Wal-Mart Maxximum brand cat food

[vibiana]

Just wondered if anyone else had used this brand and what you thought about it.

 

[solaritybengals]

I've never used it but Walmart tends to not cary very premium foods. Nutro from Petsmart/Petco might be a better option. I'm not sure about the brand you mentioned though.

 

[sharky]

Maxxium is like Iams .... I wouldnt use it but if $$$ are tight and walmart is your only place to shop there are worse things out there///

 

[solaritybengals]

Yes just try to stay away from things with food dyes. If there are no food dyes in it then they care a little more about nutrition than the other main-stream brands. Dosen't mean its great but it is a little better.

 

[susanmly]

I have used it before and my cats like it alot. Like the others said, there are probably better food choices out there but if you live in a smaller town like I do, there isn't a whole lot of choices on places to buy cat food. I have a few picky eaters and they will eat this.

 

[touro1979]

Originally Posted by susanmly

I have used it before and my cats like it alot. Like the others said, there are probably better food choices out there but if you live in a smaller town like I do, there isn't a whole lot of choices on places to buy cat food. I have a few picky eaters and they will eat this.

You can always buy high quality cat food online at www.petsmart.com and www.petco.com. It cost a little more to ship it then buy it in store but I think its worth it to make sure they get the best quality food you can. I am a student and live off loan money and my cats still get the best. I save money in other ways so that they get the best which means I go to school looking like a bum but my boys are worth it.

 

[vibiana]

Thanks for the input. It's partly just a price thing, with three cats, and a convenience thing since I do most household shopping at Walmart. Maxximum makes a hairball control formula, it's a 'super premium' food according to the label, and the first ingredient IS chicken, which I thought was good. I feed a mixture of this food and canned food to all three of mine -- Friskies or Nine Lives.

I'm really just a little confused. I have friends who feed their cats Meow Mix and they seem to do fine. Also, for every 'rave' I've heard about Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, etc., somebody else seems to chime in with "that stuff sucks." LOL Just wanting to get an idea where I'm going wrong or right.

 

[big-cat-fan]

I use it and my cats just LOVE it.
And chicken is the first ingredient in it. Which I know is good.

Also I got my mom to start giving the maxximum dog food to her Pitt Bull. He loves it.
When he was stolen and we found him I tried to give him Nutro and he wouldnt eat it.
He nibbled on it a bit but once I switched him back to maxximum he devoured the whole bowl of food!!!

 

[touro1979]

I wold def stay away from friskies and other store brands but thats just me. If you cant afford a better food then I would say go for it but make sure you look at your expenses first. If you can cut something else its better to feed a good quailty food. It can save money on vet bills in the future. I live in NYC on 20,000 loan money a year and I feed my cats the MOST expensive food they sell. I just make adjsutments in other parts of my budget to allow for this. My cats eat better then me, LOL

 

[rita]

Originally Posted by touro1979

I feed my cats the MOST expensive food they sell. I just make adjsutments in other parts of my budget to allow for this. My cats eat better then me, LOL

I'm sorry...but I don't think the most expensive cat food is necessarily always the best.

 

[big-cat-fan]

Originally Posted by Rita

I'm sorry...but I don't think the most expensive cat food is necessarily always the best.

I agree.
Most of the time your just paying for the name. Like with anything else.
I personally think this Maxximum cat food is good. They say make sure chicken or fish or some other meat is the first ingredient and with Maxximum chicken is.

 

[jen]

But does it have by-products and a bunch of corn products? Those aren't good at all!

 

[sharky]

it has some by products and corn and uses "animal fat" and corn oil... as well as digest ... just it aint the first ingrediants

 

[kim's kitties]

I struggle with this same battle as well. I have had all of my rescues on Science Diet and they barely ate it. Then I tried Iams, and they got picky with that too. Now I am trying Purina Indoor Formula, and it is the only one that everyone eats as soon as it is poured. I do want my babies to have the best, but they have to actually EAT it for it to help them.

I have to also wonder about politics in the pet food industry just as in our own pharmaceutical industry. Of course vets are going to "push" Science Diet and such when they are under their shelter program. They have to use only Science Diet while getting their free sample packs. I know this because I have my own rescue, and have recently checked in to getting on the Hill's Shelter program. So... like most everything else in our society, you have to do your own research, then go with your gut feeling and what works best for you and yours.

Just my opinion!
Kim

 

[vanillasugar]

Wow. The first ingredient is chicken, yes. But what about the rest of that long list of ingredients? All that bad stuff that follows chicken is in the food too! And there is MORE of it then there is of the chicken. (Because chicken is weighed "wet" you are actually not getting very much MEAT in comparison to the other ingredients.)

