Are the "better" cat foods really better?

flea48

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We are currently feeding our 4 cats Purina Cat Chow and have raised them on it. Our 11 year old Himalayan (Einstien) loses weight on senior food so we continue to give him regular adult cat food as well as feeding it to 2 year old Isaac and 1 year old Newton Melody our 4 month old baby is on Purina Kitten Chow.

Now that some of the "better" cat foods like Science Diet, Iams etc. are more readily available at discount stores and don't cost as much as buying them from the vet, we are wondering if we should switch from Purina to one of the more expensive brands. Are these foods really that much better for cats and worth the money? If they are, which ones do people prefer? We have also noticed that Purina is making a more expensive dry cat food and wonder if it is as good as the "better" cat foods. Any advise any of you could give would be most appreciated. Thanks. In peace, Hannah
 

deb25

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flea:

The premium foods are better than the supermarket ones. You'll hear a lot of opinions as to which of the "better" brands is best.
 

sandie

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Oh boy, you will get a VERY wide variety of answers on this one! A homeade diet is actually best cats but it is very hard to get in the essential nutrients they need. Of course it is time consuming too.
Then you can consider some of the all natural brands. However, I have found that yes they have real meat in them but are also filled with veggies and fruits. Of course cats dont digest these things very well. They lack the enzyme to break down plant matter. Combining meat and fruit can cause indegestion.
Then you have your concern with preservatives in almost all the foods on the market. Of course these preservatives are in the foods we eat every day such as lard,shortning,vegetable oil,crackers,chips,cake mix,frosting,sausage,gum,cereal,lunch meats,fruits,drink mixes,yeast,meats and baked goods. They say that Vit E is much better to preserve with but some of the vitamins have already been preserved with other preservatives.
The FDA actually requires that any meat to be used in pet foods are deemed denatured or "unedable by humans". This way it is not inspected.
So there is a real issue on what to feed our cats. I personally have come to a few conclusions. If your cat vomits quite often, the food is not right for them. I also buy a food that uses meat as the first ingredient. I have found that the "higher priced" foods use better ingredients. I have gone through Nutro,Purina one,Pro plan and Eukanuba. The only one that all of my cats seem to do well on is the science diet. After 4 years of trial, I am never changing again. If you do a search on the internet you can find a lot of the different views on the topic
 

bastetca

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I watched a veterinary show on T.V. the other day that had a bit of a mixed answer on this one. It said that although premium brands are thought to be better because they contain more quality ingredients which contain more vitamins, nutrients and minerals, in fact, your cat can sometimes not process this excess of vitamins, nutrients and minerals which could make your kitty sick.
I've heard so many things and so many different opinions I say go with a food which your cat seems to enjoy that doesn't upset his stomach. Homemade food is best but not a lot of people have that kind of time. Just make sure that the food you buy has a low ash content, too much ash can give your kitty urinary tract infections.
 

donna

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All my cats have been on Science Diet since they were babies. I tried changing once to a cheaper brand to save money (Purina One). My cat Casey got an instant urinary tract infection. So, the're all back on Science Diet. Why switch from something that works? Haven't had a problem since.

Donna
 

hattkatts

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Usually (and I repeat - usually) the more expensive brands have less filler (corn, meal, etc) so the cats actually eat less and get more out of the food. I am going to my site to see if I still have a dry food breakdown and I will post it if I do. No matter who you speak with you will get varying opinions on things like food, litter, vaccinations, etc. Do your homework, find what works for you and stick with it; the axiom "if it ain't broke don't fix it" applies.

Pete
 

mishon

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I use to feed my cats cheap food (purina) when I was growing up, and it seemed like they were always vomiting up food from time to time. I also had a male cat who developed a severe bladder condition, that caused him to need a catheter inserted on a daily basis (because of the financial strain, we had to euthanize him). My vet said that the condition occured because the cheaper brands of cat food contained too much ash, and his body was unable to process it.

I vowed never again to feed my cats cheap food, and I have not had any food related problems since.

