Dry food upgrade...

Bri5

Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly.
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
373
Purraise
1,223
Location
US
We have 5 TNR'd rescues ranging from 1 year to probably 4ish years. Cat food has been in low supply here since November and is shockingly absent now. Last night, the nearest grocer had 5 cans on the shelf and many signs stating there were shortages and limits from here on out.

We have about a month's worth of cans, and another 40 cans coming tomorrow. We have literally been buying whatever we can find locally and the odd box online as they are available somewhere close to our original budget. They eat wet in the mornings only.

At this point, I am looking at contingency plans. If I have to reduce the wet food because of supply and/or price, I am considering upgrading their dry food. Right now we get big bags of Friskies or Meow Mix, which score 2/10 in the database. A step up in quality (3-5 range vs 2) and price would include Rachel Ray, Evolve, and Purina ONE.

I know that wet is better but getting wet is currently the problem. We do attempt to give them bits of cooked chicken (4/5 turn up their noses) and homemade broth (3/5 approve), and they get moist treats on occasion. Most are okay drinkers, 1 hunts and we never worry about him lacking. None of them have been picky about dry types so far.

All that to say, which of those brands would you switch to if you were me?
 

abyeb

Charlie's Purrson
Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
7,565
Purraise
9,600
I checked the ingredients of the three foods and I don’t think that there is much of a difference between them. At least, as far as I can tell, they look very equivalent in quality. So I, personally, would just go with the cheapest option, but someone else might have some deeper insights than I do.

I’ll go ahead and attach this article; it may have some info you find helpful:

How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat – TheCatSite Articles
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Bri5

Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly.
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
373
Purraise
1,223
Location
US

Maurey

Maine Coon Madness
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
1,592
Purraise
1,822
Here a breakdown one of the foods from each brand:

Rachael Ray Chicken & Brown Rice:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Rice, Brown Rice, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Brewers Dried Yeast, Natural Flavor, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Iron Oxide (color), Dried Ground Peas, Dried Carrots, Olive Oil, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Salt, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate, Potassium Iodide.

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal (low quality, low taste source of protein, but always better than vegetables), corn gluten meal, ground rice, brown rice, dried plain beet pulp, dried ground peas, dried carrots, olive oil (instead of a second animal source of fats)
Dry matter breakdown: Protein: 37.36%, Fat: 15.38%, Fiber: 4.40%, Carbs: 42.86%
Caloric Breakdown:
Protein: 31.78%, Fat: 31.78%, Carbs: 36.45%
Comments:
Personally, would avoid this brand like the plague, in general, wet food included — they have no idea about feline nutrition, and like to appeal to the consumer by stuffing their foods full of rice and vegetables. They’re healthy for humans and dogs, surely it means the same for cats! Imo, this brand is really overpriced for the quality.
I particularly dislike that the majority of the calories in this food come from carbs, when cats can’t metabolise them effectively. Also hard to determine how much of the already-low protein levels come from the plant sources this food is chock-full of, which is never great.

Evolve Grain Free Chicken, Pea & Veggie:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Chickpeas, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Turkey Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Flaxseed, Pea Starch, Natural Flavors, Salmon Meal, Pea Protein, Taurine, DL Methionine, Tomate Pomace, Carrots, Celery, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Beets, Cranberries, Apricots, Dried Egg Product, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Monoitrate, Pyriodoxine Hyrdochloride (Source of Vitamin B6) Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement)

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal, peas, chickpeas, Turkey meal, Dehydrated Alfaalfa Meal, Pea Starch, Salmon Meal, miscellaneous veggies — they’re minor ingredients, but as cats wouldn’t naturally eat them, a vitamin supplement (or extra protein) would be better in this recipe

Dry Matter Basis: Protein: 41%, Fat: 17%, Fiber: 5%, Carbs: 37%
Caloric Breakdown: Protein: 34.3%, Fat: 34.7%, Carbs: 31%
Comments: Better than the Rachael Ray, imo, higher in protein, lower in carbs, though the latter is still a bit high as dry foods go. They do get a lot of the protein in there with animal meals, which is the cheapest source of animal protein, but it’s still way better than plant protein. They also use chicken fat without any plant oil, which is nice.


