What do you feed your cat?

[Lynn B]

Just wondering what all you wonderful and knowledgable cat people feed your cat(s)?

When we got Buster as a kitten, our vet recommended (dry) Purina Kitten Chow... but said any grocery store brand name would be fine. I had heard about Iams, and asked him, and he said, "Nah... that's just expensive fat. Save your money."

Well, Mr. Buster is one year old (and very happy and healthy), and I'm now feeding him Purina One dry cat food for adult cats. But I see these commercials for all the different kinds of cat foods, and I wonder if any of them are better than another -- reeeeeally. Hill's Science Diet especially has compelling commercials!!!

SO, what do you feed your cats? And why? Thank you!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Your cat is GORGEOUS!

I feed my cats Nutro MAX CAT Gourmet Classics dry food. My eldest cat, who is 13, seems to be doing fine on this. She has a hairball problem and the Nutro doesn''t cause as many problems as other cheaper foods, such as Purina, which she was eating up until last summer when my husband brought home three little kittens and a bag of Nutro Kitten food for all the kitties to try.

I think we pay about $12 per 6 (or so) pounds of food and that lasts at least a week and a half, so possibly it contains more nutrients so the cats aren''t eating as often. They seem happy so we''re sticking with this food

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/2/2007 7:11:37 PM
Author: MC
Your cat is GORGEOUS!

I feed my cats Nutro MAX CAT Gourmet Classics dry food. My eldest cat, who is 13, seems to be doing fine on this. She has a hairball problem and the Nutro doesn''t cause as many problems as other cheaper foods, such as Purina, which she was eating up until last summer when my husband brought home three little kittens and a bag of Nutro Kitten food for all the kitties to try.

I think we pay about $12 per 6 (or so) pounds of food and that lasts at least a week and a half, so possibly it contains more nutrients so the cats aren''t eating as often. They seem happy so we''re sticking with this food

Thank you for the compliment on my sweet Buster. We adore him. Our son got a wonderful cat from the shelter last year, and she was pregnant. Buster was one of 6 babies in her litter. He found good homes for all of them, thank goodness.

Hmmmm, Nutro... we bought our daughter a Ragdoll kitten a few weeks ago and the breeder had him on Nutro. She''s weaned him over to Purina Kitten Chow, though now... but she''s watching this thread raptly, too!

 

[Miranda]

I have Leo eating Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten. It is a low *elimination* formula which is KEY for him. The breeder had him on Purina One, but, I thought this was better food and it seems to agree with his sensitive tummy. Buster is so cute! How''s Boo doing?

 

[firebirdgold]

ADORABLE!!

We feed our three cats Innova cat food (red bag) and Innova Evo cat food. It''s about $16 for a 6.6lb bag and one bag lasts around 2 weeks, but you can only buy it at specialty pet food stores. After all the scares with tainted pet food from fake wheat/rice gluten from China I just don''t trust the grocery store brands. The Evo is grain free, protein-rich minimally processed food. The cats all love it and they''re very energetic and healthy including my 14 yr-old.

Give your kitty a kiss for me!

 

[Matata]

I''ve never fed my cats grocery store brands...too much in it that they don''t need. Up until a year ago, I was loyal to Science Diet. All the cats I''ve had throughout my life did well on it. However, the current two (ages 12 & 13) started throwing up all the time and either had diarreha or were constipated. The vet kept switching them to different types of Science Diet and nothing helped. I started reading about other types of food and switched them both to Innova. It''s made with organic, people-grade food. Vomiting stopped immediately as well as other digestive problems, hair balls are almost nonexistent, coats are softer and shinier than ever.

 

[marvel]

I feed my cats Science Diet. About 20 years ago, I had a cat die from FUS (Feline Urologic Syndrome). I was told at the time it is common for cats to develope this from grocery store bought foods because the ash content is/was so high. I don't think it's a problem any more with regular cat foods, but I just don't like the thought. Since then I've always given any cats I've had Science Diet. Probably because it's recommended by vets, and so far, so good. I feed my dog Innova. I tried Innova with my cats, and they snubbed their noses at it...whatever

ETA: Cute kitty, Lynn

Reminds me of a tabby we use to have

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We just use grocery store brands like Purina One and have not had a problem.

 

[monarch64]

My Dad feeds his kitties Fancy Feast and Friskies from walmart, hee hee. They have to have certain flavors and walmart is out of whatever particular kind they like my dad gets all bent out of shape, it''s kind of funny!

 

[Cind11]

One of my cats just had surgery to remove 5 bladder stones so he isn't supposed to eat any more dry. He was placed on Royal Canin SO but stopped eating it after 3 wks. So, my veterinarian said I could feed him anything as long as it isn't dry. The only canned my cats wil eat is Fancy Feast. I've tried many kinds of "premium" canned foods, but they won't touch them. They try to cover them up with their paws like they're covering up something unmentionable. I also feed the three who are allowed to eat dry Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. I can't leave food out all the time now because of the cat who can't eat dry, so I have to do scheduled feedings which has been really interesting. I feel like I'm a slave to cat feedings. LOL.

