Kitten Cat
What is the best cat (kitten) food on the market?
I've read a little about Blue Buffalo and Nutro. I'm looking for personal experience... What do you feed your cat (kitten)? What are the benefits of that type of food? Do you notice a major difference (softer fur, less stinky litter box, etc.)? I'm looking to switch from Iams to something new and better for my kittens, and I'm just looking for advice/suggestions. Thanks!
Nutro isn't really that great, but Blue Buffalo is pretty good. Iams is crap, so switching to a high quality food would be a great idea.
Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren't safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your cat? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.
Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.
Thankfully, there are some excellent cat foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.
Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Whiskas, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Meow Mix.
Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Felidae, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature's Variety Prairie, Nature's Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timber Wolf Organics.
Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients... this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!
Before following your vet's food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)
A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Diets high in grain have been attributed to problems with diabetes in cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, so why should there be grain in their diet? Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, and Sold Gold Indigo Moon, Taste of the Wild.
Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.
Another option, if you can't find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here's an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/
Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.
Another option for feeding cats is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.rawfedcats.org/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml
Now the question is, do you feed wet or dry? Wet is the correct answer. The reason is, in the wild, cats normally get most of their water content directly from their prey items and drink very little. Domestic cats are no different, and because of the fact that they are designed to take in water with their meal, they have a very low thirst drive. Cats often just don't drink enough. This leads to urinary tract infections and crystals. The bit about dry food being better for teeth is a myth and has not been proven in the least (cats barely even chew their dry food and, really, does a pretzel clean /your/ teeth? Cats should have their teeth brushed with cat toothbrushes and cat toothpaste at least a few times a week as well as see the vet for dental cleanings when necessary /regardless/ of what they are being fed). Canned/wet food is better because it more closely mimics the cat's natural diet. More on why canned food is best:
http://www.catinfo.org/ (Excellent cat nutrition information by a vet)
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canned_food.htm
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
Another option to get cats to drink more would be a cat fountain. Cats tend to like to drink from running water and cat fountains see to that need, encouraging cats to take in more water.
More:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. It's for dogs, but most of the high quality brands also put out excellent cat foods. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)
 |
 1977 Mama Cat with kittens $13.88 Time Remaining: 5h Buy It Now for only: $13.88 |
 COLOR Photo S8648 Cat in box with kitten $5.98 Time Remaining: 11h 57m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 COLOR Photo S8611 Mommy cat feeding kittens $5.98 Time Remaining: 12h 49m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 Color Photo B0386 Kitten on chaircat on floor by mantle $4.98 Time Remaining: 16h 27m Buy It Now for only: $4.98 |
 1940s Vintage PHOTO Antique Kitten Cat Storefront Window Playing Pet Store Old $1.99 Time Remaining: 1d 3h 52m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 1955 Vintage PHOTO Navy USN Sailor Kitten CUTE STRANGE Cat Military Handsome Man $1.99 Time Remaining: 1d 3h 52m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 Photo VIVECA LINDFORS Looking at cat with kittens $15.00 Time Remaining: 1d 4h 45m Buy It Now for only: $15.00 |
 Vintage Photo Postcards Cute Kids Boy Girl w Kitten Cat Cats Garden NICE $6.00 Time Remaining: 1d 4h 48m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 1930s DENTAL PRODUCT POSTER Kittens Cat $13.99 Time Remaining: 1d 10h 21m Buy It Now for only: $13.99 |
 VINTAGE PHOTO LOT CATS KITTENS PEOPLE W CATS LOT OF 12 PHOTOS $6.00 Time Remaining: 1d 14h 8m |
