Important Information About Cat Food

[_bella_]

I've fed a grain free diet to my cats for a little over a year.
I wish I could feed my two a raw meat diet, but my lifestyle would make it too difficult to do. so, they get high quality canned with absolutely no fillers. When my MIL was caring for them, she asked why I don't just buy the canned food from the grocery and I said because all but ONE flavor at the market has grains and added sugars. When in the evolution of a cat have they needed processed sugars??
I do give them raw chewy muscle meats or a raw chicken neck, a few times a week to help keep their teeth cleaner. Their coats are shiny, whiskers long and luxurious, nails strong, eyes bright, teeth clean, gums pink and healthy, and breath isn't stinky, their poop is not smelly at all, and their weight is normal and is easy to maintain.
I had to seek out a new vet though. My previous vet was super keen on Science diet, and no surprise that was all that he sold in his clinic, and my previous cat died from various issues that could have been postponed much longer had he been on a better diet. IMHO, of course.

[buzzytoes]

Just curious for anyone who feeds their cat a raw diet - do you grind up the food or just give it to them? One of my cats had to have all his back teeth removed due to stomatitis that was giving him problems. He still has his incisors but that is about it. I am worried that if I eventually moved to a raw diet he wouldn't be able to chew how he needs to.

[redney]

Great thread! I used to feed my cat canned food at dinner time and she just gobbled it right up...so much so that I thought her slight overweightness was caused by canned food so I switched her off it to Iams weight/hairball dry food. She eats it but I can tell doesn't really LOVE it.

I'm going to move her back onto canned food, thanks to this thread!! (My cat also sends you guys HER thanks since she just loved her canned food)

[tiramisu]

Originally Posted by buzzytoes

Just curious for anyone who feeds their cat a raw diet - do you grind up the food or just give it to them? One of my cats had to have all his back teeth removed due to stomatitis that was giving him problems. He still has his incisors but that is about it. I am worried that if I eventually moved to a raw diet he wouldn't be able to chew how he needs to.

If you kitty does not have any premolars left (which are those two upper teeth that are the biggest in size), I would grind up the meat for him. Without those premolars, which works to sheer the meat, I think it would be hard...

This brand is expensive, but for those who want to try raw diet for your kitties but don't want to prepare on your own, I found it to be one of the best prepared food out there: http://www.felinespride.com/flash/intro.html The consistency of the raw is pretty well grinded.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by finzup

I have been feeding dry food to my kitties and was going to switch to wellness dry (since that's what my dog eats) when I stumbled across this thread.. and now.. I'm going to switch them to canned based on what I've been reading. My questions are -- How do you deal with feeding multiple cats? I have a dominant kitty (also, he's slightly overweight) that could potentially eat more food than he should -- How do I ensure that my other kitty (who's at a perfect weight) eats what she should? Currently I just fill up the bowl with dry food and they munch on it all day long whenever they get hungry. Any ideas on how much to feed them? My male is 22 pounds (he's not that much overweight though -- he's a big kitty) and my female is a small cat (8-9 pounds). I can't see feeding them the same amounts. I read in the thread that 3 oz twice a day is good. That would probably work for my small kitty but not the big one? Thanks

You need to seperate them and give them a certain amount of time to eat. Then pick up the food.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by nathansgirl1908

This is a great thread. I learned this the hard way. I was actually feeding my baby Eukanuba Chicken and Rice. She kept getting UTI's. Finally the vet told me to stop feeding her that and give her C/D which is a prescription food for cats to help with urinary tracts issues. Things are much better now. Plus my cat was overweight and now she has finally gotten down to a healthy weight.

I had/have a cat with UTI issues and I feed her raw and Wellness moist. It is the best I've found so far to keep the UTI's away.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by tiramisu

Venus is in kidney failure and she is the one that gets more attention in terms of heatlh care right now. I feed her in a separate room more than twice a day since I do not want her to lose weight. She will go to the other cats eating area to eat, too, which I am fine with. But when I am feeding extra to Venus, I close the door so the other cats won't take over.

