Overwhelmed by what to feed cat?

Wet (canned) food is always preferable to dry. I was going through some of my answers today, and I counted 57 questions regarding uti/bladder issues, and in every single case, the cat was fed dry food. I never see any questions like that when cats are eating canned. Dry food stresses the system, and cats cannot tolerate dry as well as dogs can. I believe you will find a lot of people say a mid-grade canned is preferable to even a good dry. I personally feel that Science Diet is, well, over-rated, and, um, pretty crappy. When feeding your cats, the first ingredients in food really should be meat, and not by-products.

That said, I feed my cats (16, 16, 17, and 18) mostly wet -- a 50-50 raw and canned, with just a little dry for two of the cats. One refuses dry (smart cat) and another cannot tolerate it. My canned consists of Innova (approximately 90c 13.5 oz can), Wellness (app, $2.25 for same size) and Fancy Feast (approx. 60c for 3 oz. can), gluten-free and for the most part, grain-free. The dry I feed is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (very reasonably priced - $10 or a 6 lb. bag). Blue Buffalo is an excellent dry (a little pricier, but still reasonable in comparison to others), but is not carried in my area else I would probably serve it instead. As for the cost of raw food, that is hard to judge, but it actually saves money for me (I'm a vegetarian and simply don't like dealing with raw food first thing in the morning).

I've included two links for your information. One I came across today, and it lists petfoods with their ingredients and also indicates where the foods are made and if they had any recalls. The bottom line, you want to avoid any food that is produced by Menu Foods (they make a lot of food for individual brands). The other (one of many sites on the subject) discusses the importance of canned food in a cat's diet.

I feed my cats four regular meals a day, and some "snacks" which consist of a few crunchies for the two that eat dry, and a tablespoon of raw or canned for the others, or everyone, depending on their mood. In the wild, cats would eat 4-6 small meals a day, as it is better for their short digestive tracts and doesn't stress organs such as kidneys (which is another issue in dry food, kidney stress).

I hope that helps in your decision making.

Good luck with your new kitty, and may all your pets live long and prosper.

http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg2.htm

http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=library&act=sh...

ADDED: Don't get the largest size bag of dry just to save money. As dry is sprayed with fats, the appealing aroma dissipates after the bag is opened and many cats turn their nose up, and natural bacterias from the food and from the environment can contaminate the food quicker than your cat can eat it.

Canned is best - some will say that any canned is better than even a fine food like EVO, but I wouldn't feed most of the cheap brands to any of my cats. Read the ingredients on cheap canned - there is no meat in there, it's all by-products, This isn't meat - it's all the scrap "parts" that have been deemed unfit for human consumption. It's such tasty bits as beaks, hides, tendons, intestines, spinal chords, diseased and spoiled meat, tumors, and even the scrapings off the slaughterhouse floor. Not exactly what I'd want my cats to be eating.

Nature made cats to eat meat, not corn and other grains, which is the big objection to most of the dry foods. They are full of corn, and the high carbohydrate content has been linked to such feline disorders as diabetes and urinary tract problems.

As you know with your dogs, premium foods pay off in the long run. Your cat is no different. Ideally she should be fed a high quality canned diet, but if you're going to feed dry, then one of the grain free ones like EVO is the best you are going to do.

Mine eat mostly canned - I rotate among several brands, including Wellness, Merrick, Weruva, and Natural Balance. For dry (I have some dry food junkies here) they get the EVO. Everyone is sleek and healthy. An average cat will eat about a 6 ounce can a day, give or take. That can of premium food costs around a dollar or so, depending if you buy it by the case or single cans.

If your concern is that she's eating your food when you put your plate down, I think now you're seeing the fruits of your labor. You pretty much got her used to eating your food by feeding it to her, and now she thinks that's her food too so now she'll eat it straight from your plate whether you feed it to her or not. At this point, it will be very hard to break this bad habit. And yes, I do think it is a bad practice because not only can it be frustrating for you but also it can be unhealthy for her. I suggest you just stop feeding her from YOUR plate of food and if you want to give her a treat, give her a CAT treat or some raw meat that's not anywhere close to your plate and that was made specially for her. It can be hard, though, because we all love to spoil our kitties, but it's for her own good in the long run.

