I Am Going Crazy

[sunflower7]

Literally

It was easier to feed my cats( Purina) before I started this crazy 50 hour research and reading every site out there
HELP

LOL

I'm still up in the air about what foods to buy!
Have to factor in PRICE!!! Can't do $2.50-$3 cans
Not doing raw
looking for 3 can brands, possibly 4

EVERY brand I look at has SOMETHING, or 2 THINGS that make me mad. ingredient wise.
Or the whole THAILAND thing...is it good, os it bad? WTH knows? since 50% of what I read since great, 50% says stay away . HA!

I'm still considering these...I think feeding them all weekly is probably good since if one brand has something "bad" in it, they are rotating to another brand that may not have it right?

ANYONE ELSE have thoughts on these?

RAWZ ( just read about it and considering trying)
WERUVA ( I'm still iffy, never tried, but wouldn't buy the seafoods)
FUSSIE CAT ...? ( not the seafoods)
NULO they like but has fish in even turkey recipes
HEALTH EXTENSION (they like these for the most part)
EARTHBORN ( I want to love it, not sure, cats are "OK" with it)
HOLISTIC SELECT ( owned by wellness right, which is now owned by purina?)
NUTRO ( not sure if this is basically a cheap brand?)
FROMM ( they like but I think carbs and fat are way high?)
HALO ( this one seems great but I read bad reviews, plus it has soy?)
REDBARN . hhmmm? never tried, not sure?
NATURAL BALANCE ( many have carageenan and they are owned by nestle now right? so prob getting shittier and shittier?)
TENDER AND TRUE? ( not sure? and high carb cans)
BRAVO? ( not avail locally to me so I haven't tried)


I am driving my family crazy too!
Just want to settle on a few good ones to rotate for my babies. They are 12, 8 and 4 by the way. 2 are males. 1 male (8) is overweight though he doesn't eat any more than the others.He is lazy though...

 

[duckpond]

I dont have a problem with Thailand for food. They work under the European foods regulations that are even more strict than US regulations. I feed several foods made in Thailand.

my cats like Rawz, the turkey only
i feed several of the weruva brands
I feed several of the fussie cat super premium foods only.
Nulo i feed the minced flavors only
Earthborn montery medley or catalina catch when we eat fish
Nutro minced chicken and sliced turkey are good
fromm my guys wont eat
halo my guys wont eat
redbarn, there is something i dont like, i just dont remember what, same with natural balance, tender and true and bravo, and health extensions.

I do feed quite a bit of Tiki cat, especially the after dark.
i like the new chewy food, american journey the minced ones, and its afordable

 

[sabrinah]

You're not going crazy! I did the same exact thing, except I max out at $1.30/ 5.5 oz can. My budget and what I want to feed don't line up, so I'm trying to switch to raw. It's not working well.

Since I have a lower budget I have to have lower standards than I would like. I'm not an expert on food like some other members, but as far as I'm concerned almost all of those are decent brands that I would feed if I could afford to.
I don't feed Nutro anymore because it started making my cat sick.
She would rather die than eat Natural Balance.
Nulo is affordable as an Amazon lightning deal, and my cat does very well on it.
Avoderm is not on your list but they do have a chicken variety that my cat loves. Again, cheap with lightning deals.

It doesn't seem like any company made the perfect canned food just yet. I don't think you can rotate too many brands, so I personally just get whatever is on sale and try my best to vary the concerning ingredients. That way you have a ton of options if one brand goes to shit or gets purchases by a company that won't do it justice.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...

ANYONE ELSE have thoughts on these?
...
NULO they like but has fish in even turkey recipes
...

Hello!

I thought I'd let you know that the "Freestyle" cans (and probably "Medal Series" too, since they seem to be the same thing) of the Nulo Minced Turkey and Duck in Gravy does not have fish in its ingredients.

 

[sunflower7]

You're not going crazy! I did the same exact thing, except I max out at $1.30/ 5.5 oz can. My budget and what I want to feed don't line up, so I'm trying to switch to raw. It's not working well.

Since I have a lower budget I have to have lower standards than I would like. I'm not an expert on food like some other members, but as far as I'm concerned almost all of those are decent brands that I would feed if I could afford to.
I don't feed Nutro anymore because it started making my cat sick.
She would rather die than eat Natural Balance.
Nulo is affordable as an Amazon lightning deal, and my cat does very well on it.
Avoderm is not on your list but they do have a chicken variety that my cat loves. Again, cheap with lightning deals.

It doesn't seem like any company made the perfect canned food just yet. I don't think you can rotate too many brands, so I personally just get whatever is on sale and try my best to vary the concerning ingredients. That way you have a ton of options if one brand goes to shit or gets purchases by a company that won't do it justice.

Thanks
I only added NUTRO in because someone on here yesterday said they fed it and it reminded me of the brand. How did it make your cat sick? maybe a sensitivity? My small pet stores don't carry it but Petco does. I just went on the Nutro site and they said this, which I like, so I may explore it a little more down the road , at least as one of my 3 or 4 foods for them.

From NUTRO SITE:
A pet's food energizes them from the inside out, and NUTRO™ clean recipes are simple, purposeful, and trustworthy - made of real, recognizable, non-GMO ingredients†. Each of our Dry Dog Food recipes is clean, and the same is true for our NUTRO™ Dry Cat recipes. But we have more work to do on all of our wet, treats and MAX™ Cat products, and we won’t rest until choosing any of our products means choosing clean for your pet. NUTRO. FEED CLEAN™.

