[BluePhoenix]

In the short time that I have browsed the forums I have read some members' dislike of certain brand name cat foods.

I am trying to research a cat food that we will switch to from the food that the Humane Society sold us (that they use), unless of course this brand turns out to be decent.

We are currently feeding are two adopted kittens, 3 and 4 months old, Acana kitten food. I'm not sure if anyone has heard of this brand.. if so, is it any good? Would we be okay to stay on it?

The reason why I ask is because my father is, lets say, thrifty with his purchases (he will usually buy No Name coke instead of Coca-Cola, etc.. this goes for most everything).
He doesn't think we should be spending an "obscene" amount of money on cat food. It's a wonder he's even allowed us to have cats, after many years of asking..

So, we looked at Iams (and it was recommended to us by a Vet at the Humane Society) and my dad has agreed to buy food at this price (around 10$ cdn for the smaller bag of Iams). After reading through these forums, it seems Iams isn't the way to go. I have seen AngelZoo's list of food, but honestly do not recognize too many. My worry is that the majority of the list will be out of my father's price range.. at least the '1st rate' food.

I'm not sure if it is both the quality of Iams along with the 'behind the scenes' that everyone is against?
Is Iams a decent quality food without looking at the other stuff?

Is there a food out there that is decent, but still reasonably priced?
We may stick with Acana if it gets good reviews but I haven't read anything about it on the forums.

Things like 'Science Diet' is really out of the question when it comes to my father.. so I'm trying to find a food that is somewhere in the middle ground. Reasonably priced, but not full of additives, bad for the cats, etc. I thought we had found it with Iams.

Thanks,

bp

 

[Padunk]

You may have a hard time convincing your father, but I buy Wellness. It seems expensive at $28 for a 14lb bag (6.35 kilos). The cats don't need to eat as much food when you buy a higher grade... that bag lasts two months for both cats.

I used to purchase Sensible Choice and Purina One for them, I've done the math now and actually save close to $5 on every bag of Wellness.

If you cannot convince him, the two brands I mentioned are pretty good. I don't know what's available in Winnipeg, but I'd be pretty surprised if you didn't have Purina One. My mom buys both Purina One formulas - one for hairballs and one for urinary tract - and mixes them. They have two healthy cats.

Don't let cost fool you into thinking it's a higher quality food. For instance, Sensible Choice is cheaper and better for cats than Science Diet.

 

[Gracie's Mom]

I feed a few different brands to my cats, but the all time favorite is Pro Plan. It's pretty inexpensive too. Another good brand I've heard of is Maximum Nutrion that's sold at Walmart. It's alot less expensive then some of the other premium brands, and the ingrediants are just as good. IMO one of the very best on the market is Natural Balance. I feed that to my foster cat, and he does wonderful on it! Do your research, look at the labels, and you'll be suprised what you can learn about cat food!

 

[kungfukitty]

I like, and more importantly, Holly likes Science Diet. I mix Hairball Lite and Sensitive Skin and she is one healthy girl. She also gets 1/3 of a 3oz can of Fancy Feast twice a day. I don't want to hear any groans about my choice of foods. :wink: They work well for Holly.

 

[kitkat]

I haven't heard of that brand, but Iams isn't that well liked not only b/c of the ingredients with the by products but also b/c of the way they are cruel to animals for testing.

I used to feed my 2 cats Proplan and Science Diet and now they are on Chicken Soup and they do eat less on a higher quality food, so in the long run you do spend equally the same if not less sometimes. I think if you can only get your hands on a certain brand, as long as your cat is not starving and eating well and healthy it should be fine.

Good Luck! :wink:

 

[Aimee]

Congrats on your new kittens! Kittens are so much fun, you'll have a blast with them.

About food...well, I know I'll be in the minority here, but I say, if the Iams is working, stick with it. We have good results with Iams here. I've tried other foods (including Nutro, Innova and Natural Balance) and always come back to Iams or Eukanuba. We feed it because we get good results from it. I also think Iams is of good quality-it takes more than ingredients to judge a food. I'll say one thing about the cruelty etc...just remember, that website was made by PETA, who thinks you are cruel by having cats as pets (you're enslaving them :roll: ).

Also, if you want to look for ways to save money and feed Iams, check out your local Petsmart. The 20# bags cost $21 here and they have a buy 10 get 1 bag free deal (over the course of a year)-not too bad. Also, Iams is pretty calorically dense (the original has around 430kcals/cup-more than Wellness) so you won't have to feed as much as other brands.

One more thing-about that list. I've read about canine/feline nutrition all over the place and have never seen that list. Personally, I wouldn't go by that list (or any other)-go by what works for you and your cats. If you want to see a website run by board-certified veterinary nutritionalists, go to http://www.petdiets.com - lots of good info. Good luck!

 

[AngelZoo]

BluePhoenix: Still trying to decide eh? hee hee

I say Solid Gold is a steal ad the prices i've shown it selling foor, chicken soup is also not half bad either.

Remind your father that sometimes (not always) a good brand of food will cost a little bit more, but your cat will also eat less of it, so it will last longer, and he will have fewer stools, saving you on buying litter!

I know you've been feeding the Iams, but another food that is pretty much the same but good for a grocery store brand is called Maxximum Nutrition, you can buy it at Walmart for super cheap!

