Cat people - what do we think of Taste of the Wild food? (Info provided)

[poshpepper]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi...

I read the food thread a while back (about a year ago) that prompted me to switch my dogs and cats to grain free.

I am currently feeding my cats Wellness Core dry food and switch between Merrick Before Grain (100% meat) wet and Merrick (Ocean Breeze) wet food.

The dogs get InovaEVO wet food (95% meat) and NVI Grain Free Kibble.

I just wanted to say thank you to all those that contribute to these threads... and know that it helps the lurkers too

My kitties have never been so soft (and my one kitty who would barf 3x a week now does it maybe once a month) and my dogs coats are so shiny and they are more energetic.

I am soooooo grateful that I found this information. Thank you again!!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/26/2009 8:19:17 PM
Author: poshpepper
Just wanted to pop in and say hi...

I read the food thread a while back (about a year ago) that prompted me to switch my dogs and cats to grain free.


I am currently feeding my cats Wellness Core dry food and switch between Merrick Before Grain (100% meat) wet and Merrick (Ocean Breeze) wet food.


The dogs get InovaEVO wet food (95% meat) and NVI Grain Free Kibble.


I just wanted to say thank you to all those that contribute to these threads... and know that it helps the lurkers too

My kitties have never been so soft (and my one kitty who would barf 3x a week now does it maybe once a month) and my dogs coats are so shiny and they are more energetic.


I am soooooo grateful that I found this information. Thank you again!!!!

poshpepper - that''s so wonderful to hear what great results you''ve had with your babies from the food switch! I''m so happy to hear the info on PS helped make your pets happier and healthier

 

[katamari]

Date: 5/24/2009 11:42:02 AM
Author: AmberGretchen
OK, and to respond to the original question Lynn, TOTW is not a BAD food in the same way that Nutro, Royal Canin, Iams, etc... are, but you can definitely do better.

Sorry to threadjack, but why is Royal Canin bad, AG? We have taken our little pudgy to three seperate nutritionists and feline dietitians and they always recommend Royal Canin as the best option for an obese cat who also needs indoor formula (except for a raw diet, which I am just kind of scared to try). Am I doing bad by my little guy?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/27/2009 2:42:52 PM
Author: katamari

Date: 5/24/2009 11:42:02 AM

Author: AmberGretchen

OK, and to respond to the original question Lynn, TOTW is not a BAD food in the same way that Nutro, Royal Canin, Iams, etc... are, but you can definitely do better.

Sorry to threadjack, but why is Royal Canin bad, AG? We have taken our little pudgy to three seperate nutritionists and feline dietitians and they always recommend Royal Canin as the best option for an obese cat who also needs indoor formula (except for a raw diet, which I am just kind of scared to try). Am I doing bad by my little guy?

katamari - unfortunately, the big cat and dog food companies (Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Iams primarily) tend to sponsor pet nutrition education in this country. Unfortunately, all of them, including Royal Canin, are loaded with fillers, particularly corn-based, that are totally unnecessary, and in many cases harmful to cats.

Here are the first few ingredients from Royal Canin Indoor cat formula dry food, as an example:

Ingredients:
Chicken meal, brown rice, corn, corn gluten meal, rice, chicken fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract and citric acid)

Cats should never have a food with rice, corn, and corn meal amongst the first ingredients. They don''t need it and its very bad for them.

Compare that to the first few ingredients in Innova EVO (grain free) dry food:

Ingredients:
Turkey, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Egg

I feel you on how tough it can be to take weight off of indoor kitties - two of my three struggled with it for years. We finally switched them to a mixture of Innova EVO (completely grain free) dry food and regular Innova dry food - we feed 2/3 cup for three cats once per day in the morning. At night they split a can of Nature''s Variety Instinct wet food - we feed all the flavors, but the chicken is probably the easiest to mash up for our Ragdoll, who isn''t too bright about chewing his food

so we use that the most.

Over a year, the overweight ones lost over a pound each, and are now within their healthy range. In addition, the vet raved about how good they looked - eyes, teeth, coats, everything. And we can see the difference too - they look shinier and their eyes are brighter, and they just seem overall so much healthier.

There have been a bunch of threads on here about cat nutrition. I''d highly recommend that you look into it more - it sounds like you really want to do right by your little guy, and I really think you can do so much better than Royal Canin. I''d strongly recommend that you do a trial with one of the higher-quality foods (or more than one) and see if your little guy doesn''t start to seem healthier. It might take some playing around to see how much you need to feed him to get him to drop weight, but in any case he''ll be getting all the stuff he needs and none of the stuff he needs. You don''t need to feed raw to get him a much better diet than Royal Canin.