Thanks for your input!

 

[sunflower7]

Hello!

I thought I'd let you know that the "Freestyle" cans (and probably "Medal Series" too, since they seem to be the same thing) of the Nulo Minced Turkey and Duck in Gravy does not have fish in its ingredients.

Thanks! My local store doesn't have them, only the 5.5 ounce cans...they are the small ones right?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Thanks! My local store doesn't have them, only the 5.5 ounce cans...they are the small ones right?

Yes, the small cans... you can get them on chewy . com, if you want to set up an account there. They deliver.
Nulo Freestyle Minced Turkey & Duck in Gravy Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food, 3-oz, case of 24

 

[Neo_23]

I know that "crazy" feeling. I still get that from time to time. We can thank the pet food industry for that.

At some point though you have to step back, take a deep breath, and realize that things you read on the internet need to be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, there are some foods that are better than others, and yes, if you read too much into everything you are bound to find problems with it all, but at the end of the day I don't think it's as horrible as we make it out to be in our minds. Just be cautious (as you already are being) and do your best.

 

[Neo_23]

By the way -- I don't feed any food owned by Mars, including Nutro. I have a very deep distrust and dislike of this company. All it takes is a little search into its history and how its products have misled consumers and killed animals. I will never support them.

 

[Furballsmom]

...I'm thinking that you all really really really don't know how good you have it in regards to being able to just walk out the door/hop on whichever website, order up food and said feline eats it
My cat
me

 

[2rescuekitties]

I recently switched my cats to the "Instinct" food....I tried raw and one of my cats wont touch it (she's a picky little princess) but this so far seems to be an awesome balance for them...They have dry kibble with some freeze dried pieces in it or just regular kibble, and they also have canned food as well. My cats love the canned for and there's no carrageenan in it and no wheat soy potatoes or anything like that..It is 95% real ground meat, organs and bone, and then 5% vegetables... They have a bunch of different flavors like duck. rabbit, chicken, salmon etc...and they also have a "limited ingredient" option too... They have a website that you can read about them and also take a look at the ingredients....I pay about $1.80 for the cans and $12 for a 2lbs bag of kibble with the freeze dried raw bits in it....And my male cat loves the freeze dried bits so much he picks those out first

 

[2rescuekitties]

...I'm thinking that you all really really really don't know how good you have it in regards to being able to just walk out the door/hop on whichever website, order up food and said feline eats it
My cat
me

HEHE TOO FUNNY my female cat is like that

 

[Furballsmom]

--the instinct sounds really good - thanks for posting about it! heh, wish me luck

 

[duckpond]

My cats are on and off again with Nutro minced chicken and sliced turkey. i keep it in the rotation because i think its a good food, and sometimes they really like it. I have not had a problem with it making anyone sick, they are just picky sometimes, but that is with every food i feed

I have the nulo minced turkey and duck, my cats are again off and on with it as well. have not had a problem with the food.

Best luck i have had with a minced food lately is the American journey, they have a variety pack of poultry that does have some seafood down the ingredient list, my fish loving kitten started with those. But now he will eat the poultry pack without the fish even better.

 

[Furballsmom]

S sunflower7 hmmm, I was all gung-ho to try Tender and True, didn't look at the carbs tho. I might try out a couple cans - by the way, thanks to duckpond there are a couple of websites where you can order small quantities; Only Natural Pet, and The Big Bad Woof.

Earthborn and Redbarn didn't make it past the tastebuds of my Big Guy's exacting feline palate, oh well.

It seems to me, after reviewing your list again, that you have what you're looking for. Eliminate the ones you aren't thrilled with, keep several of the rest on the menu --especially the ones they like, and put the other brands on a list on your cupboard door for trying out down the road.
Don't forget to keep looking at websites/store shelves as there are foods showing up all the time like Tender and True.

 

[2rescuekitties]

--the instinct sounds really good - thanks for posting about it! heh, wish me luck

What I did was I bought one of each flavor..and then made mental notes on what they liked and didn't...Although Stella picks at all of them...and Toby doesn't care as long as it's food HAHA

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

What I did was I bought one of each flavor..and then made mental notes on what they liked and didn't...Although Stella picks at all of them...and Toby doesn't care as long as it's food HAHA

Mental notes?!
I need a spreadsheet...

 

[Furballsmom]

I need a spreadsheet

LOL yeah, me too

 

[sabrinah]

How did it make your cat sick? maybe a sensitivity?

She ate it fine for a year or two, but after the last stock up it made her vomit, have diarrhea, and get very lethargic. It happened with a few different cans, not just one flavor. I don't know what they changed but whatever it was didn't sit with her well. She did pretty well on it before so it really sucked!

 

[LTS3]

Rawz is expensive so it won't fit into your budget limit except as an occasional splurge. A can is $2.99 where I am.

Soulistic is an alternative to Weruva. It's made by the exact same company and the varieties are nearly identical to Weruva and are just named differently. Petco sells Soulistic and you can often stock up during those huge food sales.

Any decent quality food your cats will eat and you can afford is perfectly fine See these threads for affordable brands:

Healthy but affordable canned food
Affordable canned food?
Cheapest/Most affordable Grain free or healthiest canned food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/330459/...conomical-way-to-buy-friskies-canned-cat-food
New Affordable PetSmart Brand! =D
4health now has affordable grain-free wet food

--the instinct sounds really good - thanks for posting about it! heh, wish me luck

I think that is Nature's Variety Instinct. Instinct Pet Food