My Henry was in kidney failure for the last 2 years that we had him. Are you giving your crew distilled water? This was a lifesaver for him. Not only did he stop vomiting but it was so much better for his kidneys, processing wise.
I also put him and the rest of my crew on a raw food diet. He gained several pounds (which was huge for him!) and my rubenesque one lost weight. Go figure.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by buzzytoes

Just curious for anyone who feeds their cat a raw diet - do you grind up the food or just give it to them? One of my cats had to have all his back teeth removed due to stomatitis that was giving him problems. He still has his incisors but that is about it. I am worried that if I eventually moved to a raw diet he wouldn't be able to chew how he needs to.

I feed raw and I purchase the ground turkey from Walmart. It comes in different sized tubes, so you can gauge with how many cats you have. I use 1 of the smallest tubes for 4 cats, per day. This is mixed with greens, lysine when they are getting sick, omega oils, and ground flax seed. If you have a cat that needs to gain a bit of weight, you can add in oatmeal or barley once or twice a week.
All of my cats are sickly. I volunteer at a cat shelter, so I tend to take the ones that won't get a home because they are chronic.

Here is my crew:
Miss Sunday (10-12ish) was rescued from the Wild Cat Ranch in San Antonio, TX. They wanted to put her down (along with 90% of the population) but she was saved by an angel. It took her 6 months to walk again, another 6 months at our house to walk without looking like a drunk. She is completely deaf (due to malnutrition) and blind in 1 eye, almost blind in the other. She weighs in at 4.8 pounds but eats like a horse. For her body type, she should weigh 8 or more pounds. She had/has chronic stomatitis so we had to have all of her teeth pulled. She is 100% better now. She has a hard time cleaning herself and gets chin acne. She is the one that makes me realize that every day is a gift. She almost died, should have died, but she fought. She fought to live. She is truly a story.

Lucy (4) (my bodecious babe) was grabbed and rushed to the doctor as soon as she came to the shelter. She has a chronic upper resp. infection/virus and always has a weepy eye or two. She went from 5 pounds to 10 in a year with us. She is the mother of everyone, cleans Sunday and tolerates even my nastiest cat.

Mimi (4) is my baby. She is a full blooded Seal Point Siamese and thinks she is my child. She is also the nastiest, most ill tempered cat I have ever owned. Heck, that I've ever met! LOL But I absolutely adore this cat. She tolerates my kids, the other animals when she has to (the dog is terrified of her). She weighs in at 4 pounds and is all mouth. When she asked me if she could come home with me (yes, we communicate), she was incontinent. Her story: she has chronic bladder infections. Apparently her owner wasn't listening to her one day and she peed in the middle of his bed. He kicked her across the room. When his foot connected with her tail, he shattered it and damaged her bladder. He then dumped her at the front door of his vet. She had surgery the next day and they took off her tail. What they didn't know was the extent of the damage to her bladder and uterus. After a year of chinese herbs, aligning and accupuncture, she only leaks when she is sick. She also has severe stomatitis, which I keep at bay with herbs and Cholodial Silver.

Forrest (10) was adopted about a month ago. He came to the shelter 2 years ago with cigarette burns all over his body and almost no hair. It took me 6 months to get him to look at me and not shakle when I pet him, and then another 6 months to purr when being pet. 6 months ago he climbed into my lap to be loved. And now (because my Henry passed over the rainbow bridge and we had room at the house), he is now at home with us and sleeping happily on the bed. He follows me around like a puppy most days. What I didn't realize, until I got him home with us, was the amount of brain damage he has. Whether this was how he was born or happened during excessive abuse, we will never know.

Mr. Rumbles (14) is my old fart. I grabbed him when I took in Forrest because he is in kidney failure like my Hen was. He hates the other animals, he loves his heated bed, and he loves to be pet. I haven't figured him out yet. We've had him 3 weeks and I'm not sure he is happy here.


The picture is (L to R)
Forrest, Lucy and Sunday.
Mimi refused to be photographed and Ms. Rumbles just kept sleeping.

