[Shasta220]

I’m SO glad I found this website. It’s wonderful to know that the food is being rated based on each ingredient and the amounts of the ingredients… Plus there are comments below with additional “reviews” from customers, so I can /really/ know what I’m getting before I blow my money on it. (I mean, sure, it’s ultimately up to my dog on how a certain food works out…but this website narrows my choices down A LOT)

Anyway, off of the rave about this site: what are favorite cat-food-advisor sites? Our kitties are on cheap grocery store foods, and we’ve never really researched out cat nutrition like we have dog nutrition. I’m having a really hard time finding good reviews that I can trust. http://asksusanpeters.net/cat_food_rating.html that site seems to be okay so far, as it lists virtually every cat food out there… But the way it’s ratings are is just weird (egg, turkey, liver, barley, and salmon are all ingredients that make “minus a point” in the food, but any form of rice is “plus a point”, which is really odd…I wish it just says pros & cons of them instead.)

If you guys can’t find a cat food site similar to this one – is it safe to assume that great dogfood brands would also make pretty good cat food brands?

Thanks for the help!

[theBCnut]

I would not ask Susan Peters. I agree that I don’t agree on how she rates food. Yes, if you can trust the dog food company, then they are also the ones to trust with your cat. Read catinfo.org too for some great thoughts on what type of food is most important for cats and why.

[Shasta220]

Thank you so much for the help! I think I’ve narrowed it down to some affordable quality foods that have worked well for our dogs as well… Random question: how do you change a profile picture? I just joined this site, and I can’t figure out how to. XP

[theBCnut]

Register with gravatar.
/forums/topic/how-to-create-your-own-custom-avatar/

[Mom2Cavs]

Like you and Patty said, if you can trust a dog food company and the food is rated a good one, then their cat food should be pretty good, too. Most people feel that cats should never eat a dry food. They are also obligate carnivores and need high protein, i.e. meat. Now…I will say I do leave dry out all the time for my cat to nibble on and she does like to do that occasionally. She gets fed a wet/canned food morning and evening. I add in missing link well blend to her food. She has some allergy responses and this seems to help. She loves Instinct kibble (not all flavors/kinds, though) but hates their canned food. She also likes Orijen/Acana. Currently, she’s eating Fromm Gamebird kibble and loves it. It also is doing well with her allergies. She eats Mulligan Stew canned, Fromm Gold canned, Wellness canned and pouches. She likes Weruva ok. I’ve tried premade raw with her a few times but she eventually won’t eat it. I keep trying, though, lol. She’s in perfect weight, as well.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Shasta,

You should check out Susan Thixton’s website. Susan does reviews of both dog and cat food. You do have to pay in order to have access to the review portion of her site. I have a lot of respect for Susan Thixton. I’ve never read the cat food reviews, only the dog food reviews. Ms. Thixton’s site doesn’t have nearly as many reviews as Dr. Mike’s, but it’s still great information.

Here’s a link to the site: http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/association-for-truth-in-pet-food-2
The link to the review portion is at the top of the home page. The reviews are in the “Petsumer Report” tab.

[Shasta220]

Thanks for the help, guys! We have one super picky eater (like I say, the cats have always been on super cheap food)… He only eats Cat Chow so far, but it’s pretty much garbage. So far, a really affordable dry food (that’s also quality) is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul. I also wonder if I could find Diamond Naturals for cats (some people HATE the dog food for it, others love it. All of my dogs are on it and they’re doing great).

I’m planning on finding some quality canned food for my older kitty (I really want to try Evo 95% chicken and turkey). I’m not sure if the other one would eat it, he’s refused other organic canned foods, haha. I’m not worried about him though, because he nibbles on some of our cat’s raw food (just to clarify. We have 3. Maddy is a senior…she just eats the dry and maybe canned. Panda ONLY eats dry…then Millie is too sophisticated for cat food, she eats only raw…)

[crazy4cats]

Hi Shasta-
I also wish there was a cat food advisory site as great as this dog food one! But I agree with the others, a good dog food brand is most likely also good place to start with cats. Since you are not opposed to using Diamond brands, Kirkland Signature at Costco is very similar to the Diamond Naturals and Chicken Soup at an even more affordable price. I rotate between Wellness Core, Earthborn Primitive, and Taste of the Wild dry for mine. I also use various canned foods such as: Chicken Soup, Nutro, Friskies, and Authority. Also importantly, try to stay away from fish based kibble and canned food. It contains a lot of iodine which could later lead to hyperthyroidism. As mentioned above, catinfo dot org is a great site for cat nutrition and health issues. It does have a few charts with a lot of data on numerous brands of canned cat foods. Good luck!

