Worst Cat Food Brands?

[Minxxy]

I think the worst foods contain toxic preservatives such as BHA/BHT.
I feed Purina products simply because a wet diet is crucial and our cats will only eat Friskies Classic Pate . They also eat a bit of Purina One kibble as a topper.
I'm also feeding three stray cats and they eat Friskies kibble as well as Friskies Classic Pate and 9 Lives Pate.

 

[Daisy6]

Maggie, having it shipped on a regular schedule saves me 15% on each order. They ship free; you just pay for the cans or bags. That 15% savings adds up over the life of your cat.

 

[Azazel]

I don’t think you need to spend a lot of money to give healthy food to your cats. It just takes time and dedication. Making your own food can be just as affordable or even cheaper than buying commercial food.

The truth of the matter is that no pet food company is completely transparent. There are potential issues with all. I just choose to not support those major manufacturing corporations that have had histories of dishonesty and who have a hand in how pet food regulations are set. I also make most of my own cat food, which for me ends up being more cost effective than purchasing commercial food anyway.

 

[MissMolly08]

Maggie, having it shipped on a regular schedule saves me 15% on each order. They ship free; you just pay for the cans or bags. That 15% savings adds up over the life of your cat.

Chewy only ships free if you spend over $49. Not everyone has that much $ at once to stock up. We live pretty much paycheck to paycheck. It's much easier for me to budget $5-$15 to grab a few cans each time we grocery shop or a variety pack of Friskies that lasts me an entire month for only $15. I also don't like doing auto-ship stuff because what if I forget to cancel the auto shipment and I don't have the money in my account? I don't need cat food bouncing my bank account! I know many don't understand what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck though.

 

[Daisy6]

If you order enough food to last two months it will add up to the amount necessary for free shipping on Chewy but there also are other options. Petco and Petsmart do it too. My only problem with the autoship is Daisy does not like anything enough for me to feed her the same thing forever.

 

[Willowy]

They send you an email a few days before autoship, so you can go in and change it or delay it if necessary.

But, yeah, I can totally see how someone with only 1 cat might have trouble getting to the minimum free shipping amount. It would take a lot of planning if they wanted to do it that way.

 

[tabbysia]

Here are a couple of interesting articles.

Top 10 Worst Dry Cat Food Brands for 2018 - The Cat Digest

The 7 Worst Foods You Can Feed Your Cat | Petslady.com

 

[Daisy6]

They send you an email a few days before autoship, so you can go in and change it or delay it if necessary.

But, yeah, I can totally see how someone with only 1 cat might have trouble getting to the minimum free shipping amount. It would take a lot of planning if they wanted to do it that way.

It is not a problem if you select 2 cases for 3 months, which is what I did.

 

[1 bruce 1]

It is not a problem if you select 2 cases for 3 months, which is what I did.

What if you have a cat that refuses food after a few days or weeks, and is finicky? That can be a problem. =/

 

[Daisy6]

Yes, I am in that boat now. For cats who never get tired of eating the same food all the time, autoship is a good way to save money (and time shopping). For all of the cats like mine, I agree it it is not the best way to buy cat food.

 

[1 bruce 1]

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.

I've talked to folks that train with us about diet. I cannot believe what some consider a "whole foods diet" that's "balanced" consists of. One person boasted that their dog ate a whole banana, a whole apple and yogurt for breakfast...no supplements...and a small amount of cooked chicken and a s*** ton of broccoli for dinner. No supplements to balance this horribly unbalanced diet. No calcium. No nothing.
Their (short term) performance dog crapped messy piles of grey, greasy stools as we were talking. No amount of considerate "I know of some good websites" or "I know of some good companies" or "I don't think your dog should be pooping something that looks like it's some species of amoeba from Neptune" would budge them, nor would a flat out "I know a good vet that's pro-home prepared food that can help you balance this".
I don't like telling people they're feeding their pets a really crappy diet and experiences like this remind me why some vets put the brakes on whenever an owner says "I feed a home made diet!"... but some day I will probably bust apart and tell them they're killing their pet due to their lack of research. 30 minutes spent on the internet alone would clue them in so much of the importance of bones (or calcium), organ meats, or fiber or whatever.
And some people feed cats all meat. I hate the term "all meat diet", because it conjures up that idea that nothing but ground raw meat is a good diet.
Feed a cat nothing but raw ground hamburger or raw ground chicken or whatever and I guarantee problems will arise.
If a person can't research or is afraid they will somehow unbalance the diet, find a good commercial product and stick with it. Continue learning and find a good mentor and go from there. It can be done, but if the research isn't there or the fear IS there...

