Worst Cat Food Brands?

[duckpond]

I agree, i find these posts fun too, im not very sensitive . But i do also know some people who get hurt, upset, when they are struggling to feed pets, and they feel they are being told what they can afford to feed is not good enough. I recently went through this same thing with a co worker, and i try to watch it more now. I didnt realize some things i said about food, and pet care really hurt her. I dont know, i have just come to think i need to be more careful with what may be seen as criticisms. May just be me Maybe i am sensitive after all...lol

 

[KarenKat]

I think it's important to consider that some cats will only eat unhealthy food, or that there are so many people (myself included) that simply lack the education to know better. I usually try not to deride any specific food brand/type, but talk more about ingredients to target/avoid.

And for what it's worth, anyone out there reading this, I just finished Jackson Galaxy's book "Cat Mojo" and even he couldn't get his Benny to eat anything but dry food. So sometimes there is no choice, the cat chooses what it will.

 

[maggiedemi]

Well my two cats couldn't eat the fancy, expensive grain-free dry foods that everyone recommends here. They had severe vomiting and diarrhea. So to me those foods could be "bad, terrible, crappy, the worst, dreaded, and shouldn't be fed." But I'm not going to use those words because I don't want to hurt or offend my friends here, since I know they feed those foods.

 

[MissMolly08]

I feed Daisy Blue Freedom chicken pate because she would not eat anything better. As bad as carrageenan is, however, I just could not make her eat something yucky. I accepted this fact despite my strong preference to feed something that has better ingredients and no carrageenan. Now I am ready to search for something else.

The worst pet food brands are obviously much worse than Blue Buffalo, however. If your cat only eats Purina products, you can expect problems to develop.

What do you mean "you can expect problems to develop?" My cat has been fed some form of Purina for 10 years with no issue so far.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Clearly the worst cat food brands are the vegan ones.

That I do agree with.

 

[duckpond]

That I do agree with.

I will jump on that band wagon too! Cats are not vegan!

 

[1 bruce 1]

What do you mean "you can expect problems to develop?" My cat has been fed some form of Purina for 10 years with no issue so far.

I think it depends on the preferences of the person deciding where those problems come from.
If a cat eats a mid-tier brand for 15 years, develops kidney failure and dies, some will blame the food. If a cat eats a high end brand for 15 years, develops kidney failure and dies, some will say it was hereditary and others will blame the "boutique" foods for being too high in protein, etc.. If a cat eats raw for 15 years, develops kidney failure, and dies, some will say it was hereditary and some will say raw foods kill, raw food is "high protein" and hurt the kidneys,...etc...

 

[1 bruce 1]

I will jump on that band wagon too! Cats are not vegan!

I've yet to meet a dog or cat on a vegan diet that didn't have an owner with strong vegan beliefs, which makes me wonder why that pet is REALLY on that food.

 

[Daisy6]

What do you mean "you can expect problems to develop?" My cat has been fed some form of Purina for 10 years with no issue so far.

Read reviews of Purina products on Amazon. Cats get diarrhea or constipated, stop using the litterbox, vomit, and have other symptoms of digestive system disorders. Not all of them, of course, but you can see the risk is much higher with Purina food.

 

[duckpond]

I've yet to meet a dog or cat on a vegan diet that didn't have an owner with strong vegan beliefs, which makes me wonder why that pet is REALLY on that food.

I myself am vegetarian, not vegan. But i do not, would not feed my cats like i eat. They need animal protein, that's how nature made them. And lol my steak loving husband says the same thing about himself.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I myself am vegetarian, not vegan. But i do not, would not feed my cats like i eat. They need animal protein, that's how nature made them. And lol my steak loving husband says the same thing about himself.

I'm a meat eater like your husband is! But I don't feed my horses and livestock like I eat. Can you imagine withholding pasture land from a horse and dumping chicken parts into their stall? Disaster...
Some vegetarian friends of mine are perfectly OK feeding raw. They're few and far between but they really do a lot of work finding the most ethically sourced meat they can (animals that had lives before they were "food") and seem OK with that.
We've been tossing the dogs some leftover vegetables and it's fun to see who wants what. And our cats always go crazy for cucumber and melon, in that order!

 

[Willowy]

I actually think a "worst cat foods" list is more useful than a "best cat foods" list, because a lot of people can't afford the best ones. But, at least most people can move up to a less-bad cheap food. . .

I've never seen a really truly awful canned cat food. The worst I've seen is Special Kitty tuna flavor, because it has "wheat middlings". But most canned foods have more meat content than most dry foods, even that one.

 

[Azazel]

I posted this article in a thread last week but basically I think the worst ones are those that are owned by one of the major pet food corporations (Hills, Mars, Nestle Purina, Smuckers, General Mills).

This link has a list of them, I will never support or trust any of these brands: How the 'System' Works Against Pet Food Consumers

 

[1 bruce 1]

I actually think a "worst cat foods" list is more useful than a "best cat foods" list, because a lot of people can't afford the best ones. But, at least most people can move up to a less-bad cheap food. . .

I've never seen a really truly awful canned cat food. The worst I've seen is Special Kitty tuna flavor, because it has "wheat middlings". But most canned foods have more meat content than most dry foods, even that one.