[GirlFriday]

Originally Posted by Lululapell

I feed raw and I purchase the ground turkey from Walmart. It comes in different sized tubes, so you can gauge with how many cats you have. I use 1 of the smallest tubes for 4 cats, per day. This is mixed with greens, lysine when they are getting sick, omega oils, and ground flax seed. If you have a cat that needs to gain a bit of weight, you can add in oatmeal or barley once or twice a week. All of my cats are sickly. I volunteer at a cat shelter, so I tend to take the ones that won't get a home because they are chronic. Here is my crew: Miss Sunday (10-12ish) was rescued from the Wild Cat Ranch in San Antonio, TX. They wanted to put her down (along with 90% of the population) but she was saved by an angel. It took her 6 months to walk again, another 6 months at our house to walk without looking like a drunk. She is completely deaf (due to malnutrition) and blind in 1 eye, almost blind in the other. She weighs in at 4.8 pounds but eats like a horse. For her body type, she should weigh 8 or more pounds. She had/has chronic stomatitis so we had to have all of her teeth pulled. She is 100% better now. She has a hard time cleaning herself and gets chin acne. She is the one that makes me realize that every day is a gift. She almost died, should have died, but she fought. She fought to live. She is truly a story. Lucy (4) (my bodecious babe) was grabbed and rushed to the doctor as soon as she came to the shelter. She has a chronic upper resp. infection/virus and always has a weepy eye or two. She went from 5 pounds to 10 in a year with us. She is the mother of everyone, cleans Sunday and tolerates even my nastiest cat. Mimi (4) is my baby. She is a full blooded Seal Point Siamese and thinks she is my child. She is also the nastiest, most ill tempered cat I have ever owned. Heck, that I've ever met! LOL But I absolutely adore this cat. She tolerates my kids, the other animals when she has to (the dog is terrified of her). She weighs in at 4 pounds and is all mouth. When she asked me if she could come home with me (yes, we communicate), she was incontinent. Her story: she has chronic bladder infections. Apparently her owner wasn't listening to her one day and she peed in the middle of his bed. He kicked her across the room. When his foot connected with her tail, he shattered it and damaged her bladder. He then dumped her at the front door of his vet. She had surgery the next day and they took off her tail. What they didn't know was the extent of the damage to her bladder and uterus. After a year of chinese herbs, aligning and accupuncture, she only leaks when she is sick. She also has severe stomatitis, which I keep at bay with herbs and Cholodial Silver. Forrest (10) was adopted about a month ago. He came to the shelter 2 years ago with cigarette burns all over his body and almost no hair. It took me 6 months to get him to look at me and not shakle when I pet him, and then another 6 months to purr when being pet. 6 months ago he climbed into my lap to be loved. And now (because my Henry passed over the rainbow bridge and we had room at the house), he is now at home with us and sleeping happily on the bed. He follows me around like a puppy most days. What I didn't realize, until I got him home with us, was the amount of brain damage he has. Whether this was how he was born or happened during excessive abuse, we will never know. Mr. Rumbles (14) is my old fart. I grabbed him when I took in Forrest because he is in kidney failure like my Hen was. He hates the other animals, he loves his heated bed, and he loves to be pet. I haven't figured him out yet. We've had him 3 weeks and I'm not sure he is happy here. The picture is (L to R) Forrest, Lucy and Sunday. Mimi refused to be photographed and Ms. Rumbles just kept sleeping.

Cute kittens! We just got two new Russian Blues and my husband bought Felidae (sp?) which is luckily on the good list. We've noticed a huge difference, because the lady we got them from (who was sharp as a tack and really good at caring for them) fed them Purina. We thought that was odd, since she was so good at taking care of them. Oh well, but one other good reason to feed them better is the smells coming from the litter box aren't nearly as bad when you feed your cats well. We were glad when Purina got out of their system.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by GirlFriday

Cute kittens! We just got two new Russian Blues and my husband bought Felidae (sp?) which is luckily on the good list. We've noticed a huge difference, because the lady we got them from (who was sharp as a tack and really good at caring for them) fed them Purina. We thought that was odd, since she was so good at taking care of them. Oh well, but one other good reason to feed them better is the smells coming from the litter box aren't nearly as bad when you feed your cats well. We were glad when Purina got out of their system.

I hadn't thought about the smell, but you are so right. It doesn't wreak as much.

[cinderella388]

Thank you ALL for your knowledgable posts! I adopted two cats this past Sunday from a shelter and the wet food I have been feeding them is the Purina Pro Plan! The lady at the shelter said that is what I should feed them since she has been feeding them that! Ack! I need to slowly get them off this and onto a better quality one fast! How'd you all do the switcheroo? Mix in a little bit of the old cat food with the new cat food day by day and then slowly just give them the new cat food entirely?

[strawberrysky]

this is really interesting. thanks for posting!

[caitlin1214]

My parents usually put in about a half a cup of dry food in each of their bowls in the morning and it's there all day. They don't add any more and they throw it out at the end of the day.

