Which is better....Natural Balance VS. Solid Gold?

[PureMuttz]

Ok, I was feeding my cats Solid Gold Indigo Moon, and right before we moved (in July), I mixed in some Natural Balance L.I.D. Duck & Potato, because I wasn't sure if I would be able to find Indigo Moon in my new location.

Well, unlike the Petco in WA, the one here in San Antonio carries BOTH. So, my cats enjoy both, and I was just looking for opinions on which one is the best for them. (I know canned food is better than dry, and I do provide canned Natural Balance, just cannot afford to make the switch over quite yet, so dry is still relied on for now)

Anyways, just looking for opinions. My cats enjoy both foods.

I know Petco also carries Wellness, but when it comes to the canned variety, I don't remember what flavor I got, but I know Jethro wouldn't even give it a passing sniff, so I don't know if the kibble would be any different. That's about the only reason it's not on the list. LOL

[laurief]

If you must feed kibble, I'd recommend sticking with one of the low-carb kibbles like Innova EVO or Wellness CORE. Both are very expensive, but both are so high-calorie that you will be feeding much smaller amounts than you would of any other kibble. So actually they should work out to be cheaper per serving and healthier for your cats.

Laurie

[PureMuttz]

I haven't found a local source of Innova EVO.

Petco does carry Wellness CORE, and I'll take that into consideration, but like I stated, Jethro wasn't impressed at all by the Wellness canned food so I have concerns that he'll feel the same towards the kibble.

How do you evaluate the carb level of a food?

[doodlebug]

Indigo Moon is a grain free, high protein food. At 46% protein, slightly less than Core and EVO (50%), but significantly high than most other dry foods.

I consider the the IM a better food than the NB (I think you mean Duck & Green Pea?)...First, I wouldn't feed a limited ingredient with a novel protein source to a cat that doesn't need it. Second, it's very high in carbs. And the peas are actually the first ingredient, not the duck...always look for a named meat meal to be listed before carb or vegetable proteing sources in a cat food. For example:

Duck meal, peas
Duck, duck meal, peas
Duck meal, duck, peas

But not:

Duck, Peas, Duck meal
(In this case, since duck is comprised of a lot of water, when it's dried out it's not a significant contributor to the nutrients in a food, so this is basically the equivalent of listing peas first.)

[PureMuttz]

Oh wow. I didn't even realize I typed ''duck and potato''. Yes, I meant Duck & Green Pea.

Both are grain free, and the reason I got the L.I.D. variety was because it was the only one of that brand that was grain-free that was available at the time.

I didn't notice that peas came first. -=smacks forehead=-

I think I got the ''potato'' from the Indigo Moon ingredients. I'm not particularly pleased with their list either, though.

Chicken Meal | Potatoes | | Canola Oil | Chicken | Natural Chicken Flavor

Anyways, maybe I'll be looking for a change? I looked on Innova's website and found that a local feed store should sell it, so maybe I'll make my way out there tomorrow to see if that's the truth. It does seem that EVO is pretty high rated. I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen ''cottage cheese'' in the ingredient list of a cat food before.

[doodlebug]

Something has to act as the 'glue' to hold dry food together...in the grain free foods, it's usually potato. Or in NB's case...peas. Both EVO and Core contain potatoes. Dry foods will always have more carbs than wet because of this.

I would actually have some reservations about feeding a diet consisting primarily of CORE or EVO dry. There has been some discussion about whether these foods are even more dehydrating than regular dry food because protein is a diuretic. There is no evidence or studies available, but I have seen concerns voiced. One person who brought it up was Dr. Jean who sometimes posts here and is one of the owners of the Little Big Cat site we often refer to around here.

[PureMuttz]

You make a good point, Doodlebug.

Is there a dry food that you recommend?

I know that wet is better than dry, and raw is better than wet, but we are currently in-between jobs, so we can't do all wet yet, and raw isn't in the near future because I would need to do quite a bit of research before feeling comfortable with that.

Just trying to find the best within our current budget.