Pet food! Check out this link

[mark_wpduet]

I have fed my two cats Science Diet because I thought it was premium cat food. I can't believe I never even looked at the ingredients, I just thought it was a good brand. I came across this and read it. I'm no longer feeding my cats cat food that is supposed to be PREMIUM but it's loaded with by-products and fillers that cats don't need. Check out this link

http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

 

[frigilux]

A timely link; thanks, Mark!

I am bringing home two kittens next week. I fed my previous cat Science Diet because I thought it was a high-quality food. Going to give Fromm Surf and Turf a try. It's only a little more expensive than Science Diet, and is top-rated.

Who knew?

Now, it's off to buy a cat box and a feeder/waterer set. I've read good things about Van Ness covered litter boxes and their feeder/waterers as well. And they're available at The World's Biggest And Most-Hated Discount Chain.

Proud papa photos will abound once they arrive! They're still a little too young to bring home. I've been visiting them for a couple of weeks. Their mother is quite protective of them, and checks/cleans them from stem-to-stern immediately after I put them back in their box. In a word, adorable.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Your welcome! I bought a bag of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul and my two cats freaking LOVE it! I have to ration cat food now because I can put 1/2 cup in the bowl and it's GONE!

 

[frigilux]

Mark---I decided to try the Chicken Soup For The Cat Lover's Soul as well. Ordered two bags, as the user reviews were raves. The reviews of the Fromm Surf and Turf were also great, but the Chicken Soup brand was rated nearly as high for nutrition, and close in price to mass-manufactured foods like Purina. Win-win.

The kittens arrive at their new home (my place) late next week. Yay!!

 

[mark_wpduet]

Good! I thought the same thing. I got an 18lb bag for 26 dollars. It does come in an adult light formula too. Make sure you don't mistakenly get the light formula for kittens

 

[joelippard]

Always read those ingredients! By products are common in brands that you would think they would not be -- even the coveted Royal Canine brand has some by products. By products can be any thing from ground up inards to road kill to other euthanized animals that no one loved or wanted.
Buyer beware when it comes to pet foods.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I feel sorry for any cat's that are being fed Walmart Special Kitty after what I read.

 

[petek]

Beware of some ingredient list trickery when comparing.
For instance ingredients are always listed in order of most content but the ingredient listed first may not be what is most.

So a label could read
Chicken
Whole rice
something else
Rice flour
carrot
etc
etc

From the above you would think Chicken is the main ingredient. It isn't necessarily.. Total up the two or three rice types and they can be far greater than the amount of chicken in the mix and rice could be main ingredient by content.

 

[brisnat81]

They Slam Ekunubra.

We've been buying the Vet Only weight loss formula and its one of the few low fat dog foods that has kept her weight off and still kept her looking healthy in her Twilight years. They dont seem to differentiate between the vet only stuff vs the retail product.

After 4 years on it, she's now a 14 yo Rottweiler, so it cant be that bad

 

[mark_wpduet]

So what if there aren't three different types of rice or other things, is the first ingredient, then, the most?

 

[petek]

Still no, the first ingredient is actually the single most ingredient of one type.. Say chicken.. but all the other ingredients combined could also outweigh the chicken as well.
So really you could have carrot and beet pulp and pea mush as ingredients that all together outweigh the amount of Chicken

I sort of mentioned rice and rice variants because rice is generally considered a healthy ingredient moreso than grains like corn etc and therefore the companies like to tout Rice on their label.. Lamb & Rice, Chicken & rice etc.. which can sometimes lead you to believe that Lamb or chicken is the main ingredient when actually it could be the rice combinations..
Thing about it is..it's hard to know

 

[petek]

Something else
Just because the food might indicate something like beef or chicken byproducts isn't necessarily a bad thing.. Remember that cats and dogs are carnivorous and they eat those things when they kill an animal. .. They're not people so just because it sounds unappetizing to us it's perfectly acceptable for animals to eat it.. But then pet food marketers aren't selling the product to the animal they're marketing it to us humans and try to make the products sound as appealing as possible to us which is really nonsense in a way.
Wonder why so many dogs and cats are fat.. cause people overfeed them..
The pet food companies use advertising and make products aimed at making people overfeed their pets etc.
People love to see their little cat or dog or bird eating away all content and happy even if what they're eating or how much of it they're eating isn't exactly healthy for them.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Well, I do know that Walmart's brand pet food had tested positive for the chemical that is used to put animals to sleep in vets, which means that a percentage of those dog/cats/etc that are put to sleep end up in cat/dog food.....

 

[alr2903]

TYVM

Mark, Pete, Thanks for bringing this to my attention my "Girls", are very important to me. After years of label reading for sodium content, during my mom's illness. This "component's of pet food", deception had escaped my attention. We keep dry food available for the cats, with a treat of fancy feast from time to time, well okay they get some tuna every now and then too. My problem is i have a "big girl" and a "skinny girl". I am getting some meat on the bones of my scrawny girl, and my big girl Keeps gaining weight. Suggestions, on how to hit the happy medium? arthur

 

[sudsmaster]

The most nutritious parts of an animal are those parts that we wouldn't think of eating... the innards, for example. If you ever see a cat who knows how to kill rodents, you'll see what they eat first...

