what kind of cat food do you feed your cats?

i am looking to change my cats food cause of cost and would like to know what others feed theirs and why they like it. they are currently on science diet and when looking at ingredients i see the first one is by products. i would like real meat to be the first one.

 

I have switched my indoor cats to Taste of the Wild catfood.

Here is the link

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/cats/dry_food/rocky_mountain_feline_formula/

I get it at Hudsons Hardware in Clayton and its about $25 for a 15lb bag. My cats may not like it as much as plain ol' Purina Cat Chow but they eat it. They were eating Cat Chow like it was candy and they all could stand to lose a pound or 3. I've also noticed litter box odors don't seem so terrible with the food change

 

friskies indoor delights. The "good" stuff gives them the runs

 

this costs more than my current food.we are thinking about getting the science diet and a bag of cheaper food and mix them to make it go farther. grady our russian blue weighed 18 lbs, then we got 3 siamese kittens and he lost 6 lbs! they are very active!

 

Any limited ingrediant food is going to be more costly than the grocery store brands. I'm not a pet food snob, but have had to put Molly on a bison and sweet potato formula due to allergies and it is $$. Good thing she's a little dog!! :shock:

 

It costs about 2 times what we were paying, but in the long run we were going through an 18 lbs. bag a week and now with the new, better food the cats are eating less and a 15 lbs. bag is lasting us 2-3 weeks and they are eating a mugh higher quality of food than the Cat Chow they loved previously.

 

And there is less food thrown-up because they were eating like little piggies! :hurray:

 

We use Blue Buffalo, and gee it expensive. We have 4 cats, but it seems to be the only food our cats don't throw up on, and waste does not smell as bad.

 

i would like to feed this but we are on disability and cant afford it. if we could find a part time job close to where we live i would get it. my daughter feeds it to her dog, a chihuahua so she buys a small bag every few months

 

we've noticed the same thing with the Taste of the Wild food.

 

I personally don't see Science Diet being all that "high quality" I see it as Purina One with a higher price tag (I'd actually recommend ONE before SD). SD is high in by products and corn at least in dog food.

I would look into Taste of the Wild or Blue or one of the other 'super premium' foods. Consider the calorie counts in a more nutrient dense food could mean feeding LESS than a lower filler filled kibble. If you feed less, you have less in the box (and less odor) and the bag of kibble goes further. It may also be a situation where your fur babies could go a little leaner.

I like Taste of the Wild as it is Grain Free which helps in maintaining metabolism and a leaner animal.

 

i really dont know what to do, i know sd is expensive and the by products and i know blue is good but when i say i dont have the money, i really mean it. after we pay the basics, mortgage, utilities we dont have enough money left for our food and cant spend more than we are. we need 3 leaner ones but siamen isnt fat at all, will it make him thinner? i dont want that! we dont free feed ours, and they are always asking for food, will they still want as much with blue and the wild foods? they have good appetites!

 

we free feed our 6 cats and the Taste of the Wild is lasting 2-3 weeks for a 15 lbs. bag versus the 1 week with the cheap stuff like cat chow. And while the cats don't eat as much, it is a much healthier food for them so I'm not anticipating a large weight loss unless it's due to the fact that they aren't pigging out on the cheap stuff.

 

As a side note, Hudson's has their generic branded "farm cat food" bags of cat food for about $20 for a 40 lbs. bag; now that is cheap enough.

 

They may eat about the same at first out of habit, but they should start cutting themselves unless they are complete gluttons. Which means you'll have to make them cut back (have you tried feeding the little one seperately? to make sure the bigger ones aren't taking all the food?)

Is there a Tractor Supply store near you? Their 4Health line is very similar to Blue Buff with a fraction of the price tag. (I'd wonder the initial quality of their meat, but the ingredients in general look pretty good)

4Health Indoor Cat 18lbs 19.99
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, egg product, ground rice, powdered cellulose, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), salmon, potatoes, millet, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, ocean fish meal, sodium bisulfate, potassium chloride, methionine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 32% (min.), Crude Fat 14% (min.), Crude Fiber 8% (max.), Moisture 10% (max.), Magnesium 0.1% (max.), Zinc 120 mg/kg (min.), Selenium 0.4 mg/kg (min.), Vitamin E 150 IU/kg (min.), Taurine 0.1% (min.), Omega-6 Fatty Acids 2.2% (min.), Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.4% (min.)
Caloric Content:
3,450 kcal/kg (323 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy.


Blue Buffalo indoor 15lbs 33.99
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Cellulose, Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Potatoes, Peas, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Dried Chicory Root, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 32.0% min
Crude Fat 15.0% min
Crude Fiber 4.5% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Magnesium 0.08% min
Taurine 0.15% min
Vitamin C* 100 mg/kg min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.5% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 3.0% min
Calorie Content (ME Calculated, as fed):
3,689 kcal/kg, 478 kcal/cup

Hills Science Diet Indoor 8.5 lbs 19.99 (sale price? 16.99)
Ingredients: Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose (10.5% source of fiber), Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Glyceryl Monostearate, Vitamin E Supplement, DL-Methionine, iodized Salt, Taurine, minerals (Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Nutritional information: Carbohydrate (NFE) 40.9%, Protein 36.0%, Fat 9.1%, Crude Fiber 8.3%, Calcium 0.91%, Phosphorus 0.72%, Magnesium 0.071%, Potassium 0.70%, Sodium 0.33%, Taurine 0.21%, Carnitine 516 ppm.

Caloric Content: 3224 kcal/kg (281 kcal/per cup).

Edit to add: Taste of the Wild at Tractor Supply is 15 lbs for 24.99. All these prices were taken from the Tractor Supply Website.

 

this sounds good and affordable. will they eat less of this like blue buffalo? and while siamen is the little one, he is the boss(hes just spoiled) and hes actually the food hog and he pushes his way to be the first!its hard to feed separately.we had a diabetic cat and had to feed him prescription food so we just fed the other 2 the same food.(only 3 cats then!)thanks everyone for the input. when this food i have runs out im going to try this

 

I think it may work similarly to Blue (but note the big diff in calories per cup, that will also make an impact). I think corn causes a sugar spike in most people and animals. It has a lot of natural sugars so when the corn burns out, the person/animal crashes and craves more food. Something about the glycemic index and stuff.

The food will be a big improvement ingredient wise over Science Diet. I didn't know which SD formula you fed so I just compared 3 indoor formulas. Hopefully it works well for your budget and your cats! Good luck!

 

Check out Royal Canin, they have a food line for feline and canine. That is what we switched to b/c my Pom was having severe stomach problems and we had to remove all beef and pork from his diet (he cant even take HW tablets because of the small amount of beef & pork flavoring, we do Advantage Multi) Royal Canin is a really good food and he is doing well on it. It costs more than what they were eating, but they are satisfied to eat less of it than their former food and I dont have all the puking and diarreah.

 

i have looked at this, they even have it for siamese! but i think its the most expensive.it costs more than a large bag of sd for the small bag. if i had one cat i could do. im glad it works for his problems. knock on wood this batch of cats dont have medical problems like my last ones(cancer and diabetes) im going to buy a small bag of the food from ts and mix it with the food i have now to get them used to it. which shouldnt be a problem, none of my boys are picky, they are the opposite!

 

My cats eat Halo turkey for sensitive skin dry food. I have to buy it at Petco because Petsmart doesn't sell it.