What DRY food do you feed your cat(s), and their ages? I need something more affordable but good.

[Deex2]

I have one 7 year old and 2 6.5 month olds.

I have been feeding my older cat a mix/combo of Purina Cat Chow Naturals and Blue Buffalo

I had been feeding my two kittens Purina Cat Chow Nat. Kitten mixed with the Blue Buffalo kitten to make it similar to what the adult cat was/is eating so that when they decided to dip into each other bowls it isn't too far off their regular diet to potentially cause upset stomach.

I switched the kittens from Blue B to Whole Earth Farms Kitten (also made by Purina but under a different name) mixed/combo with Purina CC Nat Kitten.
The Whole Earth isn't quite as expensive as the Blue Buffalo but still seems to be decent.
The Blue B seems to be a really good food, but it is just getting expensive and my cats like to eat. Yes they get canned in am and Pm.

***I would like to know what dry food brands/names you feed your cats/ages. Are they any you personally avoid and why?

 

[vince]

I feed mine mostly Purina One, because they fed that to the first cat I got from the Humane Society. I figured that must be okay, as they had more experience with cats than I did. Occasionally, I've had to feed something else because of supply shortages, and then it's been Tractor Supply's house brand. They get wet food, too.

The vet says they're all doing fine, so I figure I shouldn't make any changes.

 

[klunick]

Two 1 yr olds that eat Tiki Cat Turkey. It's less fat/lower calories because my boy is a fatty. They don't like it much which is good because I don't want them eating too much dry food and having issues later. 1/2 of dry food lasts a few days.

 

[sailon]

I have one 7 year old and 2 6.5 month olds.

I have been feeding my older cat a mix/combo of Purina Cat Chow Naturals and Blue Buffalo

I had been feeding my two kittens Purina Cat Chow Nat. Kitten mixed with the Blue Buffalo kitten to make it similar to what the adult cat was/is eating so that when they decided to dip into each other bowls it isn't too far off their regular diet to potentially cause upset stomach.

I switched the kittens from Blue B to Whole Earth Farms Kitten (also made by Purina but under a different name) mixed/combo with Purina CC Nat Kitten.
The Whole Earth isn't quite as expensive as the Blue Buffalo but still seems to be decent.
The Blue B seems to be a really good food, but it is just getting expensive and my cats like to eat. Yes they get canned in am and Pm.

***I would like to know what dry food brands/names you feed your cats/ages. Are they any you personally avoid and why?

I've had my new shelter cat for about 2 months now. I used the same logic as Vince except feeding her Hills Science Diet, Adults 1- 6 as that's what the shelter was using. Boo is 3 years old and is doing fine, maintaining her weight of 9.5 pounds.

I have bought a couple of 4lb bags at around around $11 each. I honestly don't know if that's expensive or not as my recently deceased kitty would only eat wet food and I have nothing to compare to.

 

[mewlittle]

I'm currently feeding blue buffalo sensitive stomach after friskies (Purina) made them sick so far they are doing good on the blue buffalo sensitive stomach

As in wet food I do whatever that's a Pate kind or unless it state grain free then I don't mind because the non grain free bits n gravy etc usually has wheat gluten in it

 

[moxiewild]

Our cats primarily get expensive stuff when it comes to dry food, which is typically only used as a snack or if we’re occasionally too tired to deal with wet food.

They primarily get Dr. Elsey’s, then some Tiki Cat, some Young Again, ZiwiPeak air dried, and some Hounds and Gatos.

They span in ages from 8 week old kittens to 20 years old (we have about 25 cats in the house currently).

One of our cats (14 years old) gets Fussie Cat Market Fresh Quail and Duck. But that’s only because he has major food allergies and can only tolerate rabbit and quail, and is only mildly sensitive to duck. It’s a decent food, but if not for his allergies, he’d be getting what the rest do.

For our ferals (who also get Special Kitty wet food), we go cheaper, but try to stay at a decent quality.

