Thoughts On Clean Label Project Ratings?

[fiorya]

Hey everyone. Today I found out about the pet food ratings on the Clean Label Project website. I checked to see if my foods were on the list. I'm currently feeding my cat Daisy two kinds: Natural Variety Instinct LID Rabbit canned and Holistic Select canned.... And both brands have been rated no higher than 3/5 stars. Ugh!

I'm feeling very frustrated. I've changed Daisy's food several times this past year, in an effort to find brands with the best quality.... When I got her, she was on Blue Buffalo. But she was having stool issues, and around the same time, I found out that BB is higher-carb than would be preferred. So I switched her to Weruva and Tiki Cat, but she wouldn't eat them. Now I'm on Instinct and Holistic Select, and she actually likes these.... But I guess I'll have to look in to finding brands with less contaminants.

I've seen a few people here recommend Instinct, as well as other brands that don't have the greatest ratings by the Clean Label Project. What are your thoughts on their ratings? Is it worth switching brands to try to find something safer?

I noticed that Wellness Complete, Natural Balance, and Nutro have some of the best ratings. Based on The Cat Info chart, Wellness and Natural Balance have a pretty good balance of protein, carbs, and fat, too. Can anyone here recommend either of these brands? I might pick one up and see if Daisy will eat it.

Thanks!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

My thoughts are that depending on who you're talking to, you'll get a different opinion on cat food. When I went out to that site you referenced, I was very surprised at the foods that were getting 5 stars. VERY surprised. Now I understand that the basis of their rating is on the fact that they are CLEAN, not the best foods as far as anything else. So...if you want to feed a food that is "clean", but higher in carbs, then you could go with some of those higher on the list. OR, be selective with the higher rating foods to make sure they are lower carb foods, because believe me, they are not all that way. (and look at the % of ash in them too, since that is important, IMHO, too - thinking of the less expensive type foods)

The best cat food you can buy is what your cat will eat Your Daisy sounds an awful lot like my guys...just a little picky. Right now mine do eat Natural Balance and Nutro, only because those are the only brands they'll touch, other than Stella and Chewy freeze dried.

 

[lisahe]

mrsgreenjeens makes a lot of the same points I would... about all I can add is that the wet food brands on the list look pretty limited, no, they look extremely limited.

Wellness food isn't bad but the two Core foods that score high have carby vegetables (potatoes in one, peas in the other) that I refuse to feed. I'm more favorable on Nutro Natural Choice, which our cats love but which we can't feed much of because one cat tends to "scarf and barf" it. In the end, as mrsgreenjeens says, this often comes down to what your cat will eat... and even, with some cats (like ours, with their sensitive stomachs), what doesn't contain non-meat ingredients that cause vomiting or other health problems.