Totally Lost! What's A Good Dry Food For An Adult Cat?

Hi everyone!

This is my first post. Thought of all places to get cat advice, a forum would be a good place.

I've been feeding my cat Purina Naturals for years and recently learned that it's not a very good dry food. My girl is 5 years old and loves the stuff but I can't keep feeding it to her knowing I could be doing better. Google searches are leading me in circles with sponsored ads and reviews.

What's a good dry food I could be giving her? Preferably something gentle on her stomach. She's been having occasional bouts of diarrhea.

Would prefer something I could buy locally but it's not a huge deal if I need to order it.

Local stores include Tractor Supply, PetSmart, Petco, HEB, and Walmart.

Oh my budget is let's say... $35 a bag. Is that enough to get a decent dry food for her?

Hi. Is there any reason that you can't try some wet food as well? If she won't eat it, you could mix a bit with her current dry food and see how she reacts. If she is amenable, you could add more wet and decrease dry over time. There are not a whole lot of dry foods that can beat the nutrition in a wet food, tbh. And, some of the wet foods are not all that expensive.

There is a chart that two members created about food ingredients, but it solely about wet foods. However, you could try a few of those (and there are some cheaper ones involved) and see if you could add some more nutrition to her diet through wet. And, you can sort of use it as a guide of what to look for in dry foods in terms of quality.

Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

I only suggest this because Feeby at 14+ yo and being fed dry most of her life is actually starting to look forward to her wet food dinner, and she eats less of the dry stuff as a result; so, anything is possible! Unfortunately, she is on urinary care food, so I can't give you any brand specific help.

I know other members will offer you some suggestions about reasonably priced dry foods that are of reasonable nutritional value. Just give them to see your post and respond!

Purina Naturals isn't terrible. If you want a step up without making too big of a change for her, try Purina Beyond. It seems to have a similar taste (according to my cats, lol) but has better ingredients.

Also try to give her at least some wet food. Cats aren't very good at drinking enough water so wet food is a good way to get moisture into them. It's also generally higher in meat protein.

When you are thinking price consider the size of the bag you can get. We buy Fromm's because our cat doesn't do well on chicken meat. The 11 lb bag lasts her three months, which makes the $49 price doable.

To keep the food fresh, I empty the big bag into plastic sandwich bags so that the food stays fairly well sealed until we start that little bag. The 11lb does have a sealable top, but using it means opening the bag twice a day for three months. I feel it probably gets a little stale toward the end.

Our cat was eating Orijen (free feeding) and got a bit plump on that. Fromm is higher protien and lower carbs. She did lose a couple of pounds on it also free feeding.

Willowy said:

Purina Naturals isn't terrible. If you want a step up without making too big of a change for her, try Purina Beyond. It seems to have a similar taste (according to my cats, lol) but has better ingredients.

Also try to give her at least some wet food. Cats aren't very good at drinking enough water so wet food is a good way to get moisture into them. It's also generally higher in meat protein.

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Pro plan is another line that's decent quality but might be more, I'm not sure on the cost.
I think TSC's carry their house brand, called 4-health that people seem very happy with as well.
Agreed on the wet food, most cats learn to like this and you could feed a can or two a day and leave dry out for her to snack on if she gets hungry.

Best fries on the market are dr elsey, essence cat food, young again, nature’s variety raw boost, and tiki.
What weight are we talking about with 35$? Will she eat wet food? Wet food is more satiating (so will a meat based high quality dry like I mentioned above) so they will eat less and naturally cats need water in their diet as they have a low thirst drive. A diet of just dry will cause chronic dehydration which will cause things like uti, crystals, and eventually kidney failure. So consider adding in some wet. A budget friendly wet would be fancy feast classics (pate only).
Purina beyond was mentioned above it isn’t horrible for the price. But majority of dry foods are completely inappropriate for a cat.
And keep in mind the high quality you feed the less they eat, the less they poop (and the less it smells), and the less they shed.

Wysong Epigen 90 is also a great food, about $25 for 5 lbs. One thing to consider is that the higher quality foods are high protein, moderate fat, and low carb, and calorie dense, so they need to eat less of it to feel full for longer (and are more biologically appropriate).

Of course wet is superior to all dry if you can swing it!

As for more budget friendly dry foods that I like:

https://www.chewy.com/american-journey-turkey-chicken/dp/158630

https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-original/dp/146301

This is a good resource: CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

As is: Dry Food Comparison Chart | Zero Carb and Grain Free Cat Food

I did a tonne of research and ended up getting Orijen for my guy. I have moved to wet mainly but once in a while he gets a Orijen treat

A note on the wysong epigen 99 recommended above is that it can cause diarrhea in some cats. My cat did okay on it initially, but after two weeks he started pooping runny stinky poop. I switched him back to dr elsey’s and all was well again...