For our fully adult colonies, they get Cat Chow Naturals (original - though I think the Grain Free version is decent too) mixed with American Journey at a 1:3 or 1:2 ratio (depends on current finances and season).

Our colony that consists of mostly kittens under one year of age get Purina One Healthy Kitten (more calorie dense that Cat Chow) mixed with either American Journey adult or American Journey Kitten, at a 1:3 or 1:2 ratio.

When we had less ferals, we also used some Purina Beyond Chicken and Egg.

I think Purina Beyond, American Journey, and some of the Purina One dry foods are very decent quality compared to other mid-priced dry foods. Cat Chow Naturals is also decent for the lower price range.

Honestly, I try to avoid all dry food.

Otherwise, I pay attention to the first 5 ingredients, and aim for the first one to be meat, and most of the first five to be meat or egg.

I also avoid corn products in particular if at all possible, especially in the first five ingredients. Not always possible at the lower price points, though.

 

[sailon]

I've had my new shelter cat for about 2 months now. I used the same logic as Vince except feeding her Hills Science Diet, Adults 1- 6 as that's what the shelter was using. Boo is 3 years old and is doing fine, maintaining her weight of 9.5 pounds.

I have bought a couple of 4lb bags at around around $11 each. I honestly don't know if that's expensive or not as my recently deceased kitty would only eat wet food and I have nothing to compare to.

Sorry, I misspoke. A 4lb bag of Hills Adult was $19, not $11. (Sailon)

 

[vince]

I feed mine mostly Purina One, because they fed that to the first cat I got from the Humane Society. I figured that must be okay, as they had more experience with cats than I did. Occasionally, I've had to feed something else because of supply shortages, and then it's been Tractor Supply's house brand. They get wet food, too.

The vet says they're all doing fine, so I figure I shouldn't make any changes.

Forgot to say how old they are. One's probably seven or eight, the other's probably six and the last one is three.

 

[Deex2]

Our cats primarily get expensive stuff when it comes to dry food, which is typically only used as a snack or if we’re occasionally too tired to deal with wet food.

They primarily get Dr. Elsey’s, then some Tiki Cat, some Young Again, ZiwiPeak air dried, and some Hounds and Gatos.

They span in ages from 8 week old kittens to 20 years old (we have about 25 cats in the house currently).

One of our cats (14 years old) gets Fussie Cat Market Fresh Quail and Duck. But that’s only because he has major food allergies and can only tolerate rabbit and quail, and is only mildly sensitive to duck. It’s a decent food, but if not for his allergies, he’d be getting what the rest do.

For our ferals (who also get Special Kitty wet food), we go cheaper, but try to stay at a decent quality.

For our fully adult colonies, they get Cat Chow Naturals (original - though I think the Grain Free version is decent too) mixed with American Journey at a 1:3 or 1:2 ratio (depends on current finances and season).

Our colony that consists of mostly kittens under one year of age get Purina One Healthy Kitten (more calorie dense that Cat Chow) mixed with either American Journey adult or American Journey Kitten, at a 1:3 or 1:2 ratio.

When we had less ferals, we also used some Purina Beyond Chicken and Egg.

I think Purina Beyond, American Journey, and some of the Purina One dry foods are very decent quality compared to other mid-priced dry foods. Cat Chow Naturals is also decent for the lower price range.

Honestly, I try to avoid all dry food.

Otherwise, I pay attention to the first 5 ingredients, and aim for the first one to be meat, and most of the first five to be meat or egg.

I also avoid corn products in particular if at all possible, especially in the first five ingredients. Not always possible at the lower price points, though.

WOW you have the mother load of cats and kitties. That's great that you take such good care of them all.

I had my adult cat 7- on a mix of Blue Buffalo and Purina CC Naturals/regular for a couple of years and now that I have two almost 7 months old i had them on a mix of the Purina CC Naturals kitten and mixed with Whole Earth.....kitten? I definitely want to keep them on kitten food for at least a year. I want to get all of my cats... eating one brand of dry food so they don't get sick and it isn't such a hassle. Since my adult gets into the kitten food and visa versa I figure if it is at least the same brand adult and kitten they should be alright and not get upset tummys. I do however mix up the brands of canned food, from my understanding that is ok, but dry food you have to introduce slowly???