 

[drjean]

cat food

There's something better than naming names here, and that is to learn for yourself what the ingredients are, which ones are better, and which ones you want to avoid. That way you can just look at the ingredient list and know right away if it's something you want to feed your cats.

It's absolutely true that cats eat less of better food, so that the cost of the food is not the real issue. The other part of that is that feeding a very good food instead of something from Walmart will ultimately save you hundreds on vet bills for treating diet-related illnesses such as FLUTD, IBD, and diabetes. (I know the company that manufactures for Walmart, and what they put in the food. Trust me, you *don't* want to buy that stuff!).

Many of you will be surprised to hear this, but I have an article on this very subject in our free article library! Once you understand what it's telling you, you may not be buying Iams, Science Diet, or Purina! ;-)
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... w&item=004

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[queen of the nile]

Okay, I've read a lot of the posts and other information about ingredients but my big concern is... what if your cats are overweight? I haven't been able to find a good answer about this. In Canada, there are 3 prescription diets that manufactured for weightloss. I feel that I feed too little as it is right now to switch over to a non-prescription food (you have to feed less because it has more calories/cup). We have MediCal, Hill's and Waltham's. Hill's is made by science diet and has a lot of the same ingredients.

Medical is the one that I am currently feeding. It's first 4 ingredients are:
water
chicken liver
meat by-products
chicken by-products

I know that this is not the most nutritious food on the market but I feel like I have no other choice! My cats are doing well on it but I feel sort of scammed out of my money because the 2 of the 1st 4 ingredients are animal by-products. How can they charge so much?! Does anyone have any ideas about whether I should stick with this product regardless of it's inferior ingredients?

 

[AngelZoo]

Dr. Jean: This is a very common discussion on this board, as well as many others, a lot have taken it upon themselves to learn more about nutrition, ingredients and whats really involved in all of it, it's wonderful to find such determind and concerned pet owners on this forum.
I'm also glad to see that you share similar educated views in reguards to many aspects of feline nutrition.
I have been to busy with work to come here much anymore, it's good to see yet another member wanting to help out, welcome to the board!

Queen Of The Nile: I don't know if you have checked out the Waltham foods or not, but here is the ingredients for dry and wet incase you have not, so you can make a comparison. Generally if a perscribed diet is working it's a good idea to keep them on it, until you and your vet come up with another plan for your cats life long nutrition. There are other diets which can work that are non perscription, but perhaps you should wait on that until your cat reaches and maintains his optimal weight.
Have you voiced this concern with your vet before?

Waltham Weight Control Feline Canned:
Meat Broth, Chicken, Chicken By-Products, Beef By-Products, Brewers Rice, Guar Gum, Dried Egg Product, Dried Chicory Pulp (source of soluble fiber), Dried Cottage Cheese, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Minerals (Potassium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Steamed Bone Meal, Xanthan Gum, DL-Methionine, Salt, Carrageenan, Taurine, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Folic Acid).
Protein: 8.0%
Fat: 3.0%
Fiber: 2.5%
Moisture: 82%

Waltham Weight Control Feline Diet Dry
Rice, Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Rice Gluten, Natural Chicken Flavor, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene*), Flaxseed, Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Grape Pomace (source of Polyphenols*), Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Fish Oil, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Vitamin D3 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Folic Acid), Taurine, DL-Methionine, Marigold Meal (source of Lutein*), Trace Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate).
Protein: 33%
Fat: 8.0%
Fiber: 4.0%
Moisture: 12%

 

[queen of the nile]

Thanks Angelzoo. Walthams does not look much better ingredient-wise. Of course, neither does Hills. My vet recommended MediCal and she has used it for her own cats. Yes I did voice my concern to my vet and she told me that she doesn't think that the label is an accurate way of determining whether a food is good or not! She says she never looks at the label anymore :shock: . Okay, I don't agree with that but I feel in a sticky spot because I am using her as a reference to get into vet school (I volunteer there).
I think I will wait until they reach optimal weight, because the non-prescription foods have too many calories/cup. That would mean I'd have to feed my cats even less than I do now and I don't want them hungry all of the time. I guess feeding them an inferior food is necessary evil right now.

 

[Maleke]

That's a really interesting article, however it says not to feed "light, senior or special formula" foods. So what do we feed when our cats become overweight or seniors?

 

[AngelZoo]

Queen of the Nile: I'm not crazy about the Waltham foods, but I suppose some of them are ok, and frankly I've never seen MediCal anywhere!
The comment your vet made kind of confuses me, lol. Perhaps she's one that has blind faith in the old research she was taught back in vet school. Which is unfortunate, a lot of doctors will listen to/read about nutrition reports and research from one company and never question the findings.

A good example. Waltham, whom is apparnetly the largest companion animal nutrition research leader in the world.
They are the one who teach me and the doctors in our practice about nutrition. Whenever we are sent to a meeting or seminar about nutrition, it's based on Waltham research.
So, I'm studying information from them, going over a list of foods to avoid, why fiber can make cats fat if it's too high, corn isn't a good source of nutrition, etc etc. A couple chapters later, what do I come across, but a list of ingredients for cat foods, listing corn as one of the top best protein sources and easiest digestablity.

Go figure eh? Just thought that was a little commical