When it comes to "worst diet" I'd say anything home prepared with zero balancing procedures in place is right up there with "vegan" stuff.
An "All meat diet" is bad. You see this all over the place. "I feed my dogs and cats an all meat diet." Unless the wording is poor....this is bad.
They need bones, organs, and other stuff to balance the food out. Secretly I think this is why a lot of vets go on the defensive mode whenever a client mentions a raw diet because so many people jump into it and feed nothing but ground beef, ground chicken, or canned tuna and don't understand why this isn't a good thing. Cats need more than just a can of tuna a day and dogs need more than a pound of 85/15 ground beef a day. Problems will arise for sure.
Lots of people like the idea of feeding a home prepared diet, raw or cooked, but if that owner can't be bothered to do some reading and learning or are unsure..... a commercial diet is way better! If the owner likes the idea but is squeamish about organs or bones (liver can be gross to work with if you're not used to it), a pre-prepared diet might work so long as the cost isn't an issue...for more than 1 or 2 cats, this can get expensive. And some cats don't do as well on these diets as they're very bone heavy, etc.

There's a dude on you tube that did a video on feeding his cats a dry/wet diet and offering meat chunks as a tooth cleaner. It was a nice middle of the road way of doing things, I thought, and a nice addition for folks interested in a raw diet but afraid of getting the balance right.

 

[Daisy6]

I think it depends on the preferences of the person deciding where those problems come from.
If a cat eats a mid-tier brand for 15 years, develops kidney failure and dies, some will blame the food. If a cat eats a high end brand for 15 years, develops kidney failure and dies, some will say it was hereditary and others will blame the "boutique" foods for being too high in protein, etc.. If a cat eats raw for 15 years, develops kidney failure, and dies, some will say it was hereditary and some will say raw foods kill, raw food is "high protein" and hurt the kidneys,...etc...

No, only Persians are known to have a hereditary cause of kidney failure. Most cats who die that way are just losing nephrons as part of the natural aging process. That is more likely to happen before age 15 if a cat has eaten bad food her entire life.

 

[1 bruce 1]

No, only Persians are known to have a hereditary cause of kidney failure. Most cats who die that way are just losing nephrons as part of the natural aging process. That is more likely to happen before age 15 if a cat has eaten bad food her entire life.

We don't have purebred cats. Mutt cats only.
So it's impossible for us to decide their heritage and their pedigree. Many folks here do, too. IMHO food can bring those cats up to their genetic potential, but if the root genetic problems for kidney dysfunction is there, it's there, and sometimes it's unavoidable. Lucky is the cat that is fed a good diet to support their individual needs and sees old age. We've lost cats to kidney failure and they weren't fed improperly, thanks =)

 

[Willowy]

When it comes to "worst diet" I'd say anything home prepared with zero balancing procedures in place is right up there with "vegan" stuff.
An "All meat diet" is bad. You see this all over the place. "I feed my dogs and cats an all meat diet." Unless the wording is poor....this is bad.
They need bones, organs, and other stuff to balance the food out. Secretly I think this is why a lot of vets go on the defensive mode whenever a client mentions a raw diet because so many people jump into it and feed nothing but ground beef, ground chicken, or canned tuna and don't understand why this isn't a good thing. Cats need more than just a can of tuna a day and dogs need more than a pound of 85/15 ground beef a day. Problems will arise for sure.
Lots of people like the idea of feeding a home prepared diet, raw or cooked, but if that owner can't be bothered to do some reading and learning or are unsure..... a commercial diet is way better! If the owner likes the idea but is squeamish about organs or bones (liver can be gross to work with if you're not used to it), a pre-prepared diet might work so long as the cost isn't an issue...for more than 1 or 2 cats, this can get expensive. And some cats don't do as well on these diets as they're very bone heavy, etc.

There's a dude on you tube that did a video on feeding his cats a dry/wet diet and offering meat chunks as a tooth cleaner. It was a nice middle of the road way of doing things, I thought, and a nice addition for folks interested in a raw diet but afraid of getting the balance right.

Yes, that's definitely a good point---even the worst commercial cat food is better than an unbalanced diet, either homemade cooked/raw or something random like canned chicken/tuna or deli meat.

 

[Daisy6]

I had one cat who lived 12 years on dry food only, usually Science Diet. She refused to sniff wet food. I had another cat who only ate dry Science Diet her first 10 years and later switched to dry Blue Buffalo. Then she was forced to eat Hill's d/d because my third cat had allergies and feeding them different foods was impossible. She was finally able to eat healthier wet food at age 16 and lived three more years.

 

[MissMolly08]

Read reviews of Purina products on Amazon. Cats get diarrhea or constipated, stop using the litterbox, vomit, and have other symptoms of digestive system disorders. Not all of them, of course, but you can see the risk is much higher with Purina food.

Ehh, you can find bad reviews on pretty much any food. I mentioned this on another post and PP just mentioned it here too but I feel like when these things happen, people are quick to blame the cheap food and label it "junk". No one can say that Purina food 100% caused these digestive issues in their cat. Perhaps their cat has an allergy, perhaps the disorder is hereditary.
Also, it may seem like the risk is higher with Purina foods but I think you just see a lot more bad reviews because a lot more people use Purina products. When a company is that huge, they may have a million bad reviews but they have 10 million customers or whatever. A smaller, high end pet food company that many have never even heard of such as say Weruva, they may have a quarter of the bad reviews but they also have a quarter of the customers.

 

[maggiedemi]

Just remember when you make "fun" and "useful" lists like this, somebody might read it and leave, thinking I don't belong here, this place is too high-class for me. Regular every day people like me shop at their local stores and can't afford to have cat food shipped in every month. The expensive ones I tried didn't work for my cats, they either wouldn't eat it or caused diarrhea/vomiting. It's hurtful, not fun, to hear the food you feed your cats called "junk".