Lamb and Rabbit canned cat food

[cooncatbob]

Back in the early 90 my office had a old red Tabby named Riley, when he got old he started having food problems, the vet said Science Diet but he would not eat it and I don't blame him, it looked and smelled just like the cheapest generic cat food.
Lisa the office manager said he had a food allergy and the vet said a cat can't be allergic to something he's never eaten before and suggested Lamb and Rabbit canned cat food.
Back then Petco carried a Rice and Lamb and a Rice and Rabbit canned cat food, I don't recall the brand.
Anyway looking at Petco, Petsmart and the local small pet store none of them have any Rabbit canned cat food and the only one with lamb is Nutro Max Cat Lamb and Turkey "Chunks in Sauce.
This seems to be price in between Fancy Feast and the super premium brands.
I bought a can and Chiquita gobbled it up, looking at the ingredient it has potato starch and wheat gluten listed after the meats.
So I'm wondering how good this brand is.
I'm also looking for some Rabbit and Lamb canned cat foods.

[Emelda]

I've heard Nutro is not that great but I'm no expert O_O.

Nature's Variety Instinct has both rabbit and lamb: Nature's Variety Instinct: Grain-Free Canned Diets for Cats | Nature's Variety

[MowMow]

Originally Posted by Emelda

I've heard Nutro is not that great but I'm no expert

Ditto

[Cooper's mom]

I've fed the natures variety instincts rabbit but it caused runny poop in my kitty.

[doodlebug]

Potato starch is fine it's used as a thickener, wheat gluten is used to boost the protein levels, but it's not protein a cat can utilize well. Nutro is one of my least favorite companies...their recall record in the past has been atrocious. It's better now, but I still don't trust them. Tons of anecdotal and unsubstantiated accusations out on the web where people blame Nutro's food for killing their pet. Way out of proportion to other manufacturers. Much of it is probably untrue, but I figure why risk it when there are so many great foods available.

You don't find a lot of lamb and rabbit in mid-range priced foods...they're expensive protein sources. You have to bump up to the premium foods to find it.

[Meezer_lover]

I'm one of those people who have filed a complaint against Nutro.

I had the food tested by Midwest Labs and the results were high in a lot of things. Keep in mind that was just 1 single bag of food that we fed over many years. One time we bought a bag and started using it, but Sumo started throwing up immediately after eating. We tried it for a couple of days, but he threw up every time. Brought the bag back to the store, got a different bag and no more immediate vomitting. There were a couple other times where the kibble was completely different sized and color than the previous bag. Sumo would vomit on a regular basis....which our vet said was "normal" for some cats. I wish we had questioned that and the other signs back then, but we didn't. We were completely ignorant.

Here's my thread I posted back in April:

Sumo's story

I have the food test results if you are interested in seeing them.
So no, I personally would advise strongly against Nutro.

Nature's Logic has rabbit in both dry and canned. I pay $22.95 for a case of 12 cans (5.5oz each). Yoshi loves the rabbit.

[saitenyo]

I feed Nature's Variety rabbit to my cats as part of their canned rotation (they get mostly raw with 1/2 can of wet with their breakfast). They've never had any issues with it like loose stool, but every cat is different, and mine only get it once a week since I rotate brands and flavors. I recommend doing that anyway for a number of reasons (helps avoid nutritional deficiencies and allergies).

But yeah, I personally wouldn't feed Nutro. I won't feed any foods that contain wheat gluten. It's, as doodlebug said, a cheap protein source. In my opinion, any food that is adding non-meat ingredients (such as wheat gluten) to boost their protein levels doesn't contain the right kinds of ingredients for an obligate carnivore. Wheat gluten is also a very common source of allergies and other digestive issues in cats.

[cooncatbob]

That's why I'm trying to find a variety of canned food that Chiquita will eat.
She's been a barfer in the past, and since I've joined up here I've learned a lot.
No more Meow Mix dry, no more barfing.
She also barfed the Meow Mix wet.
Samantha who could also be finicky rarely barfed.
She like the Merrick 96% BG especially the chicken, so I've been giving her the chicken every other day and rotating the other flavor.
She seems to like the texture, it's coarser ground then a pate.
I only buy a week worth at a time, I don't want to get stuck with a lot of expensive food that she won't eat.

[kschles]

First, Nutro once made my cat sick, so I definitely would not recommend them. Halo makes a lamb canned cat food, available at Petco. My cats really seem to like it. As far as more uncommon foods go, Natural Balance has a venison and a duck canned food. Hope this helps.

[saitenyo]

Yeah, I think Meow Mix is my personal least favorite, since they add sugar to their food. No excuse for that since cats definitely don't need it, and I don't even think they can taste sweet, so if they're adding sugar to try to make the cat like the food...shows you how much they know about cats!

I like Merrick BG a lot...or rather, my cats do. It's one of their favorites and one of the ones I include regularly in their rotation (along with Wellness, EVO, and Nature's Variety). I buy their quail flavor (as well as chicken and turkey) since they're the only brand I can find that has one. Both cats seem to love the quail.