I've had good luck with Costco's Kirkland brand dry cat food. I supplement it with Friskies 6oz canned food, on demand (the outdoor cat comes in and demands it). He also kills and devours mice/rats/squirrels if he can catch them. The indoor cat isn't so hot on the canned food, but she'll eat it if it's there. I've tried a variety of different brands, including Science Diet and other supposed premium brands, but the Kirkland stuff seems to be what the cats prefer day in day out.

A few years back there was a sort of scandal with major cat food brands. An amino acid that cat nutrition specialists thought the cats didn't need was missing from most brands - and cats who were fed only commercial food were getting sickly. Once the missing ingredient was added back in, that particular problem went away. So even though these foods are tested and should be complete, it's a good idea to supplement your pet's diet with judicious use of various natural foods. Lightly cooked chicken innards (livers, kidneys etc) are a good selection. But a diet of just muscle meat would make a cat sickly - it just doesn't have all the nutrients they need.

 

[whirlcool]

By products can be any thing from ground up innards to road kill to other euthanized animals that no one loved or wanted.

Shelters do not turn over dogs and cats to the dog food companies. They are cremated and the ashes mixed in with the landscaping around the shelter.

I do agree that some of the most popular brands of dog food are some of the worst. If you want to feed your pets "Old Roy" from Walmart, all it is doing is filling your dogs stomach. The brand has almost no nutritional value.

Science Diet used to be good until about 1988. Then they decided to try to cheapen it. Finally in 2007 they started to use Chinese wheat gluten and we all know what happened to that, dogs started to die from the melamime in the food. They got caught with their pants down.

My vet said the best thing you can do for your pet is to research the ingredients of dog food, and then buy what you think is the best for your dog. Then all you can do is hope for the best. Another little known fact. Most vets have books that outline the ingredients of most dog food brands.

There are websites that will rank dog foods, but beware if you see a lot of advertising on that website, there is a good chance that the number one food on the list will be the food that the company sponsoring the website sells.

We feed our dogs Nature's Recipe. It's not number one, but we feel safe with it.

And remember, the USDA has not yet repealed their warnings about pet food. So buyer beware.

As part owner of the www.blacklabrador.com website, we have a special section that is devoted to dog foods. If you want to have a look the link leads to the site. It will give you some insight as to what people generally think of different brands.

http://www.blacklabrador.com/index.php?showforum=14

 

[lordkenmore]

Another issue that may be worth considering is the type of cat food. Dry is popular, and when I still had a cat, something I used. Now, however, I'm hearing that dry may not be so good for cats. An unfortunate reality with cats is their diet is much different from what humans would like. A person prefers neat, clean dry cat food, while a cat would prefer being served a fresh, dead mouse.

I have heard of some who even cook for their cat. That might be ideal--it would be a hassle making sure the cat gets everything he or she needs, but at least one would have control over the ingredients.

Link to an article about dry cat food. This whole site looks interesting. It may be "too natural" for some, but at least I think it provides "food for thought."

http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

 

[pekedogs]

Evo

I was checking with my vet and they recomment Evo. I checked it out at the above-referenced link and it got top marks for ingredients as well as top $$$ for price. They tout it as being what cats would eat in the wild, "the ancestral diet". There is no grain in either the dry or the canned version. My kitty scarfs it up in the blink of an eye. She loves the vension as well as the chicken and turkey. I am trying to find the duck and beef for her as well. It is made by Natura and I was assured that all ingredients are from the United States, not China (not that it means a hill of beans). The kitty now eats better than I do.

 

[mark_wpduet]

That's interesting on the by-products that we would never eat, they would eat. I realize this. I also realize to be careful on a website comparing pet food as they could have an ulterior motive to get you to buy THEIR food. I didn't get that "vibe" from the research I was doing.

So when a CAT kills something in the wild, what of it does it eat? I've never witnessed a cat killing and eating something, and even if I were right there when it happened, I couldn't watch. I do know that when I bought this Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, they DOVE in on it like it was fresh catnip!

I think the missing ingredient in cat food years ago was TAURINE, an ingredient cat's must have or they will go blind (I THINK)

Regarding the animals being put to sleep in vets. I read a story once in addition to the website regarding Walmart's brand pet food testing positive for whatever chemical it is that is used to put animals to sleep in vets. I remember it wasn't just Walmart's brand, but a few others (this was a while back I will look to try to find it) I would hope that they are cremated or buried etc. I wonder how that chemical got into some pet foods?