By the way, Mr. Buster is really cute.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/3/2007 12:17:05 AM
Author: Cind11
One of my cats just had surgery to remove 5 bladder stones so he isn''t supposed to eat any more dry. He was placed on Royal Canin SO but stopped eating it after 3 wks. So, my veterinarian said I could feed him anything as long as it isn''t dry. The only canned my cats wil eat is Fancy Feast. I''ve tried many kinds of ''premium'' canned foods, but they won''t touch them. They try to cover them up with their paws like they''re covering up something unmentionable. I also feed the three who are allowed to eat dry Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover''s Soul. I can''t leave food out all the time now because of the cat who can''t eat dry, so I have to do scheduled feedings which has been really interesting. I feel like I''m a slave to cat feedings. LOL.

By the way, Mr. Buster is really cute.

OH my word, TOOOOO funny! I LOL when I read that. Aren''t cats a RIOT?!

Thanks all, for the replies. I appreciate it.

BTW, here''s another picture of the big guy... and that would be me holding him!

 

[VegasAngel]

My cat is 5 & she eats Purina One Healthy Kitten Formula or Purina One Adult Cat Sensitive Formula Also Friskies Wet food.

 

[Mannequin]

Chandler/Mad Cow gets Meow Mix indoor formula and does really well on it. As far as wet food goes, he will only eat Friskies Prime Filets Chicken and Gravy. Picky brat...

 

[lumpkin]

Eddie does very well with Purina "Urinary Tract Health" formula. I keep thinking I''m going to try something else, though, so I''m glad to see what everyone is feeding their kitties.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey lynn - sorry I''m late to this thread. Buster is GORGEOUS!!

What a sweetie...

I actually started a thread a little while back about this - I am kind of a freak about our kitties and I did a fair amount of research to keep them on the healthiest food possible. They eat a combination of regular Innova and Innova EVO dry and Merrick wet food. Here is the link for the other thread - it has some really fantastic information from other PSers who are very education on this, as well as some useful links. I''d highly encourage you, as well as others who are feeding grocery store brand cat food to read it through so you can make a more informed decision about what to feed your kitties.

My experience (although this is of course anecdotal, not a compelling statistic, was that all three of our kitties'' (one kitten and two cats) fur, teeth, eyes, and overall body condition improved drastically when we switched from Nutro Natural to Innova. Our vet confirmed this impression - he was incredibly impressed with their health and appearance.

Hope that''s helpful!!

 

[zoebartlett]

I feed my cats (which look very much like Buster by the way) Iams. I vary the kinds of Iams -- the kind for indoor cats one time, then the kind for multiple cats, etc. So far both cats have liked the different types. I do always stick to dry food. I hadn''t heard that Iams is bad for cats, so maybe I''ll call my vet tomorrow and see what they recommend in the office.

 

[laine]

I feed my cat Innova EVO as well (thanks for that other thread, AmberGretchen). I paid $35 for a 15lb bag, and though it seems expensive, it''ll last us 3 months or so, so its not bad. We had fed Iams, but found he was getting sick fairly often (hairballs), and now that we''ve switched, he''s much better. He seems to really like the food, and the vet said his coat, teeth, and everything else looked great when we had him in a few weeks ago, so we''re going to stick with the Innova EVO for now. I considered some of the other foods listed in the other thread, but this was the one I could find locally.

 

[Lynn B]

Hey everyone, thanks!

And AmberGretchen, thank you so much for the link. Somehow I missed that whole thread first time through

so thank you for pointing me to it. LOTS of great info, for sure.

I think I will try the Innova. IF I can find it here in Smallville, USA!!! I''ll keep you posted.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lynn - you're welcome. Just in case you can't find Innova locally, try this link to order it online.

 

[laine]

Date: 6/3/2007 9:17:33 PM
Author: Lynn B
I think I will try the Innova. IF I can find it here in Smallville, USA!!! I''ll keep you posted.

Innova''s webpage has a store locater: http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/

Good luck!

 

[AndyRosse]

I''m a bit late to the thread, but after a lot of research on cat foods (after Rascal refused to keep eating his Nutro right before the recall), I ended up with Wellness and Felidae. Rascal tried dozens of wet foods (Merrick, Felidae Platinum, Innova, etc), but would only eat Wellness Grain Free Chicken and Herring. As for dry food, he absolutely loves Felidae Platinum. Rascal goes to the vet every two months for a chronic issue, and in just two months time, the vet was absolutely amazed at how great his coat looked.

