Dry food suggestions

destinyz12

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Unfortunately, my cats love dry food and beg for it often so I do a split diet of dry in the morning and wet in the evening. With that said, theyre both very picky and won't eat the higher quality brands- They've been eating Crave, which isn't the worst but also not the best, as there is chicken 'meal' listed as 2nd ingredient. I think something something must have also recently changed in the ingredients because they've been very hesitant to eat from the new bag I just got. I figured I'd use that opportunity to try something new and better- Does anyone have brand suggestions that are of decent quality for picky cats?? (That aren't too expensive either) I used to be well versed in all the different brands and which ones were better or worse for them but mine have been so set in their ways the past few years I've stopped researching for a while! Thanks!
 

Alldara

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I'm going to come along and say something a bit 'controversial'. If you don't like this advice you can leave it aside.

Everyone has an opinion on what's a healthy cat food but the facts are this: Cats are the only domestic animal that we've actually extended the life of. I'm fact we've almost doubled it and that's with most of them eating regular cat food.

So, don't worry yourself too much and just feed what you can afford, that your cat likes and has the following results:
- poop is not hard and does not come out in pellets but in logs. Cat does not strain
- cat is hydrated. When you pinch the back of their neck, their skin springs back down quickly and easily.
- cat's fur is soft and shiny and eyes are bright.
- cat keeps healthy body condition with a waist, and not too much in their tummy pouch (tummy pouch is naturally evolved protection but should remain as skin or light fat only)

The expensive 'boutique' brands we are just learning now are causing health issues in dogs. We do not know about cats yet.

Purina Pro Plan has changed their formulas to be closer to their recently concluded longitudinal study of their Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus. I was feeding our cats the Senior formula and loved the results (cats ages are 16, 2 and 1). However they came back and added beef fat to all and now Magnus can't eat it.
Blue Buffalo senior was a big hit, but their fur isn't as soft. Not keeping it long term.
A bag of Iams with a similar makeup to their old Purina bag was a hit but has too many grains so it was a stop-hold.
I didn't like Nutro, both Nobel and Lily (late cat)got sick on it.
Wellness changed formula and my cats stopped touching it as did 4 other cats I know so that's out and they don't like Instinct....
Lily was the only cat I ever had that would touch the raw or freeze dried raw diets. I'm not a fan of the raw anyways...we have too many storms and I need something shelf stable plus heard too many horror stories.
So yes, I feel your pain on the end of all this.

I'd recommend the Purina Pro Plan. It's what I wish I could keep feeding them
 

Krazy-koni

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▪ ACANA
Wild Prairie (made in Canada*)
▪Petcurean
go! solutions skin & coat
Chicken with grains recipe
▪ Farmina
N&D Prime
chicken and pomegranate recipe.
Adult. made without grains
ACANA was approx. 2 years ago, after trying several the go! solutions was a hit. Recently started on the Farmina. Love it! In my opinion the price is worth it.
We do feed wet too. Unfortunately <heavy sigh> they seem to only like one of the low end products.
Use Honest kitchen goats milk on their kibble.
 
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Alldara

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▪ ACANA
Wild Prairie (made in Canada*)
▪Petcurean
go! solutions skin & coat
Chicken with grains recipe
▪ Farmina
N&D Prime
chicken and pomegranate recipe.
Adult. made without grains
ACANA was approx. 2 years ago, after trying several the go! solutions was a hit. Recently started on the Farmina. Love it! In my opinion the price is worth it.
We do feed wet too. Unfortunately <heavy sigh> they seem to only like one of the low end products.
Use Honest kitchen goats milk on their kibble.
Have been researching (ongoing) the complicated and frustrating 'pet food industry'. wow ..

Appreciate:
Susan Thixton
[/URL]

I really like the info offered by -
• Dr. Judy Morgan
see her youtube video:
Reading Pet Food Labels with
Dr. Morgan-Webinar 1

• Dr. Karen Becker and Randy Habib
• Dr. Andrew Jones
Ew. I saw that study. However, of more concern was actually how often you clean the pet food bowls.... whether or not subsequent studies end up proving that raw diets are more risky or not.

So articles like this were of interest to note to me. How often you wash your dog's bowl can affect your health, too, study says | CNN
 
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destinyz12

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I'm going to come along and say something a bit 'controversial'. If you don't like this advice you can leave it aside.

Everyone has an opinion on what's a healthy cat food but the facts are this: Cats are the only domestic animal that we've actually extended the life of. I'm fact we've almost doubled it and that's with most of them eating regular cat food.