 COLOR Polaroid S9362 Cat feeding her kittens in small bed $5.98 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 35m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 COLOR Polaroid S9375 Kittens laying in small bed with mommy cat $5.98 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 45m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 1930s DENTAL PRODUCT POSTER Kittens Cat $13.99 Time Remaining: 1d 17h 17m |
 VINTAGE PHOTO SNAPSHOT BLACK CAT KITTEN IN A HAT BOX OBSCURE ODD WEIRD 1950S $15.85 Time Remaining: 1d 21h 50m Buy It Now for only: $15.85 |
 1954 Photo Adorable Little Girl Boys Kids Give Fluffy Kitten Cat A Big Hug $4.99 Time Remaining: 2d 3h 46m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 KITTEN CAT PHOTO 1978 4683 $19.99 Time Remaining: 3d 13h 6m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Press Photo Caracal Cat With Kittens Los Angeles Zoo California $9.99 Time Remaining: 3d 13h 20m |
 1958 Press Photo Kensington Kitten and Neuter Cat Club Show $9.99 Time Remaining: 3d 16h 5m |
 Beautiful White Cat Picture stray feral rescue kitten $2.00 Time Remaining: 4d 5h 14m Buy It Now for only: $2.00 |
 Vintage Color Photo 60s BLONDE WOMAN IN DRESS HOLDS CUTE SIAMESE KITTEN CAT $7.99 Time Remaining: 4d 5h 49m Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 1969 Press Photo Youngster pet kitten animal going cat $27.88 Time Remaining: 4d 8h 1m Buy It Now for only: $27.88 |
 Photo B W U0641 Cat and Kittens $5.98 Time Remaining: 4d 10h 3m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 Photo Cat Kitty Kitten Close up Face Nice BW Image $9.99 Time Remaining: 4d 10h 14m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 1953 Press Photo Kensingron Kitten Neuter Cat Club Westminster $9.99 Time Remaining: 4d 10h 36m |
 1983 Press Photo Kitten Cat Friends Strays Animal Adoption Organization $27.88 Time Remaining: 5d 6h 40m Buy It Now for only: $27.88 |
 Vintage Photo Pretty Lady Laying in Grass w Kitten Cat $6.00 Time Remaining: 5d 8h 59m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 1930s DENTAL PRODUCT POSTER Kittens Cat $12.49 Time Remaining: 5d 9h 54m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 Vintage photo color snapshot 2 kitten cats play abstract odd shadows $4.59 Time Remaining: 5d 11h 40m |
 ARMY BUDDIES ONE NO SHIRT WITH KITTEN CAT VINTAGE OLD PHOTO SNAPSHOT b597 $5.95 Time Remaining: 5d 15h 34m |
 1985 Press Photo Persian kittens Paul Baily Cat $13.88 Time Remaining: 5d 19h 15m Buy It Now for only: $13.88 |
 1952 Original VINTAGE Photo KITTENS CATS KITTY BEAUTIFULL CAT IN THE BED PET $13.99 Time Remaining: 5d 20h 54m Buy It Now for only: $13.99 |
 1956 Press Photo 26 Year Old Cat Has 100th Kitten $9.99 Time Remaining: 6d 15h 1m |
 PHOTOBOOTH PHOTO SNAPSHOT IDENTIFIED MISSOURI BIG MAN TINY KITTEN BLACK CAT $33.33 Time Remaining: 6d 15h 5m Buy It Now for only: $33.33 |
 ART PHOTO Light LERICI1959 Street Scene KITTEN KITTY CAT wall ANTIQUE PET Italy $17.99 Time Remaining: 6d 15h 42m Buy It Now for only: $17.99 |
 1959 Street Photo 2 KITTENS CATS KITTY CAT IN A BASKET ANTIQUE PET PHOTO $11.99 Time Remaining: 6d 16h 44m Buy It Now for only: $11.99 |
 1963 Press Photo Caracal Mother Cat Guards Kittens $24.88 Time Remaining: 6d 19h 59m Buy It Now for only: $24.88 |
 BW Photo R0028 Cat with head in basket with kittens $5.98 Time Remaining: 7d 4h 21m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 BW Photo R0824 Cat with kittens in basket $5.98 Time Remaining: 7d 12h 17m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 1983 Press Photo Three Stray Cats Kittens Adoptions $24.88 Time Remaining: 7d 19h 48m Buy It Now for only: $24.88 |
 vintage photo Pretty Pet Cat Kitten looking at Camera on Porch Kitty $9.99 Time Remaining: 8d 6h 33m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Color Photo B1168 Cat laying on couch with kittens $4.98 Time Remaining: 8d 12h 10m Buy It Now for only: $4.98 |
 1966 Press Photo Eneleis Kitten Cat Nations Peaceful Enemies $21.88 Time Remaining: 9d 21h 23m Buy It Now for only: $21.88 |
 Vintage Framed Kitten Cat In Basket Sepia Photograph $46.75 Time Remaining: 10d 9h 18m Buy It Now for only: $46.75 |
 1960 Press Photo Kyle Collins Cat Kittens Animals Mich $29.88 Time Remaining: 12d 6h 40m Buy It Now for only: $29.88 |
 1960 Press Photo Sleepwear Kittens Cat Kitty Sports $29.88 Time Remaining: 12d 6h 46m Buy It Now for only: $29.88 |
 Unusual Photo Mistake Tabby Cat Kitten Blurry Atop Clothesline Post 727109 $9.99 Time Remaining: 12d 17h 16m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Vintage Polaroid Photo Old Man w Cat on Lap Sofa Kitten Instant Snapshot $4.99 Time Remaining: 13d 8h 19m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 POLAROID PHOTO CAT KITTENS EATING $2.75 Time Remaining: 14d 12h 50m Buy It Now for only: $2.75 |
 BW Photo R8945 Group of kittens with mommy cat $5.98 Time Remaining: 15d 6h 14m Buy It Now for only: $5.98 |
 35mm Slide Mother Cat and her Kittens 1954 I 24 $5.00 Time Remaining: 15d 6h 42m Buy It Now for only: $5.00 |