Purina ONE True Instinct Grain Free:
Chicken, chicken meal, pea starch, cassava root flour, soy protein isolate, soybean meal, beef fat naturally preserved with Vitamin E, dried egg product, pea protein, canola meal, dried yeast, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, sodium bisulfate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, natural liver flavor, soy protein concentrate, glycerin, Amino Acids (L-Lysine monohydrochloride, L-Cysteine, DL-Methionine, choline, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-3, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-5, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-6, folic acid, Vitamin D-3, Vitamin B-7, Vitamin K, taurine

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal, pea starch, cassava root flour, soy protein isolate, soybean meal, pea protein, canola meal, soy protein concentrate

Dry Matter Basis: Protein: 40%, Fat: 2%, Fiber: 2%, Carbs: 54%
Caloric Breakdown
: Protein: 40.6%, Fat: 4.2%, Carbs: 55.2%
Comments:
This food just makes me sad. The protein looks great on paper, but the majority of it comes from beans, the fat, while of animal origin, is only 2% (should be closer to 15-20%). Let’s not start on the carbs making up more than half of the food. Additionally, it has a significantly lower caloric load than the other foods, on top of it being less digestible, so you’d have to feed more of it, and can expect particularly bulky, smelly deposits in the kitty toilet. This is the best food of this lineup that I found, at that :< horribly overpriced for the quality — I wouldn’t be surprised if the current dry you feed is better than this, so avoid with prejudice, imo.
 

Maurey

Maine Coon Madness
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
1,592
Purraise
1,822
To keep this seperate from the wall of text, and more readable — I’d suggest you look at some foods in a slightly higher price category, and pay attention to the caloric load/recommended feeding guidelines. A higher quality, higher price food can sometimes work out at a very similar price range because you have to feed less of it :> as-is, I’d definitely go for the grain-free Evolve out of these three :>

Edit:
Just realised RR had a grain free recipe without a huge amount of fish, so here’s a breakdown of it, as well, just to be fair.

Indoor Formula Rustic Woodlands Recipe with Chicken, Turkey, & Duck
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Lentils, Pea Protein, Turkey Meal, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pumpkin, Turkey, Duck, Dried Peas, Dried Sweet Potato, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Menhaden Fish Meal, Tapioca, Whole Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Salt, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Dried Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement


Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal, lentils, pea protein, turkey meal, pumpkin, dried peas, dried sweet potato, dried plain beet pulp, tapioca, whole flaxseed

Dry Matter Basis: Protein: 43.96%, Fat: 15.38%, Fiber: ?%, Carbs: 32.46%
Caloric Breakdown: can’t find this info, sadly
Comments: Similar quality to the evolve grain free, but this one may have more of its protein from all of the legumes in it — hard to say. Go for whichever is cheapest, and in stock, between the two.
 
Last edited:

Babypaws

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 31, 2018
Messages
701
Purraise
771
Location
Massachusetts
Here a breakdown one of the foods from each brand:

Rachael Ray Chicken & Brown Rice:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Rice, Brown Rice, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Brewers Dried Yeast, Natural Flavor, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Iron Oxide (color), Dried Ground Peas, Dried Carrots, Olive Oil, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Salt, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate, Potassium Iodide.

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal (low quality, low taste source of protein, but always better than vegetables), corn gluten meal, ground rice, brown rice, dried plain beet pulp, dried ground peas, dried carrots, olive oil (instead of a second animal source of fats)
Dry matter breakdown: Protein: 37.36%, Fat: 15.38%, Fiber: 4.40%, Carbs: 42.86%
Caloric Breakdown:
Protein: 31.78%, Fat: 31.78%, Carbs: 36.45%
Comments:
Personally, would avoid this brand like the plague, in general, wet food included — they have no idea about feline nutrition, and like to appeal to the consumer by stuffing their foods full of rice and vegetables. They’re healthy for humans and dogs, surely it means the same for cats! Imo, this brand is really overpriced for the quality.
I particularly dislike that the majority of the calories in this food come from carbs, when cats can’t metabolise them effectively. Also hard to determine how much of the already-low protein levels come from the plant sources this food is chock-full of, which is never great.

