Dry with fish but no grains vs. dry with grains but no fish?

[misterwhiskers]

I'm trying to get my altered male cat to eat grain-free dry. I picked up "I and Love and You"'s Surf n chick. Cod is the first ingredient, chicken meal second. 45% protein.

Now, I've heard fish is not good for altered males (he's a Siamese mix), so if I have to I'll switch to their all-poultry dry, but just looking at the size of the kibble on that flavor, I don't think he'd like it. The surf n chick has smaller kibble.

Can an expert advise just how bad it is to feed dry with fish? His current dry doesn't have fish, but it has corn in 2 if the 3 first ingredients.

Thank you.

 

[missmimz]

is there a reason you're picking that brand specifically? I would not feed a fish based food like the kibble you described. I looked at the ingredients on the chicken version and I'm not really impressed. A lot of veggies and the third ingredient is a filler (garbanzo beans). Remember, cats are obligate carnivores so if you're going to feed kibble you want high protein from meat, not beans or whatever else.

I like the foods on this list of kibbles. Personally, i feed Orijen, although it's a snack for my cats and not their primary meals. Are you feeding wet food too? 

 

[paiger8]

I personally wouldn't feed anything with fish as the first ingredient on a daily basis. I've had a cat with urinary issues, and it was awful.

There are some good brands of dry food out there, you just have to look for a bit. I am on my phone or I'd post some links, but check out Chewy.com. You can filter your search by grain-free, and look at the ingredients on all the food. I know off the top of my head Wellness, Merrick, and Nature's Variety all make grain-free, fish free dry foods. There are others also, just do some searching.

I would try to get at least a little wet in his diet for added moisture. Males are notorious for having urinary issues, and wet food helps with that.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Hi again, well no worries bc he *again* refused the stuff. The reason I chose it was its higher protein levels. Robin seems to get a burst of energy when he gets pure proteins like chicken.

Sadly I was rushed for time and did not fully read the label before making the purchase, it's loaded with fillers and I don't buy that "45% protein" stuff....cats can't absorb plant proteins like people can.

I looked up the link to the dry foods, but the prices are off-setting. Why isn't there a dry with mostly meat and only enough filler to bulk it a little? :/

 

[missmimz]

Hi again, well no worries bc he *again* refused the stuff. The reason I chose it was its higher protein levels. Robin seems to get a burst of energy when he gets pure proteins like chicken.

Sadly I was rushed for time and did not fully read the label before making the purchase, it's loaded with fillers and I don't buy that "45% protein" stuff....cats can't absorb plant proteins like people can.

I looked up the link to the dry foods, but the prices are off-setting. Why isn't there a dry with mostly meat and only enough filler to bulk it a little? :/

Meat is expensive, or at least good quality meat, so fillers are added to keep the costs lower. Something like Orijen or Ziwipeak air dried basically have the least amount of fillers, but again, they're pricy. Good quality dry food isn't cheap, but the goal is that by spending more money on food your cats are healthier long-term because they're eating species appropriate food. In addition, they should eat less of the food because it has higher protein and less fillers. You can get sample of bags of Orijen at most independent pet stores, so you could try it with your cat before you commit. 

 

[misterwhiskers]

Thank you. I think I'm going to try that. I might also switch out the flavor of the bag I bought, if not, I'll give it to the local SPCA.

 

[ftmba]

 
Meat is expensive, or at least good quality meat, so fillers are added to keep the costs lower. Something like Orijen or Ziwipeak air dried basically have the least amount of fillers, but again, they're pricy. Good quality dry food isn't cheap, but the goal is that by spending more money on food your cats are healthier long-term because they're eating species appropriate food. In addition, they should eat less of the food because it has higher protein and less fillers. You can get sample of bags of Orijen at most independent pet stores, so you could try it with your cat before you commit. 

/Agree

I came across the I and love you brand at Whole Foods, but I don't think it's the greatest value when you delve into the ingredients. For a little more $, Orijen is a better choice, and for about the same $, Nature's Variety Instinct is a great choice as well.