very much confused.. which is the best food for my cat: canned, raw, or home-made?

[super petlover]

I am very confused.. looks like most of you are feeding your cats with canned foods. I think canned foods have bad effects for my cat's health. I am not concluding into something, I mean, I don't know what it's really made of. For now, I'm just feeding my Kitty some cooked veggies, and sometimes meat and fish.

Hope you can tell me which is which.. are canned food ok? the kimble something and those with sauce in it? Because it really helps when I use canned because it's easy to prepare.

Thanks.

 

[cicoccabim]

canned food with no grains in it is good food for your cat. It seems like what you are feeding your cat at the moment is not a complete diet. I feed raw, but have earlier fed canned grain free and kibble with grains (which I will not do again- my cat looks and feels much better on raw).

Canned food is mostly a better choice than kibble, because canned contains more water than kibble, and less carbohydrates. But there are kibble (grain free) that are better then the ones filled with carbs. 

If you want to feed raw but don´t want the mess of preparing it there are commercial raw that you can feed, only to thaw in the fridge. Someone here probably knows better what brands that are good, what it costs and where to get it.

It is easier to make home-made raw than it looks, but you have to get the knowledge of what the cat needs, how to add it to the diet, and the amounts needed. But most cats love it  (might need some persuasion..... it smells different than canned and kibble). I started 6 months ago, and it feels like I know what I´m doing. It is easy to vary and to adapt to the needs of the cat.

 

[pinkdagger]

Cats generally have no need for vegetables, and fish shouldn't be overfed due to its high phosphorus levels and the potential for high mercury levels.

Where do you live? What brands of canned food do you have available in stores? Part of finding a good food - kibble, canned, raw, or cooked - is learning how to read the ingredients label and know when there are good ingredients and when there are bad ones.

If you're just feeding muscle meats like people eat (breast, thigh, steaked cuts, etc.) or ground meats, this is not enough for a cat. It's more likely your cat will get sick from vitamin deficiencies or toxicities if you're not varying the meats with organs that give cats vitamin A and sufficient taurine, and calcium. Meat shouldn't be fed on a sometimes bases - cats are obligate carnivores. This means they NEED meat as their primary source of food. They do not use or digest vegetables the same way people, or even dogs do.

If you want to continue feeding a homemade diet, ideally it should be done under the supervision of a vet or nutritionist. Your cat's needs may vary from everyone else's cat's needs, so what works for our cats may not work for yours. You can look at some balanced recipes raw and home cooked feeding members here use here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272287/raw-recipe-thread

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263751/cooked-recipes-thread

 

[LTS3]

 
I am very confused.. looks like most of you are feeding your cats with canned foods. I think canned foods have bad effects for my cat's health.

The best food to feed is the one you feel most comfortable with and your cat will eat

Most people here recommend canned or raw food. Don't feel bad if you can't or don't want to feed one type over another. Dry food is generally not recommended at all for reasons explained in detail at Catinfo.org

 
For now, I'm just feeding my Kitty some cooked veggies, and sometimes meat and fish.

Is that the only thing your cat is eating? Veggies, meat, and fish? No cat food at all? If so, that is not a nutritionally balanced diet and will lead to health issues. You really need to feed your cat a balanced diet. Commercial cat food is the easiest way to ensure that your cat is getting all the right nutrients in the right amounts. You can also feed raw or home cooked but only if you thoroughly read up on how to do either of these and understand what supplements and ingredients are needed to make the resulting food balanced.

Meat is not an option for cats. Cats NEED meat in their diet, just as much as they need water or air.

 
Hope you can tell me which is which.. are canned food ok? the kimble something and those with sauce in it? Because it really helps when I use canned because it's easy to prepare.

Any canned cat food is ok to feed, although not the ones that are labeled as a supplement or complement such as those Fancy Feast Appetizers and Broths. Grain-free canned food is ideal. Some people also feed carragean-free and/or gluten-free canned food but that's not really necessary  IMO.

What brands of cat food do you have in your area? Take a look at what the pet stores and supermarket have in. There's nothing wrong with Fancy Feast or other inexpensive brand if that's all you can find. It's not necessary to feed a high end $2+ premium brand of canned food.

