(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best dry cat food

Your english is great! :D You should give some natural foods a try. My cat had extreme digestive issues and this food has helped her with that and so many more other things. This brand is what I use, but Blue Buffalo and similar brands are great. Maybe the limited ingredient diet will be more gentle on his tummy! Best of luck to you and thank you for caring for the poor guy. :)

We have him on Nature's variety grain free healthy weight for six months and he hasn't lost any weight but his energy levels have increased considerably. He does not act like a nine year old. His fur is luxurious and nothing negative came back from the vet.

If you've seen my other cat, the fifteen year old black one, her weight has not changed either on the sane kibble and she certainly does not act her age. They don't even eat the recommended amount. My wife feeds them now and she has remarked that they don't even eat a half a cup a day and trust me when I say that my girl cat would let you know if she is hungry. Spike never begs for food and doesn't like human food except for boiled egg yolks.

Thanks for your concern. Our last boy went through a month of meds for his congestive heart failure before he had his final stroke. Our city has one of the most advanced vet emergency rooms and critical care in the western united states. The lab results took one hour when we went there. We take the health of our pets very serious.

I use Instinct Original Grain Free Recipe Natural Dry Cat Food by Nature's Variety. Subscribe and save for an extra buck ninety off. Kitteh loves the stuff. She's a lazy house cat, but self regulates her feeding is not overweight at all. Been using it for about a year and a half and am just finishing my third bag.

Edit to note: The linked product is not the formula I've been feeding Kitteh. It's a re-formulated product. I'm going with Instinct Ultimate Protein Grain Free Recipe Natural Dry Cat Food by Nature's Variety on my next order.

Edit 2: After reading the reviews, Instinct Original Grain Free Recipe Natural Dry Cat Food by Nature's Variety Rabbit Formula has more actual meat in it. The Ultimate Protein Formula's second ingredient is tapioca. I put in a subscription for the Rabbit Formula.

Cats certainly are able to "derive nutrition from plants". Pretty much any cat food you buy contains plant-based ingredients. Here is the first result that comes up for "cat food" on Amazon

>We craft this cat food without artificial flavors or preservatives using real ingredients, including accents of real carrots and peas. The omega-6 fatty acids in this adult dry food help nourish and maintain healthy skin and a radiant coat. This meal provides 100% complete and balanced nutrition for adult cats. An antioxidant-rich blend supports a strong immune system. Plus, the crunchy kibble in this dry cat food helps reduce plaque buildup and whitens teeth. This nutritious cat food formula contains 0% fillers. It's no wonder the Purina ONE cat food brand is recommended by veterinarians. For quality nutrition that delivers, order Purina ONE from Amazon.com.

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Dry Cat Food, Chicken Meal & Salmon Meal Formula, 15-Pound https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026LN472/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_L3tvCbXPGH6VZ
I get my kitties this. It has a lot of fiber content so helps with sensitive tummies. My 8 year old throws up otherwise. Every cat likes what it likes it took me 6 different foods including that blue buffalo one to finally find one that works for them lol.
Thats so great she was able to help your kittys out. You should post a pic of them and link It here id love to see what they look like this is one of mine Mischief.
http://imgur.com/gallery/25qbSkI
Sorry i just realized how long this post was lol.

Definitely grain/gluten free; first ingredient some "real" meat/fish. I have several foods on rotation, to mix things up and to discourage foodsnobbishness. Right now, it's this:

tend to switch it up a bit, free feeding high quality dry and offering wet in the a.m.

Some of the dry food my monsters seem to like:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048Z6PPM/ref=oh_details_o00_s02_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XQATWA/ref=oh_details_o00_s02_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CGICYVW/ref=oh_details_o00_s03_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CGICYVW/ref=oh_details_o00_s03_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They also LOVE Merrick's Before Grain -- and it's a good value:

http://www.amazon.com/Merrick-Before-Grain-Chicken-Pound/dp/B001709GF2/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_2

awesome! and yeah, it really is surprisingly affordable especially with only one kitty. i narrowed it down a bit since you can order online, i would consider this, this, or this. come to think of it, i was able to successfully transition a carb addicted cat to blue buffalo easily enough. hope that helps a bit!

My cats aren't fans of it, otherwise I'd throw whatever coupons I had your way.

On a lark, I checked the best price I could find online. If you've got Amazon Prime, you can get the 6lb bags on a subscription basis for $11.36/ea + free shipping. That'd save you even more than the couponed $5.99 3lb bags you were buying.

http://www.amazon.com/Purina-Beyond-Salmon-Brown-6-Pounds/dp/B004IN7CJ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321574871&sr=8-2

Wish I could be of more help.

Yes Kassy in indoor only and I am the only one who feeds her. I don't believe there is any possible way she could be getting additional food. I'll definitely look into the brands you suggested. I originally switched to "Chicken Soup" because it was a fairly inexpensive option that was grain free, but I guess there is not actually proof that grains are bad for cats? This Hills cat food is only slightly more expensive that my current food ($1.73/lbs vs 1.89/lbs) so I might try it, especially because I found a $3 off coupon.

It looks like Hill's recommends food amounts based on the "ideal weight" of the cat. I was wondering if you knew how to determine that. /u/Urgullibl posted a body condition score below, and I think Kassy is around a 7 at her current weight. (I'll try to take some pictures.) Also, do you know over how many days one should transition from one food to another?

Anyways thank you very much for your thorough reply! I do try to do my research as much as possible, and I love my baby to pieces, so her weight issues cause me a lot of worry.

Egg yolk twice a week is recommended as well. If you can get some Orijen kitten cat food Orijen cat & kitten food it’s better than most cat food and ferret food on the market. Get some purée pumpkin with no additives (extremely important) to help with blockages. Stella & Chewys to mix in with their kibble will help with fat Stella & Chewy cat treats . Also Wysong offers samples if you email them for some. Wysong Samples.

