Can certain foods decrease shedding? Healthy food brands please :)

Remi&RiRi

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My boy Remi is the king of shedding. My girl RiRi rarely sheds. They eat the same food but I think his specific breed probably just sheds more. I am looking for some more healthy food options to feed. I have heard that certain foods can help with skin health and maybe even shedding (he also has a lot of dandruff). I am not sure if anyone has noticed any changes when switching to canned/raw foods (or maybe you never fed kibble). Just looking for some healthy food options. Thank you!

~Additional question: we are feeding Kibble right now. It makes sense that a raw diet is the healthiest but would you say that canned food is at least better than raw food? Asking because I want to improve my cats health but want to reasonable in regards to the time, effort, and cost of raw food diets
 
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Luvyna

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For my boy I've found that when he eats a homemade raw diet or commercial raw food he sheds less compared to when he eats canned food, even if it's decently high quality canned food (Weruva, Wellness, Rawz, Instinct, Nulo). I feed Primal Raw nuggets and I also make my own raw food in big batches and freeze it.
 
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Remi&RiRi

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For my boy I've found that when he eats a homemade raw diet or commercial raw food he sheds less compared to when he eats canned food, even if it's decently high quality canned food (Weruva, Wellness, Rawz, Instinct, Nulo). I feed Primal Raw nuggets and I also make my own raw food in big batches and freeze it.
Can you recommend how to go about making raw food? Is there any specific person or recipe that you like (I usually just look things up on YouTube but sometimes get overwhelmed with all the different information). Also what do you think the cost difference of a raw diet is? I know my cats health is worth it but I’m curious to know how much it typically costs? Thank you
 

Luvyna

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I follow the recipe my cat's breeder told me to use - there is definitely lots of controversy on what's the right way to feed raw (or if you even should feed raw) however so not gonna claim this is the best or the only way to do it.

I do also rotate commercial raw and wet foods in my cat's diet to make sure that he gets all the essential nutrients if I'm making a critical homemade raw feeding mistake I'm not aware of. That also helps me ensure he's used to different types of food so that if he ever needs to go on a canned medical diet or anything it won't be as much of a struggle.

My recipe is the following:

- 40% chicken or pork heart
- 20% raw meaty bones (chicken/turkey necks, chicken frames, or chicken wings)
- 30% muscle meat (e.g. no chicken breast): beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, duck, turkey...etc.
- 2% kidney
- 3% liver (if kidney not available, 5% liver)
- 5% carrots and/or zucchini
- 2 raw quail eggs added to the food per week

If you buy the meat in bulk, it's roughly the same cost as a good quality wet food, or even a bit less expensive. The main thing is the hassle of chopping/grinding all the meat, storing in bags, and thawing it out every time you feed.

I live in Canada and the cost is about $150 for homemade raw food that lasts ~1.5 months. In comparison, it can cost me about $125 per month to feed a good quality canned wet food because there is more filler and my cat needs more of it to feel full. Commercial raw food of course is going to be more expensive than canned wet food and a homemade raw diet.
 

FeebysOwner

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Some cats just shed more than others in general. You might start out with a supplement for Omega 3 fatty acids, such as in fish oil that are sold for cats, that can be added to food. If you don't do regular brushings, it might help to start doing so. The brushings not only get rid of excess hair but help to spread the natural oils throughout the skin and reduce dander.

Canned food is generally better than dry from the standpoint of more moisture and less carbohydrates.
 

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There is a forum here on TCS to discuss raw and home cooked diets in more detail: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food There are resources at the top of the forum with lots of good info.

You don't have to make a raw diet from scratch using a recipe. There are good commercially available brands that you can buy at a pet store. There are frozen and freeze dried options.

Canned foods are healthier than dry food. Raw is the most ideal to feed to a cat but not everyone can or wants to feed raw.

An omega 3 supplement may help some. There are fish oils supplements you can buy at pet stores.

Brushing the fur often can help minimize shedding and help spread the skin's natural oils to keep the fur healthy.
 
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BoaztheAdventureCat

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My boy Remi is the king of shedding. My girl RiRi rarely sheds. They eat the same food but I think his specific breed probably just sheds more. I am looking for some more healthy food options to feed. I have heard that certain foods can help with skin health and maybe even shedding (he also has a lot of dandruff). I am not sure if anyone has noticed any changes when switching to canned/raw foods (or maybe you never fed kibble). Just looking for some healthy food options. Thank you!

~Additional question: we are feeding Kibble right now. It makes sense that a raw diet is the healthiest but would you say that canned food is at least better than raw food? Asking because I want to improve my cats health but want to reasonable in regards to the time, effort, and cost of raw food diets
Great questions! My cousin has 2 Labradors. Labradors are a breed that's known to shed profusely. However, I've petted a few different short-coated dogs in my lifetime and I have noticed a connection between what they eat and how much they shed. The other short-haired dogs were fed kibble and/or canned food and they dropped fur like crazy. My cousin's Labradors are fed a human-grade raw diet and they're the only short-coated dogs that I've petted that hardly ever leave much fur on my hands.