They use Iams Hairball Care. One of my babies, Louis, is longhaired cat and we find he horks up a lot less when he's eating that particular food.


Their canned food is Paul Newman. They have a particular flavor they absolutely love and after the whole pet food recall scare I have banned my parents from buying any food with gravy in it.

It used to be that the canned food was their dinner and last I checked, it was half a small can each. Lately it got to be earlier and earlier, so now I believe my parents are feeding them canned food at around noon.

[Tracy]

Originally Posted by *NYC Princess*

My bf and I recently adopted a cat from a local rescue organization, and we found out a lot about the proper way to feed a cat, and many common misconceptions. The rescue organization specializes in cats, and got the information from books and vets. Feeding cats dry food or cheaper canned foodscause our cats to not be as healthy and can lead to serious health problems down the line. It's not just about what is easier to feed our cats, or what they prefer to eat. I wanted to highlight bullets of what I felt to be the important information for you all here so that our loved babies get the best care and live long and healthy! The main thing is that a high quality CANNED FOOD IS BEST. Cats need animal based proteint. Cats are carnivores and very different from dogs in their nutritional needs. Cats need animal-based protein, and the protein in dry food is heavily plant-based, and not equal to the quality in the protein in canned foods, which are meat-based. We are feeding cats too many carbs. In their natural settings, cats would not consume the high level of carbs (grains) that are in dry foods. In the wild, a cat's diet is 3-6% carbs. The average dry food contains 35-50% carbs; cheaper brands may have even more. Look for a muscle meat in the first ingredient. When reading the ingredient label of a cat food, it should have a muscle meat as the first ingredient, not a organ meat. For example, it should read "chicken" not "chicken meal", "chicken by-products," "chicken broth," or "liver". Dry food linked to serious health problems. Dry cat food has been linked to: Diabetes (from high level of carbs in dry food) Kidney failure (cats are often chronically dehydrated on a dry food diet) Bladder inflammation/kidney stones (cats on dry food have more highly concentrated urine) Inflammatory bowel disease (many anecedotal reports of cats with IBS improving dramatically when all dry food removed from their diet) Obesity (again carbs) Fatty liver disease Dental disease (long standing claims that cats have less dental disease when fed dry food are grossly overrated, inaccurate and not supported by recent studies. Dry food is hard, but brittle, and merely shatters with little to no abrasive effect on the teeth. Cats' teeth are meant to grind meat, and so dry food ends up between their teeth and ferments into sugar, causing dental problems. Also, many cats swallow the majority of their food whole, eliminating any benefit from chewing. Stick to twice-daily feedings (does not apply to kittens). Feed 3 oz of canned food twice a day, and try to stick to the same times. Cats may beg to be fed more often, but more than that can lead to obesity. Also leaving dry food between meals have led to ancedotes about dandruff on the cats' coats. FINALLY...recommended cat foods: Wet food Nature's Recipe Optimum California Natural Pet Guard Premium Natural Choice/Max Cat Wysong Iams Innova Wellness Felidae Precise Nature's Variety Wysong's Au Jus Canned Meats Wysong's Archetype Avoderm Select Cuts Merrick Wet food for kittens Max Kitten Triumph Turkey for Kittens Iams Kitten Precise Wet Foods Not Recommended (unfortunately these are the most common brands) Purina 9-Lives Fancy Feast Friskies Alpo Whiskas Kalkan Sheba Amore Dry Foods Not Recommended Hills' Science Diet Iams Original Flavor Eukanuba Chicken & Rice Bil Jac Waltham Adult Proplan Beef & Rice Not meaning to be preachy here by any means, but I hope that this information will help all of our kitties to be happy and healthy for many years to come!

when this was first posted i switched my cat's food.
he's been eating the Natural Choice. the only other recommended wet food my pet smart carries is the Iams.
well, today i read the ingredients again. and in the Natural Choice the first ingredient (in 3 flavors) is Chicken broth. which by the info above^^ is not good. I also read the Iams can and it said the same.
now i am confused and wonder if i'm feeding my cat a healthy diet??
and is there any other --commonly found-- GOOD wet cat food??
help!

[mellie]

i'm all for Innova and Wellness but my kitten has liquidy poop, although the vet gave her a clean bill of health the vet keeps telling me to give her Purina....what gives???