High quality dry cat food....

[rhbgirl24]

OK I've been feeding my kitty Science Diet light since we adopted her 5 years ago. Since then their product has considerably declined and I'm not confortable feeding it to her any longer. Way back when I worked as an aquatic specialist I took cat/dog nutrition classes and wellness was just emerging. Now it seems Wellness Core and Innovo Evo (weight management) are the best options.... I'm leaning towards Evo.

Has any of you guys had experience with either? I want to make sure its low cal enough that she doesn't gain any but still have the protein base that it should. and I would love to hear if any one has an experiences making the switch to one of these.

Thanks so much!

 

[iheartscience]

My cats all eat Wellness Core and they LOVE it. They seriously go bonkers for it in a way they never did for any of the other foods we've tried. None of mine ever had a weight problem but their coats really did get extra beautiful after having them on Wellness Core for a while.

They also love the Wellness Core wet food but it was recalled recently because of a lack of B1 so I'm trying out other wet foods currently. (None of them are going over too well!)

 

[Gypsy]

Wellness Core is good. Innova EVO is too. Instinct is also good. I have fed all three but have been using the Innova more recently because I think Lucy is allergic to weird things (hasn't tested positive for anything yet, but if we switch her food her hair falls out along her spine and she starts looking like a skunk not a cat) and Instinct is hypoallergenic food. Plus they have three flavors: Chicken, Duck, and Rabbit. So I can give them a little variety without too much change.

 

[LGK]

The Wellness Core is a big favorite of my guys. They love it way more than any other dry food- I sometimes try them out with that plus a few other options, and they routinely totally ignore the others and nosh on the Wellness. So that's what we feed them. (They also get some Wellness wet food too, and super-skinny Rats gets some baby food too, since he will stuff himself silly on it.)

 

[kindred]

We feed our kittens Evo and they absolutely love both flavors (turkey & chicken and herring and salmon). We got some free food when we adopted them and when we mixed it with Evo the kittens would pick out the Evo and eat it first. The other food sat around until they got hungry again. Evo is expensive but it has no grains and low carbs and is high in calories, so they don't need to eat as much.

We decided against Wellness because most of their formulas contain rice (which is just filler that cats do not need). It's really important to read the ingredients because so many supposedly healthy foods contain lots of fillers. The latest trend is to replace corn with rice, and many companies (but not Wellness) use brewer's rice which is very unhealthy. I considered Wellness Core, but it has potatoes and I'd rather not feed those to my cats either. Honestly, my cats eat better than I do!

There is an argument that wet canned food is much better for cats than dry, and I'm not sure what to think about that. I've read that cats don't drink much water and that in the wild they get a large part of their moisture from prey. I don't want my kitties to get UTIs but feeding exclusively canned Evo would just be too expensive. They do get it now and then as a treat. I had never heard of Instinct before Gypsy mentioned it. It looks fantastic, especially the raw ones, but I am guessing that would be out of my price range.

Sorry this got so long. This is a subject I have been thinking a lot about lately! I had to retrieve my password to be able to post because it had been so long! I am really interested in what others think is the best dry food and the dry vs. wet issue.

 

[pinkstars]

My kitty gets Wellness CORE, and he does seem to like it.

We've had our friends watch him a few times when we've been away for a weekend or something and they feed their cats(his mom and sister) Science Diet and his....#2's always smell pretty bad after he's been there. But then after being back home and eating a few meals everything seems to go back to normal and not noticeable.

 

[kindred]

Sorry, rhbgirl24, I missed the fact that you were asking about the weight management formula of Evo (and that you were only discussing Wellness Core. I think my reading comprehension is lacking today!) I haven't used it but the ingredient list looks great. When we were switching our kittens over to regular Evo we were told you should always introduce new food very gradually. Like using a mixture of 1/4 new food and 3/4 old food and then gradually increasing the new food by 1/4. I'll shut up now!

 

[MsP]

I feed a blend that is primarily Nature's Variety Instinct to my cat and dog(cat variety to cat, dog to dog, obvs...) I mix in a few other brands, too. My vet wasn't familiar with the food so I sent him a link and he said it looked like a good choice.

A recent discovery regarding pricing and purchasing... look into Amazon's subscription service. I see that my dog food, for example, is $10 less per 13lb bag($26.99 instead of $37.99). That's about 30% off!! While I like to support local merchants, 30% savings is quite considerable.

 

[Gypsy]

Wet versus dry food. I've heard a lot arguements for both. I have found the balance I think works best for my cats, and assimilates all that I've read or heard (that was credible).

I free feed the Instinct Dry. Because Merlin disrupted the household status qou I have two separate stations for feeding in the house (not counting Lucy's separate area). Everyone gets the same food. It's high protien and low carb. It fills them up and lasts well (Wellness Core for weight management lasts longer, but that's because mine don't care for the taste as much at all, and Duncan lost a POUND after we got Merlin from stress ). The dry food is good for their teeth and is pracical for a couple who both work.

I have two pet water fountains for clean filtered running water. They drink twice as much water easily with these than with just a bowl. So it helps their UT, especially as I have 3 males. The water fountains are KEY because dry is their primary type of food.