Evolve Grain Free Chicken, Pea & Veggie:
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Chickpeas, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Turkey Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Flaxseed, Pea Starch, Natural Flavors, Salmon Meal, Pea Protein, Taurine, DL Methionine, Tomate Pomace, Carrots, Celery, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Beets, Cranberries, Apricots, Dried Egg Product, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Monoitrate, Pyriodoxine Hyrdochloride (Source of Vitamin B6) Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement)

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal, peas, chickpeas, Turkey meal, Dehydrated Alfaalfa Meal, Pea Starch, Salmon Meal, miscellaneous veggies — they’re minor ingredients, but as cats wouldn’t naturally eat them, a vitamin supplement (or extra protein) would be better in this recipe

Dry Matter Basis: Protein: 41%, Fat: 17%, Fiber: 5%, Carbs: 37%
Caloric Breakdown: Protein: 34.3%, Fat: 34.7%, Carbs: 31%
Comments: Better than the Rachael Ray, imo, higher in protein, lower in carbs, though the latter is still a bit high as dry foods go. They do get a lot of the protein in there with animal meals, which is the cheapest source of animal protein, but it’s still way better than plant protein. They also use chicken fat without any plant oil, which is nice.


Purina ONE True Instinct Grain Free:
Chicken, chicken meal, pea starch, cassava root flour, soy protein isolate, soybean meal, beef fat naturally preserved with Vitamin E, dried egg product, pea protein, canola meal, dried yeast, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, sodium bisulfate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, natural liver flavor, soy protein concentrate, glycerin, Amino Acids (L-Lysine monohydrochloride, L-Cysteine, DL-Methionine, choline, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-3, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-5, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-6, folic acid, Vitamin D-3, Vitamin B-7, Vitamin K, taurine

Things that aren’t great in the recipe: chicken meal, pea starch, cassava root flour, soy protein isolate, soybean meal, pea protein, canola meal, soy protein concentrate

Dry Matter Basis: Protein: 40%, Fat: 2%, Fiber: 2%, Carbs: 54%
Caloric Breakdown
: Protein: 40.6%, Fat: 4.2%, Carbs: 55.2%
Comments:
This food just makes me sad. The protein looks great on paper, but the majority of it comes from beans, the fat, while of animal origin, is only 2% (should be closer to 15-20%). Let’s not start on the carbs making up more than half of the food. Additionally, it has a significantly lower caloric load than the other foods, on top of it being less digestible, so you’d have to feed more of it, and can expect particularly bulky, smelly deposits in the kitty toilet. This is the best food of this lineup that I found, at that :< horribly overpriced for the quality — I wouldn’t be surprised if the current dry you feed is better than this, so avoid with prejudice, imo.
Great job at listing the info….I’ve looked at Rachael Ray’s brand and would definitely not buy it…I’ve looked at different brands of both dry and wet foods and find they’re all not great…a lot have fish in most and the cheap fillers (veggies) and wheat, soy, corn…it’s very discouraging trying to find something halfway decent that doesn’t cost an arm and leg. I have 12 indoor cats and it’s very costly
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Bri5

Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly.
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
373
Purraise
1,223
Location
US
Thank you for being so thorough and insightful Maurey Maurey . The dry foods they currently get start with corn product so these would all be a slight step up. They have had RR and Evolve before when I've found some super deal. I also thought the ONE seemed more steep when quality was compared so I am glad I wasn't missing something there. Would it be an issue to give them the RR indoor if they are all outdoor (rescues/strays)? Of all these, RR is one I know I can get at literally any store at any time. Evolve only exists in one supermarket here, and we don't do a ton of shopping online.
 

Maurey

Maine Coon Madness
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
1,592
Purraise
1,822
Would it be an issue to give them the RR indoor if they are all outdoor (rescues/strays)? Of all these, RR is one I know I can get at literally any store at any time. Evolve only exists in one supermarket here, and we don't do a ton of shopping online.
The biggest thing with indoor food is that it’s generally lower calorie, so you may end up feeding a lot more of it — something worth checking, though, it may not be.
FWIW consider shopping around online, if you’re at all able — you can get some really big discounts on good-quality pet food, and even the base prices for food will commonly be cheaper online than in chain pet stores. Where I live, I can get almost everything 20% to sometimes 50% cheaper online as compared to my local branch of a big chain pet store.
 

mizzely

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
1,132
Purraise
1,308
Location
Michigan
I'm of the opinion that if money is tight and your hands are tied with availability, some food is better than no food. Especially if you're looking at a temporary situation. I'd go with something with a meat or meat meal as the first ingredient vs corn though if at all possible.
 
Top