New Here, Food Suggestions

[Lucylee76]

Hi everybody, new to the forum.....I have already done some looking and reviewing over the site....i have been doing research on cat food for awhile but still it still gets a little confusing for me due to some sites say certainly foods are good then others say the opposite.....I have a 1.5 year old female kitty named Sassy....I started her out on Merrick Backcountry dry food and she also had canned when she was younger and had always been a good water drinker so as she started getting older and bigger I stopped the canned food cause she was drinking alot of water.......awhile back I wanted to try a different brand of dry food that was a little bit cheaper so I switched her to Fussie Cat dry food.......after eating it for awhile I noticed she wasn't drinking as much water then I noticed she wasn't peeing enough.....took her to vet Saturday and they treated her for Urinary Tract Infection......so I immediately went and bought some Fussie Cat wet food for her and was gonna cut down on the dry food....Well she doesn't care for the Wet Fussie Cat, I think it may be because it shredded meat.......I need some suggestions on good brands of dry food and wet food please......I can not afford Dr Elseys or anything in that price range BUT I can afford some of the other really good brands.....any suggestions on good foods that help her not have stinky poo .........help please

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Feeding a variety can be good for several reasons, from formula changes that cause a cat to stop eating a food to possibly helping minimizing any effects of undesirable ingredients/additives, as long as you're able to transition the foods so her tummy is ok.

Try these;
Fancy feast, Tractor Supply's 4Health or Paws and Claws, Merrick BackCountry, Natural Balance, Tiki Cat, and another good one is Open Farm

 

[Lucylee76]

Hi!
Feeding a variety can be good for several reasons, from formula changes that cause a cat to stop eating a food to possibly helping minimizing any effects of undesirable ingredients/additives, as long as you're able to transition the foods so her tummy is ok.

Try these;
Fancy feast, Tractor Supply's 4Health or Paws and Claws, Merrick BackCountry, Natural Balance, Tiki Cat, and another good one is Open Farm

Thank you for your reply, I will look into those....

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Hi!

Since your cat now has a history of urinary issues, you should either drastically reduce (ie, make it only a treat) or completely cut dry food from Sassy's diet. It is terribly dehydrating and *most* kibble, even ultra premium kibble, is nothing but empty carbs. There will probably be a grace period where she has to transition to a mostly wet diet if you go that route, but just be consistent.

The Chewy brands Tiny Tiger and American Journey are good and fairly priced, especially Tiny Tiger, which is basically slightly cheaper Fancy Feast.

I second the suggestion for 4Health and Paws and Claws.

Redbarn is another good brand that is very reasonably priced.

Only Natural Pet has house-brand pates that mine seem to enjoy. I feed the rabbit+pork and chicken+Turkey flavors .

Feel free to ask away about any and all brands you find/want to try!

 

[Gizmobius]

Whole Earth Farms is an affordable wet food, in my opinion. They have plenty of flavors of pate style food along with some gravy varieties.

 

[mizzely]

I also love Tiny Tiger and American Journey on Chewy.com.

Other foods my picky kitty likes are Nutro, Sheba, Caru, Weruva Slide N Serve, Tiki Cat Mousse, and Wellness Complete

 

[MissClouseau]

I would definitely recommend grain-free foods that also don't have potato -- at least not high listed in the ingredients. Some "grain-free" food brands replace grain with potato which is also not great for cats.

Acana and Orijen are both great. My cat loves fish but not to eat it every day. She's a fan of chicken though so I got her Acana Wild Praire. I also have their fish-based food but I only give it like 2 meals a week.

For wet food Naturea is a favorite in my household. Occasionally GimCat for some flavor change.

 

[Richard2121]

Dave's Shredded Chicken is a huge hit at my house. All 4 of my cats like it which means Dave's is doing something right! I will second the Tiny Tiger as that is a decent quality food and very cost friendly. I also like to mix in some Tiki Cat or Weruva for a bed time snack because it has lots of extra moisture (broth) in it and I feel like extra moisture is always good. I just can't afford to feed those brands exclusively.

 

[Lucylee76]

Hi!

Since your cat now has a history of urinary issues, you should either drastically reduce (ie, make it only a treat) or completely cut dry food from Sassy's diet. It is terribly dehydrating and *most* kibble, even ultra premium kibble, is nothing but empty carbs. There will probably be a grace period where she has to transition to a mostly wet diet if you go that route, but just be consistent.

The Chewy brands Tiny Tiger and American Journey are good and fairly priced, especially Tiny Tiger, which is basically slightly cheaper Fancy Feast.

