Food, Food and More Food

[vjoy]

Okay,

I have read the posts here about food. I gather that Eukanuba is the best food for cats

Well, today I went to the newly opened up International Kennel Club in my area, to see the little kitties and puppies. I stopped in to see what supplies they had, and noticed they only had NutroMax and Wellness for food.

I asked if they would be getting in Eukanuba. They told me no, Nutro and Wellness were the BEST food for cats there was. I told the woman that I was feeding my cat IAMS and Nutro(alternating)...She said then my cat has a good stomach for switching back and forth between brands.

Now, why would they say that Nutro and Wellness are the best? Are they getting a kickback? :LOL:

Now, I don't know what to feed her. Does anyone have any opinion on either Nutro or Wellness?

I appreciate any advice.....

 

[sandie]

LOL, isnt that great. Actually it just depends, we all prefer different foods. They may just be more educated on these 2 brands. I tried feeding mine Nutro and it tore them up. I am not sure about the wellness, from the ingredients I have read, I wouldnt give it to my cats. It has no oils(which helps the skin) and it also contains a lot of friuts, grains and veggies. Last I checked, the are meat eaters by nature. I have read that it can give a cat indegestion when eating fruits and meats together.

 

[vjoy]

Sandie,

What do you mean, the Nutro "tore up your cats"?

 

[sandie]

They started to vomit all the time and thier poop stunk to high heaven. It just didnt agree with them.

 

[vjoy]

