# Cat Nutrition



## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

I just wanted to share this website, it is like the god of proper feline nutrition. xD
Seriously, I really reccomend reading up some of this, very great information.

http://catinfo.org/


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks so much!! I'm bookmarking it for now. 
My cat eats only holistic dry food and a couple time a week he will get wet food but he doesn't like the ones that aren't packed with fish ingredients. I did some research before when we got him and he eats grain free. There is sweet potato in his food but it's not the main protein source so I don't care about it. I do want to change him to something better like Blue or TotW but money is a big issue where neither of us are working and living solely off student loans. As for water, Oliver has a fountain and he just drinks like half of the compartment each day lol
I appreciate your link, I'll go look.   
What I hate is that my sister just got a kitten and after all I said about holistic she feeds crap. She fed holistic to the dog she fostered, but not her own cat.. -_-


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Laki said:


> Thanks so much!! I'm bookmarking it for now.
> My cat eats only holistic dry food and a couple time a week he will get wet food but he doesn't like the ones that aren't packed with fish ingredients. I did some research before when we got him and he eats grain free. There is sweet potato in his food but it's not the main protein source so I don't care about it. I do want to change him to something better like Blue or TotW but money is a big issue where neither of us are working and living solely off student loans. As for water, Oliver has a fountain and he just drinks like half of the compartment each day lol
> I appreciate your link, I'll go look.
> What I hate is that my sister just got a kitten and after all I said about holistic she feeds crap. She fed holistic to the dog she fostered, but not her own cat.. -_-


Great!  Yeah one thing I have learned from this resource is the importance of wet food for cats. I used to feed only dry food to my cats but I switched to feeding wet food daily to increase their water intake. I was especially worried because males have the worst problems on an all dry diet, and one of my cats is male.
I used to feed crappy brands like purina and meow mix, but after learning all this info I wont let those brands come close to my cats. I stick to wellness, blue buffalo and innova, and try to get whatever is cheapest with coupons and sales. Its hard feeding high quality foods to two cats when Im a kid and dont have a job. xD


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

It's a start. Even though dry seems to be more popularly a bad choice, making a healthier brand choice is better than not. I feed Holistic Blend for cats because it's among the cheaper holistic foods and I can buy it at the grocery stores ( all the pet stores who sell better brands are so far away). I think education is pretty important, and research is key. 
I got my cat fountain Cat-it brand at Walmart for 30$. The replacement filters come in a 3 pack for 14$ (But this is risiculous Canadian pricing, I'm sure it's cheaper in the states) and Oliver gets most of his water from that. I offer wet food every few days but he only eats some of it. 
My cat is male too (obviously, lol "Oliver") and so I avoid fish in all my foods. I think there's a small amount in the HB but it's not significant.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

We use fish in our food (10 yr senior, 2 yr female, 2 yr male) and they do well, but I find a lot of male cats develope problems with foods that have grains in them. My Mom's cat Mater was on his deathbed twice before I asked my Mom to switch to TotW and he hasn't had a sick day since!

My cats though, what an issue trying to find a food that suits them all. TotW doesn't work for my senior, Blue doesn't work for the young female, Felidae doesn't work for the young male. All the others didn't work at all except Go! Natural's but that is really really expensive here ($60+ a month for the cats). What I did end up trying was a bag of Special Kitty Cuisine, yes WalMart brand. But when I mixed it in to their Felidae, the cats all started gaining weight, litter box was better, fur was nicer, cats were happier... so we switch to it and the cats have been doing amazing. Anyone who knows me knows I am all about the best food for animals, but I am starting to think a food that agrees with them is better than a food that is good for them but makes them sick. After all my senior was fed Sobey's brand for 6 years and the two young ones were strays... the Special Kitty Cuisine is much much better than those two haha Our feral's outside eat Lifestyles.


Thanks for the info!!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

It does come down to personal cats. I agree with you. I watched Marketplace or 20/20 or something about pet food and the scam that is to buy the most expensive. That is not always the case for all cats. And god knows my aunt's cat who died at about age 20 only ever ate the cheapest brands out there.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

If I had the resources here, I'd just make my own for them lol I'd need an industrial sized oven though!!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Can you imagine the smell!! lol


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## TheCrabbyTabby (Jul 7, 2012)

Honestly, and this is the truth, a cat's digestive system is meant to handle meat almost exclusively. Sure they do nibble on grass occasionally, but that is a mechanism they have to combat digestive upset. Its like a human taking Pepto Bismal. 

Nowhere is there a means to handle grains. Grains only cause allergies, digestive problems and urinary tract problems. Only buy a cat food that has quality meat as their first ingredient. No bi-products, no meal, just simple and plain beef, chicken, or fish pieces included. 

