[jakes mom]

Raw update time….hearts and gizzards very popular at my house! Jake bouncing up and down and cats shrieking! lol! Chicken livers good, too, just bought beef liver to try tomorrow when it thaws. He still has some chicken backs to eat, too. I don’t want to give too much and risk GI issues. And I don’t know how to figure in the raw food calorie-wise. I gave a little less kibble when feeding some raw, don’t want to be adding too many new calories.
C4C, most of my cats like the raw livers, hearts and gizzards. I started to cut them up and one cat took a piece whole and had a good time chewing it. It was also still slightly frozen so that made it take a little longer, too. She really seemed to enjoy it.

[Bobby dog]

I am very jealous that hearts and gizzards went over so well at your house and Akari had luck with gizzards too. lol

I guess we do need to figure out the kibble ratio next when feeding our pups something raw. I don’t think you can go wrong with at least cutting back on the kibble the day he gets a raw treat.

Livers are definately on my list next!

Now let’s see what C4c has luck with.

[jakes mom]

Not ready, even close, to going all raw so I want to keep feeding the kibble to make sure all the bases are covered as far as nutrition. Don’t want to get involved in adding all kinds of supplements, etc. I’m thinking of the raw as healthy treats, not meals, at this point. I am in awe of the knowledge on the raw food forum!

[Akari_32]

I wouldn’t have worried about it so much if his nail wasn’t glued into being retracted. I couldn’t even push his pad to get the nail to extend. Between him chewing on it, and me holding a nail polish remover soaked paper towel to it, we’ve got it out, and he’s just fine 🙂 The nail still has some dirt and fur stuck to it, so I’ll let that all fall off before putting a cap on it. I think it’s from me putting three drops of glue into one of them, instead of just two. Don’t do three drops! LOL Two works just fine :p And the other nails all move just fine. I made sure the check that after the nail incident.

I’m about to do his back nails, so we’ll see how that goes lol

[Bobby dog]

Glad he’s ok. I hate using any nail poloish remover because of my dry and cracked cuticles. lol

Maybe just try out the front nails to see if that cuts out the damage to your furniture…just a thought.

[Akari_32]

Back nails are not going as well as the front LOL Now we have to tag team him to get them on. When he’s not walking, he’s got his back toes all spread out like “WHAT THE CRAP IS THIS??” After some bribing with his favorite treats (Blue Buffalo), he’s warming up to them, but he still chews at them every few minutes. I tell him no and he gives this really ticked off look and lays down, trying to pretend I’m not there LOL Three paws down, one to go!

[Akari_32]

We posted at about the same time lol He has to have all his nails done because he likes to run across the recliner, sofa and love seat and back again (and again and again) at top speed, with Bentley on his heals. He’s so heavy and uses his back let’s to launch himself as hard as possible that he’s made several holes in the leather. Moms ready to send him off to china to be turned into chicken <.<

[Bobby dog]

Kitty and Bentley sound like they are getting along famously!!!

[Akari_32]

They are! He’s still only good for 5-10 minutes of heavy play before he starts hissing at Bentley. Retard dog is slowly starting to understand that on e he starts getting hissed at, he needs to stop before he gets eaten. Lol

[Bobby dog]

Akari:
Forgot to mention. Remember when I wrote I was making a grocery store list of cat food and I also wanted to have a few grocery store kibbles on the list that Bobby would do well eating in case of an emergency? Mainly because some family members and friends that I might call on don’t have the first clue about pet food and I need to make it simple.

Anyway, started a bag of Purina One Beyond chicken, he likes it, so far so good. Two grocery stores in my area just started carrying RR, but only one carries Zero Grain. I have never tried RR’s grain inclusive and probably never will (don’t like the recipes). So even if someone is shopping at the store without Zero Grain at least they can buy Purina One Beyond. Looks like there will be two kibbles that someone could easily buy if I need help with Bobby. 😉

[Akari_32]

Haley does good on the One Beyond. And Sams Club has the 34 pound bags for $31 (either that its 31 pounds for $34, I can’t remember…. lol). Dweezle did good on RR Zero Grain, but Haley did not (not enough calories). They both go crazy over the regular RR foods. I chock it up to all the beet pulp. They’ve only had it a few times, though, and they haven’t had anything like that since I started doing coupons, since I can get much better deals on better foods. lol

[Bobby dog]

My neighbor’s dog is doing well on Purina One Beyond too. He looks better since they switched from Dog Chow to the One Beyond. After this bag is finished, it’s on to the NutriSource Lamb GF that I got a coupon/sale deal with. 😉

Speaking of coupons and getting better deals on better foods. I dropped your name over on the review side about the coupon thread you started over here.