Bottom line, there are a lot of great cat foods out there, both wet and dry, and honestly none of them can be found at the supermarket and usually not at PetCo or Petsmart either (IMO).

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lynn - Rascal makes a really good point. I would start with small containers/bags of stuff to see what Buster likes. Our kitties would barely eat Felidae, but Innova has always been a big hit (so just the opposite of her kitty). They also only like two flavors of Merrick wet food. Cats can be picky little animals...

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 6/3/2007 11:44:20 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Lynn - Rascal makes a really good point. I would start with small containers/bags of stuff to see what Buster likes. Our kitties would barely eat Felidae, but Innova has always been a big hit (so just the opposite of her kitty). They also only like two flavors of Merrick wet food. Cats can be picky little animals...

LOL, I went to my natural pet store and bought almost one of every can of wet food that I could find. Then I went home and tried the ones that I thought he would like. Well, Rascal made it quite clear when he didn''t approve of the foods - he would smell it, maybe take a bite, and then digg all around it

After trying every variety of Merrick, Innova, California Natural, and Wellness, the last can was his favorite lol

He loves it so much that he wakes me up religiously every morning at 3:30am for breakfast (something he would never do with his old Nutro wet food). Darn cats, they can be soooo picky!

 

[AndyRosse]

One last thought. One of my local natural pet food stores has a rack with small bags of free samples of all their brands of dry food. That why you won''t spend a small fortune trying to find Buster''s favorite food

 

[anchor31]

I feed my cats IAMS. One of my babies seems to have a sensitive stomach and this brand she can digest easily. Also, I find that my long-haired one has less hairballs. My long-haired one also tends to be picky, and she likes that one.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/3/2007 8:18:21 AM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/3/2007 12:17:05 AM
Author: Cind11
One of my cats just had surgery to remove 5 bladder stones so he isn''t supposed to eat any more dry. He was placed on Royal Canin SO but stopped eating it after 3 wks. So, my veterinarian said I could feed him anything as long as it isn''t dry. The only canned my cats wil eat is Fancy Feast. I''ve tried many kinds of ''premium'' canned foods, but they won''t touch them. They try to cover them up with their paws like they''re covering up something unmentionable. I also feed the three who are allowed to eat dry Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover''s Soul. I can''t leave food out all the time now because of the cat who can''t eat dry, so I have to do scheduled feedings which has been really interesting. I feel like I''m a slave to cat feedings. LOL.

By the way, Mr. Buster is really cute.

OH my word, TOOOOO funny! I LOL when I read that. Aren''t cats a RIOT?!

Thanks all, for the replies. I appreciate it.

BTW, here''s another picture of the big guy... and that would be me holding him!

I have one that does that too

 

[ellaila]

We were feeding Monkey Hill''s Science Diet light hairball formula for dry food and Hill''s Science Diet wet food at night and he loved it, but after the recall I wanted to switch him to something more natural (his food in particular wasn''t recalled, but I got scared enough to switch him anyway). The "better" pet store near me recommended California Naturals because it would be a good transition for his belly since both the SD and CN were chicken-based, so we went with that for dry and Wellness for wet.

The only problem is that Monkey started to gain weight *quickly* on this new food!! So I asked the vet to recommend a good light formula, and she recommended Wellness, so that''s what he''s on now. He *loves* this food, too -- yay! He''s a Wellness boy through and through!

 

[VegasAngel]

Thanks for the Innova recomemndations I think I will give it a try. There is only one retailer in Vegas, thankfully near me. I found some interesting info here http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/cat-food/review.html (Some things already mentioned here) about pet food.


"Best dry cat food. Innova cat food was formulated to replicate a raw food diet, with no by-products, no artificial preservatives and a high percentage (36%) of protein. The high protein level is beneficial, though some cats with kidney problems or other protein intolerances may need a lower percentage. Dry cat food is a good supplement to wet food, say reviews, and it is less expensive than canned food. Though Innova seems expensive, your cat actually needs less of it (About 2/5 cup) due to the high nutrient content. Cheaper foods contain more filler so your cat needs to eat more, mostly negating any cost savings. (compare prices)"

 

[Cehrabehra]

the thing about science diet is that there are less fillers so in theory they poop less. We feed our dog iams and the cat right now is eating I think purina kitten chow - for moms AND kittens I guess that isn''t helpful LOL I haven''t thought too much about it but we''d probably go to iams cat food by default if someone doesn''t say something revolutionary in this thread LOL

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/3/2007 8:18:21 AM
Author: Lynn B

OH my word, TOOOOO funny! I LOL when I read that. Aren''t cats a RIOT?!

Thanks all, for the replies. I appreciate it.

BTW, here''s another picture of the big guy... and that would be me holding him!

he''s really big!! love the bling shot hehe