 

[katamari]

Date: 5/27/2009 3:59:37 PM
Author: AmberGretchen

Date: 5/27/2009 2:42:52 PM

Author: katamari

Date: 5/24/2009 11:42:02 AM


Author: AmberGretchen


OK, and to respond to the original question Lynn, TOTW is not a BAD food in the same way that Nutro, Royal Canin, Iams, etc... are, but you can definitely do better.

Sorry to threadjack, but why is Royal Canin bad, AG? We have taken our little pudgy to three seperate nutritionists and feline dietitians and they always recommend Royal Canin as the best option for an obese cat who also needs indoor formula (except for a raw diet, which I am just kind of scared to try). Am I doing bad by my little guy?

katamari - unfortunately, the big cat and dog food companies (Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Iams primarily) tend to sponsor pet nutrition education in this country. Unfortunately, all of them, including Royal Canin, are loaded with fillers, particularly corn-based, that are totally unnecessary, and in many cases harmful to cats.


Here are the first few ingredients from Royal Canin Indoor cat formula dry food, as an example:


Ingredients:

Chicken meal, brown rice, corn, corn gluten meal, rice, chicken fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract and citric acid)


Cats should never have a food with rice, corn, and corn meal amongst the first ingredients. They don''t need it and its very bad for them.


Compare that to the first few ingredients in Innova EVO (grain free) dry food:


Ingredients:

Turkey, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Egg


I feel you on how tough it can be to take weight off of indoor kitties - two of my three struggled with it for years. We finally switched them to a mixture of Innova EVO (completely grain free) dry food and regular Innova dry food - we feed 2/3 cup for three cats once per day in the morning. At night they split a can of Nature''s Variety Instinct wet food - we feed all the flavors, but the chicken is probably the easiest to mash up for our Ragdoll, who isn''t too bright about chewing his food

so we use that the most.


Over a year, the overweight ones lost over a pound each, and are now within their healthy range. In addition, the vet raved about how good they looked - eyes, teeth, coats, everything. And we can see the difference too - they look shinier and their eyes are brighter, and they just seem overall so much healthier.


There have been a bunch of threads on here about cat nutrition. I''d highly recommend that you look into it more - it sounds like you really want to do right by your little guy, and I really think you can do so much better than Royal Canin. I''d strongly recommend that you do a trial with one of the higher-quality foods (or more than one) and see if your little guy doesn''t start to seem healthier. It might take some playing around to see how much you need to feed him to get him to drop weight, but in any case he''ll be getting all the stuff he needs and none of the stuff he needs. You don''t need to feed raw to get him a much better diet than Royal Canin.

Thanks so much, AG! I just read through all the cat nutrition threads. I wish I had read all of these before Kirby became a little chub! As soon as he became a senior, he got terribly inactive and gained a couple pounds (which for a cat is obviously a lot). He has lost a little on RC, but I think it is mainly due to play.

I always try to buy them better food, but I was going off price and not knowledge. I will definitely be shopping for some new and better food for them this weekend!

And, to not totally threadjack, I will say that Boo is one of the cutest cats, ever, Lynn!

 

[AmberGretchen]

katamari - happy to help! And no worries, now that you have better information, you should be able to get your guy on better food and getting healthier and slimmer in no time! Just be aware that it does take a while for them to lose weight, and its best that way - if they lose too quickly they can get fatty liver disease, which is very serious (can even be fatal!) - as with human weightloss, slow and steady is the trick.

If you''re going with grain-free dry kibble I''d try two meals of 1/4 cup each to start, and if you''re doing wet I''d do 1/2 a large can twice a day. Or combo, which is what we do - 1/4 cup dry food once/day, and 1/2 can of wet food once/day. Kitty may protest, but that''s actually good. Our vet said they should always be hungry at meal times, and should finish their food pretty quick - that''s one way to know you''re not feeding them too much.

And I totally agree with you about Boo - definitely one of the cutest kitties in the world, such a handsome boy

 

[Hoytie]

Well, too much diarrhea in my baby British Shorthair, so I took him to the Animal Hospital over the weekend not wanting to wait until the middle of the week for my regular Vet appointment. Of course, I brought in a lovely stool sample so all of the tests will be performed. He tested negative for Giardia and was wormed again. He is on a bland diet for a week and, hopefully, the diarrhea will cease. The doctor said it may take a few days for the stool to get better. If not, blood tests will have to be performed because something else must be going on. I pray it does not come down to that and it was ''worms''. I always checked his diarrhea for blood, etc. But, of course, the eye cannot catch everything. Actually, this morning I once again did the ladylike task of checking his diarrhea and thought I saw a small somewhat curve-shaped white rice-like form. I had given him some rice the other day but figured it would have already been out of him. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me. Anyone who can provide info and/or experience would be appreciated.