Reading your comments about couponing since you began posting definately gave me ideas and helped me get started with finding sales and matching up coupons. I am a poor college student too. lol

Other posters are beginning to share their tips too about finding good deals, I love that!

[Akari_32]

Its really a pretty good food, when you consider who makes it. I said on another thread that I’d feed it over Pro Plan. Not that Pro Plan is much better than, like, Dog Chow or something. But when you consider the marketing and the whole “8 of the last 8 WKC best in show winners were fed Purina Pro Plan” garbage they like to push, I’m just sayin’ LOL

How much did you get the NS for?? I got my 40 lb bag of Super Performance for $41 because they didn’t charge me right LOL I was already happy to get it for $50, but one of the things on my order (a 1 cent doorbuster) was out of stock so they canceled it, and apparently forgot it was only a penny lol I’m certainly not complaining!

Awesome! I love sharing deals :3

[Bobby dog]

I also agree One Beyond is a pretty good food, but it has the K3 in it! Darned Purina!

I can’t beat what you paid for your NS and 40 lbs for $50 would have been nice too.

I got the NS for around $9.00 more or less (can’t remember exactly) for a small bag. It was on sale and I had a $5.00 coupon from the pet stores free calendar they give out at the beginning of the year. That will probably last Bobby most of the month.

I still buy small bags so I can rotate faster. Eventually I may settle into some kind of rotation and buy medium size bags, but for now he does well on everything so why not keep giving him a variety. Plus it is easier to shop for bargains when you have a larger variety to choose from. lol

[crazy4cats]

And I’m a poor mom of two college students. Ouch!

Bobby dog-
I down loaded the ABC book today. It’s pretty informative. I have already started adding eggs and sardines to my dogs’ meals. But now, I think I’ll start adding the hearts soon too. I wish I could get more brave with my cats! But, anyway, I also felt like it gave me permission to feed a less expensive kibble so I can afford more natural whole foods to feed them. Thanks for the tip!

[Bobby dog]

You’re welcome C4c!!! 🙂
I hope more people check it out. I understand tight/limited budgets and have to follow one myself. There are many books on my list to read, but buying textbooks, living expenses, my family, and providing care for my zoo are more of a priority right now. But, a download for $2.95, can’t beat it!

The download is so helpful since I cannot go raw at this time (cost and no space in the freezer) not sure if I ever will go completely raw, but I definately want to feed Bobby as well as I can. The download certainly helped me do that. I think anyone will agree $2.95 for the information inside is more than worth it. The best part is the whole foods are really things you can buy at any grocery store, nothing exotic, you can make it really affordable by looking for sales, it is explained well, and is easy to follow. You don’t even have to make a whole meal of it, you can add extras to each meal through the week. It’s one of the best buys I have made recently!! lol

[Naturella]

Hey, all, sorry to butt in, just want to comment so I can uncheck the box that sends me emails about this thread – don’t have a kitty, and it is interesting to read, but I get like 30 emails from it a day, lol! But it’s good – you guys exchange lots of useful kitty info, so if I had a cat one day, I would visit this thread first! 😀

[jakes mom]

I’ve used both the cat and dog One Beyond and thought it was pretty good, too.
I tried beef liver with the kids tonite. Jake loved it, cats not so much. But they love the chicken livers.