[Mom2Cavs]

I agree with all said. I also belong to Susan Thixton’s site. Like said before, if not opposed to Diamond then TOTW is a great food. I’ve fed their wet food to my cat (Rocky Mountain) and she does like it. My daughter feeds TOTW dry to her cats and they are beautiful!! You can also get it in a larger bag. I try to stay grain free with my cat, but Tractor Supply does have their private brand 4Health that is decent quality and quite a bargain. When my little black runt cat, Smokey Jo, was living (she passed at age 21 yrs!) she loved Fancy Feast….now I’m not saying to feed FF, but I had to get her to eat, you know. If you buy the gourmet pate’s…the classics, like Salmon, chicken, etc., they aren’t that bad. They don’t contain glutens or menadione, if I remember correctly, but do contain some by-products. So, these are the only ones I would buy. She would occasionally eat wellness, too, so I would try to sneak some in hahahaha. I have also read catinfo.org.

[Jackie B]

Dr. Mike plans to come out with a Cat Food Advisor someday. Cats are easier than dogs though. They are obligate carnivores. The more meat in the diet, the better for them. And if they will eat wet food, that is preferable to dry (especially raw wet food but cooked should be OK. People say raw preserves more nutrients and I’m sure it does but cats are picky.). You should at least supplement dry cat food with the wet food several times a week to help prevent kidney issues and other problems down the line.

My friend who is a cat expert feeds Authority wet food from PetSmart. She fosters cats so she has to pick a budget friendly but still good food. If I had a cat I would likely feed a frozen raw product.

[crazy4cats]

Well I’m glad to hear a fellow cat lover also thinks that the Authority brand canned food is a good one for a great price also. Looking forward to the new cat food advisor some day.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hmmm…..haven’t really tried Authority cans, but I think I’ll check it out next time I’m in Petsmart. Thanks.

[crazy4cats]

It is a Pet Smart brand. I wish it was a little higher in protein, but for the price, which is usually around 75 to 85 cents for the 6 oz can, it is a good food. And yes, the can is actually 6 oz., not 5.5 like so many have gone to while keeping the same price. I don’t think it has any unnamed by-products or food coloring like the typical lower priced foods have. I go to Petsmart for its fish supplies and cat food, otherwise, I like our local feed store for the dogs. Good luck!

[Alexa H]

Just so everyone knows my vet said to only feed a cat a small amount of wet food a day. It actually has way to many fish products which can hurt their liver. She said it’s better to feed dry and boiled chicken and other meats. Also, I just switched from a crappy dry cat food to authority which looks to be a pretty good food for the price. It’s cheaper than iams, and iams cat food is no where as good as iams for dogs. Which is what I feed my dogs.

[Jackie B]

Fish-based cat foods can be high in phosphorus, which is especially bad for kittens. Adult cats can have some fish-flavored canned food.

I definitely recommend at least some wet or fresh/raw food for cats. They tend to dehydrate easily because they don’t like standing bowl water… and chronic dehydration can also lead to urinary and bladder issues (especially bad for male cats). A pet water fountain can help encourage cats to drink more, though.

[Akari_32]

Iams is one of the worst foods out there, actually. And the easist way to get around canned food with fish in it is to just not buy any with fish. Huh. Imagine that. Dry food is terrible for cats because of the higher level of carbohydrates needed to bind the food together, as well as it being just that– dry. Some canned foods (like Iams) can actually be just as bad with carbs. Feeding just boiled meat is extremely imbalanced, as it doesn’t provide all of the nutrients your cat needs to stay healthy. Now, if you were to add supplements yourself, then that would actually be better than any commercial diet, but you would first have to know how much of what nutrients to add, and they can be costly.

[Alexa H]

Obviously you don’t feed them just chicken that’s why I said “dry and chicken”. Oh, and their is still a ton of fish products in the wet food regardless if they are chicken or turkey.. Huh. Imagine that. Oh, and iams is much better than any purina product or pedigree product. Our Czech shepherd went from eating two 8cup bowls a day to 4 cups a day and gained the 15lbs he needed. And this site even rates it 3 stars sooo.

[Suburban Gal]

I think Dr. Mike is in the process of creating a similar site for cat food.

[crazy4cats]

I can’t wait! But in the mean time, check out catinfo.org. There are a few charts of canned food on this site. On this site, dry is not recommended, only canned, dehydrated, raw or homemade. Fish is high in iodine which can lead to hyperthyroidism if fed in excess. You can easily read ingredient labels to avoid fish in wet food.