If they aren’t potty trained, start with puppy pads. Correct when they start going to the bathroom in a corner. Watch their stools for consistency and color. Find a local vet in your area that understands ferrets.

One more thing if you don’t think a ferret can get into something or get access to it, they will. They’re smart and extremely mischievous. They are like toddlers.

Hope this helps.

My girl loves this brand she is still on the kitten version. I’m not sure how big a big bag is to you but this is their larger bag at just under $30. I don’t know that I see that statement looking at the photos online but your mom is going to have to get past that because there are some super awesome foods out there way better with limited ingredients (not full of dyes and preservatives and fillers and other nasty things cats don’t need) such as this. You can set this up on AutoShip every month from Amazon and so there’s no more shopping for cat food it just comes every month.

Halo Natural Dry Cat Food, Sensitive Stomach Seafood Medley, 6-Pound Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00153SSY6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zQ1yCbRS46BSN

Thanks for the response! I have read that before on various posts made by others as well which is why I was transitioned from this cat food: natural instinct raw boost only this only in the mornings and wet food in the evenings.

It's tough having to do all that while getting ready for work in the morning a pure lazy thing I guess..I am going to start by giving them pure wet food on weekends! Any recommendations by the way? At the moment I'm feeding them this wet food

But I'm not sure if it the best? What is raw diet? Any recommendations?


The tower tracks is now in my amazon cart :)

Unfortunately the little dude cries nonstop until the balcony door is open. I'm going to look up how to make a catio and well..make one lol. I understand the danger as he's been over the ledge a few times and I live on the 5th floor apartment..Now I'm constantly outside whenever he is outside..although that can get annoying..

I have a recommendation from a vet-student of mine: Purina Pro-Plan. It encompasses extremely high-quality ingredients, affordable prices and various flavors/specialty blends. The dry food or wet variant are both excellent for your kitty, but the dry food will be cheaper. I would use the wet food if the kitty doesn't adhere well to drinking water as the wet-food contains high amounts of water. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. Congratulations on becoming a kitty owner!

Here are my recommendations on supplies:

Litter box: http://www.amazon.com/Catit-Jumbo-Hooded-Cat-Litter/dp/B003RQVGKC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458653&sr=8-2&keywords=litter+box

Litter scooper: http://www.amazon.com/Duranimals-DuraScoop-Litter-Scoop-colors/dp/B001DCAAP4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458674&sr=8-1&keywords=litter+scooper

Litter: http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cat-Premium-Clumping-Litter/dp/B0009X29WK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458691&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+litter (cheaper if you buy this one at PetSmart believe it or not)

Kitten food: http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Plan-Chicken-Formula-7-Pound/dp/B003R0LLXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458746&sr=8-1&keywords=purina+pro+plan+kitten

Litter mat: http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-SmartGrip-Litter-Gray-Twist/dp/B007SQFRMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458842&sr=8-1&keywords=litter+box+mat

Okay, I see that you've added a comment about your cat not being picky... unfortunately, I'm not aware of any way to just pick any brand of cat food and have it sent to you without you designating it on your wish list. Can you add something like this Meow Mix Dry Food to your Wish List? I will gladly purchase it and have it sent to you!

I worked in the veterinary field for a while as well, and to be honest, having the cat on 100% wet or raw food was by far the most important thing, regardless of quality. By all means, do what you can afford to, but we saw plenty of cats who came in after switching to Fancy Feast Classics 100% canned, and all urinary/bladder issues disappeared. Granted, this will depend on how long the cat was on dry food/if any long-term damage occurred, but if caught early on at least, this seemed to be the case.

I of course understand if you don't care for Purina either though. Another option you can try is checking in with your local butcher(s) to see if they offer whole ground meat suitable for pets. Our butcher does for .12 an oz. You can make it simple and nutritionally complete with a mix similar to this one though there are a few different brands to look into that might cost less. Commercial raw overall though is VERY expensive and sadly out of my own price range. You could also do a daily raw meal along with commercial grain-free wet (Sheba and FF Classics are grain-free and low carb) to help balance things out.

Grandma Lucy's and Honest Kitchen offer dehydrated foods for cats as well that you add water to that make a complete diet; they are sort of a good compromise between commercial and raw. Even if you do it for one meal a day (my own cat eats different flavors at each meal, fussy guy).

Hope this helps! Good luck to you!

the only way to solve your problem is to disassociate yourself from his food intake by investing in a reliable portion control automated feeder. also stop giving them ANY treats or table scraps! here is the dry kibble feeder i use;

http://www.super-feeder.com/

i have been using this feeder on my two 8LB cats the past 6 years without incedent. i intentionally underfeed my cats for their health sake, and they NEVER both me or beg me for food. they simply sit quietly near the feeder and wait for it to go off. I have mine scatter an average of 0.75oz of kibble every 4 hours (6 times each day) which helps simulate free feeding while keeping them from gourging and regurgitating. both my cats are lean and muscular climbers - as their breed dictates.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Naturals-Active-Chicken-Formula/dp/B000OH57D4

IMHO: you are spoiling an indoor cat with so much wet protein, and the fact that you have to open cans will make it impossible for you to remove yourself from the feeding equation. (there are wet portion feeders, but they have their own headaches). cats will do just fine with a lower protein grain free kibble at that age and amount of activity. as a treat i give my cats raw when i weekly prepare dark meat chicken for myself.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

this stuff

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

My female kitty used to barf all the time until I switched their food. Since I started giving her (and my other two cats) this stuff she hardly ever does anymore.