Thank you for reading my rant.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hoytie - what you saw could definitely be a worm of some sort. Also, I know that the test for Giardia (and some other parasites) are not 100%, because they have to catch the kitty shedding the organism in order to be able to detect it in tests.

I''m so sorry you are dealing with all of this stress and worry about your sweet kitten. Is he still eating/drinking/playing/happy? If so, that''s a good sign that at least whatever is going on is not likely to be too serious.

Did you get a chance to try pumpkin? Even if he''s on a bland diet (I''ve heard that chicken and rice is great for this), you could add a little pumpkin to the mix and see if it firms things up a bit in the poo department.

One other thing: I''d be careful about keeping him on the bland diet too long, since it doesn''t usually contain all the nutrients a growing kitten needs.

TONS of dust and good wishes headed your way that your little guy heals up soon and its nothing serious!

 

[Haven]

We feed our kitties raw food, and it''s wonderful. We buy the little frozen raw patties for them, so it''s super easy to do. Their stool has been great since we switched about a year ago.

DH spent a considerable amount of time researching and trying out different kibble, and he finally decided to go raw. I just wanted to share that raw is not necessarily difficult to feed if you buy the patties.

Now, our pup''s raw diet . . . THAT''S a different story.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Haven is absolutely right, raw doesn''t seem to be difficult these days since if can be bought as frozen patties. One word of caution though - one of the vets at my cat-only practice thought it might be a little too challenging for a kitten''s system - I think she recommended waiting until about 1 year of age before trying a raw food diet. Anyway, just for what that''s worth...after that though, raw is definitely a great way to go!

 

[Hoytie]

At this point I am so disgusted and discouraged about my kitten''s diarrhea. He tested negative for parasites and was dewormed again. The diarrhea is continuing. I am just going to change his water from bottled to tap and see what happens. The heck with this don''t change this and don''t change that. How much worse can it get. He was ok on well water and Taste of the Wild before arriving so I''ll give it a try.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/2/2009 9:17:31 AM
Author: Hoytie
At this point I am so disgusted and discouraged about my kitten''s diarrhea. He tested negative for parasites and was dewormed again. The diarrhea is continuing. I am just going to change his water from bottled to tap and see what happens. The heck with this don''t change this and don''t change that. How much worse can it get. He was ok on well water and Taste of the Wild before arriving so I''ll give it a try.

Hoytie, I totally get your frustration and I''m sorry your little guy''s issue is so persistent. Have you tried the canned pumpkin? That really works for a lot of kitties and doggies.

And I hate to say this again, but based on my experience with Oliver, and also Lynn''s experience with her Boo, it really might just be a part of him being a kitten, and he may just need to grow out of it...

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Ditto to the canned pumpkin!!

I adopted a 6mo old kitten about 4 years ago. He had the same chronic diarrhea...and also some vomiting of what seemed to be just clear stomach bile?? Anyway, I tried EVERYTHING under the sun. He was in and out of my vet''s office trying different things. My vet is cat only and they are really good, but nothing was working.

The ONLY thing that ended up working was a complete raw food diet with some canned pumpkin mixed in. Thankfully it did, because I was getting to my wit''s end and actually entertaining the thought of taking him back (sad!). But, I stuck it out and he came through it. Now, four years later, he is just fine.

Anyway, I''m definitely an advocate of raw, but sometimes it is really difficult to be exclusively raw. I tend to mix it up...I usually do just dry food in the morning and then any combination of raw, wet and dry at night. It can also be difficlut to get some cats to like the raw, so you have to mix it in with some of their tasty wet and/or dry to get them used to it.

I use Nature''s Variety raw and they actually recommend rotating between raw, dry and canned. (Not sure if it is a ploy to get you to buy all their food!)
http://www.naturesvariety.com/rotation

 

[Hoytie]

I tried the pumpkin but it did not seem to work well. He is going back to the Vet this week. I may try the raw diet. My Vet is very big on ''raw'' and I will try anything at this point. I''m not too worried about him not liking it. He will eat anything. This morning he wanted to lick mouthwash.

 

[Miscka]

Sorry to kind of threadjack...AmberGretchen do you know as much about dog food as you do about cat food? I am really interested in the topic and would love to chat about it, if its ok with you I can start another thread. Or is there a good thread around here for it?


