Investigating the best cat food for my cats... Any advice?

Butterfly39881

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Hewo! I am a mama of three kitties and after some searching on the web, I have discovered that I may not be giving my cats the best food for them. Yes, I know all things should be taken with a grain of salt but I want to know I’m doing a good job! Here’s some info on my situation:

I have three cats, Jinx, Delilah, and Agnes.I do not know exactly what breed they are or what age, though I suspect they are all around 8 months old and all have at least some Siberian cat breed in them.
None are over or under weight, at his last veterinarian check though, my Jinx was weighing in at about 10 lbs. this was when he was about 5-6 months old. All cats are spayed/neutered and their only health problems have been fleas and worms, both taken care of many months ago. Delilah and Agnes were 7-8 pounds on their last checkup in late December.

right now their diet consists of Iams Kitten dry food in the morning, and Fancy Feast wet food in the evening (not thepate, the wet food in gravy type) for the amount I would feed about a half bowl of dry food and 2 cams of wet food split between them. I’ve been thinking of stepping it up to three cans.

Are these brands of cat food beneficial for them? I want to get more opinions. Any suggestions for other food brands? I don’t want to make a huge switch, but something like a different brand of dry food or wet food would be okay.
Some things to note:
I do not have a huge budget for all those fancy gourmet “vet recommended” food like Royal Canin
I buy all pet food at my local Pet Co.
Thank you!
 

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CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat is a great resource when looking for higher quality foods.

I personally disagree that Royal Canin is fancy, but it's very overpriced for the ingredients they use. If you're working with a smaller budget I would suggest trying to transition to all Fancy Feast wet food. In my opinion the type of food your feeding matters more than the brand.
 

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I hope this was a typo, but 10lbs at 5-6 months? That seems a bit unhealthy unless he's a main coon. Just wanted to make sure I read that right. Lol
 

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I hope this was a typo, but 10lbs at 5-6 months? That seems a bit unhealthy unless he's a main coon. Just wanted to make sure I read that right. Lol
My kitten Goose was about 9.5 pounds at 6 months. He grew really quickly and is looking to be a big tabby cat, but he was never fat or anything.
 
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Butterfly39881

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Yes, my Jinx was around ten ponds at six months. From what I’ve observed he isn’t gaining many more pounds, staying around that weight. Maybe he’s about 12 pounds now, not sure. Thanks for your advice!
 
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Butterfly39881

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I personally haven’t tried Royal Canin, I just meant that it was very pricey and it made itself seem very professional :)
My parents aren’t very happy with the idea of just wet food, but we will see what happens ;)
 

arr

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I hope this was a typo, but 10lbs at 5-6 months? That seems a bit unhealthy unless he's a main coon. Just wanted to make sure I read that right. Lol
My boy is 13.7 pounds at 10 months and he’s a regular domestic shorthair. His body condition is good, he’s just a huge cat, so it is possible.
 

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High protein, meat only, low carbs, full of moisture food it’s the best what we could do for our cats. I don’t mind Fancy Feast but their gravy formulas are carbs heavy, I’d greatly recommend changing to classic pate. I’d also recommend rotating many brands and flavors in case of formula changes, and to mitigate the risk of overexposure to less ideal ingredients (as perfect commercial cat food doesn’t exist).
As for dry food, I’d only feed it if I really couldn’t afford wet food options. Although by feeding dry the risk of urinary issues (especially in male cats) is greatly increased and it’s very costly to treat so even financially, it may make sense to get rid of kibbles.
 
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Butterfly39881

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I’ll see what I can do about switching to total wet food, but in case I can’t, what are the types of ingredients in cat food to watch out for?
 

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I’ll see what I can do about switching to total wet food, but in case I can’t, what are the types of ingredients in cat food to watch out for?
I avoid all types of carby ingredients: grains, rice, legumes, potatoes, tapioca. I’m sure I’m forgetting something, cat food manufacturers are very creative. Basically, cats as strict carnivores should only eat meat (plus whatever nutrients they need). But meat is expensive so they add whatever they want. Legumes, peas and lentils are especially sneaky as they artificially raise protein levels, but for carnivores you’d want protein from meat not plants.
 

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I avoid all types of carby ingredients: grains, rice, legumes, potatoes, tapioca. I’m sure I’m forgetting something, cat food manufacturers are very creative. Basically, cats as strict carnivores should only eat meat (plus whatever nutrients they need). But meat is expensive so they add whatever they want. Legumes, peas and lentils are especially sneaky as they artificially raise protein levels, but for carnivores you’d want protein from meat not plants.
I 100% agree with this, but I fear OP may have a difficult time avoiding these things if the budget isn't very big.
 

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I 100% agree with this, but I fear OP may have a difficult time avoiding these things if the budget isn't very big.
budget wise, it makes sense to prepare food on their own (after proper research), but it's not for everyone. With cans and multiple cats, one can always buy bigger cans, 10oz or 12oz, Wellness and American Journey makes them, I think Nulo too? Other than that, Tiny Tiger offers decent quality pate (Fancy feast classic pate knock off). Dave's have options, so does Redbarn. But yeah, I always feel that buying any type of commercial food is a compromise and choosing lesser evils. Good rule of thumb would be to avoid anything that has more than 10% carbs DMB.
 

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budget wise, it makes sense to prepare food on their own (after proper research), but it's not for everyone. With cans and multiple cats, one can always buy bigger cans, 10oz or 12oz, Wellness and American Journey makes them, I think Nulo too? Other than that, Tiny Tiger offers decent quality pate (Fancy feast classic pate knock off). Dave's have options, so does Redbarn. But yeah, I always feel that buying any type of commercial food is a compromise and choosing lesser evils. Good rule of thumb would be to avoid anything that has more than 10% carbs DMB.
Agreed! I make my own cooked and raw and even with the pricier meats (venison, rabbit, etc.) I have cut the cost down to 2.00-2.50 a day per cat. If I fed only chicken it would probably be about 1.00 per cat. It helps to have a giant freezer. :) I'm usually just a bit weary of recommending that to other people because it really does take a lot of research to do it properly and I'd rather see a cat on a nutrient sufficient canned diet than an imbalanced raw/cooked.

I like Nulo and Redbarn but if I compare their prices to Fancy Feast and Iams they're still significantly more expensive. Against the Grain is another good one that has 9 paws on catfooddb depending on the flavor, and they're 1.04 for a small can. If I remember correctly I think my grocery store sells Fancy Feast for about .65 cents though, so I don't know if that's affordable or not.
 

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I personally haven’t tried Royal Canin, I just meant that it was very pricey and it made itself seem very professional :)
My parents aren’t very happy with the idea of just wet food, but we will see what happens ;)
Hello. I came on here because royal canin has production backup and my 14 yo cat has thrived on it finally gaining a little weight after a slow weight loss. She has done so well and now I don’t know what to feed her.
 

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Hi! If you are looking for a high quality cat food, I highly recommend raw food. If you have the time and money, you can make homemade food. Being able to feed your own food gives you control over what is going in the food, no grain and no preservatives. I find that it’s also very affordable. Hope this helps!
 
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