Be aware that anything sold in a grocery store is usually low quality and has corn listed as one of the first ingredients, if not the first. Corn is primary used as a filler, so the food is less expensive to make. Also be aware that corn is also the cause of a lot of health issues in animals. Its high in sugar and low in nutrients. Its a grain, plain and simple and a low quality grain at that. Also be aware that the corn put into a cat or dog food is not processed and therefore has a high probability to contain chemicals and such (as was the source of the huge pet food recall of some odd years back, they, meaning China, had used unprocessed filler ie. corn and such, which contained a chemical that, when ingested, caused severe illness, sezuires, and even death in dogs and cats).

The best diet for a cat is one that is high in animal protein, or meat. A cat NEEDS animal protein to function properly. No ifs ands or buts about it. Its how the evolved, its how they are. Don't go trying to change that.

I recommend Blue Wilderness, or anything with the Blue label. Also, Wellness, or any high quality holistic food is a good brand. Just make sure there is no corn or grains in the food. No canine or feline diet with grain is very nutritious.


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## ThePearlFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Both my cats are on high quality diets as well. I feed them Felidae Platinum (the senior version, even though they are both only a few years old) and Soulistic wet food from Petco. My girl cat prefers snacking the dry, but on occasion will grab some wet before the boy gobbles it all up (he prefers the wet, but will occasionally snack on the dry). So, it works out in the end. 

My BF still doesn't understand why we can't get cheaper food for them like Friskies or Fancy Feast. He doesn't understand no matter how many times I tell him that in the long run we save money, because fillers make an animal hungrier and you need to feed them more to get the nutritional value out of them. That, and that they are not as healthy in the first place. My animals are my babies and I am not gonna just give them anything just because they are an animal and it is cheaper...:/

BTW, I COMPLETELY understand cats being finicky eaters and if all someone can get them to eat is a cheaper brand of food, I understand, no judgement from me.  I don't want anyone to think that I think badly of them for feeding a non-holistic brand to their cat if that is all the cat will eat or has a medical condition which forces them to eat only certain foods.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

We're thinking about switching Oliver to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul, Adult light formula. 
I don't know if I mentioned it above but he prefers drinking water from his fountain to actually eating wet food. So I guess this is normal?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

One of my cats will eat anything I put in front of him.

The other one will eat pretty much any dry food but is picky about which wet food she likes.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> One of my cats will eat anything I put in front of him.
> 
> The other one will eat pretty much any dry food but is picky about which wet food she likes.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Same here. Martini won't eat wet food at all and Tucker loves it. They both like hard "Merrick Before Grain" in chicken, though. 

However, my problem is that my cats refuse to drink from their water dish. Is it because it is metal maybe? I should try a ceramic one and see if that helps. They both liked drinking from a fountain but Martini decided she likes to constantly paw at the water and spill it all so the pump broke. She now begs anyone who goes into the bathroom to turn the bathtub on a little bit so she can go in there and put her face in the stream of water and drown herself. Legit, she starts coughing and everything because she inhales it while lapping it. Shes not that smart. Tucker just drinks from my cup of water  I'd let Martini drink from my cup too but, again, she would paw it over and spill it onto my computer desk.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Viva said:


> Same here. Martini won't eat wet food at all and Tucker loves it. They both like hard "Merrick Before Grain" in chicken, though.
> 
> However, my problem is that my cats refuse to drink from their water dish. Is it because it is metal maybe? I should try a ceramic one and see if that helps. They both liked drinking from a fountain but Martini decided she likes to constantly paw at the water and spill it all so the pump broke. She now begs anyone who goes into the bathroom to turn the bathtub on a little bit so she can go in there and put her face in the stream of water and drown herself. Legit, she starts coughing and everything because she inhales it while lapping it. Shes not that smart. Tucker just drinks from my cup of water  I'd let Martini drink from my cup too but, again, she would paw it over and spill it onto my computer desk.


 
Well, cats are naturally attracted to running water, so probably because now that she has had it, thats all she wants. lol she sounds like a goofy girl!
Ive used merrick one time, they have a canned variety called Thanksgiving dinner that I got my babies for thanksgiving. Patrick ate it but Baby refused so she had Blue buffalo wilderness turkey canned food instead. Picky little turd


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Yeah my cats love the Thanksgiving Dinner flavor as well


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

We have all our cats except the oldest on Wellness dry and tin. Our siamese is allergic to I suspect corn as she used to vomit up any cereal-heavy food we gave her. 

The oldest one however, lives as an indoor/outdoor cat and the amount of things I have seen him eat is astounding. Our neighbour throws scraps out to the bird and so he routinely eats old expired mince, chicken, sausage and all the old bread that has been sitting over there exposed to the elements. He used to also get into their bird feeder and eat the seed out of it. 

It's so aggravating as if you feed him any of the better brands of food he will not eat them and instead goes out and gorges himself on whatever he catches and the scraps. He was up in our neighbours' house the other day sniffing around for food. They are elderly and think food equals love and he has the 'I'm starving' routine down pat. 