 

[1 bruce 1]

Yes, I am in that boat now. For cats who never get tired of eating the same food all the time, autoship is a good way to save money (and time shopping). For all of the cats like mine, I agree it it is not the best way to buy cat food.

For finicky ones I wonder if experimenting with foods readily available and developing a rotational diet then ordering that way would help the budget, provided ordering in bulk is OK.

 

[Daisy6]

Nope, you have to choose one item for the subscription. They are sold by the case, not the can. But Amazon sells variety packs (two or three flavors in one case of 12 or 24) that you can try before choosing one of them to autoship.

 

[Furballsmom]

M MissMolly08 That paycheck to paycheck thing, more understand it than you might think.
I've tried every avenue, from buying from boutique pet stores to independent chains like the Pet Club and Bentley's, to the big box stores, to chewy and other mainstream websites, to Only Natural Pet and a couple others that allow small orders (gratitude and thanks, @duckpond ), and finally to local grocery stores, tractor supply et al.
I was hating the waste of having to buy cases of food from online after I exhausted most brands i tested from the boutique stores that he wouldn't eat. I can't deduct donations on my taxes, so yes, I'm trying to be smart and watch my pennies and dimes.
After his liver numbers went up a couple years ago I contacted numerous manufacturers asking a lot of questions, researched a lot, and kept buying "better" foods that he won't eat.
This spring he got fussy about his standby favorite. I nearly missed the fact that he was losing weight because of that. (Healthy otherwise).
My focus changed from a losing battle of trying to get so-called better food down his throat to finding foods similar to his favorite, locally.
My point is that yes, there are a lot of bad additives and questionable-to-downright scary bad ingredients. Some foods have more of these than others, and those get some serious side-eye from me. The thing of it is, if a brand is designated as bad today, tomorrow there will be another that needs to be added to the list, and next day another that the manufacturer has improved. The pet food industry, and even any one brand, changes very frequently.
To be informed of what the bad additives are, and to know the ingredients of the foods that your cat(s) eat is important.
But the most important thing and the very best food on the planet/in the universe?
The one your cat will eat within the budget you have to work with. I hate Purina brands these days but that's what he will eat.
How to offset questionable foods?
There are a number of brands that are reasonablly priced in my area, which for some people is a problem right there, as they don't have a lot available. Still, in my opinion variety is key, IF your cat will cooperate, including a variety of treats (temptations and others) because the idea is to give the digestive system a chance to deal with/expel the bad additives, rather than loading the system day after day. There's my two cents, and my Big Kitty? He's gained weight back

 

[tabbysia]

What if you have a cat that refuses food after a few days or weeks, and is finicky? That can be a problem. =/

I have had that problem before with ordering a whole case (or two) of a food that my cats like, only for them to decide that they don't want to eat it anymore. Fortunately, chewy.com is great about this. Both times this happened to me, they gave me a refund on the food and did not even make me send back the unused cans. They told me to donate it to an animal shelter, which I did.

 

[KarenKat]

For finicky ones I wonder if experimenting with foods readily available and developing a rotational diet then ordering that way would help the budget, provided ordering in bulk is OK.

I do this with Olive. She is very food motivated but I notice a lack of exuberance when she eats the same thing in a row. I buy a few options in bulk (after extensive Olive-testing by going to local places for sample cans) and rotate every meal. Obviously this does not work paycheck to paycheck and once it backfired when a food she eagerly ate was one she stopped liking. I have a lot of cans left.

 

[1 bruce 1]