Lynn B, I know nothing about cat food but I was JUST looking at Taste of the Wild for our pups! Boo is lucky to have such a caring Mom!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/2/2009 2:51:54 PM
Author: Miscka
Sorry to kind of threadjack...AmberGretchen do you know as much about dog food as you do about cat food? I am really interested in the topic and would love to chat about it, if its ok with you I can start another thread. Or is there a good thread around here for it?



Lynn B, I know nothing about cat food but I was JUST looking at Taste of the Wild for our pups! Boo is lucky to have such a caring Mom!

Miscka - I have researched dog food as well (even though we don''t have a doggie, I get asked a lot at the shelter where I volunteer training dogs, so I wanted to be reasonably knowledgeable). There was a thread a while back about this - here is the link

I think my favorite dog food brands right now are Nature''s Variety and Innova, same as cat food. And its worth looking into raw food for dogs as well - they have slightly different requirements than cats, but there are good pre-made options available for dogs as well, including NV brand.

 

[Lynn B]

OK you guys, you have gotta hear this!

On AG''s good recommendation, I sent an e-mail to Nature''s Variety asking if they have samples of their dry food to try.

I got an e-mail back saying no, sorry, no samples, but they would send me a coupon in the mail. I said, OK, thanks.

WELL... it came today. And LISTEN to what it says!

FREE PRODUCT VOUCHER
This coupon is valid for ONE selection only:
- Three 5.5 oz Instinct/Prairie/Homestyle cans
- Three 13.2 oz Instinct/Prairie/Homestyle cans
- One 4lb - 5lb bag Instinct/Prairie kibble
- One 3 lb. bag raw medallions

I really had to read that TWICE! The first 3 items are all quite inexpensive, the most costly one is less than $15 on PetFoodDirect. But the 3 # bag of raw medallions cost over $56!!! (Link) Now, doesn''t it seem silly to use the coupon for anything BUT the raw medallions???! But the problem is, I don''t feed Boo raw... I have considered it, but have never taken the plunge because honestly, I am scared of e-coli, salmonella, and other contaminates.

So, my question is -- what would you guys do? Take the plunge and look it as an awesome opportunity to try raw for free? Or not be greedy

and just get one of the other items???

PS Here''s the link to Nature''s Variety is any of you guys want to request a coupon, too!

(Link)

 

[Lynn B]

No one? Anyone?!

(

)

BTW, I looked again at PFD and there are 3 # bag of LAMB medallions that are over $60! This has to be the most *valuable* coupon I think I have ever had.

Watch me lose it!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

LOL Lynn, sorry to leave you hanging, DH and I and the kitties slept in a little bit this morning, so I''m just now seeing this...

I think that *if* you were to ever consider feeding Boo raw, the frozen medallions are the easiest and least risky in terms of contamination. You can basically get out however many of the medallions you need, put them in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge to thaw overnight, and feed them the next day, then repeat. The only problem is if your schedule isn''t consistent or predictable, then you don''t want them sitting in the fridge for an indeterminate amount of time - this is mine and DH''s main obstacle in terms of feeding raw.

So if you think there''s a chance that your schedule would be predictable enough to always use the medallions you thaw, it might be worth a shot to get a bag and see how he likes it.

If there''s zero chance of that happening, I''d go with the canned or the kibble, since both are really high quality, and I''m betting Boo will really like them

 

[AmberGretchen]

Oh! And I meant to add - go with the Instinct line, that''s the grain free. Our kids are doing REALLY well on the Instinct Canned - they''ve loved every flavor, and they''ve all really leaned out and put on more muscle since we started feeding it to them

 

[Lynn B]

Thanks, AG, for the reply! Your sleep-in morning sounds delightful!

Well, I ordered the raw frozen chicken/turkey medallions... couldn''t resist the bargain and the chance to try raw for free. It''s 48 (1 oz) medallions, that''s an excellent "starter/trial" size, for sure!

I am still a little *nervous* about feeding him the raw food... but I agree with you that these are the least risky and most easy to use of all options out there... and after weighing the pros and cons, apparently in the end, my love of a deal

won out!

I am so curious to see how he likes it, and how he does on it. Watch the little monkey LOVE IT and immediately THRIVE on it, and I''ll be paying $60 a pop for to feed him!

Thanks again for your input, I''ll keep you posted!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Anytime Lynn, you know how I love little Boo

FWIW, ours did love the raw food samples we gave them - gobbled them right down. I heard a rumor that NV might be lowering their prices a bit in the near future, so there''s hope even if Mr. Boo does love them. Can''t wait to hear how it goes!

