Which Dry Food Is Healthier?

smosmosmo

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Smo is eating Purina One Tender Selects with salmon right now, but I'm not too thrilled about the ingredients. Here's the ingredients list for that one:

Salmon, Rice Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Beef Fat Naturally Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols, Soybean Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Wheat Flour, Liver Flavor, Soy Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Glycerin, Chicken, Calcium Carbonate, Phosphoric Acid, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Dried Carrots, Dried Peas, Choline Chloride, Sodium Bisulfate, Taurine, MINERALS [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], VITAMINS [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B-7), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K)], L-Cysteine, DL-Methionine. B415617.

As you can see it's packed with grains, and I don't like all the fillers (why does she need to eat carrots?). Also, I remember a poster on here saying menadione sodium bisulfite is bad for cats.

I've been looking for an affordable dry food that's cleaner and fish-flavored, since Smo hates poultry. I've gotten it down to Purina Pro Plan Salmon & Egg and Nutro Essentials Salmon & Brown Rice.

Purina Pro Plan:

Salmon, Chicken Meal, Pea Protein, Dried Egg Product, Cassava Root Flour, Potato Protein, Pea Starch, Canola Meal, Animal Fat Preserved with Mixed-Tocopherols, Dried Yeast, Natural Flavor, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Bisulfite, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Biotin, Sodium Selenite. A-4643.

Nutro Essentials:

Salmon, Chicken Meal, Brewer's Rice, Pea Protein, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Whole Brown Rice, Potato Protein, Whole Grain Oatmeal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Natural Flavors, Soybean Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Dl-Methionine, Salt, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Calcium Pantothenate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Decaffeinated Green Tea Extract, Spearmint Extract.

Both have quite a lot of grains which I'm not crazy about, but they still look better than the Purina One. I'm leaning toward the Purina Pro Plan right now, because I'm not sure about the alfalfa and all the extracts in the Nutro. I'm definitely not an expert though - which one looks healthier to you guys?
 

EmersonandEvie

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Out of those options, I like the ingredients in the Pro Plan better. Pay special attention to the top 4 ingredients because that's what the majority of the food will be composed of. Three out of four ingredients are animal based, which is better than two out of four. Just my two cents. :)

I only feeds dry as a snack but I feed Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein. There is a fish flavored one (salmon) and a chicken one. It has the lowest amount of carbs and the highest amount of protein I have seen in a dry food. You can find it on
Chewy. It is pricier than what you have listed but maybe you could rotate it in if cost is an issue?
 
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smosmosmo

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Thanks for the input, I'm going with the Pro Plan! The Dr Elsey's also looks really nice and I'm going to pick up a bag for her to try out. I'm trying to get her off kibble as much as possible and the Clean Protein looks like a great alternative to the cheaper stuff!
 

duckpond

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i feed my guys Dr. elseys, the chicken. For some reason my guys didn't like the salmon, even my fish guy. They do all 4 like the chicken. They do have smaller 2 lb bags so you can try.
 
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smosmosmo

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duckpond duckpond Oh this is good to know. Maybe the chicken Dr Elsey's will be so irresistible I'll be able to convert her to poultry - I'm not crazy about her eating so much fish.
 

duckpond

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duckpond duckpond Oh this is good to know. Maybe the chicken Dr Elsey's will be so irresistible I'll be able to convert her to poultry - I'm not crazy about her eating so much fish.
worth a try. i know Elsey's chicken is the first dry all 4 of mine have agreed upon! :clapcat:
 
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smosmosmo

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m3rma1d m3rma1d Thanks so much for the heads up! The samples look perfect for this picky eater!
 

Kat0121

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i feed my guys Dr. elseys, the chicken. For some reason my guys didn't like the salmon, even my fish guy. They do all 4 like the chicken. They do have smaller 2 lb bags so you can try.
My very picky eaters love the Dr Elsey's chicken dry food. I wish they liked their wet food as much.
 

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duckpond, your cat on the avatar looks like a rabbit LOL. How does you other cat look like? My favorite kibble food is Rawz. It's not cooked too much, which helps in keeping more of the nutrients natural.
 

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Now I am reading stuff against raw cat food. I don't know what to believe anymore. :cool2:

 

duckpond

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duckpond, your cat on the avatar looks like a rabbit LOL. How does you other cat look like? My favorite kibble food is Rawz. It's not cooked too much, which helps in keeping more of the nutrients natural.
She feels like a soft rabbit too! :) she has the softest, plush fur, everyone loves to pet her. I have some photos somewhere of all of them...lol.. a solid black little girl, and big tuxedo boy, and a gray and white long hair boy. But none are as soft as my little white girl :)
 

duckpond

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Honestly i think there are risks with any type of food, canned, dry, raw, commercial, home made any type. I have quit stressing so much over it, and in turn quit stressing my cats so much, i think.

I feed the best foods i can, that they will eat. And try to keep a rotation going, hopefully so that everything balances out. I don't have all the answers, but i do the best i can for my guys, and it seems to work. Food is important, but play, a calm home, love, vet care, its all important. I tried to quit stressing so much over any one aspect of good health. :dunno:
 

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I use the Dr. elseys, the chicken - just a couple of pieces when I get tired of looking for SG, or I'm in hurry to find her. So far, she comes when she hears the bag open. Yes, she can tell the sound of one sandwich bag of dry food from the sound of a sandwich bag of different dry food.
 

Name9335

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I would honestly dump the dry completely and go to an all wet diet, or if you can, raw.
 
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