Which cat/kitten food
Discussion
When we got our 2 from Cats Protection they were being fed Felix pouches and Purina biscuits
I registered them with the Vets who said that CPL are sponsored by Purina and that it isn't great and that feeding them wet food is pointless as it is 80% water
They recommended Royal Damn which the kittens do like but the vets only sell Royal Canin so I am dubious to their motives
Today we got 3 small bags of Purely, James Wellbeloved and Applaws
We opened the bags and left them on the ground in 3 deleted areas of the kitchen to just get a guide as to which they would migrate too and the Applaws seems to have won the initial test (they were sticking heads in the bag trying to get to the food whereas the others just got sniffed)
I have been doing some reading tonight though and some people are saying that a mixed Wet/Dry diet is good as a way of keeping them hydrated as some cats don't drink enough
Any PH thoughts?
I registered them with the Vets who said that CPL are sponsored by Purina and that it isn't great and that feeding them wet food is pointless as it is 80% water
They recommended Royal Damn which the kittens do like but the vets only sell Royal Canin so I am dubious to their motives
Today we got 3 small bags of Purely, James Wellbeloved and Applaws
We opened the bags and left them on the ground in 3 deleted areas of the kitchen to just get a guide as to which they would migrate too and the Applaws seems to have won the initial test (they were sticking heads in the bag trying to get to the food whereas the others just got sniffed)
I have been doing some reading tonight though and some people are saying that a mixed Wet/Dry diet is good as a way of keeping them hydrated as some cats don't drink enough
Any PH thoughts?
Actually your vets are a bit out of touch, the guide now is males should have wet in their diet (cats aren't always good at drinking enough) and Purina top brands are perfectly good diets (such as their Pro Pkan range) I'm not aware of CPL being sponsored by them though.
Applaws is a nice food but expensive, it's a treat for our cats
(in the wet form) I think the dry has the highest meat content compared to other dry foods which is very good for a cat.
I have a 17 and 15yr old that have been fed dry all their lives and done ok (my 15yr old looks half her age) the key is not to over feed, they only need 40g/day dry on its own (for average cat) and if you feed wet asweel you can halve that. so small amount.
I wouldn't change too much too quickly as may cause stomach upsets and Purina Pro plan is a top range food like Royal Canin.
Applaws is a nice food but expensive, it's a treat for our cats
(in the wet form) I think the dry has the highest meat content compared to other dry foods which is very good for a cat.I have a 17 and 15yr old that have been fed dry all their lives and done ok (my 15yr old looks half her age) the key is not to over feed, they only need 40g/day dry on its own (for average cat) and if you feed wet asweel you can halve that. so small amount.
I wouldn't change too much too quickly as may cause stomach upsets and Purina Pro plan is a top range food like Royal Canin.
We give ours some wet food in the morning (Usually Sainsbury's own brand, unless Felix of Whiskas are on offer) and leave out a bowl of Sainsbury's biscuits for them to graze on throughout the day.
They're 10 and 9 years old now - and the vet reckons they're 2 of the healthiest and happiest cats he's seen, for their ages.
They're 10 and 9 years old now - and the vet reckons they're 2 of the healthiest and happiest cats he's seen, for their ages.
Cheers for the info Bex, ours are 2 girls so guess dry will be fine for them then
Yeah we did see that the Applaws wasn't cheap
CPL themselves said they do get some form of support from Purina as when we offered them all the vouchers we had from Felix they said they couldn't use them due to being sponsored by them
OK we may grab a big bag of Royal Canin then ta, I just wanted to check it was good
Yeah we did see that the Applaws wasn't cheap
CPL themselves said they do get some form of support from Purina as when we offered them all the vouchers we had from Felix they said they couldn't use them due to being sponsored by them
OK we may grab a big bag of Royal Canin then ta, I just wanted to check it was good
Royal Canin is quite expensive aswell, I have seriously considered the Applaws range for mine and would have done if they were younger. Having said that my 15yr old is on the royal canin senior now and doing well on it
There is no problem feeding girls wet aswell, just males a more prone to urinary problems related to diet,
It's a minefield and some may suggest feeding a raw diet, not my choice though I can see why some may consider it.
There is no problem feeding girls wet aswell, just males a more prone to urinary problems related to diet,
It's a minefield and some may suggest feeding a raw diet, not my choice though I can see why some may consider it.
http://consciouscat.net/2012/05/04/diamond-pet-foo...