[Murphy V]

I love this website and have always wanted them to do the same thing for cat food! (Hint Hint). I did find one site … not nearly as good as this one, but at least it’s a start.

Quick Cat Food Reference Table

[Frankie B]

My cat won’t eat wet food or even moist treats. However I have found a cat food that is much higher in animal protein. While a lot of foods tend to have 55-65% of protein coming from animals and the rest from plants, Nulo uses 80-85%animal protein. To supplement her water intake I have a cat water fountain which is more attractive than a stagnant bowl and she drinks a lot more than she did before. I use the same brand for my dog. The brand is Nulo Medal Series and it’s available at Petsmart.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Frankie B-

Yay! Another cat person! How old is your kitty and how long have you had her?

Even though Nulo is a great kibble and having a water fountain is an excellent way to try to get her to drink more, don’t give up on the wet food! Especially if she is an indoor kitty that doesn’t have the opportunity to hunt fresh meat.

I am going to post links to my favorite sites that have some great ideas on how to get your cats to eat canned food:

http://www.catinfo.org
http://www.littlebigcat.com
http://www.felinecrf.org
feline-nutrition.org
http://www.naturalcatcare.blog

Wet food is so much better for their urinary tracts and kidneys. I feed about 70% wet and 30% dry at this time. Many of the feline vet specialists agree that feeding cheap canned food is still better than an expensive dry kibble.

Females are not as likely to suffer from a urinary tract blockage as males, but they are susceptible to urinary and kidney infections and stones.

Apparently, there was a cat food adviser in the works, but it took a back seat to the Editor’s Choice section. Hopefully it will come back to life! I have been feeding my cats (4) Halo kibble recently with a variety of flavors and brands of canned. It took a while for my shelter kitty to eat wet, but now he prefers it.

I hope you’ll come back and share some good kitty stuff with us! Take care.

[Pitlove]

I second everything C4C said. Also welcome fellow cat owner/lover.

I do canned in the morning (Whole Earth Farms) and dry at night to help my budget. Shes eating Taste of the Wild dry right now, but I’m going to switch it as I’m too worried about Diamond. Definitely don’t give up on canned even though shes drinking a lot of water.

[Diane W]

I didn’t know that canned food was better for cats than dry! I have my two adults on a prescription dry food (Royal Canin SO) at the advice of my vet (whom I absolutely love) because our female had some urinary problems a year or so back. I then discovered that male Burmese are especially prone to urinary tract problems. The vet/breeder I purchased my Burmese male from advised Royal Canin, but when I looked at their canned food ingredients the other day I saw that byproduct was the first ingredient. How do I know that the byproduct isn’t chicken toenail?

I’d be very interested to learn more about cat nutrition. I’m really glad I found this site and this forum. I just learned about it today when I went to a local TailSpin store. I’ll definitely follow the links in your post.

We now have three cats: Skeeter (she adopted us as a subatomic kitten at about 6 weeks old & is now 8 years old; Dougal, a Burmese I purchased from a vet/breeder who is now 5 years old, and just recently Pumpkin joined the family, another subatomic now 7-8 week old abandoned kitten). We also have two Boxers: Molly & Omar (brother & sister) who will be 8 yrs in January.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Diane-
I sure hope the first ingredient isn’t chicken toe nail. RC food is way too expensive to be including those! Lol! I believe Royal Canin is a reputable company and should have decent ingredients. I fed the RC s/o dry for a while after a urinary blockage as well. If I remember correctly, this food helps manage crystals with low mineral levels and a little added salt to increase thirst. It is so important for indoor cats to get as much moisture in their diet to help the urinary tract flowing.

I have a similar crew at my house: Two big dogs that are brothers and four cats. Take a look at those links. Come back and share or ask questions. Welcome!

[Diane W]

I do have a concern, and I’ll have to follow some of the links for transitioning dry food addicts to canned, for Skeeter. Dougal, my Burmese, can’t consume very much canned food or he vomits. I’m talking a baby spoon-and-a-half, or he’ll vomit. Right now it’s not an issue as far as me being able to feed him small amounts throughout the day, but in about a year I’m hoping to be working again. So I’ll just give him small amounts throughout the day for now and slowly increase the amount of the feedings over time to see if he can handle it. I don’t know if it’s because he eats too fast or if it’s “rich” or a combination. I think because at this point it’s more of a treat is the reason, so he eats it too fast and then goes to see if Skeeter left anything in her bowl and eats that too quickly.

I’m not upset with my vet for putting them on the Royal Canin dry; after all, he’s not a nutritionist and he can’t be an expert in every subject. Ultimately it’s my responsibility as the meowmee to research and learn how to care for my furry babies.

I appreciate your posts and response and help!