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog and C4C…what is this ABC book you mentioned? I must have missed something? Sounds good.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Jakes mom:
It’s an awsome download you can find on Steve Brown’s website. I do want to purchase his book, but as you read above I probably will never go completely raw for various reasons. I downloaded his PDF a while ago and it explains very easily how to enhance any kibble (from Ol’ Roy to 5 stars) with vitamins through whole foods you can buy from the grocery store. I highly recommend it for $2.95, it is more than worth it! Here’s the link:

http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

[Bobby dog]

Jakes mom:
I forgot to add that you didn’t miss anything, we carried the conversation over from the review side. lol Sorry about that and glad you asked because if you do decide to download it I think you will really enjoy the info. 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bobby dog-
I am planning on looking for chicken or turkey hearts this weekend for the pups. Any recommendations on where or which to buy? Also, if and when I do, how much do I feed with the kibble? I usually add about 150 to 200 calories in toppers. I think (know) that I am spending more time on pets’ meals than our own. We have been a family on the go and rely a lot on convenience foods. I’M not so great in the kitchen. My youngest son (19), actually asked me why the dogs get eggs the other day. I think he was jealous! Lol! He is attending and playing baseball for a community college and is living at home. Thanks for your input.

[jakes mom]

Thanks, I will definitely check that site.
I looked on the USDA nutrition site today. They have a big list of all kinds of food. I looked up chicken and got a list of everything from KFC chicken to raw chicken liver (bingo!). Tells you everything you’d want to know from calories (kcals) to protein, carbs, etc. For example 100grams (about 3.5oz) of chick liver is 119 calories. So now we can figure how much to decrease our kibble depending on what else doggy is getting that day. I just checked on chicken today, maybe look up pork or beef when I get a chance. Also per 100 grams:
hearts 153 cal
ground chick 143 cal
giblets 127 cal
gizzards 94 cal

[Bobby dog]

Hi C4c:
Haven’t been on here all day. I was outside working then wouldn’t you know it the electricity went out for two hours just as it was turning dark. When it came back on there was no water in the barn. I am not a handyman by any means. After checking all the circuit breakers and having no luck I finally had an ah ha moment, reset the breakers in the barn, duh!

I have just been shopping at Wal-Mart, but it looks like I might have to check the grocery store for beef hearts. The Wal-Mart I shop at has a variety of fowl but I haven’t been able to find beef hearts the two times I looked. I will ask someone next time I am there to make sure they don’t have something in the back that maybe they don’t normally put on display.

I really have no recommendations for you as far as which meat; you can’t go by my brats! lol The chicken gizzards and hearts didn’t go over well in my house. I lightly boiled them, Bobby woofed them down, the cats still turned their noses up at them, sigh. Akari and Jakes mom seem to be having better luck introducing chicken to their crew than I have been! And it looks like Jake likes beef heart as well. I am going to try beef heart next. Who knows, Bobby and the cats may not like the meat raw so I may have to lightly cook it. We shall see, I will make adjustments as necessary.

I have not done a complete ABC day yet. The last item I need to introduce Bobby to is a heart or I guess liver. When I do introduce him to it I was just going to follow the 20% rule of thumb and just feed the usual amount of kibble. As soon as I find a heart meat (or some kind of meat) that Bobby likes then I will do a complete ABC day.

It looks like Jakes mom found the website that we needed so I think we will have all bases covered.

Jakes mom:
Good idea checking out that website. I will check it out tomorrow! Thanks 😉

[crazy4cats]

Nice, Jake’s Mom, thanks. That is great information.

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog, Jake likes beef liver. I have not found beef heart yet but he’s eaten everything else so I’m hopeful.
I thought the usda site was very helpful. I was surprised that they mentioned raw food, would have expected it to be food that people usually eat, but I searched “calories raw chicken” and it came up. It’s the usda nutritional database if you look for it. You can search a category like poultry or type in a specific like chicken.
No time to check the ABC thing yet. We have 3 techs out on sick leave right now so I’m working a lot of extra hours. Sounds interesting,tho. Just what I need as I really don’t think I’ll go completely raw. Can’t afford the complete raw like Darwin’s and don’t want to get involved in buying supplements and trying to concoct a healthy combo. Will count on good quality dog food to supply the specifics and add in some raw. Certainly a bit of heart or liver is a better treat than most of those things in the store!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Jakes mom:
Then you will really appreciate the download if you, like me, are not looking to dive into a full or partial raw diet. Commercial raws are expensive for both cats and dogs. My hypothyroid kitty likes NV medallions, but won’t eat it regularily. The cost of feeding all five cats commercial raw is something I could not afford.