So, don't worry yourself too much and just feed what you can afford, that your cat likes and has the following results:
- poop is not hard and does not come out in pellets but in logs. Cat does not strain
- cat is hydrated. When you pinch the back of their neck, their skin springs back down quickly and easily.
- cat's fur is soft and shiny and eyes are bright.
- cat keeps healthy body condition with a waist, and not too much in their tummy pouch (tummy pouch is naturally evolved protection but should remain as skin or light fat only)

The expensive 'boutique' brands we are just learning now are causing health issues in dogs. We do not know about cats yet.

Purina Pro Plan has changed their formulas to be closer to their recently concluded longitudinal study of their Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus. I was feeding our cats the Senior formula and loved the results (cats ages are 16, 2 and 1). However they came back and added beef fat to all and now Magnus can't eat it.
Blue Buffalo senior was a big hit, but their fur isn't as soft. Not keeping it long term.
A bag of Iams with a similar makeup to their old Purina bag was a hit but has too many grains so it was a stop-hold.
I didn't like Nutro, both Nobel and Lily (late cat)got sick on it.
Wellness changed formula and my cats stopped touching it as did 4 other cats I know so that's out and they don't like Instinct....
Lily was the only cat I ever had that would touch the raw or freeze dried raw diets. I'm not a fan of the raw anyways...we have too many storms and I need something shelf stable plus heard too many horror stories.
So yes, I feel your pain on the end of all this.

I'd recommend the Purina Pro Plan. It's what I wish I could keep feeding them
I've dealt with the frustration of changing food formulas in the past as well, where my cats would suddenly stop eating something they loved, although they were happy with the Crave brand for quite a while until now. I remember not being happy with Purina Pro Plan ingredients in the past but I'll give it another look now.
 

mizzely

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My picky feline likes Instinct (any of them). I think it's the only brand she will finish the bag of without complaint. She will grudgingly eat Pro Plan.

Also, I much prefer a food with "meal" in it. If you take chicken and remove all the moisture, you essentially have meal. Since ingredients are listed by weight, a food that lists whole chicken as the first ingredient, then, might actually have less than chicken protein in it than a food that lists chicken meal. Moisture is heavy ;)
 

Astragal14

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Our veterinary nutritionist's top recommended dry food is Instinct Ultimate Protein. It's $59.99 for a 10 lb bag so it's quite expensive but it has very high quality ingredients.
INSTINCT Ultimate Protein Grain-Free Cage-Free Chicken Recipe Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Dry Cat Food, 10-lb bag - Chewy.com

Instinct is a good brand overall, I recommend considering their other dry options. Instinct seems to use more animal proteins in their recipes than other brands (vs plant proteins like peas and chickpeas).
Instinct Dry Cat Food - Free shipping | Chewy

The first four ingredients in the Original Grain Free Chicken are animal proteins and an 11 lb bag is $42.90.
INSTINCT Original Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Dry Cat Food, 11-lb bag - Chewy.com

You may be able to find good deals in stores as well. Instinct is available at Petco and PetSmart, Petco is still offering 10% off a $50 pickup order and PetSmart is always sending me coupons.
 

chelsmarie

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My cat was fed Royal Canin at her foster…got her off that quick. Expensive junk with too many carbs IMO. Transitioned her to American Journey Dry Chicken (and wet food), she really enjoyed that. Wanted something with less carbs so tried Dr Elsey’s. Great ingredients, horrible texture (crumbles). She is now very happy with Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken and Egg and I’m happy with the quality and it is decently low carb. It’s very high in calories so bags last a long time.
 
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destinyz12

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My cat was fed Royal Canin at her foster…got her off that quick. Expensive junk with too many carbs IMO. Transitioned her to American Journey Dry Chicken (and wet food), she really enjoyed that. Wanted something with less carbs so tried Dr Elsey’s. Great ingredients, horrible texture (crumbles). She is now very happy with Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken and Egg and I’m happy with the quality and it is decently low carb. It’s very high in calories so bags last a long time.
I probably should have mentioned in the original post that one cat is skinny and the other is overweight, and it's impossible to separate them from eating each other's food, so I was initially trying to find something not too high in calories but I'm wondering if my heavier cat would actually eat less if I gave him the high calorie food. I've noticed the better quality brands are much higher in calories but I don't want to see my bigger one gain more weight. They are both grazers and I work full time so I need to leave the food out during the day
 

Alldara

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I probably should have mentioned in the original post that one cat is skinny and the other is overweight, and it's impossible to separate them from eating each other's food, so I was initially trying to find something not too high in calories but I'm wondering if my heavier cat would actually eat less if I gave him the high calorie food. I've noticed the better quality brands are much higher in calories but I don't want to see my bigger one gain more weight. They are both grazers and I work full time so I need to leave the food out during the day
To balance an over weight cat with a lower weight cat it's best to move them away from grazing. (I know, it feels mean at first)

You don't find to be feeding a higher calorie food to a cat that's already overweight, could cause that to become worse. The best bet would be to get your cats moving to eat. It allows your overweight cat to get more movement in and to slow down so they eat less, which in turn gives your skinny cat the opportunity to get it's share. Also the movement builds muscle on both allowing the weight to even out.

