Good quality dry food?

[tabbysia]

I have been feeding my cats Blue Buffalo Basics duck dry food for the past couple of years, and they do okay on it, especially my IBD kitty. I do worry about what I have heard about grain-free foods, particularly those with potatoes and peas, causing heart problems. I wonder if I should be looking at another food. Any recommendations? I was thinking maybe Acana Grasslands, even though it has lentils.
Please, no wet vs dry debate. I do sometimes supplement with wet. I just want your opinions on good quality dry food and on Acana Grasslands or Blue Buffalo Basics. Thanks!

 

[scritch]

Luckily the diet related heart thing hasn't really come up in cats. Personally I feed WSAVA compliant diets (Royal Canin, Hill's, Purina, etc) as this is the highest quality standard for scientifically supported diets (which I know is a controversial opinion, but that is my opinion as someone with an education in animal nutrition).

 

[mizzely]

The dry foods I like the most are:

Instinct
Dr. Elsey's
Wysong Epigen

Currently for the dry portion (1 tbsp a day) my cat gets American Journey (Chewy brand)

Blue Buffalo and Champion (Acana) have been in hot water before with lawsuits, which makes me hesitant to trust them.

 

[Babypaws]

What exactly is chicken or Turkey meal found in some food brands? Also, when I see something like “deboned chicken/Turkey” I’m nervous it still might have small bones….how bad are peas in cat foods?

 

[game misconduct]

copy and pasted from google search what is Chicken Meal? Chicken meal is commonly used in most commercial pet foods. You'll see it on the label of most dry foods. Chicken meal is “a dry rendered product from a combination of chicken flesh and skin with and without accompanying bone,” most often leftovers from the meat used for human consumption.

 

[Krienze]

We just started feeding ours Dr. Elsey's but we also give them Tiki Cat Essentials.

I kind of wanna warn you against Acana. I went with it and Jasper developed UTI's. I don't know if it's related, but when I looked them up I noticed a LOT of reviews saying their cats got sick shortly after consumption and that it started happening after a change was made in the company.

The same for Blue Buffalo though. The amount of horror stories regarding BB, Hills and Acana have officially warned me off the brands.

We DID try Hills once briefly after Jasper's UTI and the cats gained a stupid amount of weight x.x Never again

 

[Kat0121]

The only dry I feed is Dr Elsey's. Mostly chicken but some turkey as well because the chicken is very difficult to get these days.

I agree with Krienze about BB and Hills. The girls were on Hills at the shelter and until I got them off of it, the smell from the litter box could have knocked a vulture unconscious.

 

[mizzely]

Meals are basically what's left of the chicken after it is rendered and water removed. Since ingredients go by weight on the label, a food with Chicken Meal as it's first ingredient vs one with Chicken or Deboned Chicken as the first ingredient may actually have more chicken by weight.

Deboned Chicken just means chicken minus the bones. Remember it all get pulverized to make the kibble.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Orijen.

 

[Luc]

Farmina.

 

[Telstar]

I have read from an Amazon review that DrElsey's has changed the recipe (for worse ofc) this year.

 

[Telstar]

Farmina.

Is it available in the US where the OP lives?

 

[Telstar]

I do worry about what I have heard about grain-free foods, particularly those with potatoes and peas, causing heart problems.

References? I remember only that the potatoes contained in the kibble could be contaminated with molds, but that can happen to any vegetable/grain.
Looking at nutrients profile and glycemic index, peas and sweet potatoes are the best fillers. Yes, no grain is a gimmick, it's the quantity of carbs that matters the most.
A good read: Cats and Protein: Is High-Protein Cat Food Best? | PetMD

 

[Kat0121]

Is it available in the US where the OP lives?

Yes. Amazon sells it.