I would rather prepare my own raw diet rather than use a commercial if I were to feed it anyway. I have been researching them and I need to gain more knowledge about the needed protein/fat/vitamin levels for dogs and cats to be sure I don’t over or under supplement and cause health problems. It is going to take much more time for me to research a raw diet to do it right and time is limited for me right now.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! Just stopping in to say that I ordered some brewers yeast for the kitty kitty. 1000 pills for $11 after shipping. I figure thats about a penny a day (assuming its 1 pill per 10 pounds like most others are), and that sure as heck sounds better than $10-30 a month! I’m always weird about try chemicals, and this was much cheaper, so I’ll give it a try!

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
What’s the brewers yeast for?

[Akari_32]

S’posed to be good for fleas (also has garlic in it) and skin and coat.

[arwyru24]

Hey all, I am new here, have been lurking around this site for a little while for dog food because my parents just added a new puppy, but feeding cats on a budget happens to be my specialty. I have 2 pretty big guys (12 and almost 14lbs) The 12lb guy has a really sensitive system, but his body condition is ideal, and the 14lber tends towards the tubby side and so I have to really pay attention to his weight (they are both indoor only). I have tried most of the higher end foods on the market at one time or another. I subscribe to the idea that cats need the moisture in their diet and ideally should be on all wet food, however I supplement with dry to help meet my budget.
I primarily feed wellness grain free canned food, the 12.5oz cans are really cost effective, I primarily feed the turkey and salmon (purple can) it seems to be their favorite and the one they eat the most consistently without turning their noses up to it. I also rotate in the chicken (orange can), turkey (green), and chicken and herring (royal blue) and the minced turkey, chicken, and turkey salmon. I like wellness for a number of reasons and they have done really well on it. I rotate in a number of other brands: Evo (again those big cans save money), california’s natural salmon and sweet pea, (I am a little wary of Natura but I havent had any bad experiences) natural balance LID can’s, HALO pate, Instinct all work and are tolerated well.
The cat that loves crunchies isn’t picky at all really. He never met a kibble he didn’t like….. that is until I bought a 6lb bag of what I am feeding now: Wellness Core Indoor formula. I just bought a trial size bag of Orijen yesterday for $3.99 and am mixing it in with the Wellness. Its the first I have tried Orijen, because it is so expensive, but with the Orijen mixed in I am feeding less than 1/2 a cup of kibble a day total so it is affordable. Dry food lasts me forever it is the canned that really breaks the bank.
Sorry to chime in uninvited to this forum but am glad to have a place to share my experience 🙂

[Akari_32]

We love to hear about what others do well with! I’ve heard the biggest problem with most of the expensive brands is that they are high in fat, which is why I don’t have much if a beef with the three flavors of Friskies I picked out.

My guy doesn’t seem to like the Wellness Grain Free (purple cans) very much, but he eats them anyways lol It’s a good thing he likes to eat! I personally try and stay away from fish because it’s said to be addictive and can also cause hyperthyroidism in cats. He gets it maybe once a week because some of the Wellness has it in it. For how good of a deal I got on those, I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I spaced it out with other flavors and brands.

I managed to get Simply Nourish Source dry food for $5 for the 3 pound bag, and I mix it straight into his canned. He gets just a little more than a 1/3 cup Source, and then half the recommended feeding of whatever canned I’m giving him. For canned I have the grain free Wellness, Friskies Special Diet (Beef, and Chicken and something….), and Sheba. I also have a few stray cans of etc here and there that I snagged a good deal on. I’m pretty opportunist on what I buy, provided it’s low carb (I like to stay under 2%, but less than 5-10% is fine), and low-ish in fat. If I’m just buying a few cans I don’t really care, but if I’m stocking up, it has to meet my standards.