I was checking out the ingredients in a lot of the foods expensive and mid price and a lot of them are quite similar in ingredients. For example, Purina Pro Plan (one of the Vet recommended) is almost identical to the Purina One other then literally maybe 5 ingredients mostly vit/min. Purina one, the less expensive of the 2 actually looks a little better.

I think back to before I was married. I had a cat who i cared about very very much, who I rarely gave can food to (which I regret now) and I don't recall which food I bought her it was a decent food, maybe Iams..., I wasn't as obsessed with ingredients... then as I seem to be now and she lived to be 17.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Cats range from nineteen and a half to five years of age, with all but two of the eleven cats being seniors. Morgenne eats Hill's k/d dry. She's our eldest. I also feed Royal Canin Aging 12, Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea, and Royal Canin Special 33 (its called "Digestive" now, but I don't know anyone who doesn't still call it Special 33). For now. We change things up as each bag runs out, but always stick with good quality food. Things they don't get include Blue Buffalo, Iams, Taste Of The Wild, Meow Mix, etc...Montgomery eats Royal Canin Spayed/Neutered Kitten dry food even though he's nine and a half because that's what his body can digest and I'm not arguing with him about it.

 

[Deex2]

Cats range from nineteen and a half to five years of age, with all but two of the eleven cats being seniors. Morgenne eats Hill's k/d dry. She's our eldest. I also feed Royal Canin Aging 12, Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea, and Royal Canin Special 33 (its called "Digestive" now, but I don't know anyone who doesn't still call it Special 33). For now. We change things up as each bag runs out, but always stick with good quality food. Things they don't get include Blue Buffalo, Iams, Taste Of The Wild, Meow Mix, etc...Montgomery eats Royal Canin Spayed/Neutered Kitten dry food even though he's nine and a half because that's what his body can digest and I'm not arguing with him about it.

Great info Thank you

Just curios though why do you exclude blue buffalo and Iams?

 

[mizzely]

I have been feeding American Journey dry with a few pieces of Hills Oral Care to mine. She's 12.

 

[duck13]

My vet recommended Diamond Naturals Active cat food - I get it at Tractor Supply, & my furrkids are doing great on it.

 

[duck13]

My vet recommended Diamond Naturals Active cat food - I get it at Tractor Supply, & my furrkids are doing great on it.

Forgot to give ages - 2, 4, 10 & 12

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Great info Thank you

Just curios though why do you exclude blue buffalo and Iams?

Recalls, recalls and more recalls. A great many dead animals, too, on the part of Iams. As I recall, Blue Buffalo paid out the biggest class action law suit in pet food history. I know anything and everything can have trouble at some point, but those two don't just take the cake, they take the bakery.

 

[Deex2]

My vet recommended Diamond Naturals Active cat food - I get it at Tractor Supply, & my furrkids are doing great on it.

Great. I haven't checked that brand out.

 

[moxiewild]

WOW you have the mother load of cats and kitties. That's great that you take such good care of them all.

I had my adult cat 7- on a mix of Blue Buffalo and Purina CC Naturals/regular for a couple of years and now that I have two almost 7 months old i had them on a mix of the Purina CC Naturals kitten and mixed with Whole Earth.....kitten? I definitely want to keep them on kitten food for at least a year. I want to get all of my cats... eating one brand of dry food so they don't get sick and it isn't such a hassle. Since my adult gets into the kitten food and visa versa I figure if it is at least the same brand adult and kitten they should be alright and not get upset tummys. I do however mix up the brands of canned food, from my understanding that is ok, but dry food you have to introduce slowly???

I was checking out the ingredients in a lot of the foods expensive and mid price and a lot of them are quite similar in ingredients. For example, Purina Pro Plan (one of the Vet recommended) is almost identical to the Purina One other then literally maybe 5 ingredients mostly vit/min. Purina one, the less expensive of the 2 actually looks a little better.