I love looking at the price of cat food in shops, I pay £1/kg to feed my cats......
I love looking at the price of cat food in shops, I pay £1/kg to feed my cats......
Jasandjules said:
http://consciouscat.net/2012/05/04/diamond-pet-foo...
I love looking at the price of cat food in shops, I pay £1/kg to feed my cats......
Is it lots of time and hassle? I love looking at the price of cat food in shops, I pay £1/kg to feed my cats......
What do you feed them?
I must admit that I'm not convinced by the Applaws dried kibble. I know that at 80% meat it 'ought' to be good, but it tastes very salty to me. Sounds mad I know, but I wouldn't give Bob anything I'm not prepared to eat myself, and I taste everything he eats.
My insistence on tasting cat food has resulted in some surprising findings. I tasted a friend's Sheba or some such premium product in a foil tray, and was surprised to find that it was sweet. I know that cats don't need sugar in their diets, and I'm wondering if this is a sneaky ploy by the manufacturers to get them addicted to the sugar rush so that they won't eat anything else.
I also wonder whether 'carb-loading' of cats' diets is responsible for feline diabetes. Back in the day when I had childhood cats, they caught mice, and were fed with raw mince and occasional sardines, moreover were as healthy as anything.
Bob won't eat raw food (other than mice). I give him James Wellbeloved senior kibble, supplemented by a plain steamed version of whatever meat / fish I'm eating in the evening. He's doing marvellously, and even at ten years old the vet remarked on how good his coat is.
ETA: 'thirst' is a weak physiological signal in cats. The answer to getting them to drink more is to leave lots of bowls of water around the house, not just with their main food.
My insistence on tasting cat food has resulted in some surprising findings. I tasted a friend's Sheba or some such premium product in a foil tray, and was surprised to find that it was sweet. I know that cats don't need sugar in their diets, and I'm wondering if this is a sneaky ploy by the manufacturers to get them addicted to the sugar rush so that they won't eat anything else.
I also wonder whether 'carb-loading' of cats' diets is responsible for feline diabetes. Back in the day when I had childhood cats, they caught mice, and were fed with raw mince and occasional sardines, moreover were as healthy as anything.
Bob won't eat raw food (other than mice). I give him James Wellbeloved senior kibble, supplemented by a plain steamed version of whatever meat / fish I'm eating in the evening. He's doing marvellously, and even at ten years old the vet remarked on how good his coat is.
ETA: 'thirst' is a weak physiological signal in cats. The answer to getting them to drink more is to leave lots of bowls of water around the house, not just with their main food.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
They get beef mince, chicken mince, chicken wings, liver and kidney. They do get a bit of lung now and again but they don't seem to like it. All raw. I do also buy organic cat food so that every other day they get a little bit of that mixed in as well. No, it's not a lot of time really, I get the food in 1kg parcels, it goes in my container in the fridge then I just put it in the bowls by hand then wash my hands and I am done. They get a chicken wing each about every third day. We do have a 6ft freezer in the utility room which is for pet food, the only issue is remembering when I am low on food to get out another parcel of food, but if push comes to shove I will give them the organic cat food. I have three plastic sealed tubs, one for frozen to defrost in, one to wash up, and then one to have the defrosted food in. One 1kg parcel of food can last 3/4 days, that's for 3 cats.....
MC - I also wonder whether the renal failure which seems to have increased in cats is due to cat food. In fact, I am more and more convinced that there are many problems with pets nowadays that are caused by their food.
We feed ours (now 8 months) on Felix kitten food in pouches. They also get one snack a day of solid/dried food. They just tend to pick at the dried stuff but have shown a preference for the James Wellbeloved stuff.
Recently the vet gave us a freeby pack of Meowing Heads "Kittens delight"! They go absolutely mad for it!
Recently the vet gave us a freeby pack of Meowing Heads "Kittens delight"! They go absolutely mad for it!
My 7 year old female that I've had from 6 weeks old, was fed on IAMS wet pouches for the first 5 years of her life. She was a 'CPL' rescue cat - and as a committed cat lover, I would not care how much food and care costs me for my cat - as far as I'm concerned, once a cat is brought into my house, it's as important a member of the family as anyone else! But anyway, with regard to food, the CPL recommended the IAMS pouches as about the best you could buy for your cat.
