Cat Food Help

[chester13]

I adopted my 2 year-old male about a month ago now. He was fed Purina One at the shelter and my vet had told me to keep him on 1/3 cup dry Purina One twice a day. Since he's gotten home his coat has gotten much more dull and he's continued to scoot (after deworming for tapeworms and anal expression) which led me to research healthier diets hoping that grain free and more protein will help. I am very overwhelmed by the variety of cat food out there. I've read a lot of articles all preferring different foods for different reasons. The pet store I'm planning on going to carries the following brands. 

Blue Buffalo Natural Balance Eagle Pack Holistic Nature’s Variety Wysong

Wellness Merrick Chicken Soup Taste at The Wild Nutro

AVO EVO VF

I've read about most of these and there seem to be pros and cons. I would like to stay in a reasonable price range, about $1-1.50 ($2 max) for a 6 oz. can. I'm leaning towards Evo for wet but I'm not sold on anything. I'd like to also keep a dry food in small quantities for when I go away. I'll have someone stopping in once a day, but that would only make one meal in wet, so he'd have to be happy to continue eating dry for a meal for a few days. 

I'm also not sure what a feeding schedule should look like. He's about 10 pounds, pushing 10.5 now and about medium height. He's not overweight but would be if he put on any more. He's generally good about not scarfing down food, though. It takes him about an hour to finish off a 3 oz can of wet food coming back and forth. How much wet vs. dry should I feed? Should I do 1/3 c. 1x a day dry and 3 oz wet or 6 oz wet and then just leave dry out. Should I worry about him overeating? I know quantities depend on food, so I will adjust by what I buy. Sorry for all of these questions, I'm having trouble deciding on a plan because there seems to be so much scattered information out there. Thanks!

 

[lindamh]

I can help maybe with part of your question -- the brand of cat food.  I feed mainly raw food, but I have 3 cats that can't have the raw due to food intolerances and owner's request.   So they get canned food.  Since I usually can find fault with any can of food, I opt for the variety method.  I go to the pet store and buy 1 can of about a dozen flavors and brands that are all grain free.  This way, if one brand is missing something, another one problem has it.  And vice versa -- if one brand has something I don't like, they aren't getting that everyday.  It also prevents problems if the companies change ingredients or discontinue a line -- the cats will eat a variety of foods and aren't addicted to one.

As for how much to feed -- these 3 are 5-7lbs, so I'm no help there.

 

[catspaw66]

Good advice from LindaMH. Get a variety of brands and flavors. Don't go from some dry to no dry all at once. You have to gradually change his diet.

 

[sevenwonders]

Hi and Welcome to TCS!  

You are on the right track.

More wet and less dry food will make a huge difference in his short and long term health.

Please, only feed Fish flavors occasionally - too much can contribute to Kidney and Urinary Tract problems, especially in males.

As mentioned above, most of us agree (for many reasons) to feed several brands and flavors of canned food.

My Kitties love these:

EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey

EVO 95% Beef (I mix half & half with EVO Chicken)

(They occasionally enjoy the EVO Duck and Venison flavors as well.)

* Canidae Pure Elements Chicken, Turkey & Lamb

* Natural Balance (Chicken & Liver / Turkey & Giblets / Ultra formula)

* These 2 brands do have some carbs, but not too high.

I think that the Blue Buffalo, Merrick and Wellness are also very good choices,

but they are a little pricey for me and my 9 Indoor Kitties and Feral Colony.

I do however, buy Merrick 96% Beef, Lamb and Buffalo (Dog Food) cans,

and mix it half & half with EVO Chicken once per week to give them some additional variety.

(Sadly, Merrick discontinued their Before Grain 96% line for Kitties.)

Once you have established your Line Up,

you can usually save money by ordering cases online

from PetFoodDirect, Chewy, and DoggieFood (all are ".com")

I use all 3 as I maximize my savings that way - prices vary widely among these companies depending on the brand.

As far as quantities to feed, keeping track of his weight (once a week) will be your best guide.

In general, the higher protein the food, the less they will need to eat.

Most food companies will overstate the amount to feed - I'd start with less than they recommend.

 

[chester13]

Thanks for the advice! Up until now I've been giving him a little Fancy Feast in gravy every few nights that he's really enjoyed. He's gobbled up the higher quality grain free in gravy. I gave him a little Simply Nourish this morning which was just one solid food (pate I think it's called?) and he ate about half, more once I mixed dry food in, but didn't really seem that excited about it. It seems like he disliked both the consistency and the flavor, which I can obviously change the latter. Out of the grain-free foods what do they look like consistency wise? It's a weird question, I know. 

Planning on going to a pet store in town after work tonight where I can hopefully get some advice. I found a different store that seems to carry every high quality brand under the sun.

 

[sevenwonders]

Most of the high quality foods are the pate type,

but you can always (as I do) add a litle warm water to it,

and mix it up just until it is the consistency he prefers.