If you want to feed raw or home cooked, let us know and we can point you in the right direction and how to get started

 

[cprcheetah]

For me I feed 4 of my cats raw and 2 of them high quality canned food.  I will one day feed all of my cats raw as from my research and discussing with one of my veterinarians (who is also my father) I feel that raw is best for my cats and their specific needs.  Cats are desert animals so they need to have moisture in their diets which can be provided via canned food or raw food.  Canned food is about 80% moisture.  Dry food is only about 10% moisture.   As mentioned above cats are obligate carnivores so they really have no need for vegetables in their diet and it is very difficult for them to digest them.  So even though my cat DeeJay LOVES lettuce it is not a part of her regular diet she gets it every now and then if I am eating a salad as a treat because she is 15 years old and gets what she wants    As far as feeding fish it should only be given once a week.  Too much fish in their diet can cause vitamin deficiency: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/can-i-feed-my-cat-a-fish-based-or-fish-flavored-diet

Here are a couple of articles that may help you decide what is best for your cats

www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

This one talks about the different types of raw.  2 of my cats are on a ground recipe I found online and 2 are on Prey Model Raw (chunks).  I am working on switching all of my cats to the Prey Model Raw recipe.  The links listed above are great for finding out the how's and what's of feeding homemade raw if that's what you choose.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-cats-types-of-raw-diets-feeding-options

 

[lokhismom]

   For now, I'm just feeding my Kitty some cooked veggies, and sometimes meat and fish.

Your cat needs to eat meat.  Think of what cats eat in the wild. Not veggies.  Meat!    

You need to make sure you are feeding your cat an appropriate diet.   Yes, feed him some canned food.  It will have the meat, protein cats need.   It has the appropriate vitamins a cat needs.  Any kind of wet food will be better than veggies! 

 

[starbuk]

100 percent raw, not ground no kibble no wet is best. Should be appropriate diet with organs and bone as well. Lots of resources online.

 

[lokhismom]

100 percent raw, not ground no kibble no wet is best. Should be appropriate diet with organs and bone as well. Lots of resources online.

Canned food is an good choice for her considering she's feeding veggies with 'sometimes' meat and fish.

 

[starbuk]

 
Canned food is an good choice for her considering she's feeding veggies with 'sometimes' meat and fish.

It's certainly better than feeding vegetables, agreed.  Cats have no use for vegetables.

IMPORTANT if you really are only feeding your cat vegetables with meat/fish occasionally your cat will develop a taurine deficiency which is likely to cause nervous system damage.  Especially if you are cooking the meat and fish then you are accelerating the problem.  Please don't feed your cat vegetables, give her meat instead or if you cannot give her a proper meat/organ/bone mix then just give her wet food with some RAW meat, chicken that you buy from the grocery store, there is no preparation required just give it to her raw.

Feeding vegetables is completely unnecessary and should stop right away.  They are taking the place of nutrients that your cat should be eating.

 

[super petlover]

ok ok no veggies for Kitty.. and she seems so in love with eating meat than the veggies too.

THANK YOU! I'm so learning a lot here!

so yes to canned foods!

Just curious again...

How much canned food does a cat consume in a day?? in average.. or usual normal eating..

again thank you all! super appreciate you!

 

[LTS3]

100 percent raw, not ground

Some people here do use ground raw meat. Not the stuff from the supermarket, though. Some people buy ground raw meat from Hare Today and other online raw pet food supply web sites, others buy from the pet store.

 
How much canned food does a cat consume in a day?? in average.. or usual normal eating..

again thank you all! super appreciate you!

It depends on the cat

One or two 5.5 oz can a day is pretty typical. A lot of people feed enough canned food based on how much their cat weighs and how many calories the cat needs to maintain that weight, usually 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight.

 

[starbuk]

Ground raw is certainly better than no raw or canned, but it is well known that taurine content degrades with oxygen, which grinding exposes the meat to. Ground meat also tends to have supplements which are not necessary if you feed a complete raw diet. My cat eats about 5 to 9 ounces a day at 10 months old and she is about 5 to 7 pounds. Younger cats should be fed as much as they want to eat as they are growing . don't forget about a proper organ and bone mix in the diet too! Well discussed online.