Thanks!
D.

[jakes mom]

Diane, welcome! Have you tried feeding raw? Or freeze-dried or dehydrated food? Something like Primal freeze-dried nuggets, or Honest Kitchen? Might be easier on his tummy. I have a “geriatric ward”, lol. My 20yo loves the Primal nuggets, just crumble it up and mix with a little water. Check out Honest Kitchen, too, they have samples so you can see what flavors your guys like.

[crazy4cats]

Hi JM-

I have tried to feed my cats a little thawed out raw a while back and not one of them even took a bite. Then, I tried the soft Fresh Pet kibble thinking my senior kitty would love it. No luck! But….the other day I was mixing some freeze dried Orijin treats into my dogs’ kibble as a meal mixer. I got a couple of free samples that I thought I’d put to good use. Two of my cats would NOT leave the treats alone! Their naughty kitty instincts took over and there was actually some growling going on. They loved them!!! It took me by surprise.

Not sure if I’ll be buying much freeze dried food for them as it is so expensive, but I agree with you, they really do love it and will try to give it to them as a treat now and then.

[jakes mom]

C4C, I know what you mean about the expense of freeze dried! Only Dustin will eat it so not super expensive for me to give it to him. Being hyper-t, I like to give him extra food when he asks for it. He’s not shy about it, lol. If I’m not paying attention he pulls the cabinet doors open, bang…bang… Brat! He’s kind of dog-like, he follows me into the kitchen and throws himself against my legs. They all get canned twice a day and he gets food as often as possible. Gotta keep that weight on!

[Pitlove]

The Primal rep that comes to my work a few Saturdays a month always throws samples of their freeze-dried at me for my cat and dog. Dog loves them, cat used to like them, but did not like the Chicken & Salmon variety I brought home recently. She won’t eat raw either. She eats around the Primal if I put it in with her canned. I am however feeding her Ziwipeak Lamb now for canned food and it’s got a lot of the organ meat and bone in it that raw has. That could be another option for you guys. Shes eating that for breakfast and Orijen dry for dinner.

[crazy4cats]

Hi JM-

The vet was a little concerned about my hyper-t kitty’s weight loss when she was in last week. Of course, she is not one of the piggies who jumped up on the counter to steal the freeze dried treats from their canine brothers. She is extremely shy.

I’m going to try and sneak her some though. That might be a healthy way of bumping up her calories a bit!

Hi PL- Ziwipeak sounds like a great food for your cat. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it would fit in my budget. I remember you saying something about her having surgery a while back. Did everything go OK?

[Pitlove]

C4C- Yeah, I totally understand. You have many more kitties and dogs to feed than I do!

Thanks for asking. The surgeon opted not to do the surgery because when it came time for him to prep her for it, he and the other vets couldn’t find the hernia. He called me and told me he didn’t want to open her up and fish for something that may or may not be there. I’ve been keeping an eye on it, like he told me to do and so far so good. I haven’t felt it. She did end up with a shaved belly though! The hair is finally almost grown back lol

[crazy4cats]

PL- Not to mention human college kids to support too! Yikes!

Great news about your kitty. 🙂

[Pitlove]

C4C- Yikes indeed! I don’t have any of those kinds of kids yet 😛

Also, do you or anyone else know who cans for Ziwipeak? I know they are New Zealand based, but I’m curious if they use one of the US canneries for us in the states.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Pitlove.

[jakes mom]

C4C, sorry to hear kitty’s not keeping weight on. Have you had blood work lately? Maybe it’s time for a dose change? They should stabilize and gain or at least not be losing once they’re on the right dose. Maybe you can find something extra special that she loves, just for her? Even if it’s “junk food”, lol!

[crazy4cats]

Yes, just had blood work done and the vet was surprised it was perfect. Just gonna have to get her some fattening treats and the others some lite ones! I try to sneak her some, but the other fatties can always hear the crinkling noise. Lol! Thanks for your concern. 🐱🐸

[jakes mom]

I try to sneak treats to Dustin, too, but even if Jake is sleeping he always hears the bag being opened and appears in the kitchen! Other cats not big on cat treats, tho.

