Food Brand Recommendations That Won't Promote Crystals and Health Issues Years Later

[StephMo]

I'll be interviewing 7-wk old kittens this week, and hope to bring home a little boy. That being said, I think I made mistakes with my previous kitty in regards to his diet which caused bladder crystals and possibly contributed to degenerative disease that ended his life at 12 years old. With "new future kitty" I want to not make the same mistakes again as far as diet goes...

I'm seeking advice on wet/dry food brand(s) that can be bought in bulk through a site like Chewy that aren't nearly as expensive as prescription Royal Canin which I was feeding my previous kitty... I don't need 'the absolute most high-brow expensive and fanciest food ever' --- more like, 'this is great quality food for lower-middle-class indoor cats (haha) without carbs that likely won't promote degenerative disease and bladder crystals'. I spent a ton of money on my last kitty, and I'm now convinced that the amount of money you spend doesn't equate to a longer life. I don't have the freezer space to consider the frozen raw food diets, and don't have the time to cook cat food regularly, so please send shelf-stable recommendations.

Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - One food I was going to mention is Mouser.
I'm a little out of the loop of current recipes/ingredient make-up of kibble brands I like such as Blue and Halo.

For canned I'm using Fancy Feast, Kasiks, Koha, Merrick and Weruva, thinking of the recommendation in one of the articles below that variety is beneficial

About the crystals, an additional thought is to make sure the babies drink water and continue to do so as they mature. I'm posting these articles for you in case you haven't seen them already, and they might be helpful for other readers who are in the same or similar situation.

Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake - TheCatSite

This can be an important approach as well;
Why Food Variety is Important for Cats: Tips to Spice Up Their Meals - TheCatSite

These articles contain some information you already know, but they have some other perspectives that could be useful;
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat - TheCatSite

What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food? - TheCatSite

Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean? - TheCatSite

 

[Krienze]

I don't suggest buying cans through chewy x.x I just stopped. As much as I love chewy, it was getting to the point where I kept getting cans that were busted OPEN and super smelly. I still buy my dry food through them though.

For dry we feed our cats solid gold and for wet we feed Weruva and sometimes Tikicat

 

[Furballsmom]

it was getting to the point where I kept getting cans that were busted OPEN and super smelly.

I recall there was a thread not too long ago where members commented about similar issues when they combined orders of canned food with litter, where the heavy and bulky items squashed against the cans and caused some to burst. As you may know, if you talk to Chewy they will gladly reimburse you.

 

[StephMo]

Thank you both! I think I’ll stock some Weruva for now (plus a little formula - he’s not fully weaned which means a bit of bottle time might make for a stronger bond) and keep hunting for options for my apocalypse pantry storage. Is Fancy Feast an alright food?? I’ll admit when I hear the name it makes me think the human equivalent is probably Honey Nut Cheerios (not healthy) but I have no idea bc I had to buy RX Royal Canin for 8 years.

I’ve definitely got a different perspective moving forward on boy kittens and water. So many lessons learned. Wet food is a huge deal, and bringing the water fountain out of storage. With my previous kitty I was in my 20s and naive to what little cats needed, and he hated the water fountain. I’m also going to hold off on neutering until 4-5 months to allow the development of all the body systems, instead of neutering at 8-12 weeks.

I’ve always had good luck with Chewy shipments in the past when I ordered several cases and bags of Royal Canin. Dented cans at worst. If a couple cans are exploded it’s just a funny story to tell about exploding cat food cans I guess.

the kitten interview went well and a little solid black fluffy boy “picked me” so I take him into possession on Friday! TBD his name but I’m leaning towards Sparky.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think fancy feast is definitely ok when it's fed in rotation with another/other brands

That darling little boy is very fortunate that he found you

 

[StephMo]

I think fancy feast is definitely ok when it's fed in rotation with another/other brands

That darling little boy is very fortunate that he found you

Thanks for the recommendations, and I’m very happy to bring a kitty into a healthier lifestyle from where he’s at currently. Bought a bunch of Weruva kitten wet food. The lady who has him right now is feeding 9 Lives He’s still nursing on mama too, so at least he’s getting her nutrients (or maybe not.. mama may be eating 9 Lives too). Initially I was going to taper off her food and transition to Weruva slowly, but after hearing 9 Lives I backed away from that idea. I’m tempted to just switch him over to Weruva immediately. surely a sudden dose of “real food” won’t cause worse digestive upset than 9 Lives. It’s 46% carbs!

What age is old enough to offer a bit of daily FortiFlora? I have a bunch of it from previous kitty, and it’s not expired. He’s 7 weeks old right now.

Got his temporary crate all set up too! … gonna use this until I trust his litter box abilities. I bring him home later today