Everyone does really well on the Wellness however. Our cats had lost weight when we took them into the vets recently and their coats are so sleek and shiny with no dandruff or dryness. It is like crack for cats. I had a scoop of dry in my wardrobe from their breakfast and the Siamese was just sitting outside my wardrobe all day trying to figure out how to get in. 

They all prefer drinking out of my fish tanks to drinking out of their bowls. Don't know if it's because the water is warm or has an earthier taste to it but one of our cats was very put out when I covered them all up so he couldn't get into them!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

For the fountain, I think Catit makes one with a screen over the top so cats cannot play with the output, then it runs into a small compartment like a regular bowl then back under to be filtered again..Let me find a link..I think all cats should have fountains!!
http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-FWB...6M/ref=zg_bs_2975263011_4/182-7312747-3600941


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

So feeding a cat wet food makes sense, because they can put more meat than other stuff in it, but what about their teeth? Is it necessary to brush a cats teeth? I just learned that it is necessary to brush a dogs teeth...and what about dogs? I heard that dry food is better for them....


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I feed dry in morning and wet at night, that way the dry cleans their teeth and the wet hydrates. I'm sure its beneficial to brush a cat's teeth, but I'd leave it to the professionals if you think its necessary because otherwise you could get a nasty bite and really upset cat.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Well that makes sense. And it also makes sense that dry food can be great for dogs because their diet allows for a little bit of fruit & veggie...


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Dry food does not clean teeth, think of it like this...

Imagine going to your dentist and being told to forget using your toothbrush — because all you really need for good dental health is to simply eat a few crunchy tortilla chips every day.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/dry-dog-food-cleaner-teeth/


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

omg yea dry food, if anything, gets pieces STUCK in the gum line. The tostito reference is a good one. I used to think dry food cleaned their teeth too but being on pet forums for years has got me into mad researching on everything with my pets. 

Oliver wakes me up for dry food in his dish.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Dry food doesn't clean the teeth necessarily but plaque build up is easily wiped off with anything, including hard food. Obviously a dentist or vet will tell you otherwise because how else will they make money? Humans need more dental health care because we eat things like sugar and get cavities.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Gingivitis in dogs and cats is caused by not seeing the vet to scrape build up off- just like humans. Dental care is essential, at least dogs can chew bones and there are treats designed to help clean teeth like dentastix.. Cats are much harder! lol 

I hear enzymatic toothpaste helps reduce vet dentals in both cats and dogs. I used it for my dog and it did help, he lived for 14 years and _never_ had any dental issues. Cats, again, can be less tolerant and not so quick to trust us with their mouths. lol


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

They say to try and feed smaller sized kibble because it doesn't get stuck in the gum line as much.


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## Kitty Whiskers (Sep 28, 2009)

I tried some different brands of canned food when my Siamese was a kitten. She used to love, the Thanksgiving Dinner and Grammy's Pot Pie cat food. She also loved many other "high end" cat foods but ever since she was spayed, she wont touch those good-for-her best brands out there. She only wants to eat Friskies canned food. I have no idea why she changed her tastes for wet cat food just because she was spayed. The next day after she was spayed I went out and bought her a months worth of canned food and the next morning when I gave her, her favorite flavor in her favorite brand she refused it, day after day, every new can, different flavor etc, she all refused. Can't figure it out. I ended up donating all that good expensive canned cat food to the local no kill animal shelter  Happy kitties chowing down yummies there for sure now! 

But for her dry food I give her, her favorite which is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul adult cat food. As a kitten she had the kitten formula of Chicken Soup. I tried different dry brands like Blue, and Core, etc but she refused to even try it no matter how long I tried to offer it to her. She does not like the canned Chicken soup however. Picky Kitty!


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

Laki said:


> Oliver wakes me up for dry food in his dish.


So does Ashes. I tried to put her on a wet food, after a month she went meh, and demanded her kibble. I gotta say, her teeth are great. Or at least her vet claims. I can hear her now, oh I know you have great teeth, you showed them to me when you were hissing at me.

I'm trying to transition her over to Blue, at least she'll crunch most anything in front of her.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Haha!! She sure sounds like a fiesty one


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## ThePearlFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I MIGHT have to switch my tabby girl onto a mainly wet diet if her UTI doesn't clear up well.. This is gonna be fun when she loves the dry over the wet...


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

She sure is feisty... it's why I don't think I could transfer her over to a full time diet of wet. She's a fussy furball, who will tear my skin off if she doesn't get her way.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I wish I could feed sole diet of wet/raw. Might not happen since my cat doesn't eat chicken or turkey. He likes vegetarian turkey (its called tofurkey). lol


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I just ordered some Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner wet food for my kitties!  They've had it before and they love it! I am disappointed though since Amazon raised their price of the Merrick dry cat food from $25 to $30 for an 11lb bag! And I went to get it at Petco.com where its only $22 for an 11lb bag and all three flavors (chicken, tuna and salmon) were sold out! I just bought it for $30


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