Suggested Food

[IsauraS]

I have a question about canned food.

I have three cats. They don't go outside, they get a small can each twice a day and at night I give them a little bit of kibble. I can't say they all eat the same amount of food, I've seen them rotate bowls and sample from all three bowls. They are not fat, they look healthy with beautiful coats, not dull. They are active and love to play.

I've done research and from that I feed my cats Weruva, Tiki Cat and Wellness. Once in a while I give them the Meow Mix cups (I call them junk food) and Fancy Feast Creamy Delights. My vet told me that the first three brands will make my cat fat and probably sick, and gave me a suggested list of Iams, Royal Canin, Science Diet and Purina Pro Plan. I've read bad things about those brands, so now I'm so confused about what to feed my cats.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You are going to get a lot of differing opinions about canned foods and what are the better ones. I can't help much because my cat is restricted to urinary health food.

But, to start with you can compare the ingredients and calories of all the ones you currently give your cats. Meat by-products being the first on the list of ingredients, and/or other 'mystery' type food listings would tell you they are probably not that nutritious and could be laden with carbohydrates.

I am sure other members will come along soon and give you a more specific set of ingredients to look for.

 

[Momma Nonna]

I did a lot of research regarding store-bought or readily available from online resources canned food and came away with Fancy Feast Classic (various flavors & textures available) being the best. I'm investigating beginning to feed raw because my 8-yr old male Abyssinian has had two bouts of cystitis within the last few months.

 

[kittyluv387]

Your vet is an old school vet in nutrition. The brands he is pushing is what was pushed in vet school is all. Many people on here feed tiki, wellness and weruva. They are better brands than what he mentioned actually. But don't take my word for it. You should read up about cat nutriton. Catinfo.org. You just want something species appropriate. Fewer carbs the better really.

 

[KarenKat]

I agree with all the posters ... what makes my cats fat is too much food, and too many carby fillers (especially in dry food) such as peas and corn.

Wellness can be higher in fat, I think, but I don't see that being any worse than grains or carbs in the vet-recommended foods. If you cats have nice shiny coats and are maintaining their weight, I say keep feeding what you feed them.

 

[m3rma1d]

I'd bet money that your vet's nutrition courses in vet school were sponsored by Mars or Purina.

 

[Tobermory]

Weruva and Tiki are high quality, low carb, and low fat foods. In my opinion, it would be unusual for cats to get fat on those brands. In fact, when I fed them to my cats, I weighed them periodically to make sure they were maintaining a healthy weight. I agree with KarenKat that Wellness can be higher fat, but I think you’ve got a good balance in your choices with some kitty junk food thrown in as a reward. Heck, I eat pizza occasionally, too.

In terms of ingredients, you can be the judge by looking at the labels. Here’s a handy website for doing just that for all of the brands you mention, including the ones your vet wants you to feed: www.catfooddb.com. I personally would not feed any of the ones he recommended unless there’s a specific health issue. My vet gave me Royal Canin Feline Urinary SO when Lily had crystals and Hills Urgent Care a/d when Max had an episode of hypoglycemia. They worked well for those purposes, and then I went back to their regular food with my vet’s wholehearted approval.

 

[daftcat75]

While Tiki is high quality protein and species-appropriate formulations, your cats may actually lose weight on Tiki depending on their energy requirements. All the Tiki flavors I've seen (except the Velvet Mousse) are what I consider "underweight" in terms of caloric content. They contain fewer calories than grams served. Most of the flavors are well under 80 calories for an 80 gram can of food. For my Krista, I'm trying to get weight back on her now that the IBD seems to be controlled (we do have Tiki Cat to thank for that!) Where she struggled to put any weight back on at 0.63 calories per gram of food (Tiki Tuna w/ Pumpkin), she's finally putting weight back on with a healthier 1.07 calories per gram (Rad Cat Turkey.)

I second another poster's opinion of Fancy Feast Classic (none of the other lines.) It is more species-approrpriate than even the brands your vet is recommending. Most of the expensive and boutique brands include fruits, vegetables, grains, and starches that are wholly inappropriate in a cat's diet. Not only are they minimally or suboptimally digested, but they also raise the stomach pH thus impairing digestion in the stomach and further down in the small intestine. It is without a doubt the years of kibble and other inappropriate foods that caused my Krista's IBD and Tiki and Rad Cat that has helped manage even reverse it.

 

[IsauraS]

Thank you! This helps a lot. I will keep giving them the different types of food brands. They seem healthy, they are not fat, well Bonnie is a bit fat because she will eat from her bowl and the other cat's bowls. She's the only one I have to watch for over eating. Thank you for that database link Tobermorey!

 

[Tobermory]

Thank you! This helps a lot. I will keep giving them the different types of food brands. They seem healthy, they are not fat, well Bonnie is a bit fat because she will eat from her bowl and the other cat's bowls. She's the only one I have to watch for over eating. Thank you for that database link Tobermorey!

You are very welcome! If you feel like splurging on a high protein, low carb food with more fat, you might check out Rawz. Exceptional quality with no fillers. I still feed it occasionally to my three for variety even though I make their food now. It’s pricey at $2.45 for a 5.5 oz. can of the regular flavors at my local indy pet food store and $3.15 for the newly released rabbit. They’re pâtés.

Also, thinking of Weruva, the same company has a line called Soulistic that’s carried only at Petco. It’s less expensive than Weruva but a good quality.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I have a question about canned food.

I have three cats. They don't go outside, they get a small can each twice a day and at night I give them a little bit of kibble. I can't say they all eat the same amount of food, I've seen them rotate bowls and sample from all three bowls. They are not fat, they look healthy with beautiful coats, not dull. They are active and love to play.

I've done research and from that I feed my cats Weruva, Tiki Cat and Wellness. Once in a while I give them the Meow Mix cups (I call them junk food) and Fancy Feast Creamy Delights. My vet told me that the first three brands will make my cat fat and probably sick, and gave me a suggested list of Iams, Royal Canin, Science Diet and Purina Pro Plan. I've read bad things about those brands, so now I'm so confused about what to feed my cats.

Just curious, does the vet happen to have displays of these foods available for sale in his or her practice?

 

[IsauraS]

Just curious, does the vet happen to have displays of these foods available for sale in his or her practice?

I think so. I know there's food advertised, but I never really paid any attention to it.

 

[daftcat75]

Rawz is another brand my Krista really liked and did well on. It’s got a good calorie content too. The turkey is 1.28 kcal/g. It’s more expensive than other foods but you likely won’t have to feed as much.

 

[IsauraS]

You are very welcome! If you feel like splurging on a high protein, low carb food with more fat, you might check out Rawz. Exceptional quality with no fillers. I still feed it occasionally to my three for variety even though I make their food now. It’s pricey at $2.45 for a 5.5 oz. can of the regular flavors at my local indy pet food store and $3.15 for the newly released rabbit. They’re pâtés.

Also, thinking of Weruva, the same company has a line called Soulistic that’s carried only at Petco. It’s less expensive than Weruva but a good quality.

I used to give them Soulistic only. But I think they got tired of it and kinda stopped eating it. So I decided to just get different brands of brands I found were as good or better. They eat everything now. I think they like the variety.

 

[10009891]

I mainly buy Rawz kibble and Rawz can turkey and Vita Pure wet food. Also feed quality kibble; free samples from my pet shop. I am looking for an easy way to just feed raw food without the grossness and risk of it.