Higher quality canned cat food recs

[zoebartlett]

I know there have been threads before about what type of pet food is recommended, but I thought I'd start an updated one. Here's our situation:

We have two kitties and one is pretty high maintenance for a number of reasons. He needs to eat a certain type of food for a condition he has, so we've been giving him dry food (prescription) from the vet. She just recommended that we switch from dry food from canned, and increase his caloric intake. The canned food is double the cost of the (already) expensive dry stuff.

Our other cat doesn't need special food but out of convenience, we had been feeding both kitties the same food until now. Now that we've switched to cans for our boy, it will get outrageously expensive to continue this way, especially since our female doesn't need it.

For the time being, we're giving her the remainder of the prescription dry food until it runs out. After that, we'd like to switch to cans because that's what our vet recommends. She didn't recommend a specific brand though. What brand would you recommend in terms of quality? We'd do anything for these guys but we need to keep an eye on cost. It doesn't help that our girl is picky about what she eats, so we'l most likely start out with a variety of smaller cans until we find a couple she'll eat. I just want to make sure to choose a good quality brand rather than one with fillers.

Thanks!

 

[PintoBean]

I learned about this website from another cat food thread.
http://www.catinfo.org

 

[ecf8503]

I'm a veterinarian, and I feed my cats all canned food. I just tend to just mix it up - everything - Nutro, Blue, ProPlan, Purina One, Wellness, Fancy Feast and Friskies... maybe more; I forget. They like the variety, and I've seen no ill effects. Their weights are good, haircoats are nice, no diarrhea, and I like that they stay better hydrated with less carbs.

 

[NOYFB]

Both of my cats are on prescription diets. Tinkerbell is on Hills T/D dry because it's the only food she could eat after her mandibulectomy 2 years ago (very large kibble) and because she has dental issues as a result (one tooth hangs outside her mouth). Peanut just recently switched to Royal Canin PD in cans because he's got GI issues. He'd been on Wellness (beef, chicken, turkey only - no seafood) cans for 2 years, but has recently had an increase in his GI episodes, so the vet recommended the Rx Royal Canin along with a probiotic (Proviable). He's not normally a canned food lover and would always just kind of lick the juice of the Wellness and then steal Tinkerbell's dry T/D, so we had to figure out a way that the only food he gets is the canned RC, and he's been feeling MUCH better. It's hypoallergenic, so it's also great for cats that have skin/itchy problems.

I have heard from vets that the grocery store variety of foods (Friskies, etc) are not at all healthy for cats because there is way too much grain in them and they are basically like candy. Cats need mostly protein, from meat and vegetables. The Wellness brands are pretty reasonably priced, IMO, so I would suggest those for your non-high maintenance kitty. You can get them at pet food stores and don't need a Rx.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks for the link, PintoBean! That's helpful info to have.

Thanks, ecf! That's what I was planning on doing, trying different kinds to see which ones our girl likes. It doesn't sound like there's a preferred brand, which is good. I'm confused though because I thought foods found in grocery stores (Iams, Friskies, etc.) weren't recommended because of their ingredients. Like Mil Misfit said, I thought they were the equivalent of candy or junk food.

Lil Misfit, wow, both of your kitties are on prescription diets? Our boy is on Royal Canin Urinary SO. He has a tendency to throw up his food (he's a hot mess!), so our vet is hoping that putting him on wet food will lessen the vomiting. Thanks for recommending Wellness for our girl. I'll try picking up a few small cans and see how she likes them. She's so darn picky!

Both of our kitties have dental issues. Our girl just had a tooth pulled and it looks like our boy will most likely need to have one, possibly two, teeth pulled, too. I hope switching to wet food helps.

 

[ecf8503]

That's why I try to mix it up - I don't like all the by-products and such in the Friskies / Fancy Feast type foods, but to be honest - food is expensive. I have 7 cats, and feeding them all canned Wellness (for ex) all the time would be extremely costly. Everything in moderation, right? I like brands like Nutro and Wellness and Blue because (they claim) not to use by-products and other unsavory (to humans) ingredients. But I just can't afford to feed that exclusively.

And actually, there are some nutrients that are concentrated in tissues like the liver that cannot be obtained in a sufficient quantity in muscle meat. And if you think about it, when a cat eats a mouse in the wild, it's eating the "by-products". By-products themselves aren't inherently bad, but we as humans don't like the thought (or sight) of "things" in our babies' food.

