Healthiest Wet Foods To Buy?

[Claire07x]

Hi,

I've recently heard that whiskas and Felix brand food isn't all that great for cats, due to byproducts and that there's better for them out there.

I'm based in the UK so can't get a lot of American top brands unless on Amazon but I wondered what the best wet food might be? I'd prefer to buy pouches in bulk if possible. My girl isn't interested in raw chicken, surprisingly enough, but eats it if it's from a pouch with all the other fun stuff so a raw meat diet isn't gonna fly.. any suggestions welcome.

For dry food she gets IAMS but suggestions welcome for that too, if there's better out there, though I'm mainly bothered about her wet food!

Thanks a lot xx

 

[LTS3]

There are quite a few threads on UK foods:

My kitten doesn't like "posh" expensive wet cat food!
UK Cat lovers, please advise new mummy
Commercial Wet Kitten Food UK
https://thecatsite.com/threads/best-wet-kitten-food-pouches-trays.362266/

There are posts from Columbine in those threads with her opinion on what the best UK brands are. Generally any thing that has real meat as the first ingredient and few fillers like veggies and fruit and gums are good.

 

[Claire07x]

Thanks!

I've found the hilife ones HiLife Essentials Cat Food Meaty Medley Selection in Jelly and just wondered if these are among the best to buy?

This is difficult since the market in the IKis dominated by whiskas and felix, so I hadn't even realised it was bad or there was better out there til now!

 

[Columbine]

Check out Zooplus. I get almost all my food from them. They have a huge range of foods, mostly very good quality. I feed a mix of Bozita, Smilla, Catessy (the closest to Whiskas/Felix, but without the fillers), Catz Finefood, Animonda Carny, Feringa, GranataPet and Thrive Complete. There are other good options too, but those are the ones my guys like the best. I currently have 2 obsessed with Catessy, 1 who'll eat nothing but Thrive Complete, and 1 who's more accommdating and likes to change it up.

Tesco paté cat food (in the square foil trays) is pretty good in terms of ingredients, and so is their Feline Cuisine pulled pork & chicken. Purely from Pets at Home is good too, as are Nature's Menu pouches, Wainwrights (the trays have the edge over the pouches imo), Aatu and Meowing Heads. My guys aren't so keen on these, and they're pricier than a lot if the others in my rotation (especially when only one cat really likes any of them!).

In terms of dry food, I personally feed Porta21 Finest Cat's Heaven, as I need a lower calorie kibble than the lowest carb ones (my girl is on steroids, but one of my boys goes on hunger strike if the kibble is removed ). Other good dry foods are Purizon, Orijin, Applaws, Aatu (Pets at Home or online), GranataPet, Feringa and Thrive Complete (this last is very expensive though).

I hope that gives you some ideas

 

[Claire07x]

Thanks so much!

After looking into it as best I could (having no real knowledge of what all the ingredients mean..) I went for a new feeding plan:
1 pouch of HiLife It's Only Natural (The Chicken One) in the morning with one pump of Wild Salmon Oil.
1 tray of Lily's Kitchen (Variety Pack of Whisker Lickin' Chicken, Poultry Pie, Hunter's Hotpot and Lovely Lamb Casserole trays).
Dry food inbetween (currently IAMS due to me assuming big brands=good food, though that's due to change eventually too).

Does this sound okay? They seem to have much higher meat content and I'll be honest and say, although it's only been 2.5 days, the difference is ridiculous. She's now super soft, more alert and playtime now lasts up to an hour whereas before it was a strict 5 minute window before nap time haha!

I just wanted to know if this sounds okay and if the oil is okay? It's Pets Purest 100% Natural Premium Food Grade Pure Scottish Salmon Oil, which I thought would be good for her coat and overall health. It recommends a few pumps a day but I stuck to 1 while she was adjusting (since that's now 3 dietary changes so quickly, though she adjusted really well) but I was wondering how often you lovely people thought I should add it? I don't want to go overkill and I'm aware fish isn't great for cats every day, so just wondering if this is bad to use every day too..?

I'm also looking to change the dry food (eventually) to Thrive Premium Plus Cat Food (Chicken) and wonder if this is good or low quality?

Sorry I'm really clueless but I am trying to learn! x

 

[Columbine]

That sounds good to me Thrive is a great brand, but a very expensive one. The other dry foods I listed are a bit more economical, whilst still being high quality

The fish oil sounds fine, but it probably isn't strictly necessary, especially with higher quality foods.

All the wet food brands I listed have a high meat content. The price differences generally mean more specifics about the type of meat. Cheaper brands list 'meat by products' without specifying the animal it comes from. The more expensive brands tell you exactly what type of meat is in the food - essential information if kitty has allergies or sensitivities, but not an issue for most cats

The following articles may help you in your quest to learn more about cat food:-
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
Choosing The Right Food For Your Cat - Part 2
What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food?
How To Choose The Best Dry Cat Food?
By-products In Cat Food: 5 Facts You Need To Know
Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
A Scientific Take On Cat Nutrition By Dr. Rachel Boltz
Cat Food & Feline Nutrition With Pet Nutritionist Dr. Martha Cline

 

[Claire07x]

Thank you so much! I must admit the main driver behind what I had to choose from the lists you gave was whether or not Amazon prime had them. I pay for next day dekdeliv on that anyway so saves me shipping costs on ZooPlus, though the variety on ZooPlus is better! Hopefully Amazon will step up their game too but for now I'll stick with the ones I've bought since they seem to be good!

