Cat Owners - best food?

[dancingqueen]

I know this has been discussed in other threads, but thought I would ask again. I''m sure there is a wide range of opinions on this, but I''m trying to figure out the "best" food to feed my two cats, Johnny & June. Johnny is seven months old and June is six months old. I have been feeding them exclusively Nutro products. I give them "complete care" dry kitten food and they seem to love it. I''ve tested a few other dry foods and they always ignore the others compared to the Nutro. I also give them a small can of Nutro wet food in the morning and another at night (one small can for both of them to share) Sonetimes they clean the plate, other times it is ignored and then they won''t eat it after it''s been out for a while. I probably don''t need to even give them the canned food, but they always seem to be hanging around the kitchen "waiting" to be fed. Anyone familiar with Nutro? Do others'' cats not eat wet food after it''s been out for a while? Just wondering if I should try some other brands of wet food (or even dry)?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey DQ - I''d love to see some pics of your babies, they sound darling

There was actually a rather extensive thread about this a while back, which can be found here

Basically, Nutro has a lot of fillers in it (as do most of the popular plans - Iams, Purina, Fancy Feast, etc...), and you can for sure do much better for your babies and with a food they will enjoy. Check out the thread and see what''s available in your area (or order online) - I''m sure something will work for you and for them.

I feed my kitties a combination of Innova dry regular, Innova EVO dry, and Merrick wet food. I''m trying to transition to more wet food but they are picky eaters so its a gradual process.

I hope that''s helpful and please let us know what you find and how it goes.

 

[CrookedRock]

The breeder I bought my cat from made me promise to feed him Life''s Abundance. Link to site. I have done this for 3 months and he really loves it. Although, today I was buying my dog his food (California Natural) and I decided to get the cat something new, only bc you have to order Life''s Abundance, and I wanted to try something else. I ended up buying Wellness cat food and so far he loves it... I also give him Nupro, which is vitamins, etc. I swear to you that everytime I open the container he charges me and sticks his head in to try to eat just that. Here is the link to that. For us it is about finding natural food for them.

 

[dancingqueen]

Thanks AG! I''ll spend some time reading through the information. I''m disappointed to hear that Nutro has a lot of fillers. I thought I was giving them high-quality food. I definitely want to try some other options now.

DH likes to feed them pieces of chicken (when we get rotisserie from the grocery store!) He also sneaks them pieces of turkey from the deli. He thinks it''s ok b/c we buy low-sodium turkey! Do you all feed your kitties "treats"? DH loves the idea of giving them special treats, which is hilarious because he supposedly didn''t want cats in the first place!!

I''m not to savvy with posting pics. When I finally figure that out, I''ll post some of J&J.

Thanks for all the great info.

 

[Elmorton]

My cats were really yowly around food time since we moved and I posted about this last month - the thread turned into about 3 pages of food recs (after we realized that we were underfeeding our kities): Silly Emorton''s Thread Re: Kitty Food There''s some pretty helpful stuff in there.

But...this info comes with a cost...a bit of a thread-jack, actually:

Where have you found specialized cat food around here?

What vet do you use (or know to stay away from?)?

 

[dancingqueen]

I have been buying Nutro at Petsmart, but after looking at some of the old threads, I''m rethinking that idea. Someone mentioned Merrick in an older thread and I just looked it up online and recognized the cans. I have tried that in the past and I bought it at Teske (in Bettendorf on 23rd Street).

I actually just tried a new vet. June was spayed this past Thursday and the vet I was using quoted $350 (Glenroads). I did a little research and switched to Klein Clinic. They charged $200 and all the same services were offered (laser, bloodwork, pain medication, etc). She seems to be doing fine.
I originally took them both to North Brady Animal, but I didn’t want to drive all across town with them freaking out in the car! Klein is only a few blocks from my house as well (close to Bettendorf library).

I also just looked up Innova online and supposedly The Cat Clinic of the Quad Cities carries it.

 

[Elmorton]

Excellent!! Thanks for the info!

 

[EricaR]

My kitties get Flint River Ranch. It comes in the mail and is a bit pricy but it is worth every penny. My cats absolutely thrive on it - the fat one loses weight and my skinny one maintains her weight perfectly, they seem to have more energy, shed less, and are absolutely healthy in every way.

Plus it comes in a really great box, as you can see:

 

[dancingqueen]

Erica -- my cat, June, looks exactly like that! They could be twins.

 

[Lorelei]

Hee, give my cats a box and they are as happy as pigs in muck!!!