I've read several debates on the dry and wet cat food from both sides. I do know that my cat's do drink PLENTY of water, thanks to the pet fountain, they RARELY throw up and seem very healthy. I just wish I could brush their teeth. I've watched vids on youtube but it just won't happen with my cats.

 

[nmassman44]

I just bought a 6 pound bag of the Chicken Soup for cat lovers as well today...was about $11 for the bag. My boys went nuts over it and the girls did as well when they could get to the bowl. With 4 cats its gone in a flash. I also picked up a few cans to see what they think.

 

[bernina]

Sadly our Science Diet kibble-fed cat developed diabetes...

I thought we were feeding him "the best" because it came from our vet's office, was expensive, etc. I feel terrible for the little guy, we just didn't know any better. He did live 16 years, though, the last 6 years with twice-daily insulin shots.

I vowed I would never put another cat through that, and did a LOT of research before adopting our next pet. Switched to a cat-only (better) vet, too.

I've come to the conclusion that canned is best, with a tiny bit of kibble as "treats."

We now feed our two "girls" PetGuard in 14 oz. cans. I buy it a case at a time and it comes out to be 40¢ per day, per cat. They are both at their ideal weight, shiny, active and healthy.

**arthur said: My problem is i have a "big girl" and a "skinny girl". I am getting some meat on the bones of my scrawny girl, and my big girl Keeps gaining weight. Suggestions, on how to hit the happy medium? arthur

The shelter we adopted from is pretty advanced in terms of cat health issues. Here's what they have to say about the issue you mention:

"...overweight cats lose weight while maintaining muscle mass on a low-carbohydrate canned diet better than the high-fiber low-calorie “Lite” diets. Interestingly, underweight cats may also gain weight on low-carbohydrate canned foods, as they contain more protein. The concept is similar to why humans may lose weight on a low-carbohydrate diet – yet athletes may use a high-protein diet to gain weight and muscle mass."

They use a canned-only diet for select cats who are either severely overweight -and- those that are severely underweight and the canned food is helping both sets! They're having very good success with their "Catkins" type high-protein canned diet. I'd totally recommend it for your situation.

OK, just one last thing: I think Dr. Lisa Pierson give some of the best advice available anywhere, when it comes to keeping your cats healthy and happy.

http://www.catinfo.org/

 

[sudsmaster]

I let my cat do the deciding...

He turned up his nose at Science Diet. Probably was around the time they cheapened the formula.

Taurine sounds about right as the missing amino acid (actually it's a sulfonic amino acid). Just goes to show: science and doctors, even vets, don't know everything. They thought cats could make their own taurine... so the cat food companies didn't monitor its levels in the food, and some cats developed vision or heart conditions as a result. Now there is a minimum level required in most commercial cat foods.

As for wild kills... my current outdoor cat is a very efficient hunter. I've watched him catch and carry a live squirrel off to the carport, to eat it in a secluded area. I try not to disturb him when he's doing that, but as far as I can tell, he tears open the underside first, eats the various vittles there, before dining on the rest. For a while he was bringing various leftover parts into the house for me to appreciate, like a rear leg or a tail, but fortunately that form of offering has declined in frequency. He's as healthy as an ox, save for occasional soreness from an altercation with the neighbor cat(s).

The indoor cat wouldn't know what to do with a mouse, even a dead one. Killing and eating them seems to be something their mothers teach them to do at an early age. The indoor cat was orphaned at an early age and nearly died of malnutrition before I rescued her. Her digestion has always been a bit sensitive, but she seems to do just fine on the Kirkland dry kibble.

 

[lordkenmore]

"The indoor cat wouldn't know what to do with a mouse, even a dead one. Killing and eating them seems to be something their mothers teach them to do at an early age."

I've been told that cats will kill without being taught, but eating the kill is something that needs to be taught by the cat's mother. This would explain the cat who kills a mouse and immediately loses interest, leaving the dead mouse in the middle of the living room.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, I don't know. Untrained cats will tend to play with small animals they might catch, and in the process of that play accidentally kill them. But my observation is that they don't do the swift bite to the neck that suffocates the prey that a trained cat will do.

This outdoor cat is actually the first one I've owned that knew how to hunt, kill, and eat the kill. All the others would often bring live prey into the house (via the cat door). The indoor cat, when she was a kitten, on a couple of occasions brought in live hummingbirds. One bird was too small and weak to survive very long, but another, larger one, seemed ok and flew off when I let it escape outdoors.

Cats don't seem to have a problem eating various insects... regardless of their training. I remember one cat in my rented back yard years ago. I had ordered a 1/2 cord of firewood. It was older seasoned almond, and a big fat grub fell out of one log when I was rearranging the wood. The cat seized it and nearly inhaled it with relish.

 

[lordkenmore]

I don't know for sure what is training and instinct. My comment above was based on hearsay years back. All cats I've ever had were strictly indoor, and so I never really have seen a cat hunting for anything bigger than a fly. And some haven't even been interested in that.