 

[Hoytie]

Well, I am happy to report that my little British Blue is doing much better in the diarrhea department. I took him to the Vet again a few days ago because of the excessive diarrhea and I had seen some blood as well. Of course, I freaked out. Believe it or not, little Josh gained a pound, which surprised me greatly. I never would have thought that being that nothing seemed to stay for long in his stomach. Of course, gaining weight was a good sign which showed his body is processing the food correctly. The blood, which was a bright red color, is nothing to worry about because the color indicated it is coming from the lower bowel. He has tested negative, two times no less, for parasites as well. The Vet informed me that he is fine and sometimes kittens go through this and he will probably outgrow it. He gave me two different types of natural pet supplements (i.e., enzymes, etc.) to mix with his food. Plus I started him on the Nature''s Variety Raw/Instinct diet, which my Vet is very big on. (Joshua loves the raw chicken medallians.) No grains for my little Joshua. Anyway, it is like night and day. Gone is the watery diarrhea. His stools are formed and, no doubt, much harder. I cannot express how happy I am.

Thanks to all who provided advice.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Lynn B...I''m glad you are trying the raw for your cats! What a deal!! I may just have to call and request a sample/coupon, like you did!!

Do you feed Boo canned food at all? I would suggest mixing the raw in with that at first...gets ''em used to it. My cats didn''t like it at all when I tried it straight the first time.

Another tip for the Nature''s Variety...I usually keep a few in a tuperware in the fridge to let them thaw. Then, before I feed them, I warm it just *slightly* in the microwave. Maybe like 7 - 10 secs. I know it goes against the "raw" concept a bit, but cats seem to like it more.

Oh, the things we do for our fur babies!!

 

[Lynn B]

Oh Hoytie! I was soooooooooo happy to read your update! That is WONDERFUL news!

On the Ragdoll forum where I hang out a little bit, someone else has to add enzymes to her cat''s food, and the difference it made was AMAZING! It sounds like your vet is doing everything right.

And by the way, I am going to try the NV raw chicken/turkey medallions for Boo, secondary to the awesome coupon NV sent me! I''ll keep you posted.

And again, congratulations! I know how happy you must be!

(Now where are those pictures of little Josh, BTW???!!!)

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/7/2009 8:57:18 PM
Author: Rock_of_Love
Lynn B...I''m glad you are trying the raw for your cats! What a deal!! I may just have to call and request a sample/coupon, like you did!!

Do you feed Boo canned food at all? I would suggest mixing the raw in with that at first...gets ''em used to it. My cats didn''t like it at all when I tried it straight the first time.

Another tip for the Nature''s Variety...I usually keep a few in a tuperware in the fridge to let them thaw. Then, before I feed them, I warm it just *slightly* in the microwave. Maybe like 7 - 10 secs. I know it goes against the ''raw'' concept a bit, but cats seem to like it more.

Oh, the things we do for our fur babies!!

Hey, ROL, thanks for the post.

Yes, I do feed Boo canned food, too (Wellness)... he is surprisingly PICKY about his wet food... he dislikes MOST flavors/brands I have tried. So I am really eager to see what he thinks of the raw! Mixing it with his favorite flavor of canned is a great idea! Thanks!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/7/2009 5:29:20 PM
Author: Hoytie
Well, I am happy to report that my little British Blue is doing much better in the diarrhea department. I took him to the Vet again a few days ago because of the excessive diarrhea and I had seen some blood as well. Of course, I freaked out. Believe it or not, little Josh gained a pound, which surprised me greatly. I never would have thought that being that nothing seemed to stay for long in his stomach. Of course, gaining weight was a good sign which showed his body is processing the food correctly. The blood, which was a bright red color, is nothing to worry about because the color indicated it is coming from the lower bowel. He has tested negative, two times no less, for parasites as well. The Vet informed me that he is fine and sometimes kittens go through this and he will probably outgrow it. He gave me two different types of natural pet supplements (i.e., enzymes, etc.) to mix with his food. Plus I started him on the Nature''s Variety Raw/Instinct diet, which my Vet is very big on. (Joshua loves the raw chicken medallians.) No grains for my little Joshua. Anyway, it is like night and day. Gone is the watery diarrhea. His stools are formed and, no doubt, much harder. I cannot express how happy I am.


Thanks to all who provided advice.

Hoytie - this is wonderful, I''m so thrilled to hear that your little guy is feeling better!!!

 

[Hoytie]

I would like to upload pictures of Joshua but first I have to figure out how to do it.