Talk to me about cat foods

[VioletStripe]

As title!

As you may remember, around a month ago I posted here asking whether or not we should take the plunge and get a cat.... we have decided it's a yes! Victory!


We haven't found one yet, but I am doing my reading up etc beforehand! A few years ago now I was working at a vet practice and cat food was a very hot topic there (the vet/owner had 15 cats herself and had done a lot of university research into cat nutrition and its long-term health effects), and they really advised against the usual 'supermarket' brands if you could avoid them - I guess similarly to how I feel about most 'bog-standard' horse feeds/cubes.

So, what are the current feelings on brands/approaches? When I was working with the vet there, she was a fan of -

Purina or Lily's kitchen for wet.
James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin, Or IAMS for dry.


What is the current research showing, and what approach do you knowledgable people suggest?



Re the cat we will be getting - it will most likely be a cross-breed/moggy kitten. When they are old enough they will be allowed outside, where we live on a farm in Kent with all sorts of wildlife... I can't wait for the catches of the day

 

[Flyermc]

Ive no idea about research, but we had 2 moggy kittens from a cat rescue (2006) who were fed any food that was on offer and both had a happy and health life up to the age of 12 years when they were both PTS for different reasons.

After a break, we now have 2 more moggy cats (got them at 4 month old kittens) and we originally fed them applepaws kitten food which was OK, but the adult food gave one of them the runs, so we changed to whiskers and that solved that problem. The cats themselves look bright and happy.

Im no idea how much of a difference cheaper food makes, its difficult with cats as ours are out alot, so (in theory) could be eating anything they want

 

[tallyho!]

I’ve had cats ALL my life. It’s not what YOU feed a cat... it’s what they will eat ??

recently I did change brands due to someone telling me cat and dog food isn’t dolphin friendly or contained dolphin!! Id always been a bit suspicious how some foods were so cheap anyway. Purina got taken to court for it or something. Since I’m a massive dolphin fan I started to do some research... turns out some companies *try and avoid fisheries or fishing practices that dont actively avoid by catch it’s nigh on impossible! Grrr...

So I looked up natural foods human grade, but still can’t avoid it so if you want to do that you have to literally make your own.

anyway I digress... I feed a mix of applaws kibble and natures:menu “at the moment” as they are so say dolphin friendly and natural protein content high.

One eats the kibble but not the wet, the other is the opposite. ? bloomin cats

 

[PurBee]

Dont feed cats grains basically...loads of supermarket foods and other brands fill up with grains rather than protein.

short on time right now, but thats the basic gist of certainly a terrible food ingredient to avoid with cats, yet is in sooo many ‘cat foods’!

ive had cats all my life, not through choice...strays that choose me!...and the last one died last year age 20 just after a new 12month old turned up out the blue....
...enjoy your cat adventures! ?

 

[tallyho!]

Where I grew up, ready made cat food wasn’t even a thing. So they all got rice and fish to supplement whatever wild things they caught.

things are very different now.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

So I researched a lot, bought a lot of different foods, ended up back on Wiskas with some Bonzita from zooplus.

Lots of the ‘good’ healthy dry foods went straight through my gang ?. Lots of the wet foods got turned down...

I've decided if they are bright, a good weight, good toileting, shiny coat, etc then I’ll stick with what they’ll eat.

 

[rextherobber]

Ours are on Sense6 dry food from Pets Corner, (they were previously on Cadogan dry and Felix wet food. and were obese, as kept telling every member of the family that they hadn't been fed for days - lockdown and no one rushing off anywhere has put paid to that little game!) they lost weight without being dieted as such, and don't get bored of it.

 

[Fjord]

Congratulations!

I would just say don't feed a sole dry food diet. I used to do that and had more than one cat with UTIs, which can be devastating. The vet said that since a sole dry food diet got more popular, they had seen an increase in UTIs.

My cats seem to really love Felix wet cat food, I'm not sure how good it is but they love it and all look well.

 

[rextherobber]

Congratulations!

I would just say don't feed a sole dry food diet. I used to do that and had more than one cat with UTIs, which can be devastating. The vet said that since a sole dry food diet got more popular, they had seen an increase in UTIs.

My cats seem to really love Felix wet cat food, I'm not sure how good it is but they love it and all look well.

Mine just lick the jelly/gravy off, and then complain bitterly about the bland food they have been given...

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Mine loooves Lidls own wet food. Lamb in mint gravy. I’ve never looked at the nutritional content but he’s a great weight, lots of energy (too much) and no health problems. So if he’s eating it it’s good enough for me plus we shop at Lidl so is convenient picking it up at the same time. Dry wise at the moment he loves Harrington’s but I find he will like dry for a while then go off it till we buy a different one and the cycle starts again. But he’s been on this almost a year now and actually chooses dry over wet sometimes!

He does get the odd bit of beef/salmon etc when we’re cooking and he also loves to lick my yoghurt pot lid.

Then there’s the 300 mice, 5 bats and 3 frogs he brings in and leaves for me on a weekly basis. Today’s one below.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

My various cats have through the years trained me very well. Regardless what the latest research/studies/news article says is best food for cats, if you find a food that they'll eat happily, just praise the Lord (of cats?), and buy it.

 

[daydreamer]

My various cats have through the years trained me very well. Regardless what the latest research/studies/news article says is best food for cats, if you find a food that they'll eat happily, just praise the Lord (of cats?), and buy it.

Absolutely this! We tried some posh German food with very high nutritional content a few years ago and ended up throwing most of it away. The cats also seem to go through phases with eating. I am sure people will say to just leave them and they will eat when they are hungry enough but they make so much fuss we rarely manage to get to them being hungry enough!

At the moment Felix wet food and Applaws or James Wellbeloved dry is what we use (and they mostly eat!).

 

[tiga71]

I have tried most of the expensive "good" foods known to man. My old cat got diabetes and hyperthyroid so I was trying everything to keep him stable including freshly cooked chicken, turkey, fish and the raw foods. The supermarket foods are not as good but I wasted so much money trying to get mine to eat the better quality wet foods. I wouldn't mind but mine are all rescued street cats or fosters and they really shouldn't be so fussy!

Mine now have a mix of Felix As good as it looks, Gourmet Perle and Bonita. My diabetic cat has passed away so they now get what they will eat. They also get white fish a couple of times a week offcuts from what I am cooking, but usually turn their noses up at the offcuts.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

To continue a bit on the subject of my first reply, I currently only have one cat, and most days she's like part Labrador when it comes to food. She's food obsessed (we found her as a kitten truly only skin and bones, close to being starved + frozen to death, mum possibly taken by a fox, or run over on the road), and will eat any cat food you put in front of her for weeks/months. Until the day she feels like being a cat, and goes:
"That? You want me to put that in my mouth? Pft!"

She's currently on Hill's Weight Reduction, because she needs to lose weight, and it's the only one of the diet foods we've tried, that seems to make her feel reasonably full on the recommended daily portion.

 

[Griffin]

Cats sadly don't realise that they are supposed to eat the posh, nutritionally balanced food. My cats loved Felix and anything that was like MacDonalds for cats.

I *think* that Sainsbury's own brand cat food is grain free but it is probably worth checking.

 

[Rowreach]

My cat thinks he is a dog and would rather eat dog food. And young rooks. I've given up trying to educate his palate.