Thanks so much for your help. As for the oil, will that do any harm to add daily or is it just a bit unnecessary? If it's just the latter I'll maybe stick with it but if it's doing harm long term, it's out.

Thanks so much again, you're an absolute gem and I'll definitely read up on those articles so I can learn more!

 

[Claire07x]

I also tried a feline cuisine tray from Tesco which she devoured so thank you for that suggestion! 90p well spent! Though I might keep that as an occasional treat!

 

[Columbine]

The oil won't do her any harm, it's just not necessary.

As far as foods/deliveries go, Zooplus do free delivery from £29 I find it pretty easy to hit that, but I do have multiple animals. I get my cat litter from them too, and most other stuff (they have some great cat trees ).

I had a quick glance at Amazon cat food. Other good wet brands from Amazon (with either Prime or free delivery) are Applaws paté trays, Nature's Menu, Meowing Heads and Thrive cans (I get the ones without veggies added). Zooplus is significantly cheaper though, with the possible exception of subscribe and save options.

 

[Claire07x]

Ohh I didn't realise that! I'll need to try ZooPlus then and bulk buy when this supply runs out!

Thanks so much!!

Is it normal to see such a difference in energy when changing foods? I'm honestly in shock still!!

 

[Claire07x]

She also eats a bit less of the good food but I'm not sure if that's because she's more "full" or just isn't as keen.

 

[Columbine]

I think the energy increase when on better quality food is pretty normal. It must be nice to see her so happy

Lily's Kitchen is (I think) higher in calories, so I wouldn't be too worried about her eating a little less. My guys aren't too keen on Lily's Kitchen, so it's possible your girl feels the same. So long as she's eating a decent amount, I wouldn't be too worried.

Changing foods is always a bit hit and miss at the start. I currently have a few boxes of food nobody likes very much (I was trying to find another food my Thrive-obsessed boy would eat ). When that happens, I try adding crumbled freeze dried treats on top (usually Thrive or Cosma Snackies, or sometimes the Natures Menu freeze dried ones) to get them to eat it If that fails, I just donate it to a shelter, but it's very rarely that I resort to that.

This article has some great ideas for other food toppings to tempt fussy appetites: Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food (canned, Raw, Or Homemade)

 

[Claire07x]

Thank you so much, I'm definitely going to try the treat crumbs on her HiLife, as that's the one she'll eat kind of begrudgingly at the minute.

Those articles are wonderful, thank you so much!!!

 

[Claire07x]

An update (sorry!!!):

I've just purchased these wet foods based on the higher meat content and no additives. Just want to double check these are okay and I'm not missing any obvious "bad stuff" in them?

• Meowing Heads Drumstix Wet Cat Food
• Thrive Cat Food (complete) Chicken 75g (wet)
• Applaws Cat Food Pot Multipack (Chicken Selection) - Complimentary
• Country Hunter Duck and Pheasant Cat Pouches (I think this is a Nature's Menu brand?)
• Country Hunter Turkey and Rabbit Cat Pouches

I wanted Bozita but the "measurements" kind of confused me and I'm more of a "whatever's healthy and convenient" cat-mum, so ideally pouches/trays work for me. I don't have scales to weigh out the Bozita so that may be a further down the line, "when-I-know-what-I'm-doing" type of purchase.

Also, for the complementary Applaws food, I assume this is okay to feed as a breakfast some days (not every day ofc) as long as there's plenty kibble left out or would I need to combine this with a complete wet food? I actually didn't realise it was complementary until I had ordered it.. oops..

The google search i did on complementary foods confused me more as some said it couldn't be fed alone while others said it was completely fine as not for every meal of every day do cats/humans expect to eat a fully nutritional meal.. Soo any advice on that would be great.

 

[Columbine]

That all looks good to me The Bozita tetra packs are harder to judge in a single cat home. They're roughly equivalent to the big Whiskas etc cans. One box does one cat for two days

Yes, its fine to offer complimentary foods as a treat. I sometimes give them to my guys, especially if someone's being fussy or if I need to hide meds. Complimentary foods are in the same category as treats imo, but are fine when fed alongside complete foods A general rule of thumb is that treats or complimentary foods should make up no more than 10% of the diet.

Applaws are confusing re complete vs complimentary food, Basically the square trays are complete, but all other wet foods from them are complimentary. I hope that helps

 

[Claire07x]

That's super helpful - now I know 1 box lasts 2 days for Bozita, I may just have to try it out!

Thanks so much for all your help - I'm sure Kali will appreciate it too when she gets used to her new diet! <3