What Cat Food Should I Use?

MistyRino

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My cat has been eating Twin Pet, (dry kibble) and I'm trying to change her to a better cat food, she's about 6-7 years old, and she's really active, she's a longhaired, (I don't know if that affect's anything) but she's not really gaining any weight, she's becoming skinny and I'm getting worried, I will be trying some wet food, (I think wet food help's gain weight) but I would like if someone would tell be good food brand's that could help? (Dry kibble or wet food) I was thinking about Blue Buffalo, but I read in many things that it doesn't have the right nutrition in it to keep a cat alive, and some people said it's killed their cat/cats? But ton's of people said their cat is happy and healthy? I was thinking about getting this Blue Buffalo cat food to help with weight? I really need some help, any cat food brand's you recommend? Or any tips to help her gain some weight? I'm getting to look up some ways to help a cat gain weight, but I knew you guy's may help more than a few random websites, and I will be seeing if TCS has any articles too about good brands/gain weight. But I wanted to ask you guy's, so I have more details. :flail:

Please help, :confused2:
 

Willowy

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Pretty much anything would be better than Twin Pet, so it just depends on what your budget and availability dictate. I use Purina ONE (although I don't feed much kibble), which is kind of mid-priced and easy to find. I think Blue Buffalo is overpriced for the quality, and many cats refuse to eat the LifeSource bits; if you're willing to pay that much, I'd recommend Natural Balance, Instinct, or Merrick.

She should have some canned food, IMO at least half of her diet should be canned. Even if she did fine on all dry when she was younger, older cats need more moisture to keep their kidneys and bladder healthy. Friskies pate flavors are OK, Fancy Feast pate is good too. If it's in the budget, there are a lot of better brands. Pretty much anything at Petco should be fine now that they don't sell lower-quality foods.

While there are a lot of foods with better-looking ingredients, after much trial-and-error I find that my cats do best on Purina products. I don't know why, lol.

Dry food is more calorie-dense than canned food, so too much dry can lead to obesity more easily than too much canned food. But canned food may be more digestible, so it might help her to gain weight in a healthy way. But also, unexplained weight loss can be a sign of illness, so if she doesn't gain some weight after switching to a better food, definitely get her to the vet for bloodwork.
 

cheesycats

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Try to find a low carb high fat high protein diet. I like tiki cat, nature’s variety raw boost, and dr elseys. They are all low carb kibbles.
Also add canned food. Canned food is typically low cal as it is mostly water, it’s great for cutting weight on cats as well as adding lean muscle mass. The best canned food for your money will be pate varieties. Also look at dr elseys canned foods and nature’s variety canned foods. They are high protein and fat.
I would avoid blue buffalo. All of their kibbles are loaded with carbs and most of their canned foods are as well. Also be sure to have a vet visit at some point. She is approaching senior age and should have a senior check up including blood work, perhaps a fecal exam if she’s not gaining weight to check for worms, and a dental cleaning to rule out any sore infected teeth below the gum line.
 
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MistyRino

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Pretty much anything would be better than Twin Pet, so it just depends on what your budget and availability dictate. I use Purina ONE (although I don't feed much kibble), which is kind of mid-priced and easy to find. I think Blue Buffalo is overpriced for the quality, and many cats refuse to eat the LifeSource bits; if you're willing to pay that much, I'd recommend Natural Balance, Instinct, or Merrick.

She should have some canned food, IMO at least half of her diet should be canned. Even if she did fine on all dry when she was younger, older cats need more moisture to keep their kidneys and bladder healthy. Friskies pate flavors are OK, Fancy Feast pate is good too. If it's in the budget, there are a lot of better brands. Pretty much anything at Petco should be fine now that they don't sell lower-quality foods.

While there are a lot of foods with better-looking ingredients, after much trial-and-error I find that my cats do best on Purina products. I don't know why, lol.

Dry food is more calorie-dense than canned food, so too much dry can lead to obesity more easily than too much canned food. But canned food may be more digestible, so it might help her to gain weight in a healthy way. But also, unexplained weight loss can be a sign of illness, so if she doesn't gain some weight after switching to a better food, definitely get her to the vet for bloodwork.
Ok, thanks, I'll try some of the food's you said and hope she gains some weight, if not I will probably bring her to the vet, thanks! :) :redtabby: Not that much, though, lol.
 
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MistyRino

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Try to find a low carb high fat high protein diet. I like tiki cat, nature’s variety raw boost, and dr elseys. They are all low carb kibbles.
Also add canned food. Canned food is typically low cal as it is mostly water, it’s great for cutting weight on cats as well as adding lean muscle mass. The best canned food for your money will be pate varieties. Also look at dr elseys canned foods and nature’s variety canned foods. They are high protein and fat.
I would avoid blue buffalo. All of their kibbles are loaded with carbs and most of their canned foods are as well. Also be sure to have a vet visit at some point. She is approaching senior age and should have a senior check up including blood work, perhaps a fecal exam if she’s not gaining weight to check for worms, and a dental cleaning to rule out any sore infected teeth below the gum line.