There is much much less dry matter (grains and carbs) in canned food. Kibble is basically cereal - it's grain based dough that is baked, with special coatings that make the cat want to eat it. Because there are less carbs in canned food, they don't get the elevations in blood sugar and subsequent "crashes" when insulin kicks in, and therefore is a preferred diet for diabetic cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, not like dogs, and have a much higher protein requirement, which canned food provides. They also benefit from the additional water in the canned food, as it helps keep their kidneys and bladder flushed out. Cats tend not to drink until they are actually quite thirsty, at which point they are already dehydrated, and that puts extra strain on the kidneys and causes more concentrated urine, which can lead to bladder stones.

I avoid seafood flavors as there is some evidence it has been associated with the formation of kidney and bladder stones. And I've never had good luck with beef - it makes them vomit. I prefer the turkey and chicken varieties.

There are several very good foods out there, and I have an article (somewhere...) discussing the various brands, and essentially the veterinary nutritionist author admitted she feeds her cats chicken flavored Wellness.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks so much, ecf! Very helpful! Good point about how cats already eat by-products when they eat mice in the wild. Well, ours don't because they're indoor cats, but I get what you mean. I hadn't really thought of it like that. We'll switch it up and offer a variety of flavors to our girl and we'll see how she does.

 

[CJ2008]

ecf when you say mix it up do you take a little bit of each can and mix it up into one?

I ask because I was mixing up with different brands and my vet told me not to do that, that it can cause them stomach upset, so I stopped. But I had liked the idea of not relying on any one particular brand...

(sorry for the threadjack Zoe I figured this may be helpful for you to know too)

 

[CJ2008]

What I meant to say above is that I was mixing brands - one day I would do Nutro, the next I would do FF, or I would do Nutro in the am, Fancy Feast in the P.M., etc. - that's what the vet told me to stop doing...I never tried mixing all the foods into one...

 

[ecf8503]

Ok this may sound strange, but when I come home from the pet store, I dump all the canned food in a pile. Then pick from different spots all over the pile so it's all mixed up when I stack it in the pantry. When I feed them, I give them 1 large can (5.5oz) or 2 small cans (3 oz each) and divide it up 7 ways. Everybody gets either one or 2 flavors at a time, and they eat these small meals about 6 times a day (I'm home a lot) - so not much in 1 feeding, but by the end of the day they've had 5-6oz each, which seems to maintain their weight without them becoming overweight. I've never had any issues with stomach upset, and if I do it's usually an honest hairball. I did have one cat a while ago that did vomit beef any time she ate it, so I quit serving them beef - now just poultry flavors - and they seem to be fine with that. Here's my stack right now:

 

[distracts]

My cat has food allergies and has to eat specific foods - we do the Royal Canin PV, and the canned food is good (but expensive).

 

[distracts]

Both of our kitties have dental issues. Our girl just had a tooth pulled and it looks like our boy will most likely need to have one, possibly two, teeth pulled, too. I hope switching to wet food helps.

Tiberius has dental problems and I wipe his teeth down with these little tooth wipes every day: http://www.amazon.com/D-D-S-Dental-Wipes-90-Count/dp/B000FPL0K4
He freaks out if I try to brush his teeth but the dental wipes are totally manageable and it has really made a difference in terms of his gum health. I tried using some of those water additives also and his gums were never inflamed when I used them (in addition to the tooth wiping) but after several months of use he began getting diarrhea periodically - not sure if they were the cause but I discontinued and the diarrhea stopped.

 

[CJ2008]

Ok this may sound strange, but when I come home from the pet store, I dump all the canned food in a pile. Then pick from different spots all over the pile so it's all mixed up when I stack it in the pantry. When I feed them, I give them 1 large can (5.5oz) or 2 small cans (3 oz each) and divide it up 7 ways. Everybody gets either one or 2 flavors at a time, and they eat these small meals about 6 times a day (I'm home a lot) - so not much in 1 feeding, but by the end of the day they've had 5-6oz each, which seems to maintain their weight without them becoming overweight. I've never had any issues with stomach upset, and if I do it's usually an honest hairball. I did have one cat a while ago that did vomit beef any time she ate it, so I quit serving them beef - now just poultry flavors - and they seem to be fine with that. Here's my stack right now:

This doesn't sound strange at all, at least not to me.

Thanks for explaining that you mix it up - I may start doing this.

 

[mochiko42]

I'm starting to transition my cats to a raw food diet. Right now they're eating about 10% canned, 5% Natural balance Ultra premium kibble and 85% raw.

 

[TooPatient]

We do most calories from Orijens dry food and then supplement wet. Had been doing Mulligan's Stew, Before Grain, and a couple of others.

I got the go ahead from the vet to start making my own wet to go with the dry.
I do a whole chicken (or cut up), some turkey, chicken gizzards, chicken livers, and fish. Sometimes swap up and do beef and lamb.

Lightly cook then food processor.


Check with vet before doing. Need to keep all the nutrition stuff balanced!