I live in England, so you probably won't be able to find the same brand, but I feed her Sheba.

Ingredients from our box - Chicken: Meat and animal derivatives, minerals.

Link to reviews -

http://www.epinions.com/review/Cat_Food_Canned_Cat...

Oh, looks like it is available in other countries :)

It costs £4 or something, and has 12 sachets in each box. She eats 2 per day so it lasts 6 days. That's about £20 per month.

She's a small adult cat, just over 6lb.

I think most people say wet food is better because the cats prefer it, and it's less likely to have none-meat ingredients, which are useless for cats. My cat loves both, but I haven't been able to find a good dry one at all.

Hill's Science Plan/Diet is one of the worst foods ever. My vet (everybody knows they pay vet surgeries to stock their crap) sold my mother a bag of it for £10 and I was really pissed off. It's still just sitting there unopened in the corner.

I have rescued many cats throughout my life and I have a lot of experience with them, However I do not much experience with purebred's. If that is what you are getting? Then I may be able to help in other ways. As far as( regular domestic) food needs go there's a wonderful new Dog/Cat food called the Goodlife Recipe, it's been working great for my cats and dog. They love the taste, it's all natural, it's a great price and so far the animals have had no health issues since they've been on it. Cats may easily get kidney stones from other types food. Note: Age and Breed may be a factor in considering types of food. Wet food is not important unless it's some kind of special medicated formula for a pet with an age/health issue.

Make sure the cat always has fresh food and water in bowl. If you find the cat eating too much, then get back to me ( there's a few things that that could be) or take her/him to vet.

I don't know, I haven't looked at the ingreidents for those foods.

I feed Wellness dry and Natural Balance dry, plus feeder mice as snacks.

It's about $35 for 13lb bag of Wellness

$30 for $15 bag of natural balance

Feeder mice $2.50 each

And those bags last me....about 3 months. I have four cats (had anyway, one passed away today, Rest in Peace Purg). so the bags you buy may last longer. I free feed but I'd say each cat eats about 1/4cup of dry a day since I switched to these brands. I was feeding Purenia one and they were eating 1/2 cup or more of that a day.

This is a huge question, filled with all sorts of controversy. First off, check out this website. It gives a great explanation www.catinfo.org

Also, theres a book called: Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life - Elizabeth M. Hodgkins

First off, I feed my cats all grain free. Many cats are allergic to grain (wheat, corn, soy, even rice), and it makes them fat.

As for the wet vs dry vs raw.

I feed mostly wet, with occasional raw, and dry at night.

Cats are originally desert dwellers who get most of thier water from what they catch. Wet food is closer to this than dry. A completely dry diet is anecdotally thought to cause diabetes, kidney disease, kidney stones, etc.

As for raw, every once in awhile I give them raw chicken. Partly because it cleans the teeth (Watch a cat while he chews) but partly because they really like it.

I don't keep track of what I spend, but I do feed the cats a number of different brands such as Evo, NaturesPromise, Felidae, and Wellness. Some brands are better than others, but because I rotate in and out, it all evens out.

Relax, anything good will be fine. Just buy the premium brands, and plenty of fresh water, lots of love and cat grass! :) I personally believe in switching foods every once in a while. Just remember, cats eat fat and protein, and very little carbs in the wild. My youngest has been raised on Evo dry alone, and the vet says he is a perfect specimen, heavily muscled, yet compact, with no body fat at all. I really like Evo dry. I think its time to switch for a while though, and am going to try Flint River Ranch.

Yes wet food is better for cats because it keeps them hydrated. But I feed my cats dry Wiskas Indoor cat formula. I feed them that food because it is a good price and has better ingredients then most cheap cat food. It is indoor formula since all my cats are indoor. It has crunchy kibbles to clean their teeth.I have 9 cats so feeding them all wet food would get very expensive. It is around 11.00$ for a 18 pound bag. And I just fill there bowls every night and they nibble through out the day.

overwhelmed feed cat