But then at the last 'annual service', the vet found and showed me a few bad teeth and reddened gums in her mouth. Turns out we're just unlucky - apparrently some cats have good teeth, others not so, a bit of a 'genetic roulette' - so unfortunately ours doesn't have top drawer dental health, despite being in otherwise 'rude' physical health, and very fit and well.
After having a small op to remove two bad ones and clean up the rest, the vet recommended 'Hills' dry food - and specifically their 'TD' range, meant for helping teeth. The formula is made to 'scrape' the teeth when feeding to remove plaque.
Two years on, and she's still in the same great physical health on Hills, and now with no further dental problems either. Seems the Hills food has done it's stuff on her remaining teeth
I use 'Viovet' online suppliers who do me four 20kg bags delivered for £140, which lasts me around a year. The food is packed with nutrition, so you don't actually need to put loads in the bowl, and as my little cat isn't a glutton who wolfs it all down in one go (amazingly) a little food goes a long way.
Hydration-wise for her, she drinks from mostly her bowl of water by her food, and occasionally the bath tap. Sometimes when I'm in the bathroom, she jumps into the bath and looks at me - I turn the tap on very low, and she laps at it for about 10 seconds or so.
She never seems de-hydrated on the dry food, which was an initial concern, and as I say, checks out well at the vet's inspection each year. The vet tells me it's fine on a constant dry-food diet, so I assume all is well, and that she'll live for many years to come. She certainly seems very well, with a gorgeous coat, and is very physically actve and agile outside.
HTH
But then at the last 'annual service', the vet found and showed me a few bad teeth and reddened gums in her mouth. Turns out we're just unlucky - apparrently some cats have good teeth, others not so, a bit of a 'genetic roulette' - so unfortunately ours doesn't have top drawer dental health, despite being in otherwise 'rude' physical health, and very fit and well.
After having a small op to remove two bad ones and clean up the rest, the vet recommended 'Hills' dry food - and specifically their 'TD' range, meant for helping teeth. The formula is made to 'scrape' the teeth when feeding to remove plaque.
Two years on, and she's still in the same great physical health on Hills, and now with no further dental problems either. Seems the Hills food has done it's stuff on her remaining teeth
I use 'Viovet' online suppliers who do me four 20kg bags delivered for £140, which lasts me around a year. The food is packed with nutrition, so you don't actually need to put loads in the bowl, and as my little cat isn't a glutton who wolfs it all down in one go (amazingly) a little food goes a long way.
Hydration-wise for her, she drinks from mostly her bowl of water by her food, and occasionally the bath tap. Sometimes when I'm in the bathroom, she jumps into the bath and looks at me - I turn the tap on very low, and she laps at it for about 10 seconds or so.
She never seems de-hydrated on the dry food, which was an initial concern, and as I say, checks out well at the vet's inspection each year. The vet tells me it's fine on a constant dry-food diet, so I assume all is well, and that she'll live for many years to come. She certainly seems very well, with a gorgeous coat, and is very physically actve and agile outside.
HTH
The average life expectancy of cats is now nearer 16yrs rather than 12,13yrs as it used to be 20yrs ago. As a result renal failure will inevitably seem to show up more (as will other conditions)
I recently read in my Born Free magazine of a Tiger dying of renal failure now I'm pretty sure a Tigers diet is mainly raw feed and it is a condition big cats succumb to (esp in captivity as they live longer)
Cats kidneys are just not good at dealing with their high protein diets bizarre but true and to add to the problem they naturally don't drink enough (ex desert animals)
My parents have had several cats live over 15 I've lost a cat at 16 due to a brain tumour and currently have a 17 and 15yr old all of then have been fed wet or dry or both and the number of 18-20yr old cats I see fed dry and wet I just find it hard to accept that it can be all bad.
Obesity is the biggest problem and I agree that dry food can be to blame but that is due to the way people feed it more than the food itself.
I recently read in my Born Free magazine of a Tiger dying of renal failure now I'm pretty sure a Tigers diet is mainly raw feed and it is a condition big cats succumb to (esp in captivity as they live longer)
Cats kidneys are just not good at dealing with their high protein diets bizarre but true and to add to the problem they naturally don't drink enough (ex desert animals)
My parents have had several cats live over 15 I've lost a cat at 16 due to a brain tumour and currently have a 17 and 15yr old all of then have been fed wet or dry or both and the number of 18-20yr old cats I see fed dry and wet I just find it hard to accept that it can be all bad.
Obesity is the biggest problem and I agree that dry food can be to blame but that is due to the way people feed it more than the food itself.
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