some fav treats that might help with chicken, or more bland foods??

I've tried all kinds of toppers I've read about from this website except parmesan cheese (she doesn't like cheese but I'll try it soon). The only topper that worked for a while was Fortiflora. She'd eat a little bit of her wet food because of it. I think she became ill from a half-cooked egg she licked a little bit of and/or some curry sauces she licked a little bit. Then, after she got better, I tried to use Fortiflora again and she refused it.

I've been thinking about getting Fortiflora again, but it seems so expensive now that I'm not working. Plus I'm not sure she'll like it again so that would really sting if I buy it and she refuses it. I probably will buy a box again soon. I've been looking at it recently. Wish it was cheaper. I did email myself a $5 off coupon from the Purina Fortiflora website this morning to use at Petsmart.

My kitty is so picky that she doesn't even eat wet food sprinkled with crushed treats or crushed or uncrushed kibble on top. Seems strange to me.

 

[Beans<3r]

The vet recommended Science Hills dry food for Beans! He likes it more now then when he was a kitten. I still give him a can of Fancy Feast for his guilty pleasure every once in a while, because he loves the gravyyyy!

 

[Daisy6]

The vet recommended Science Hills dry food for Beans! He likes it more now then when he was a kitten. I still give him a can of Fancy Feast for his guilty pleasure every once in a while, because he loves the gravyyyy!

Don't listen to the vet. Hill's Pet hires people to teach veterinary students about cat and dog nutrition as guest speakers and sponsors colleges, offering free food to the students in their classes. That is the only reason vets recommend Science Diet.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Don't listen to the vet. Hill's Pet hires people to teach veterinary students about cat and dog nutrition as guest speakers and sponsors colleges, offering free food to the students in their classes. That is the only reason vets recommend Science Diet.

Just like doctors push pills pimped to them by the pharmaceutical industry. Those who have studied the industry -- and it IS an industry -- know better than to trust any of these people. Their only interest is self-interest. Traditional healers, who know the patient and care about them, are much more trustworthy because they are doing what they do because they truly care about their patients and about their patients' wellbeing.
BonitaBaby Have you tried dried bonita/tuna flakes? There are many brands widely available. Petco sells them; so does CatClaws.com. They have always been irresistible to cats in our family. CatClaws.com also sells powdered tuna for sprinkling on food. Again, irresistible!

 

[BonitaBaby]

BonitaBaby Have you tried dried bonita/tuna flakes? There are many brands widely available. Petco sells them; so does CatClaws.com. They have always been irresistible to cats in our family. CatClaws.com also sells powdered tuna for sprinkling on food. Again, irresistible!

Thanks. Yes, I bought a container a while ago. I was excited to try it, but it did not work on my cat. She refused to touch it or the wet food I put it on top of. She seems to dislike fish (if it smells like fish).

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thanks. Yes, I bought a container a while ago. I was excited to try it, but it did not work on my cat. She refused to touch it or the wet food I put it on top of. She seems to dislike fish (if it smells like fish).

Your cat is BIZARRE. I love all cats. But are you sure your cat IS a cat?

 

[BonitaBaby]

Your cat is BIZARRE. I love all cats. But are you sure your cat IS a cat?

 

[Beans<3r]

Don't listen to the vet. Hill's Pet hires people to teach veterinary students about cat and dog nutrition as guest speakers and sponsors colleges, offering free food to the students in their classes. That is the only reason vets recommend Science Diet.

Omg so what should I be getting for him?? He just turned 1 last month... i’ve Read some of the brands some people have posted, but where do I start?

 

[KarenKat]

Beans<3r Welcome to the rabbit hole lol. This is my personal opinion, and as I am sure you see everyone has a hundred different ones. Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin do provide vet offices with information and food. Many vets are not very educated on the best nutrition, so they often provide these foods and it's good to research them to see if they are the best for your cat.

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat is a great resource to see the content of foods.

Mostly undisputed points I see are:

• Cats are obligate carnivores, so try and get food (wet or dry) that has meat as a first ingredient.
• The best food is high in protein, medium in fat and low in carbs (on a dry-matter basis, which allows you to compare wet to dry).
• Corn, wheat and soy or generally considered poor-quality ingredients and are to be avoided anywhere on the ingredient list
• Wet food is better than dry food for hydration and typically has less fillers. Most people feed a mix based on cost and what kitty will eat (sounds like you are already good here, with mixing in the Fancy Feast)
• Controversial ingredients include artificial colors, Menadione and carrageenan some people choose to avoid these (which can be hard)

If you fish around the Nutrition forum there are a lot of posts asking similar questions (what the best foods are, or what people feed). My recommendation is to research a little bit yourself and see what you are most concerned with your cat eating. We free-fed corn-based kibble for years and one cat ballooned into a kitty blimp while another maintained his perfect physique as if he was fine-dining. Switching to a meat-based kibble was transformative for blimp kitty and again didn't even concern the other guy. A lot of it has to do with individual cat metabolisms just like in human nutrition. The way I learned about cat nutrition is I bought a pdf of a book (it is quite severe on a lot of points. I think Dr Hovfe is very ideal in her cat diet, and some of her points can be relaxed. I recommend it because it has good descriptions of what to look for on the label but don't let some of it scare you off)


If you are looking for a good next step, find a kibble you like and slowly transition Beans onto it (over a week). Then if you choose, work in a little more wet food. Cats don't like change all at once. Hope this helps, I know it's a lot of information.

 

[tarasgirl06]

LOOKS like a cat, judging by your icon. But I've never met a cat who doesn't like tuna/bonita. And the name there?

 

[Daisy6]

OMG so what should I be getting for him? He just turned 1 last month. I've read some of the brands some people have posted, but where do I start?

The most popular good quality food here seems to be Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein but I prefer to start in pet stores (Petsmart, Petco, etc.) because it's easy to buy various brands and flavors. Start with the flavors you cat likes - chicken, turkey, whatever - and look for the equivalent in other brands like Wellness and Blue Buffalo.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Omg so what should I be getting for him?? He just turned 1 last month... i’ve Read some of the brands some people have posted, but where do I start?

You can look at a wide variety of foods and their ingredients, and order them shipped to your door -- shipping is free over $19 -- either one-time or auto-delivered, at DrsFosterSmith.com. We get all our cat supplies there. Auto-delivery gets discounts, too. We've been a customer for years, and they are excellent. Live chat or domestic phone customer service, too.

 

[Daisy6]

How do you get free shipping with only a $20 one-time order?

 

[tarasgirl06]

How do you get free shipping with only a $20 one-time order?

Check it out. It's their current company policy.