What dry food do you feed your cats?

Royal Canin. A bit pricey, but, my boy is worth it.

I like the Evo and also the canned Evo…it is pricey, but I think a good product.

My new kitty is on Science diet for kittens but she is 10 mos. old so I am mixing in the adult formula now about 50/50

Gad has always been picky, has no interest in any real meats other than a bit of tuna now and then.

My vet did tell me to feed only single meat foods like beef, chicken, turkey and no liver or giblets ingredients because of some evidence that the organ meats may be linked to thyroid conditions.

Evo for the dog and the cat. No complaints.

Oh. Try Amazon for Felidae.

@dpworkin: I can order it from a variety of places. The Chatham Agway was going to get it from a branch store; branch stores had empty shelves so they ordered from suppliers. That happens only once a month. So I am looking for a stop-gap.

@Coloma: When you say “single meats,” do you mean one meat per large bag?

@gailcalled

Single meats or meat blends as in the canned foods.

Combo of say chicken, lamb, beef, etc. but stay away from any ‘byproducts’ which means a nasty blend of various visceral organs.

Less grains and more meat is best, from what I gather, a lot of the cheaper foods have lots of grain fillers and byproducts.

The suggestions by my vet (in subtext of questions) were all grain-free. I am also hoping for organic products.

I’m going to follow this discussion as it’s quite interesting.

@gailcalled – May I ask, why did your daughter veto Iams?

@tedibear: Milo was her cat first. I am not sure; maybe he turned up his nose at the stuff.

Iams is known for horrible treatment of research animals.

I use Royal Canin, as well. They have so many different types. Milo is bound to like at least one. Innova is a good one, too.

We feed Science Diet sensitive skin. Our first choice was Wellness but our oldest didn’t do so well on it (allergies) so we had to move her to the SD. Her coat looks great and her dandruff is gone so I suppose in this case, she knew better than we did.

I usually feed mine canned food, I never buy the cheap cheap canned food because my cat seems to get sick after eating it.

What’s wrong with viscera?
My purebred outdoor cat (I know, you’re supposed to declaw them and lock them in, but I don’t) eats a whole mouse every few days except the front part of the face (the part with nothing in it but teeth) and the gall bladder (too bitter).
So how come a fancy indoor cat can’t eat some liver? A couple of lungs? A nice pancreas? when included, and hidden from human sight, in commercial food?

I fed Basil Newman’s Organic food until it started giving him urinary blockages (it also made him gain weight). It’s also horribly expensive. Now Basil gets the Urinary Prescription Diet and bugs me every minute because he’s hungry.

I used to love Castor and Pollux organic (or some variation of a pun in the brand there), but then my grocery store stopped carrying it.

Felidae for the cats and Canidae for the dogs. We just switched my bf’s dogs over to it we moved in together and they love it, actually look forward to eating it rather than sniffing and then nibbling here and there. I googled it to find feed stores in my area, it’s worth the drive and extra $2.00 a bag.

@susanc

Not a thing wrong with natural viscera, as in mouse, gopher, or mockingbird.

It is through commercially raised & medicated viscera of cattle.,pork, poultry etc. that is the issue.

Not too many field mice on hormones and steroids.

Just like humans being secondarily effected by factory farm meds.

Organ meats are where all the toxins and medications are stored., bad stuff for people & pets.

@susanc: As @Coloma says, that is also why we don’t eat liver any more. I always loathed it and was forced to eat one biteful when my mother served it regularly. Luckily I could drown it with bacon.

Now, back to cats. If I change food for Milo, do I have to introduce it gradually? Or mix it with his old food?

Do not change the food altogether. Milo will get the poops. Replace ¼ of the old food with the new food to begin with, then over a 10–14 day period add another ¼ every few days.

@gailcalled

Gag, liver…I’d eat dirt before I ate liver, haha

Am I the only horrible cat owner who feeds my cats Meow Mix (hairball formula)? They love it, and are quite healthy. I feel inadequate, now. :(

@augustlan

No worries, my guy loved his Fancy Feast and Purina naturals for a long time, but I have been feeding him better in his senior years.

@Coloma Good lord, I never thought of that – of course you’re right. The horror, the horror.

@susanc

Hah…wow, I just realized I watched a scary movie and now we are talking viscera…hmmm…better find some light reading before lights out. lolol

The vet told me wet food is healthier than dry food. The water content in the wet food will fill the cat/dog up faster, they say dry food is more responsible for obesity in animals than anything.

Try a wet food instead like 9 lives or something instead. I could never get my own pets to eat wet food unfortunately but maybe yours would.

