that actually makes sense - cat foods are required by law to have taurine. Even Trader Joe’s “tuna for cats” had it. Dog foods don’t have it usually - even the high-end boutique stuff.
Expensive vs Inexpensive Cat Foods
- Thread starter Mr_Luke
- Start date
...they do now
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 3,084
My toothless senior was losing weight,
so I tried this because I had a free coupon…
She loves it…
bluebuffalo.com
so I tried this because I had a free coupon…
She loves it…
BLUE True Solutions™ Blissful Belly
Support your cat’s sensitive stomach naturally with this highly digestible recipe formulated with prebiotic fiber, clinically proven to support digestive health.
bluebuffalo.com
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2021
- Messages
- 5,387
I second this question.
For cats, I've read that it's needed for vision, cardiac health, and development of unborn kittens. I'm not sure if that's different for dogs.
I think it makes sense that you feed Purina because they have low recall rates. That is a very important factor.
There are a lot of good options. Personally, I feed Diamond Naturals Active Cat dry food, and all 3 cats like it. It has no by-products, probiotics, high protein, and is reasonably priced. They also get canned food about 3 times a week, which is a variety of mid-priced brands that contain no by-products.
There are a lot of good options. Personally, I feed Diamond Naturals Active Cat dry food, and all 3 cats like it. It has no by-products, probiotics, high protein, and is reasonably priced. They also get canned food about 3 times a week, which is a variety of mid-priced brands that contain no by-products.
I have found that some people are as passionate about dog and cat food as we are about engine oil. We fed our first cat grocery store cat food and didn’t thing anything of it. She died at age 7. The vet we trust recommended Royal Canin and Hill’s Science Diet for our new cat and Golden Retriever. Apparently these two companies, along with Purina and Iams, perform almost all of the pet food research/development and feeding trials and the smaller companies use that research to develop and market their products.
Anyway, we feed our animals Hill’s Science Diet. I consider it the Mobil 1 of the pet food market. I suspect smaller more boutique companies also produce great food - just like Amsoil produces great oil. I’m my opinion, these companies rely on marketing and the work of the big players more than anything.
At the end of the day, we trust the companies that perform the research and feeding trials to stay ahead of the game which is why we choose Science Diet for our pets and Mobil 1 for our vehicles.
Anyway, we feed our animals Hill’s Science Diet. I consider it the Mobil 1 of the pet food market. I suspect smaller more boutique companies also produce great food - just like Amsoil produces great oil. I’m my opinion, these companies rely on marketing and the work of the big players more than anything.
At the end of the day, we trust the companies that perform the research and feeding trials to stay ahead of the game which is why we choose Science Diet for our pets and Mobil 1 for our vehicles.
Because ideally cats would get plenty of taurine from natural sources such as meat.
I can't recall why it's so important for cats and all living things, but it is.
I took taurine myself for several months and didn't notice a benefit from it.
They say chicken thighs are supposed to be a good source of taurine.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2021
- Messages
- 5,387
And then you have the High Performance Lubricants of food for your pets, I know some that cook them fresh baked chicken and prepare it and feed it them fresh off of the stove. Huskies, pit bulls, probably can do for cats, doesnt have to be chicken, just saying.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I'll never understand why people cheap out with pet food.
Nutro Ultra for my dogs, when I had a cat he also got Nutro.
My pets also don't eat treats or people food whatsoever. A couple months ago I held a piece of pizza out to my dog just out of curiosity to see what he would do. He sniffed it and walked away. Doesn't even know what it is. Looking forward to many more years with him as a result.
Nutro Ultra for my dogs, when I had a cat he also got Nutro.
My pets also don't eat treats or people food whatsoever. A couple months ago I held a piece of pizza out to my dog just out of curiosity to see what he would do. He sniffed it and walked away. Doesn't even know what it is. Looking forward to many more years with him as a result.
I feed my cats Nature’s Domain, the higher-end cat food from Costco. No problems so far. They also carry dog food under that name.
My cat gets the Simply Nourish brand of shredded food (Pets Mart brand) and it's been perfect. He didn't do well with dry food, had several incidents with UTI issues and blockages that cost me thousands. Since switching to wet food, no more issues. Same with my dog: she's been on Blue Buffalo Rock Mountain mix for year and never had a problem.