I would recommend a 50/50 diet if you can consider that. Split a can between the two in the AM, leave the dry food out in a movement oriented manner (hiding it, dispenser toys etc) then another can before bed.

If you feel the need to leave stuff out, you won't be able to calorie count exactly, but you can begin with what the wet food calorie count is and then use the dry to top it off.

Wet food helps cats maintain the healthy body weight for their frame and helps prevent long term illnesses. So it's just great if you can add even just one can a day each in.
 

Astragal14

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I'm wondering if my heavier cat would actually eat less if I gave him the high calorie food
I've heard this so many times - that pets will eat less of higher quality, higher calorie food... but I've never seen it happen! My cats just seem to eat the same amount and gain weight!

One of my cats really responds to a little extra fiber, it seems to make her feel more satiated than similar foods with lower fiber. She's currently eating Petco's store brand Whole Hearted Weight Control and really likes it.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...t-control-chicken-and-pea-recipe-dry-cat-food

Our other cat has IBD and can't have the Whole Hearted, it has several ingredients he can't have. I've started giving him some dry food as small snacks in the mornings and evenings and smaller servings of dry at mealtimes, so far it's been working well and he doesn't mind the smaller meals.
 
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destinyz12

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To balance an over weight cat with a lower weight cat it's best to move them away from grazing. (I know, it feels mean at first)

You don't find to be feeding a higher calorie food to a cat that's already overweight, could cause that to become worse. The best bet would be to get your cats moving to eat. It allows your overweight cat to get more movement in and to slow down so they eat less, which in turn gives your skinny cat the opportunity to get it's share. Also the movement builds muscle on both allowing the weight to even out.

I would recommend a 50/50 diet if you can consider that. Split a can between the two in the AM, leave the dry food out in a movement oriented manner (hiding it, dispenser toys etc) then another can before bed.

If you feel the need to leave stuff out, you won't be able to calorie count exactly, but you can begin with what the wet food calorie count is and then use the dry to top it off.

Wet food helps cats maintain the healthy body weight for their frame and helps prevent long term illnesses. So it's just great if you can add even just one can a day each in.
What exactly do you mean by getting them moving to eat? And yes, i feed them a split diet of dry and wet food- dry in the morning before I go to work, which is what I eave out for them to graze on (small portion in each bowl, so in theory they shouldn't overeat, but I'm pretty sure my heavier one eats some of the other since she doesn't eat a lot) and then wet food for dinner. I would love to increase their wet food consumption and eliminate dry but I live with my mom who pays for the food and she wants to do it this way since it's cheaper...and the cats will cry for the dry food as well so I feel bad eliminating it...But also, I plan on moving into my own place soon, so once that happens, my mom would be in charge of doing things her way anyway with the feeding, but i'd love to find a healthier not-so-high-in calorie dry food to get them used to
 

Alldara

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What exactly do you mean by getting them moving to eat? And yes, i feed them a split diet of dry and wet food- dry in the morning before I go to work, which is what I eave out for them to graze on (small portion in each bowl, so in theory they shouldn't overeat, but I'm pretty sure my heavier one eats some of the other since she doesn't eat a lot) and then wet food for dinner. I would love to increase their wet food consumption and eliminate dry but I live with my mom who pays for the food and she wants to do it this way since it's cheaper...and the cats will cry for the dry food as well so I feel bad eliminating it...But also, I plan on moving into my own place soon, so once that happens, my mom would be in charge of doing things her way anyway with the feeding, but i'd love to find a healthier not-so-high-in calorie dry food to get them used to
Movement to eat means that they have to move around to get it, not just stay stationary in one spot :)
It's not cutting out the dry food that is necessarily the problem,it's cutting out contestant grazing. They get their calorie count for the day and then that's it.

So for movement in eating you want things like:
1. Treat balls
2. Puzzles
3. Hiding 3-4 peices of kibble in different spots around their cat trees and other areas.

You can look up DIY cat puzzles or DIY cat toys on YouTube for things like this:
 

botolo

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Purina Pro Plan has changed their formulas to be closer to their recently concluded longitudinal study of their Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus.
Do you have a link to this study? I'd love to read it and learn more about Purina Pro Plan.
 
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