M MissMolly08 That paycheck to paycheck thing, more understand it than you might think.
I've tried every avenue, from buying from boutique pet stores to independent chains like the Pet Club and Bentley's, to the big box stores, to chewy and other mainstream websites, to Only Natural Pet and a couple others that allow small orders (gratitude and thanks, @duckpond ), and finally to local grocery stores, tractor supply et al.
I was hating the waste of having to buy cases of food from online after I exhausted most brands i tested from the boutique stores that he wouldn't eat. I can't deduct donations on my taxes, so yes, I'm trying to be smart and watch my pennies and dimes.
After his liver numbers went up a couple years ago I contacted numerous manufacturers asking a lot of questions, researched a lot, and kept buying "better" foods that he won't eat.
This spring he got fussy about his standby favorite. I nearly missed the fact that he was losing weight because of that. (Healthy otherwise).
My focus changed from a losing battle of trying to get so-called better food down his throat to finding foods similar to his favorite, locally.
My point is that yes, there are a lot of bad additives and questionable-to-downright scary bad ingredients. Some foods have more of these than others, and those get some serious side-eye from me. The thing of it is, if a brand is designated as bad today, tomorrow there will be another that needs to be added to the list, and next day another that the manufacturer has improved. The pet food industry, and even any one brand, changes very frequently.
To be informed of what the bad additives are, and to know the ingredients of the foods that your cat(s) eat is important.
But the most important thing and the very best food on the planet/in the universe?
The one your cat will eat within the budget you have to work with. I hate Purina brands these days but that's what he will eat.
How to offset questionable foods?
There are a number of brands that are reasonablly priced in my area, which for some people is a problem right there, as they don't have a lot available. Still, in my opinion variety is key, IF your cat will cooperate, including a variety of treats (temptations and others) because the idea is to give the digestive system a chance to deal with/expel the bad additives, rather than loading the system day after day. There's my two cents, and my Big Kitty? He's gained weight back

You said it!!!!
A business is a business, and to keep afloat it needs to make money and pet food is a business, and a very competitive one especially in the last 10-20 years. We used to have a handful of brands to choose from, now there seems to be thousands!
Cats are picky and can be maddening to feed but that pickiness is there for a reason. A dog will usually eat any disgusting thing they can and most cats are not like this. This survival technique of "don't be a fool and eat something that will kill you/make you sick" is a good skill to have, and if cats sense something isn't right about a food or has too much in it (ingredients lists that are 18 miles long, etc.), they will probably say "nah bruh" and walk off.
I have a dog that absolutely refuses to touch lamb. Hates it with a passion and I think, since this dog will gobble up anything else I offer including vegetables, fruits, bread crumbs, or an old moldy pile of horse poop, something about lamb is not good *for him* and he knows it.

 

[tabbysia]

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".

In all fairness, the thread is clearly labeled "Worst Cat Food Brands" so the content is obvious. Anyone who is too sensitive or easily offended and is afraid the brand they use might be listed can simply not click on and read the thread. I am not trying to be obnoxious here, but I find that a lot of people are WAY too easily offended these days.

Also, you really don't have to buy the most expensive foods to be healthy. There are plenty of supermarket brands that are pretty decent and don't have things like corn gluten as the first ingredient or use artificial dyes. I don't buy the most expensive food on the market, but I do at least try to make sure that the first few ingredients are meat and that corn, wheat, soy, and artificial ingredients are not listed--also no grains. Not everyone has to avoid grains, but I find that my IBD cat does a lot better.

As for having food shipped (like I do), most people do this not because they are "high-class" or rich but because it is often much cheaper to buy the canned food in bulk. I only make $10.00 per hour at my current
job, so I definitely understand budget constraints.

 

[foxxycat]

My girls have always had kibble and always will. Blood work is perfect and most live to 18 years or very close. Only one died in 4 years but we domt know her real age nor what illnesses she had.

I feed tractor supply indoor formula 4Health and it has no corn in it. The cats get their morning tuna but such a small amount. I tried all expensive foods and guess what?? Puked. Constipation. Or refused to eat 3 days later.

We tried every flavor of high end canned and kibble..it doesn't work for us. The best diet is one the cat will EAT and don't let people guilt trip you into thinking you are a bad pet parent for feeding lesser stuff. Are the cats healthy happy and loved? Then just try your best! My cats all have fussy tastes to high end food. One hates freeze dried or raw food or cooked. She only eats kibble. Period. Shes going to be 15 next month. We put out canned food once or twice a week to see if they will eat it...nope!

 

[maggiedemi]

Well words like crap, bad, trash, junk, garbage, terrible, dreaded, the worst, yuck, shouldn't be fed, and lacking in education would hurt anybody's feelings. That's not being too sensitive. Foxxycat actually sent me a sample of the Indoor food she uses for her cats and the little extra fiber helped Maggie with some poop problems she had been having. Purina canned foods actually saved Demi when he was having pee problems and I couldn't get him to eat the more expensive brands. So one person's garbage can be another cat's saving grace.