And yes, the most expensive food may NOT always be the best. But it's usually a pretty good guide to what the quality of the ingredients are. It costs more to use whole human grade meats or meat meals and whole vegetables and grains then it does to use the dregs and leftovers.

Honestly, you're not saving yourself any money buying the cheap stuff. Because the food isn't as bioavailable to them, you end up feeding a great deal more than you would a better quality food.

Look at pet shops for your food. Things you find in a grocery store and wal mart are very low quality.

 

[semiferal]

Originally Posted by Big-Cat-Fan

I agree.
Most of the time your just paying for the name. Like with anything else.
I personally think this Maxximum cat food is good. They say make sure chicken or fish or some other meat is the first ingredient and with Maxximum chicken is.

You're not actually paying for the name with most pet foods, Science Diet being the one exception. Other than that, you absolutely do get what you pay for.

"Paying for the name" really means paying for the advertising. Certainly Friskies and Purina and Meow Mix commercials are all over the TV. Advertising is expensive! But the food is still very inexpensive. It definitely tells you something if a huge advertising budget still leaves you with an inexpensive product.

For contrast, you will not see TV commercials for Innova or Nutro or Wyson or Wellness or other premium brands. It doesn't really make sense to say that you are "paying for the brand" when Joe Average Consumer has never even heard of Natura Pet Products (the makers of Innova and California Natural). What you are paying for is top quality ingredients.

But most importantly, the ingredients speak for themselves. For a side-by-side comparison:



Nine Lives Super Supper:

Ingredients:
GROUND YELLOW CORN, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, SOY HULLS, BREWERS RICE, POULTRY FAT (PRESERVED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, ROSEMARY EXTRACT, AND CITRIC ACID), CHICKEN BROTH, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, ANIMAL DIGEST(SOURCE OF BEEF & TURKEY FLAVORS ), CALCIUM SULFATE, CARAMEL COLOR, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, DL-METHIONINE, SALT, VITAMINS (VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, MENADIONE SODIUM BISULFITE COMPLEX, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID, BIOTIN, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), MINERALS (FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC OXIDE, MANGANOUS OXIDE, COPPER SULFATE, CALCIUM IODATE, SODIUM SELENITE) , TITANIUM DIOXIDE*, TAURINE, YELLOW 5*, YELLOW 6*, RED 40*, BHA (USED AS A PRESERVATIVE)* ARTIFICIAL COLOR


Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (all life stages/adult formula):

Ingredients:
Chicken, Salmon, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, whole grain white rice, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, turkey, duck, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, dl-methionine, potassium chloride, taurine, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, kelp, cranberry powder, rosemary, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.

These are just two examples chosen more or less at random. One does not need a degree in animal nutrition to see that the ingredient lists are nowhere near equivalent.

Your point about the first ingredient being the most abundant is accurate, but it is not the whole picture. The other ingredients on the list are in the food too! If I gave you a plate of food and said "there's just a little bit of the sludge they scraped off the slaughterhouse floor in that, it's not a big deal", you probably wouldn't touch the food! But that stuff is what pet food manufacturers call "animal digest" and if you feed most grocery/discount store brands of cat food, then that is exactly what you are feeding to your cat.

 

[maddensmom]

The ingredients are ok, not great though. I tried it once when money was extremely tight and it was the only "cheap" cat food that had meat as the first ingredient. Personally Madden wouldn't eat this food. I tried it and he just turned his nose up at it. It ended up getting fed to the ferals outside. I don't know about the other formulas, but these are the first few ingredients of the kitten formula.

Protein % 36
Fat % 22
Fiber % 2.5
Moisture % 12
Ash % 8.8
Magnesium % 0.11
Taurine % 0.17

1st
Ingredient Chicken
2nd Chicken Meal
3rd Brewers Rice
4th Fish Meal
5th Corn Gluten Meal
6th Beef Tallow preserved with mixed tocoperols
7th Corn Meal
8th Egg Product

It's not what I would prefer to feed, but you have to do whats best for you and yours.

 

[stampit3d]

Try comparing yours to "Purina One`s" ingred. panel. They do sell this at Walmarts. That`s where I buy mine.
Linda

 

[big-cat-fan]

I was referring to Maxximum brand cat food. Not Friskies.

 

[squirtle]

I was searching for the ingredients list online but was unable to find anything. I found a "rumor" that Purina packages that brand for Walmart and that it is actually Purina One.