I can't say that I believe canned food is better than raw. I think a balanced, human-grade raw diet is the best you can feed your cat, and depending on the brand you feed, raw diets aren't that expensive. Kibble and any pet food that's below human-grade quality I won't feed to my pets. Feed-grade pet foods, canned, raw, or kibble, do more harm than good, often containing chemicals, ingredients inappropriate for a cat or dog's diet, and even parts of diseased or euthanized animals, such as the bodies of euthanized pets riddled with cancer tumors.

I recommend the brands Nature's Logic canned or raw, Tiki Cat canned or raw, and Raw Dog Food & Co (which also has raw food for cats).
 
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Remi&RiRi

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I follow the recipe my cat's breeder told me to use - there is definitely lots of controversy on what's the right way to feed raw (or if you even should feed raw) however so not gonna claim this is the best or the only way to do it.

I do also rotate commercial raw and wet foods in my cat's diet to make sure that he gets all the essential nutrients if I'm making a critical homemade raw feeding mistake I'm not aware of. That also helps me ensure he's used to different types of food so that if he ever needs to go on a canned medical diet or anything it won't be as much of a struggle.

My recipe is the following:

- 40% chicken or pork heart
- 20% raw meaty bones (chicken/turkey necks, chicken frames, or chicken wings)
- 30% muscle meat (e.g. no chicken breast): beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, duck, turkey...etc.
- 2% kidney
- 3% liver (if kidney not available, 5% liver)
- 5% carrots and/or zucchini
- 2 raw quail eggs added to the food per week

If you buy the meat in bulk, it's roughly the same cost as a good quality wet food, or even a bit less expensive. The main thing is the hassle of chopping/grinding all the meat, storing in bags, and thawing it out every time you feed.

I live in Canada and the cost is about $150 for homemade raw food that lasts ~1.5 months. In comparison, it can cost me about $125 per month to feed a good quality canned wet food because there is more filler and my cat needs more of it to feel full. Commercial raw food of course is going to be more expensive than canned wet food and a homemade raw diet.
Thanks so much for all this great information. This helps a lot!
 

Alldara

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My boy Remi is the king of shedding. My girl RiRi rarely sheds. They eat the same food but I think his specific breed probably just sheds more. I am looking for some more healthy food options to feed. I have heard that certain foods can help with skin health and maybe even shedding (he also has a lot of dandruff). I am not sure if anyone has noticed any changes when switching to canned/raw foods (or maybe you never fed kibble). Just looking for some healthy food options. Thank you!

~Additional question: we are feeding Kibble right now. It makes sense that a raw diet is the healthiest but would you say that canned food is at least better than raw food? Asking because I want to improve my cats health but want to reasonable in regards to the time, effort, and cost of raw food diets
Have you considered that he may have a food allergy? Dandruff can be a sign of that, or of hyperthyroidism. The latter can be ruled out with a blood test.

I know many cats that have lived between 18 and 25 years while eating kibble (some eating 100% kibble only).

The thing we must keep in mind is that cats are the only domestic animal that we have extended the life of. This is much to do with commerical foods. There are limited studies on cats to begin with, however, I do not believe that they have completed studies regarding raw foods or boutique brand foods and longevity in cats at this time. It's all heresay. (We have studied the boutique brands in dogs and found that they are causing heart disease) We do know now, with cats living longer that over time some things are hard on some cats systems but it could be individuality. (Though, ideally every cat would eat some wet food daily as it's found to prevent many illnesses)

What you want the food to do is:
1. Your cat has energy and enjoys eating
2. Fur is soft, not oily or dandruff
3. Poos are soft, and generally in longer logs that hold together (not segments like rabbit poo).
4. Cat is hydrated

I would think that a novel protein and limited ingredient diet would be best to test for 2-3 months to see if coat improves. If it does, you'll know there is an allergy and will have to compare ingredients. Best to have both cats on the new diet so he doesn't get in to the old foods.

To really know it's an allergy you must give that food again later and see if the condition returns, but it's hard to want to do this.
 

Box of Rain

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Thank you to everyone who replied! Lots of useful info :)
If you wish to discuss the intricacies and variations of feeding a raw diet, I'd suggest starting a thread in the Raw & Homecooked sub-forum (as that's the preference of our host).

I feed a PRM style raw diet myself. In the "prey model" the goal is to feed meat, organs, and soft edible bone (plus connective tissue, eggs, some seafood, and other animal sources as optional supplements) that mimics what a cat would get eating "prey" and thereby provide the optimal balanced nutrition.

PMR is probably the most labor-intensive raw feeding option and it requires knowledge and attention to detail to ensure one is feeding nutrients in the proper balance (with no "holes"), but it is also the least expensive way to raw feed (if one excludes one's own man-hours). It is do-able.

I estimate that I spend about $1 a day (and I think my cat eats like a king). And Desmond LOVES mealtime!!!

When we adopted him last October Desmond had been traditionally fed. His coat was okay, fair, very average. Kind of dry. Now (11 months later), he positively glistens. Although he's the most common of alley cats (LOL) his fur is absolutely luxurious.

Staying very well-hydrated and well-nourished makes a dramatic difference in condition in our experience.

Bill
 
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