I second the suggestion for 4Health and Paws and Claws.

Redbarn is another good brand that is very reasonably priced.

Only Natural Pet has house-brand pates that mine seem to enjoy. I feed the rabbit+pork and chicken+Turkey flavors .

Feel free to ask away about any and all brands you find/want to try!

Thank you for the reply!

 

[Lucylee76]

Hi!

Since your cat now has a history of urinary issues, you should either drastically reduce (ie, make it only a treat) or completely cut dry food from Sassy's diet. It is terribly dehydrating and *most* kibble, even ultra premium kibble, is nothing but empty carbs. There will probably be a grace period where she has to transition to a mostly wet diet if you go that route, but just be consistent.

The Chewy brands Tiny Tiger and American Journey are good and fairly priced, especially Tiny Tiger, which is basically slightly cheaper Fancy Feast.

I second the suggestion for 4Health and Paws and Claws.

Redbarn is another good brand that is very reasonably priced.

Only Natural Pet has house-brand pates that mine seem to enjoy. I feed the rabbit+pork and chicken+Turkey flavors .

Feel free to ask away about any and all brands you find/want to try!

Thank you!!

 

[Lucylee76]

Update......We had started our wet food journey with Fussie Cat.....Next we tried Blue Wilderness in Duck, Salmon, Turkey and every single 3oz can within 15 minutes of eating half can she makes a hacking/gag/heaving sound.....I'm thinking something in that brand of food is like a allergic reaction or something......so we are staying away from that brand from now on........so now I'm sitting here looking up and reading on the brands that have been suggested by y'all......Wish me luck!!.....

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[danteshuman]

Good luck! I'm trying out tiny tiger next month. My boy loves the non shrimp- my b.f.f. wet foods & fancy feast gravy lovers..... in all fairness my b.f.f. put tuna in everything.

I hope your girl stays healthy.

 

[Lucylee76]

UPDATE on Sassy's wet food adventure......So we decided to try Nulo Medal Series from PetSmart this time.....Chicken & Herring Pate seemed to be ok, I split up a 5.5 oz can over a 3 day period to slowly introduce the new wet food and some dry in another bowl.....first day she picked at the wet food, 2nd and 3rd day she ate every bite of wet and dry.....I didn't notice any hacking or gagging......today I opened a can of Duck & Tuna, she seemed to like it but again after about 15 or 20 she hacked and actually spit up some of the wet food this time.........Suggestions????......I know she doesn't have anything caught in her throat, she eats the dry food just fine.....

 

[Furballsmom]

I would go back to the chicken and herring, to test the theory of whether it's a food...?

 

[Lucylee76]

Update......we are still on the search of a wet food that she likes to eat without the gagging and hacking.....We have taken all Wet food from Blue Wilderness, Fussie Cat, Nulo off the table.....Blue Wilderness & Nulo she hacked/gagged & Fussie Cat she wouldn't touch it and i tried every option they had.....
Plan on going to Petco this weekend and maybe pick up a few different brands to try......I just don't get the whole gagging/hacking with the wet food....she doesn't do it with dry food.....any suggestions??

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
In case you haven't tried these, - Merrick BackCountry, Tiki Cat, Fancy Feast if they still have it on the shelves, Natural Balance...

 

[ailish]

Ailish has consistently liked Weruva cans. There are a lot of different formulations. It's also very wet, although I add water anyway. If you can find Farmina cans, which I think is no more expensive than Fussie Cat, she inhales that stuff. The only problem with the Farmina is that it STINKS, the food, not the poo. Also, Weruva poo doesn't smell at all. Does she gulp her food? That could cause her to barf it relatively soon after eating.

 

[Lucylee76]

Ailish has consistently liked Weruva cans. There are a lot of different formulations. It's also very wet, although I add water anyway. If you can find Farmina cans, which I think is no more expensive than Fussie Cat, she inhales that stuff. The only problem with the Farmina is that it STINKS, the food, not the poo. Also, Weruva poo doesn't smell at all. Does she gulp her food? That could cause her to barf it relatively soon after eating.

I actually did get some cans of Weruva and Tiki........We are on our 3rd can of Weruva and NO gagging/hacking so far.......I have not seen Farmina where I live......she does not gulp her food, she takes her time eating.....Weruva may be a winner

 

[Lucylee76]

UPDATE

So I'm so confused.....Sassy ate 3 different pate flavors of Weruva last time and no gagging......Bought some more cans and a few pouches today, all Weruva, all Pate.....opened a pouch and she gagged twice and spit up a little bit once......Suggestions?