Posted on 09/11/2010 10:26:40 AM PDT by martin_fierro
Looking for canned cat food recommendations (for my cats, wiseguy).
We tried Fancy Feast for awhile, but las kittehs appear to like it not.
I've read a couple of the cat food threads on FR from around the time of the cat food recall back in 2007 (here and here), but wanted to hear what canned foods that people recommend/are feeding their cats these days.
Kit & Kaboodle, Friskies and Bumblebee tuna
There is a very big misconception about dry food cleaning a cat’s teeth.
It doesn’t.
I had 3 of my cats (different sexes, different breeds) on a dry food only diet for many years. All of them needed teeth pulled because of decay.
After that I read a book written by a respected vet about cat care.
He brought up that wives tale of dry food being good for teeth.
Said if that was true then humans should just eat a couple of bowls of cheerios a day and forget about brushing.
(FYI....I use teeth cleaning wipes twice a week on my babies now. They work.)
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About the food. I used to feed purina pro plan dry and canned to my cats. But of course the corn products in them are not good for many cats. (plus there are many better brands)
If you want to feed your cat a no grain diet..EVO brand is good. Dry is good.....wet if much better.
I now feed my cats “Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul”. Dry most of the day and canned in the evening.
It has barley and brown rice in it, but no corn.
It has done wonders for my 17yo and my little ragdoll has no more ear problems or the itchy dandruff he was plagued with.
Do a search on the internet for “best canned food for a cat”. It will be eye opening about what is out there.
That is very interesting. I guess it seems intuitive kibble would accumulate less debris on the teeth, but it wouldn’t be the first time intuitive is wrong.
Mice and a blender...it’s the perfect cat food, and no cans to recycle...
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just buy rats from the herpetology supply $0.50 per rat http://mikescornsnakes.tripod.com/mice/themousefarm.htm or grow them yourself ,, it’s easy.
I adopted my Basil in 1996 & thought he was an old man then lol. He’s been eating 9 Lives wet food & Purina Cat Chow ever since & he’s still kickin!
Cats are true carnivores, requiring a meat-based diet for optimal health. Their natural diet is prey such as rodents, lizards, insects, and birds. These prey consist primarily of water, protein and fat, with less than 10% carbohydrate (starch, sugar and fiber) content. Cats are exquisitely adapted to utilize fat and protein for energy. They are not at all like dogs and people, who are adapted to use carbohydrates for energy. Canned foods are higher in fat and protein, and lower in carbohydrates, than dry foods. Their high water content increases the cat's overall fluid intake, which keeps the kidneys and bladder healthy. The higher fat contributes to skin and coat health. Because the ingredients are more easily digested and utilized by the cat's body, canned foods produce less solid waste in the litterbox.
Yes, I know that many people feed their cats "whatever" and that many of those cats live long and happy lives. Then again, many people choose to eat "whatever" and some of them live long and happy lives (not necessarily healthy ones, of course, and not everyone.) While we spend more money up front on cat food costs, over the years we've reaped the benefits of having really healthy cats and lower vet bills.
Bottom line? Look for grain-free, low carb cat food ~ wet or dry ~ for your feline friends. (My cats are on my profile, if anyone is interested.)
After many, many, many attempts to try to please my finicky kitteh, I finally found one she will eat even IF she sees a case stacked in the cabinet. It’s PetSmart’s Authority chicken recipe pate’. I also feed them Blue Indoor Health dry catfood - which they both really like.
Most cats don’t actually chew their dry food.
Some just hawk it back without any or much chewing.
It really never is chewed long enough to rub and clean the teeth.
And in some cases works like bread in our mouths.
The dry food could get mushy and get stuck on teeth and sit there.
I’m sure all of us have had bread sit in a molar and needed to be dug out with your tongue or brushing.
Wet and dry food. Neither helps teeth cleaning at all.
But wet food is considered better for cats because of the water content. Cats in the wild don’t normally drink much water. They get some of it from the fresh, wet kill.
From what I read, dry food can leave a lot of kitties dehydrated much of the time.
I wish I could feed my cats wet food exclusively, but they are addicted to the kibble. (I call it cat crack. LOL)
I am hoping that feeding them wet food at night might help in some way. Who knows really.
Cats are so complicated! I have 2 cats. I’ve always fed them canned food (they both like Fancy Feast), and until recently, also dry food.
One cat was already hefty when I adopted him; he’ll eat just about anything. No allergies. But he keeps packing on the weight. The vet suggested switching the dry food to one’s that grain-free. But the expensive grain-free foods have other ingredients that can cause problems in some cats. Which brings me to my other cat...