I think back to before I was married. I had a cat who i cared about very very much, who I rarely gave can food to (which I regret now) and I don't recall which food I bought her it was a decent food, maybe Iams..., I wasn't as obsessed with ingredients... then as I seem to be now and she lived to be 17.

Haha, we’re in the process of becoming a non-profit! Looking for families for list of the guys we have here!

it is very difficult trying to get enough calories into a kitten when you have adults around whose diet needs to be much more limited!

Just know that any food labeled as being “balanced for all life stages” can also be given to kittens. Many regular foods, like Friskies pates for example, are like this.

another option, if you can afford it, would be to buy a Sure Feed microchip feeder -

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O0UIPTY/?tag=thecatsite

That way you can keep your kittens food away from the adult.

It is recommended that both wet and dry food be introduced slowly. Some follow this, others don’t. If you know your cat has a sensitive stomach or is sensitive to change, I would definitely introduce any new food slowly.

Good thinking on comparing similar brands!

Don’t worry - most people did put much thought into pet food until the rise of the Internet! There also weren’t remotely as many and as quality options as we have now!

 

[Morpheus1967]

Recalls, recalls and more recalls. A great many dead animals, too, on the part of Iams. As I recall, Blue Buffalo paid out the biggest class action law suit in pet food history. I know anything and everything can have trouble at some point, but those two don't just take the cake, they take the bakery.

Please provide proof for any of the above statements. They are simply not true.

 

[Maurey]

Please provide proof for any of the above statements. They are simply not true.

The many Iams recalls: Iams Pet Food Recall History (Fully Updated, Constantly Monitored)
Pet-food related deaths, (with one of the involved brands being Iams) in 2007, 2008, and 2013

Pet Owners Report 241 Deaths from Food: Vet

abcnews.go.com

FDA Investigating Animal Deaths as Pet Food Recall Continues

abcnews.go.com

Dog Deaths Implicated in IAMS/Eukanuba Recall

Possible deaths of three dogs have be related to the IAMS/Eukanuba recall, according to Fox 19 in Cincinnati as reported by Steve Dale, CABC

stevedalepetworld.com

Blue Buffalo is a notoriously poor brand, with significantly more pet deaths than Iams. BB is also one of the brands that was under investigation by the FDA for causing heart disease in cats and dogs. Many vets and vet nutritionists also think BBs marketing/claims are highly misleading, and show a lack of understanding in what 'species appropriate' means. They've also previously lied about the composition of their pet food, so who knows if they're currently being honest about it.

Blue Buffalo Recall History and Pet Food Brand Info - Petful

Yes, Blue Buffalo by Blue Buffalo Company Ltd. has been recalled. Get the complete, up-to-date Blue Buffalo recall history and company overview from Petful.

www.petful.com

 

[catmamacass]

I fed my two cats Taste of the Wild dry food (River Canyon, though they have a couple other options) most of their life (tried a few other grain free brands during the first 2 years of their life back in 2007-2009 when I was in college), but then Taste of the Wild stayed the most affordable. I found that many speciality brands' prices would increase back then.

However, I will say, both of my cats, now 14 years-old, have early stage kidney disease (CKD). I know this is incredibly common among indoor senior cats and it seems moisture has a lot to do with it. I've been doing a lot research since this diagnosis months ago and they now eat NowFresh dry for seniors (low phosphorus, etc.). I highly recommend if you have the funds and time to feed your cats wet food, do it as much as possible. Mine now are sure to get half their daily calories from wet food and eat various Weruva / BFF wet formulas that are chicken based (I typically feed them the "ground" chicken-based line cause they're old and have a harder time with the big chunks). They actually have always eaten BFF and Weruva, but I now stay away from tuna formulas and make sure they're on the low phos. and low sodium options. I wish I would have started considering more moisture, low phosphorus, and low sodium a few years ago. Any future cats I have will probably always be on low phosphorus and low sodium diets if I can help it, a lot more moisture, and when they hit the senior age, I will make this a priority.