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2021
- Messages
- 845
My old girl loved friskies and fancy feast classic (pate only) and the young cat ate it too. But once the old girl passed away at 20 years old in 2020, the young cat, now 8, stopped eating it. So I went through a few brands to see what she liked before settling on Sheba perfect portions (pate only). I also leave some grain free dry food out and because the old cat had bad teeth I wanted a smaller kibble and Rachel Rays Peak had smaller kibbles than others. Now that line seems discontinued and I can’t find it anymore, so I’ve switched to a weird name, but she’s had it before and likes it and it’s still reasonably priced. It’s called “I and Love and You” or something like that. Always remember to keep fresh clean water out. I bought a fancy fountain and they love it.
YES, something close we do with our dog. Small amount of high grade kibble (non supermarket) in morning and Lactose free skim milk. (don't feed cats milk)
Dinner is big and feed a variety of non supermarket high end canned pet foods, topped with human protein such as Costco Chickens, Homemade burgers made from chop meat, canned human mackerel, canned human salmon and canned human tuna. We also add one of the following some slices of apple/green beans and small amount of broccoli.
All the cheapest human canned protein like above, that you can find far, far, far exceeds the super heated dried protein in kibble and exceeds the quality of pet food canned but canned pet food is still superior to dry pet food.
Bottom line is we do want to give some pet food and canned is better for a pet, the canned (or dry) food should be complete with vitamins and minerals but its hardly super healthy in as much as Burger King is healthy, then topped with what I typed.
Dry commercial pet (dog or cat) "food" is flash baked (i.e. "extruded"), is typically made from what's known as "feed grade" food (which is simply "food grade" waste deemed unfit for humans consumption), which likely contains genetically modified ingredients, which *may* include such ingredients as dead, dying, disabled, or diseased (i.e., "4-D" animals, i.e, meat from dead, dying, diseased, and/or disabled animals - https://bit.ly/3iO8zxi and https://bit.ly/3apVXaS NOTE: Fortunately, the FDA seems to have changed their policy on allowing such materials in the manufacture of pet foods) animals, and *may* include sodium pentobarbital that's routinely used to euthanize companion animals by FDA admission (https://bit.ly/30ifdp5) and is allowed to be contaminated with rodent, roach, or bird excreta (https://bit.ly/30ifus7) even though the FDA itself acknowledges are "vectors for microorganisms deleterious to the health of animals, including such things as parasite eggs, salmonella, leptospira, or other pathogenic organisms" and despite “The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled.” - https://bit.ly/3mHFEfd
Ed
Ed
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2022
- Messages
- 11
Its all the same stuff made by the same people. You are paying for marketing and a pretty bag.
IME, I call Hill's Science Diet. Science Death. Vets rec it since they sell it. Same with Royal Canin
My dentist recommend Crest tooth paste. I take the free sample and clean my truck headlights with it.
Did Wellness for a few years but they changed apparent formulation and i abandoned it.
Did Blue grain free or a while, but the animals really didnt like any of the three flavours fed them.
Settled on all of the three Merrick's Chicken or Turkey or Duck - Pate ONLY
Even this great brand has changed recipe in the past year and is now just adequate - to - good
One trip to the veterinarian office for food born disease or heath issue will pay for premium cat food for 1 -2 YEARS
My dentist recommend Crest tooth paste. I take the free sample and clean my truck headlights with it.
Did Wellness for a few years but they changed apparent formulation and i abandoned it.
Did Blue grain free or a while, but the animals really didnt like any of the three flavours fed them.
Settled on all of the three Merrick's Chicken or Turkey or Duck - Pate ONLY
Even this great brand has changed recipe in the past year and is now just adequate - to - good
One trip to the veterinarian office for food born disease or heath issue will pay for premium cat food for 1 -2 YEARS
When it comes to cat food, my cat’s favorite foods are Purina Cat Chow Indoor, and Sheba Perfect Portions Pate. I’ve tried other brands and other offerings from Purina, but the two I just mentioned are the only ones he actually enjoys eating.
I’ve always been a big fan of Purina products. In reality, there are many foods made by several manufacturers that work just fine and will give your pet a long and healthy life.
I’ve always been a big fan of Purina products. In reality, there are many foods made by several manufacturers that work just fine and will give your pet a long and healthy life.