The other cat is a skinny thing that started scraping off his fur about 6 months ago, after I switched dry foods for the fat cat. Turns out (after tests) it was food allergies. Among several things, he’s allergic to rice, potato, and sweet potato, which are often used in cat foods in place of corn and wheat. The grain-free dry food I’d been feeding them contained the allergens.
So, I dropped dry food altogether.
I feed them Avoderm canned, which helps with the skinny cat’s itching/baldness, and also the fat cat’s dandruff.
The vet recommended Natural Balance, but the cats didn’t like it.
Look for an independent pet food store in your area. There are dozens of brands not sold in supermarkets, including refrigerated/frozen and raw diets.
NOTE: Natura, who produces the Evo line of pet foods among others, was recently bought by Proctor & Gamble. Some independent pet food stores are no longer carrying Natura products.
I have nine cats but only two eat canned food because of health and allergy reasons. One cat would have died years ago if it wasn’t for this food. She is now over 16-years old.
The canned food is called Wellness. It isn’t available in markets or most pet stores, so I’ll supply you with contact info.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com
Tel.: 1-800-225-0904
Good luck.
I recommend Science Diet...have been a loyal fan of them since 1973 when the USAF would only use Science Diet in the Military Working Dogs. The Mark Morris Foundation was created by the company before any of the others came on to the scene. Science Diet has veterinary nutritionists on staff for consultations at all times for your cats’ specific needs. When the recall in 2007, Hill’s was kept out of the recall except for one food they contracted out. After that incident, Hill’s said from now on they will control the input into their pet foods 100% no matter what it will cost.
It is no more better for their teeth than potato chips are for our teeth.
Cats are carnivores and need meat. Dry food is nothing but filler and carbs. very bad combo for cats.
You have a very smart vet.
My 2 cats (a DSH tortie and white rescue and a tortie and white Maine Coon) disdain any canned food I have tried. I would not feed Friskies or Whiskas, etc. because it is made from the lowest quality protein and has a high grain content. Also contains rendered roadkill, euthanized pets, etc. The junk of junk.
https://www.mybestfriendsbowl.com/The_Truth_about_Pet_Foods.php
I feed them a mixture of Wellness for adult cats, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, California Natural and Royal Canin for fussy cats. The bowl is clean every night. Of course, they also get fresh water every day.
They are very frisky, with beautiful coats, so I guess this mixture of foods agrees with them.
Wellness is excellent, and it’s available at Petsmart and Petco:
Ditto, Tiki is great. I feed my cats grain-free food for health reasons. Wellness and Weruva are good, too. I buy from Petfooddirect.com. I always use a coupon since the food is pricey.
Last month a “high-class pet food store” (or “that expensive as all get out place targeting crazy cat ladies...and my wife for some reason”, as my dear hubby calls the place) opened up 2 miles from my front door. They sell Tiki Cat, and tons of other brands of all-natural, good stuff, but our Bella really likes the Tiki, so I don’t remember the other brands LOL.
For “crunchies”, she is really picky (before we got her, she’d been a stray in the general Sierra Vista, AZ area, got picked up by Animal Control, and we adopted her...they fed Friskies at the shelter, and for the longest time that was all we could get her to eat). She will eat the Blue Wilderness Salmon flavor now...that’s it. I bought Evo and Orijens, and she let the bowl sit until the dogs noticed and scarfed it. She will eat the Blue Wilderness Duck, but you can tell that she’s doing it under protest, she crunches extremely LOUDLY.
Oh dear, I’ve written a novella... LOL
Love the name Bella!
I don’t feed the “boys” any dry food (yes, crazy cat lady, lol). I almost lost one of them with horrible UTI’s and was told to switch to grain-free and no dry. Knock on wood, that solved the problem. I made the switch about two years ago. I know they miss the dry food, but that is too bad!
You are lucky you can buy Tiki from a store close by! I only have Petco or Petsmart. I buy Wellness and Petco’s brand of grain-free, which the cats love, too. I buy every other grain-free brand on-line.
My turn to write a novel, ha. Have a great Sunday!
I have 4 kittehs and they get a mix of dry and wet food. I actually compromised on giving dry food because the vet said it keeps their teeth healthy. Cats would most likely never eat grain/rice type food in the wild, they are carnivores.
Each kitteh gets 1/2 cup of food twice daily, 2 parts Purina Healthful Life and 2 parts Wellness canned wet food, multiple varieties. Each bowl is heated for exactly 12 seconds in the microwave as kittehs won’t eat cold wet food. Yes, I do this routine twice a day every day...are my kittehs spoiled? You bet!
IMHO, an all dry food diet is done completely out of convenience of the pet owner.
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