I feed wetfood in the evenings, every evening, to them all-- 1 five ounce can divided by 5 (so it's more a treat size than a meal size). This for two reasons. One I want them to get used to it in case I have to switch to all wet as they get older (certain diseases require all wet diets) and two because it gives me a way to get them all together at once to check on them and to watch their appetites, their weights etc. So many times having them altogether like that lets me examine them (they are used to mommy fiddling with them as they eat wet). As a side benefit it reienforces my 'treat call' sound to them every day so if I ever need to get them gathered I can use that call to get them (mostly) in one place. Herding cats is HARD.

That's my solution. Is it perfect. No. Does it work for my cats? Yes.

 

[asscherisme]

I just picked up some Orijen at my local pet store. It looks great on the bag but I have not started to mix it into their food yet. If that goes well, I may also mix it with Evo weight management. I am about to transition slowly my almost ago one kittens to adult food. One is getting chubby and the other is not and the chubby one eats more than her share of the food. Thats why the weight control. Currently they are getting royal canin kitten and wellness dry but I don't like the ingredients in royal canin. Seems too expensive for what it is. I wonder if its what made my one girl a little chubby.

 

[zoebartlett]

We feed our two cats Innova EVO (weight management) and they like it. They're not really that picky about what they eat though.

 

[kindred]

Gypsy, can I ask what kind of water fountains you use and if they require a lot of upkeep? Our water is a bit hard and I don't know if it would gunk up a fountain. I love the fact that you have a "treat call". I have not managed to get my cats to respond to anything yet but the rustling of the food.

 

[asscherisme]

Gypsy, are males more prone to UTIs? I have 2 females and they don't like wet food.

I wonder if a high quality dry food and a fountain that would get them to drink more water would be as or almost as good as canned food?

 

[Gypsy]

Hi Kindred, I love your nickname.

My treat call (well, the cats consider it a treat call, for me it's just how I call them-- with or without treats) is just clucking my tongue in a steady noise. I don't clicker train (I'm too lazy though I REALLY wish I wasn't) so that's about the only way we have of calling them, and we've been doing it since the day we got them. So they are used to the noise and know it means to come (whether or not they do is another matter). Of course the call PLUS the rustling of a treat bag or the openning of a can gets the best results.

This is the fountain, we've been though a few and this one has been the best and easiest. Plus, it doesn't give them any kind of chin acne (it's been a problem in other ones).

http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Fresh-Clear-Drinking-Fountain/dp/B0015Z3RYK I'm not sure that's the exact one (I don't have it in front of me) in terms of brand, but it's the right design. We wash it pretty often. I haven't had slime issues as mentioned.

 

[Gypsy]

Gypsy, are males more prone to UTIs? I have 2 females and they don't like wet food.

I wonder if a high quality dry food and a fountain that would get them to drink more water would be as or almost as good as canned food?

I've always heard that they are. I know they are prone to crystals. I'd check with your vet. It's Friday and my memory is of offline right now, I'm afraid, so I don't want to give you in accurate information.

 

[katamari]

Just FYI, EVO (well, their parent company, Natura) was bought recently by Proctor and Gamble. We recently moved and our new pet store quit carrying EVO because when P&G bought other brands (Eukenuba, Iams, and others), they continually substituted meat for crude protein and grain. Most P&G foods use substantial amounts of grain and crude protein. As a result, we switched to Orijen (<--despite me wanting to throw up every time I see this horrid spelling on the bag). It is the highest percentage meat food you can buy and our little fatties love it. (We supplement it with raw and canned food, too).

 

[zoebartlett]

Katamari -- I laughed when I read your post because I haven't bought Orijen specifically because of its spelling.

So, out of curiosity, what high protein, weight management dry food is best? One of our cats needs to lose a few.

 

[Cind11]

Gypsy, are males more prone to UTIs? I have 2 females and they don't like wet food.

I wonder if a high quality dry food and a fountain that would get them to drink more water would be as or almost as good as canned food?

I've always heard that they are. I know they are prone to crystals. I'd check with your vet. It's Friday and my memory is of offline right now, I'm afraid, so I don't want to give you in accurate information.

Because of a male cat's anatomy their urethra can get blocked so they are unable to urinate which as you can imagine is a serious and potentially life threatening problem. A female cat can get a UTI but will not become blocked.

I used to feed my cats Wellness CORE but I was concerned that the protein content might be too high since I have 14 and 12 yr. old cats. My Vet said it is hard to keep up on everything including nutrition but he thought the protein content might be a bit high as well. So I switched my cats to the Wellness that comes in the blue bag. I can't remember the name offhand. I like the ingredients but like the ingredients in the CORE better.

 

[rhbgirl24]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Sorry I was away for the weekend, and was just reading/responding via phone when I could.

We did get a bag of the EVO weight management and tried a 30/70 mix with the science diet she was eating. She ate all like a pro, so I think I will continue to go with the switch gradually. It does concern me that Innova was bought out and I hope the quality doesn't decline....

As for wet/dry mix I learned, when taking the nutrion classes that dry was better (high concentration of ingredients, good for teeth and whatnot) so I only gave wet once a week for a treat. Now I see most vets recommend a mix for moisture consumption, so I am now feeding EVO wet 3x per week as well.

She does have a water fountain and seems to use that pretty well. Plus she has a water bowl upstairs that I change two times a day, so fresh water is always available.

Thank you again everyone for your input.... sometimes personal experience is sooooooooo much better and more useful than everything I can read up on the net!