Ok! Thank's, I'll try to do that, and yes, I was looking up stuff about Blue Buffalo and found out it's not really healthy at all.
 

maggie101

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I also use dr elseys clean protein Turkey or chicken. High fat,low carb. Average protein so I add in some Miko for a topper. I only feed my cats wet. At her age, try to get her off dry to be sure she has good nutrition and moisture. I am considering tiki after dark though its very expensive.
 
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MistyRino

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I also use dr elseys clean protein Turkey or chicken. High fat,low carb. Average protein so I add in some Miko for a topper. I only feed my cats wet. At her age, try to get her off dry to be sure she has good nutrition and moisture. I am considering tiki after dark though its very expensive.
Ok! Thanks for the help! I'll try those.
 

sweet jane flash

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I've had long-lived cats my whole life, one at a time of course. All of them I fed kibble. Once they get used to a kibble they tend not to want wet canned food at least this pretty girl I have now won't touch any wet food at all. However, she will absolutely be vocal about wanting tuna every time (about once a month) I open a can. And then hamburger or steak too she gets tiny pieces of once in awhile although I tend not to give it to her all that much. She is on grain free indoor cat, as she needs to lose the weight she gained while I was sick and it is hard to deny her treats, but I call it tough love. If your kitty is too thin I suggest tuna or any meat product, even a bit of yogurt if not lactose intolerant. And definitely take her to the vet if you cannot get her to eat because there could be some not yet known reason for lack of appetite. We're keeping our paws crossed for you both!
 

sunflower7

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Usually my cats GAIN weight if they eat too much dry food. Personally, after many years of reading in depth, I go with feeding my cats 3-4 times a day( it's sort of them who wanted that) , each time they get canned food with a sprinkling of dry food. Last meal of the day I give more dry so hopefully that fills them up at night. If your cat is losing weight, I would look at a calorie chart on the bag and compare to some other brands. They actually can vary quite a bit by serving! and I'd add in wet food since it is closer to their diet if they lived in the wild.
 

sunflower7

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For canned, I recommend Nulo ( I use the chicken and turkey which has a teeny bit of tuna in it) as well as Earthborn, Wellness and Nutrisource. Those are the brands I feed my cats most often, all 3 like them. For dry I use earthborn, fussie cat and purevita. Good Luck!
 

maggie101

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I did also feed my cats wellness core chicken Turkey and Turkey liver and wellness core Turkey duck but decided it was too expensive. Earth born and fussie cat look good except that it is so low in fat. I try to avoid any fish so it is hard to find a good food
 

sunflower7

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I did also feed my cats wellness core chicken Turkey and Turkey liver and wellness core Turkey duck but decided it was too expensive. Earth born and fussie cat look good except that it is so low in fat. I try to avoid any fish so it is hard to find a good food
are you saying the dry fussie cat and dry EB are too low in fat?
I know I checked once and can't remember which had what percentages. I do feed those 2 plus purevita and some nulo dry, and whatever samples I get at stores so my cats get a good variety. also they eat about a 5.5 can each a day.
 

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Dry food is generally bad, no matter how good the ingredients are, it only exists because it is convenient for humans. Cats are designed to get their water intake from prey and don't normally drink much unless they have a urinary condition. It's possible for a Cat to be chronically dehydrated on a dry food diet even with constant access to water.

Ingredients are important too, if a food contains a lot of plant based fillers (grains and potatoes are the most common) then it's not very good. Fillers like that as well as some gum based binders can cause or aggravate digestive conditions like IBD, which can result in chronic vomiting and/or diarrhea especially as a Cat gets older.
 

maggie101

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are you saying the dry fussie cat and dry EB are too low in fat?
I know I checked once and can't remember which had what percentages. I do feed those 2 plus purevita and some nulo dry, and whatever samples I get at stores so my cats get a good variety. also they eat about a 5.5 can each a day.
I never feed dry. Wish my stores had samples. Sorry, I forgot to mention that.
 

jen

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Sorry, I didn't actually read through everyones answers but I want to say that if she is thin and seems to be losing weight, she needs bloodwork and an exam done stat. That is worrisome anytime you notice a change in the cat. Even if they seem like their old self, weight loss is serious.
 

maggie101

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Sorry, I didn't actually read through everyones answers but I want to say that if she is thin and seems to be losing weight, she needs bloodwork and an exam done stat. That is worrisome anytime you notice a change in the cat. Even if they seem like their old self, weight loss is serious.
Your right. If she's lost more than her usual wait, blood work
 

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Wet cat food brands to use preservatives in their formulation. This is to ensure that ingredients used in the preparation don’t get spoilt.Don’t forget that cats get bored with their food sometimes. This is something cats crave. Canned food contains zinc, which supports the immune system and helps your cat maintains the skin, eyes, and bones.
 
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