[Pamela D]

In response to the many cat owners who are searching for a good website that discusses feline nutrition let me make the recommendation of catinfo.org that website is excellent. Having worked at an all cat hospital for nearly 8 years, I can tell you that is the website our feline vets as well as feline veterinarians from other feline exclusive hospitals recommended to clients. When searching for a good cat food it is important to pay attention to carbohydrates most dry foods are loaded with carbs which cats are not able to process like humans and dogs and other species. The website mentioned above has two great articles one on feline nutrition: The basics, and another one which is titled the carnivore connection. Anyone who is concerned about their cats diet should read both articles thoroughly. You will learn why it is so very important to put your cat on wet food and there is an article that will help you to transition your cat to wet food. I had three dry food junkies and managed to successfully transition all three of them over to wet food it took me a few monthsbut I finally did it. Again that website is Catinfo.org let me add that your not so best can food is more than likely much better than your most expensive premium dry food. One more thing, try to stay away from fish and beef and stick with anything that has feathers as in poultry. Some cats cannot tolerate fish and beef and will vomit. Also for those of you with hyper–T cats, Make sure your vet is closely monitoring your cats renal function. Sometimes hyperthyroidism will mask renal disease, and try to find a vet that will check your cats blood pressure as well.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Pamela D.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Pamela-
That website has been brought up on this website previously. It’s nice to hear that someone in the field recommends it as well! I do have a hyper-t Kitty and have her blood checked every six to nine months. I’ve also switched my dry food addict to mostly canned as well. Thanks for the tips!

[Diane W]

Well I’m glad my kitties don’t care for fish, and I’m also glad there’s not a lot of “beef” choices out there; I’ll stop getting them. There are way too many fishy varieties, though. I’m sure learning a lot by following along and from reading catinfo.org. I’m even taking a print-out of the “short version” to my vet’s office on Monday when I take my Boxers in for a bath. They’re great and don’t pretend to “know everything”, and told me they’d be genuinely interested in reading the info.
Unfortunately I’ve not done anything about un-addicting Skeetoria (Skeeter) from dry food. There has been a lot of tragedy (suicide, other death, & cancer diagnoses) in my family lately, but I don’t want more in Skeetie’s case, so I need to get on it. She’s very strong willed, but I will persevere. I’m thankful that she does drink a lot of water on her own and asks us to turn on the faucet for her so she can have fresh to her heart’s content.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Diane-
Welcome back! I’m so sorry to hear about your family tragedies. I can certainly understand why trying to get some wet food in your cat’s diet has taken a back seat. I do feed my cats some beef and rabbit canned, but mostly chicken and turkey. Did you see the other links that I posted above sometime in November? They might have some helpful hints as well. Happy Holidays!

[haleycookie]

http://catfoodadvisor.com/
Is this new or has the site been unedited like this for awhile?

[crazy4cats]

No, it’s not new, darn it. It’s been on hold for a few years now. But, most of us believe if a company is a reputable dog food supplier, it’s cat food is probably quality also.

[Virginia J]

What does everyone think of Purina Pro? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WFKTWM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000WFKTWM&linkCode=as2&tag=bodybuilweb-20&linkId=3X3NCEDWBQCHYOOF

[Eric W]

As far as trusted brands, the 4health canned at TSC is very cost effective (cheap) and carrys 4.5 to 5 stars here.

My GSD doesn’t care for the 5 star rated stews , but he loves the (assumed 4 star rated) pate’s….
The super finicky OLD cats that seem to eat only pate’s that have been watered down further, just cleaned up their bowls that had to 4Health chicken pieces.
Absolutely blew my mind!

The cans are not labeled as to whether the food is a pate or not, so I had to gamble a whopping 69 cents per can.

[haleycookie]

I need some advice. I have three cats and I feed NV instinct dry 1/4 cup per cat in the morning. I have about two weeks amount left and will start using what I feed at night in the morning and night so I don’t have to feed dry anymore. What I do at night is take a can of either wellness core, instinct, weruva, or lotus and I mix a third of a can per cat with a 3/4 a cup of instinct commercial raw and a sprinkle of fresh pet chicken and oceanfish refrigerated food. I just wanted to know if it’s ok to mix it with water. When I have the raw in a measuring cup I put hot water from the tap to help it thaw faster and warm up Cus my kitties are picky. Does this take away from the nutrients? I know heating raw up kinda defeats the purpose of feeding raw. Is the hot water ok to use?

[jakes mom]

I don’t think adding a little hot water would hurt. Just make sure the cats get that water,too. You may leech some water soluble vitamins from the food into the water as it thaws.

[theBCnut]

If the cats are eating it, water and all, it’s fine. If they are leaving the extra water then they may not be getting all the taurine they need.

[haleycookie]

They take up the water first before anything. Idk how cats to it but they can suck the moisture right out of canned foods and in this case the added water so I think they’re ok.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Haley-
I put warm water in two of my cats’ food dishes before I plop their canned food on it. They also lap it right up along with their food. Their dishes are always dry before I give them a little kibble for dessert. The water is great for their urinary health. I think your cats will be fine. 🐱

[Author]

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