Suru said:

A note on the wysong epigen 99 recommended above is that it can cause diarrhea in some cats. My cat did okay on it initially, but after two weeks he started pooping runny stinky poop. I switched him back to dr elsey’s and all was well again...

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I think that's true for any food... One size does not fit all I had a cat with the most awful smelling poop on Dr. Elsey's and Rawz canned!

mizzely said:

I think that's true for any food... One size does not fit all I had a cat with the most awful smelling poop on Dr. Elsey's and Rawz canned!

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Oh that's for sure! In the reviews for any cat food, there's definitely going to be a couple of complaints about how it affected certain cats negatively, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, allergies etc...

But on the reviews for Epigen, it's been pretty consistent about diarrhea issues. When I read through the amazon reviews on epigen 90, the number of times the diarrhea issue came up was ridiculous... In both cats and dogs too!

Well I went ahead and bought it anyway, and it didn't work out for me

Suru said:

Oh that's for sure! In the reviews for any cat food, there's definitely going to be a couple of complaints about how it affected certain cats negatively, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, allergies etc...

But on the reviews for Epigen, it's been pretty consistent about diarrhea issues. When I read through the amazon reviews on epigen 90, the number of times the diarrhea issue came up was ridiculous... In both cats and dogs too!

Well I went ahead and bought it anyway, and it didn't work out for me

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Sorry to hear that! I started using it and got a few family members onto it too and no issues with any of our cats, so didn't realize it was a common issue.

Thank you for everyone's input it really helps me figure out what to feed my cat.

I had mostly stuck to dry food with the thought it will help keep her teeth cleaner, is less likely to attract ants if left in a bowl, and always thought of wet food as a fatty treat and fed wet as a treat. She goes insane for it, but it upsets her stomach sometimes so i had only given it to her on special occasions. She loves the stuff so much that if the empty containers aren't kept in a locked trash can, she WILL find it and dig through or knock over the garbage for them. Also gives her very gnarly BMs.

Those are pretty much the reasons why I haven't been giving her wet but if it's better for her in the long run, I'd totally be more open to it

Whatever you try with her in terms of wet, do it gradually due to her getting an upset stomach. It is always best to transition a cat from one food to another through a slow, gradual process. So, you can give her a bit of the wet, and continue on with her dry - you could even mix the two since she likes wet anyway, Then, you can increase the wet and decrease the dry as time passes. This will give you a chance to see if the slow transition helps with her stomach issues, and might even help with the 'gnarly BMs'!!

Ultimately, you may want to feed her canned food at 'specific meal times' and leave some dry out for grazing. That way you would have less of a concern about the ants getting into canned food that is sitting out. Don't know if anyone has already mentioned it, but I am not a fan of leaving wet food sitting out for hours and hours on end, but it doesn't sound like that will a problem with her anyway!

Typically, wet food contains less calories so pay attention to the quantity you feed her when you take away some of the dry just to ensure she is still getting enough calories.

If she isn’t used to a particular food or has only ever been on one type of food any new switch will cause diarrhea. You’ll just want to transition slower. I usually feed a small kibble meal in the morning. Then canned at night. The more variety you introduce the more healthy their gut will become. All of my cats can switch foods immediately with no upset at this point.
Also dry doesn’t clean teeth. At all. Only brushing and giving chewy treats like raw gizzards and raw chicken wings will help. And also of course brushing their teeth and having yearly dentals done after a certain age will further help. Dry food encourages dehydration which leads to a dry mouth which then leads to quicker dental degradation.
I’m still not sure why vets believe and encourage this thought when there’s no real evidence to back it up.
I think the only studied dental cleaning food is Hill’s prescription dental food. Which I’ve heard still doesn’t work all that much.

There will always be a debate about if dry food adds any value in terms of keeping tartar build up down. I can only speak from my own experience, and only one of my cats had dental issues - and he was the one who never ate any dry food. But, genetics also play a role - just as they do with humans - and some cats are more prone to dental problems just by virtue of that alone.

Most cats don't even chew dry food -- they swallow it whole. The latest research says it doesn't do anything for their teeth, and that if you want to encourage dental health, brushing is really the only way.

As my vet has said, the worst wet food is better for cats than the best dry food. Wet food is lower in carbs, higher in protein, and has a high moisture content.

But as others have said, a slow transition to new food is key. Otherwise, you'll see tummy upsets.

Ants are a huge problem inside and out. You can buy two bowls one slightly larger than the other. Fill the larger one with water and the smaller with her food. Be sure she can comfortably reach the smaller bowl. With some luck the blasted ants will decide it isn't worth the swim.