I have noticed however that some of the cheaper brands are actually trying to improve the quality of their foods, by making a wider variety of foods for special needs, some having some of the same ingredients as premium brands.

If you haven't had any problems with the cheaper foods, then I don't see any reason to rush out and change foods. Do some research on the ingredients, and make a decision based on your findings. My vet told me that most premium brands are very similiar, though I prefer Science Diet.

Hope this helps
 

djdream

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Hi Everyone,

I saw the other posts about what to feed my cat as far as healthy foods and asked the question
WHY DOES PET FOOD COST LESS THAN POTATO CHIPS PER POUND? I did some research and found out...IT'S BECAUSE VIRTUALLY ALL PET FOOD
COMPANIES, INCLUDING PREMIUM BRANDS, USE DISEASED ANIMALS, DISEASED PARTS, SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTE [BY-PRODUCTS], AND POWERFUL PRESERVATIVE
CHEMICALS. FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS EVEN ALLOW THE USE OF ROADKILL CHEMICALLY EUTHANIZED CATS AND DOGS IN PET FOOD. EVOLUTION DIET
DOES NOT USE ANY OF THE ABOVE.

THAT IS SICK!!

Thanks, Dj
Please let me know what everyone thinks about this

PS LIKE MY FELIX THE CAT??? hehe
 

sandie

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Honestly I am not a vegan and I don't expect my animals to be either. It sounds like a great food, but if I were to switch over it would mean me having to cook meat to add to the food. I honestly don't know what to make of it all. I have known cats who have eaten wal mart food all thier lives and lived to 22. There is so much debate and so many products out there that it's enough to make your head spin.
 

hattkatts

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Originally posted by DjDream
Hi Everyone,
I saw the other posts about what to feed my cat as far as healthy foods and asked the question
WHY DOES PET FOOD COST LESS THAN POTATO CHIPS PER POUND? I did some research and found out...IT'S BECAUSE VIRTUALLY ALL PET FOOD
COMPANIES, INCLUDING PREMIUM BRANDS, USE DISEASED ANIMALS, DISEASED PARTS, SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTE [BY-PRODUCTS], AND POWERFUL PRESERVATIVE
CHEMICALS. FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS EVEN ALLOW THE USE OF ROADKILL CHEMICALLY EUTHANIZED CATS AND DOGS IN PET FOOD. EVOLUTION DIET
DOES NOT USE ANY OF THE ABOVE.

THAT IS SICK!! I can't believe I had been feeding my cat horrible nasty food this whole time. I am definately making a change today, I am going to my local health food store!!


Thanks, Dj
Please let me know what everyone thinks about this
I don't know where you got this information but I, for one, would have to see it to believe it. While I'm sure there are pet food companies out there using these alleged ingredients I find it difficult at best to believe the major premium companies follow suit.

Pete
 

djdream

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Hey Pete,

I know it was very hard for me to believe as well.
Here are a few sites that you might want to check out. They are GREAT! As far as the lawsuit comments. Their is much more going on today behind the scenes of cat food besides chemicals and left over animal parts going into cat food.
I am also not a VEGAN and Don't expect my pets to be. I do Believe pets need MEAT. But I also am going to start feeding my pet GRADE A meat. Where chicken and meat is purchased from free range farms where they are free to roam and grow on a diet free of antibiotics or atificial ingrediants.
Here is a report done by PETA. If you are familiar with PETA, the have seven hundred thousand members and is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with plenty of investigators behind them. I am sure they would not post such things if they weren't TRUE! Oh and Sandie, i am glad you like the idea, but there are plenty of people companies out there who make the food for you. I am going to start purchasing Spot's Stew for Cats. It contains chicken and other veggie and vitamins too...I will find out there website address for you..
please take a look!

http://www.peta-online.org/mc/facts/fsc14.html

HERE IS THAT SITE SANDIE and FLEA
http://www.halopets.com/spotstew.htm

Here is another one: http://www.f-r-r.com/index.html
 
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