Un-dogs

OK, so they're not dogs. But they still have to eat. Anybody have suggestions for feeding cats? We're on Purina Naturals now, but after hearing such negative things about Purina dog brands, I wonder about the cat food.

I have no cats, but a lot of the makers of good dog food also have good cat food available. Evo, Wellness, etc all have cat food.

Generally if it's a bad brand for dogs it's bad for cats.

Also keep in mind that dry food is not very good for cats, be in Purina, EVO or Wellness CORE. While high quality dry may give soft coats and small poop it leads to all of the same health problems as low quality dry, the most common of which being urinary tract infections (and other urinary system problems like kidney problems), Diabetes (which can in many cases disappear if the cat is fed a good wet food diet), and obesity.

dry food is very dehydrating, cats don't have a strong thirst drive like dogs (who will drink after exercise and several times a day) so they are often in a chronic state of mild dehydration which concentrates their urine and causes the urinary problems.

They must be full of carbohydrates in order to be hard an these carbs turn to sugar. This causes the cat's system to have to deal with WAY more sugar than it is designed to and this leads to diabetes. These carbs also cause obesity (or just being overweight) because the cats do not use the carbs for energy primarily, they use protein. So unless they are starved they store most of the carbs and get chubby. My cat was a bit overweight on half wet/half dry. once on all wet he shed the excess weight and is perfect now.

Dry food can often cause IBD as well, it is an unnatural texture with many unnatural ingredients that some cats are especially sensitive to. sometimes the switch to wet isn't enough, raw is often used for these cats.

So while I understand not everyone can afford all wet food diets, adding at least some wet food is very good for your cat. The higher quality the better.

We feed canned as a treat, but three of my five cats won't eat canned for more than a licking off the top..and as they aren't fat in the least, they'd happily starve. So, they eat a grain free kibble (we usually use TOTW, but sometimes use Core).

mine wont eat wet food either.

Mine eat California Natural.

But as a general rule just look for the same brands you would for your dogs.

For 18 years, my Spook lived on Friskies wet and Purina dry. The Pruina was their "special care" because when we got him, he had urinary tract problems and that's what we fed my parent's cat for the same issue.

Free fed the dry and gave a half can of the wet per day.

cats are generally obligate carnivores, so while with dog food veggies and some grain is good...
with cat food you want meat, meat and more meat. the fillers are even worse for cats.

we free feed dry and then offer wet twice a day.

Marley gets "Before grain". I have found it to be one of he only brands of higher quality she wll eat. She HATED TOTW, disliked GO/NOW (cant remember what one it was) wellness (we tried a few flavours)

She only gets dry, But she drinks water often, as she plys in the (clen) toliet often, laze has taught her so well lol

we have one of those also

My eight are on a blend of Taste of the Wild and Kirkland brand feline maintenance from Costco. I give them grain free canned food as snacks. Can't afford to feed grain free only with eight large breed cats so, they get the mix.

I'd go for a high end, grain free food if you can afford it and some wet. Although the earlier suggestion someone made to free feed is only a good idea if you have cats that won't eat themselves to death. I have some that totally would so they get fed a measured amount per day.

oh and here's a forum you might want to check out: Cat Forum • Index page

I do understand it can be hard to get a cat on wet food, it took a year to get my two onto wet food, Willie's on raw now though, all wet for the two of them would be too expensive but raw is cheap. I just *personally* did not feel comfortable feeding all dry considering the possible risks, they are not uncommon occurrences (not that these conditions are only caused by diet, genetics also play a role).

I feed my kitten Authority from Pet Smart. The first ingredient is Chicken. Kinda pricey at $14 for a 7 pound bag but worth it in my book.

My cats do really well on regular Wellness.

I was feeding Wellness Core and one of my cats gained weight like crazy. So we went back to regular weight maintenance.

Both of my cats are on a raw diet, but they eat Weruva or Nature's Logic canned food sometimes when I forget to defrost something for them. From what I've read, Orijen is a really good kibble if you can find it.

Mine love California Natural canned and dry.

Its best to feed them canned or raw food because cats(felines) get most of their moisture from their prey. A lot of cats suffer diet related issues because they are fed grainy, dry kibble.
Wellness cat food seems to be a favorite amonst cat lovers, I feed mine Trader joes brand, raw and soaked kibble(taste of the wild).