@Jabe73: My vets in the practice have never said a word about wet food. They write down Milo’s diet; Felidae, a few morsels of organic mozzarella, several organic treats, some fresh grass and an occasional mouse part, moth or fly.

I leave drinking water all over; inside and out. Milo drinks out of anything, including my stream (if I am nearby to fight off the invisible creatures) left-over shower water, a freshly-flushed toilet and a water bowl on top of the fridge.

Given the contents of the litter box, urinary tract seems to be fine. And MIlo is a lean, mean fighting machine. he gets a lot of exercise while galloping around the yard and field and woods, rushing up and down tress for no discernible reasons and tracking the endless supply of rodents.

I can see his muscles ripple.

I bet he can’t take mighty mouse

@dpworkin: Milo here; You’re on. Pick either time and place or weapon of choice.

(Exams over?)

I done been garduatified

Between you and I and the lamppost, well done.

I used to have a cat some years ago that went nuts for Cantalope.

Had to have a bowl of it every time I cut one up. One never knows what kind of quirky cat they might end up with.

Milo is fond of licking the dregs of veggie/ bean soups. He leaves the cooked kale.

I usually give them Iams or Science Diet.

@Rufus_T_Firefly: According to @tinyfaery; Iams is known for horrible treatment of research animals.

Yeah, I’ve heard the claims. Hypocrisy is the mother of all credibility problems, and PETA has it in spades. While loudly complaining about the “unethical” treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, the group itself kills animals by the thousands.

From July 1998 through December 2009, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) killed over 23,000 dogs, cats, and other “companion animals.” That’s more than five defenseless creatures every day. PETA also has a walk-in freezer in which to store the dead bodies, and it contracts with a Virginia Beach company to cremate them.

So, why should anyone give a damn about anything they say? I don’t give their claim about Iams any credence at all. They’re nothing but well-funded hypocrites.

@Rufus So that makes the abuse ok? Sick.

Please don’t try to put words in my mouth. That’s NOT what I said. At all. What I actually said was that PETA made those particular claims of abuse and since PETA itself doesn’t feel a need to tell the truth, the claim is probably just another piece of disinformation and their claim is a non-issue. If PETA (or anyone else, for that matter) has to rely on disinformation to advance their agenda, I’m certainly not going to take their word as gospel. So, unless there’s some actual evidence to the contrary, I’ll continue to feed my cats the best food that I can afford. If you see that as abuse, you’re the one who is sick.

@Rufus_T_Firefly All well and good, but Science Diet and Iams are cheap shit marketed by vets with an interest in the company.

I don’t give a FUCK about PETA, I care about the truth. And good try on being offensive. I have spent my adult life rescuing and caring for animals. And thousands and thousands of dollars, as well.

Cat food fight.

@dpworkin – My own vet, a lifelong personal friend recommended those brands to me, so respectfully, I would have to disagree, but provided that what you say IS based in some kind truth, exactly which alternatives would you recommend?

@tinyfaery – Sorry if you thought I was TRYING to being offensive. I was just telling the truth. However, YOU began by being offensive towards me, so forgive me if I didn’t roll out the red carpet for your expert opinion. You’re certainly not going to make me feel bad for feeding and treating my own pets well to the best of my abilities. I suppose it’s possible that you might have had intentions other than the intention to insult me. Maybe they just got lost somewhere in your seemingly unnecessary and uncalled-for tirade.

Vets are used to recommending things that are profitable to them, and are used to convincing themselves that they have no conflict of interest. What I recommend is a careful perusal of the ingredient and nutrient lists. I prefer an ingredient list with no grain but rice, and certainly no plain grain in the top five ingredients. I also prefer to stay away from meat by-products, because they are often antibiotic and hormone laden. So, for example, the top ingredients in my dog’s dry food are “beef, lamb meal, buffalo, venison, cottage cheese, herring oil”

@dpworkin – Thanks. I usually look for those same wholesome ingredients for my pets, many of which are found in Science Diet and Iams. The mix you provide for your dog sounds very wholesome, but expensive. I only wish I could afford such regular fare for my pets. However, not ALL vets are in it for the money. My friend certainly isn’t and I’m one-hundred-percent positive that he wouldn’t lie to me or lead me to believe something that wasn’t true in order to line his own pockets, either. Especially since he rarely charges me for an office visit and rarely charges me anything more than the cost of the drugs he prescribes for my animals. I can assure you that he makes absolutely NO money off of the pet foods that he recommends to me.

I wouldn’t suggest that your friend would deliberately deceive you; only that vets are as subject to marketing ploys as anyone else.

There is a lot of truth in that. Most doctors I’ve been to are more willing to push or prescribe a certain drugs and products when they’ve got a few hundred samples and drug company freebies lying about.