Quality protein is super important! The big brand and prescription diets are filled with junk (lots of animal "meal" and carb and grain fillers in the first ingredients, not enough protein, carbs, and I see pork parts thrown in... which I never ever see pork in most decent quality wet and dry foods). The food thing has honestly consumed me lately – affordable, quality protein and ingredients, meeting specific nutrient levels, low on allergens, etc. Luckily my cats don't seem to have a chicken allergy. Though, the dry food I've always fed are "novel" protein based. NowFresh is pretty pricey, but I don't have much of a choice now and still need to have a little kibble around for the mornings (my cats are 15 and 18 pounds, so a wet food only diet would be $$$).

See if Taste of the Wild fits what you're looking for! Would be fine for kittens and adults. I have many friends that switched to it over the years.

I also have a rescue foster kitten that I'm feeding Fussie Cat for a little dry each day – the quail and duck formula. However, he's mostly getting wet food because hydration is key and he's small so not as costly as my big cats. Fussie Cat is more affordable than NowFresh's kitten formula, but still a little pricey. It also has "meal" in the first three ingredients (which honestly, is hard to find without at lower price points), but grain free and a novel protein. Worth checking out.

For kittens, doesn't need to be "kitten" specific as long as it says all life stages, but some kitten formulas are better in terms of calories and fat, but I've also found the kitten and all life stages of the same brand to be pretty similar (example brand "Instinct"), so just read the ingredients and % of nutrients. If not kitten specific, you may just need to feed them more.

I've haven't used these in recent years and they don't meet my cats' needs now, but in my research these are some brands I considered with my seniors in the last couple years and my rescue kitten that could be worth looking into: Soild Gold, Tiki Cat (pricey), I and Love and You, Whole Earth Farms, Merrick (see below).

Also, formulas with pumpkin are great for sensitive stomachs! You can even feed small amounts of plain yogurt (no added sugar!) and plain pureed pumpkin (no additional ingredients) to your cats as snacks. My seniors love them both as an occasional treat (not meal). I also highly recommend getting a formula with added omegas and probiotics (Taste of the Wild has these). I also have wild fish oil to add to my cats' wet food for omegas and to benefit their skin (only one likes it though). I used to add powdered probiotics back in the day as well.

Taste of the Wild
TASTE OF THE WILD Rocky Mountain Grain-Free Dry Cat Food, 14-lb bag - Chewy.com (also in most pet food stores – speciality stores and now in Petco and Petsmart, also on Amazon)

TASTE OF THE WILD Lowland Creek Premium Real Meat Recipe with Roasted Quail & Duck Grain-Free Dry Cat Food, 14-lb bag - Chewy.com (newer formula)

Solid Gold
SOLID GOLD Winged Tiger with Quail & Pumpkin Grain-Free Sensitive Stomach Adult Dry Cat Food, 6-lb bag - Chewy.com

I and Love and You
I AND LOVE AND YOU Naked Essentials Digestive Support Chicken & Pumpkin Recipe Dry Cat Food, 3.4-lb bag - Chewy.com (I think Target also sells this brand online now, and I've seen in human health food stores even)

Merrick (adult)
MERRICK Purrfect Bistro Complete Care Grain- Free Sensitive Stomach Recipe Dry Cat Food, 12-lb bag - Chewy.com

Whole Earth Farms
WHOLE EARTH FARMS Grain-Free Real Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food, 10-lb bag - Chewy.com (good grain-free lower cost option)

Wellness – I considered for dry for my foster kitten, but ultimately wanted limited animal protein sources, ideally no chicken, beef, or fish (potential allergens).

WELLNESS Complete Health Natural Grain Free Deboned Chicken & Chicken Meal Dry Kitten Food, 5.5-lb bag - Chewy.com

I also feed a few ferals cats on my block that I unfortunately had to switch to a lower cost option and have been doing Rachel Ray's Nutrish (chicken and brown rice) for a couple months now.

Hope this helps you!