The following is a list of ingredients in Nutro canned (wet) food, Are any of these ingredints OILS ??
~~~~~~~
Nutro Gourmet Classics Beef & Egg Skillet
Our gourmet line is the best in taste and nutrition. Made with the finest ingredients.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ingredients:
Beef Broth, Beef, Chicken, Beef Liver, Turkey, Chicken Liver, Potato Flour, Dried Egg Product, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Guar Gum, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavors, Sodium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Taurine, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Folic Acid, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin.


Guaranteed Analysis:
Moisture (maximum) 78%
Crude Protein (minimum) 10%
Crude Fat (minimum) 5%
Crude Fiber (maximum) 1%


Thanks everyone

 

[sandie]

Nope, but if the food agrees with the cat and you want to add some "oils" to the diet, you can give them a fish oil with thier food.

 

[hissy]

With the dry food I feed, Kirklands, I add a tablespoon of codliver oil to each tray. It helps keep down hairballs, allows the coats to grow shiny and stay healthy. I have tried all the food on the market and the only one I am really satisfied with is Kirkland or NutriNuggets. But Kirkland is my first choice. I don't switch cat foods with them either, unless they come here abused, or they are sick, or the vet tells me to. Once they get better, they go on Kirkland as well.

 

[vjoy]

Thank you Hissy and Sandie.

I am sooooo confused, :LOL:

A friend of mine who has grown up with cats all her life, and uses IAMS, says that any form of meat, especially liver, are a source of oils. But she suggested the codliver oil in the winter if Danielle seems to be scratching a lot.

Sigh............

I just sent e-mails to Nutro and IAMS to ask them to point out the oil content on their labels to me. They claim, "complete nutritional needs"..... well, I want proof!

Sorry I am obsessing, I just want the best for my little baby. I am still learning.
Thank you all

 

[vjoy]

Okay...question.

I just bought the new dry cat food, "Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care". It only comes in one flavor. (chicken) It is supposed to be the most complete, balanced dry food for cats...
(I dunno

)

Now, where I got it, at the International Kennel Club here in my area, I said to the woman, ... "will they come out with other flavors because my cat will get sick of the same dry food all the time?"

The woman told me that, no, they would not come out with another flavor. What you are supposed to do with the cats, is leave this out all the time, and in the morning and at night give them the variety of canned food. She said, If you switch the DRY food flavors, they get really spoiled, and eventually won't eat what you give them until you feed them their favorites. She said the the cat will pick and eat the DRY food, even if it is the same flavor, and get used to it. The wet canned food will be what makes the variety.

Does this make any sense to any of you?

Thanks.

 

[sandie]

Contrary to popular belief, cats do not normally get "bored" with the same food. It usually does more harm than good to give them a variety. It will upset thier stomachs and cause problems. Thats why when you switch foods, you are supposed to gradually mix the old and new until you have all the new food in there. Some cats tolerate change better, but I would find a brand that agrees with her and stick with it. I also don't feed the wet food because it rotts thier teeth, makes thier poop stink and it's got more fat in it.

 

[my3boys]

I feed Wellness to my 3 boys & I feel it is THE best food available, not counting home prepared meals. The first 3 ingredients are Human grade chicken, Human grade Chicken meal & human grade chicken liver. It does have canola oil. No corn, no rice, no artificial Preservatives, flavors or colors. Its also high in linoleic acid for healthy skin & coat. Its packed full of good things for a cat. The cranberries & blueberries are urinary tract acidiers & its low in magnesium. My cats do very good on it, I also feed Felidae, which I think is another excellent food. I put down bowls of the two feeds & they decide which one they want at any meal & they usually pick the Wellness.

 

[vjoy]

Thank you Sandie and My3boys...

 

[vjoy]

Thank you Hissy,

I have never heard of Kirklands. Is this a dry food or wet?

You can add cod liver oil to dry food and they will eat it? Or only wet food.. My kitty is picky. I can't find a treat that she likes.. :LOL: She won't even try any of the variety of ones I have offered. It is sniff sniff, "ooh what is this?" Then she totally ignores it.

If cod liver oil is put in dry food, how long can that stand out before the oil turns rancid? (I leave the dry out all the time)

Any advice is appreciated. I am still a new Mommy. I look up LOTS of stuff on the internet, but I value all your opinions!

Thank you everyone. I want the best for my little Danielle, a.k.a., Princess, Precious, Da Baby, Good Girl, Sweetheart.
Gee, Ya think she knows what her name is? :LOL:

 

[my3boys]

Hi Val, something to remember that although someone elses cat does well on a particular brand of food, does not mean that your cat is going to do as well on the same food.

Any food that mentions byproducts is questionable, ground yellow corn? I am not a fan of corn as a filler, cats don't normally eat ground yellow corn. Brown rice would be better.

The food should preferable be naturally preserved, as the other preservatives are possible cancer causing chemicals.

I sometimes just spoon feed my cats cod liver oil if you feel they need it, they normally just lap it up.

I do not ever feed moist cat food, unless I have medication they need to have, it is not particuarly good for them & does not help keep teeth clean as dry food does & it also has a quite high moisture content.

I'm sure we have all seen cats fed garbage food live to be 20 years old & cats fed on premium foods die much younger.

But I still want to do what I feel is best for my animals.

We all will have different opinions on what is best for our animals, you just need to feel comfortable with your choice, add lots of love & pray for the best.

 

[east2west4u]

Hi There,

I am not sure where you are getting your information. Everyone has a different liking to different food. I know that when we first started feeding our kittens we knew NOTHING about cat food until our oldest one was constantly sick. We were visiting the vets office at least once a week. During this time I decided to do extensive research on the "right" food for our cats without going to BARF. In our search we found that there are many leading quality foods out there. Innova is a great food but way to rich for our cats. Felidae is another good food. We went to Wellness with is made of ALL HUMAN GRADE ingredients. Ever since we have put our cats on the SuperMax formula their health has improved. They have become more active and alert. Wellness is rated the number 1 food out on the market for animals in the natural sector.

You have to find what is right for your animal. What may work for us may not work for you but don't be afraid to seek all the information you can on food. There are many sites out there that are full of knowledge.

Good luck in your search and hope you find the right food for you babies.

 

[vjoy]

East2West4u,

I have and continue to research, I just find a different analysis everywhere I look. Actually, when I got the notification of your post, I was researching.

Thank you for your input, and I appreciate any and all advice.

Right now I am using Nutro. I take her to the Vet on Wednesday. If there are no major health problems that mean she needs to go on a special diet, I may consider changing to Wellness.

 

[melissa]

Not to ruffle any feathers or anything, the last thing I want to do is offend any of you, but I have a comment. Why the need to feed 'human grade ingredients'?? Cats by nature eat the most disgusting parts of their natural prey such as the head and the guts of mice and other small creatures. Their bodies are made to deal with that aren't they? I'm not saying we should feed our cats junk...I am careful about what my cats eat. I just don't understand the big push for human grade meats. I think staying away from the foods with large amounts of fillers like Corn would be a bigger priority, would it not?Just my two cents

 

[my3boys]

Hi Melissa, don't worry about ruffling feathers, you have a good point. Your right about cats eating the most disgusting things, & mostly there bodys do handle them, but that doesn't mean its the best thing for them.

And occasionally they can die from eating diseased things.

The factor I am trying to represent is the difference between high quality & low quality cat foods.

Two good books to read are "Food pets Die For" by Ann N. Martin & "The Nature of Animal Healing" by Martin Goldstein. There are several others on the subject & will change forever the way you think of dog & cat food.

Some lower quality animal foods contain, diseased & sick animals, road kill. Even euthanized pets (with flea collars) left on, that the poisonous chemicals are not destroyed in the rendering process.

Some foods are preserved with chemicals that can cause cancer in our animals.

I want to try & keep my cats as healthy as possible & not add to their chances of giving them ill health, or an early death.

My cats have been exceptionally healthy since switching to the premium foods.

 

[melissa]

My cats are currently eating Purina Cat chow...is this considered low end? I've tried all different kinds of foods, including the top of the line stuff from my Vet's office (which they hated). I shopped around today looking at different cat foods, and came to the conclusion that Cat Chow seemed like a pretty good choice. A bag of Iams that was half the size of the cat chow was double the price, and I didn't see any huge differences in ingredients.

 

[my3boys]

Any food containing by-products is questionable? The rendering companies are the ones who sell the proteins (meats) to the pet food companies, so pet food companies don't always know what they are getting. Many companies are not well regulated.