I do want to try the Wellness Core dry, but I’m concerned at how much carbs I has. Even the Source is a bit high for me, at an estimated 10%, but since it’s only half his diet, and I add water to his food at each feeding, and monitor his litter box habits, I’m ok with it lol My friend has fed it to her cat, and she did great on it. Then again, that cat pushes their 60 pound pit bull out of the way for water, and I can’t hardly even get mine to consider his fancy $30 fountain. I also want to try dry EVO again, but I guess it’s high in fat? Idk lol

Canned really does break the bank! $5 in just canned (with or with coupons, depending on what you can find on sale to match) can only last me a few days to a week! I have to feed all my animals (god, that’s a long list LOL) on $10 a week, and I don’t feed anything I’m not fully comfortable with. Thankfully I’m always on top of sales and coupons, and can usually stock on months worth of dog and cat food for my monthly $40. I did allow my self to slip up and buy a 40lb bag of NutriSource Super Performance for $40. Only because I had been doing so good on other food deals and had been wanting to try it forever lol

[crazy4cats]

Sharon-
Everyone is welcome to this thread. Thanks for yor input. Do you refrigerate the canned food between feelings? I think it would be a better value to get the large cans, but not sure if my cats will eat it father refrigeration. Any thoughts? Again, welcome!

[Akari_32]

I mix the whole days food together (I feed 3 times a day) and stick it in the fridge in a sealed container. Since I have stainless bowls and can’t nuke them, I just add some hot water to warm the food up. He doesn’t care. Food is food to him LOL

[Bobby dog]

Hi Sharon:
That is so funny your cats did not like the Wellness indoor, mine didn’t either! That has been the only dry food they wouldn’t eat since I changed how I fed them back in September. I gave it a try because it didn’t have fish meal and indoor formulas typically have a little more fiber which my kitties needed at the time, oh well. For dry I feed Wellness GF Turkey & Duck, Merrick GF chicken, and Innova Nature’s Table GF. I probably will not feed Innova after Mars completes the buyout. So I am going to try another dry cat food soon to add to their rotation.

I use Wellness canned also, but I have to continually rotate because they get bored with food. I use Friskees poultry platter, Wellness, Merrick, Evo, 4Health, Blue, Tiki Cat, Against the Grain, and Soulistic regularily. I just added a few flavors of Pro Plan, One, Fancy Feast and Sheba. I got tired of them snubbing their noses at expensive cat food so I am giving in to some grocery store foods that don’t have fish (or contain a little), wheat, corn, or soy and are low in carbs. Innova sent me some coupons for canned food and my cats liked it so I will add that to my rotation as well.

Jump over to the coupon thread Akari started for coupons and sales info! It’s under the “off topic forums.”

Akari:
Let us know how Kitty does on the yeast! 🙂

[arwyru24]

Akari32- I have heard really really good things about the Simply Nourish food in terms of quality for the money. The Core Indoor is definitely higher in carbs than the regular Core, I was trying to cut down on calories, I think the indoor has 390/cup vs over 500 for the regular Core. I have heard too, that fish can be addicting to cats, but I have never personally experienced that with my cats. (not to say there isn’t truth to it) Actually only one of the cats I have had will eat really fishy food, poultry has always been the preferred protein source for my cats. There are sooooo many cat foods from high end to low that contain nothing but fish, whereas the turkey/salmon(this has chicken and herring in it) and chicken/herring wellness aren’t really fish based foods but, contain fish, and I know salmon isn’t as much of a concern as a lot of other fish is. I also regularly feed fish free varieties, so I am not too worried about the fish part. I don’t feed beef one of my cats doesn’t tolerate it well. I am also not overly worried about fat content, as cats process animal fat pretty well, it isn’t high up there on my list of concerns. The friskies and fancy feast and ONE can be very addicting though in my experience. My cats LOVE friskies and fancy feast and ONE, I am sure they would be happy to eat nothing but them(and then throw up all over my apartment) all the added artificial flavors make them super palatable and then more natural food just doesn’t look so good. Also, the coloring is a real problem for me, because it gets barfed up and stains the carpet, in addition to the obvious health related concerns with it. I think the Friskies Special Diet Ocean fish doesn’t have coloring in it, and the Friskies Indoor Chicken didn’t look like it did either if I am remembering correctly, I think that was one of the better ones. Wheat gluten has a HUGE link to hyper thyroid in cats, as I am SURE you already are aware to avoid it.

Bobby dog- I soooooo hear you about getting sick of throwing away expensive food, sometimes it can be aggravating, and my cats too get bored. I (or should I say my cats) really like the Merrick Before Grain but they don’t make that anymore, and I haven’t tried the bistro ones. the cat shelter I used to volunteer at used to feed their diabetic cats fancy feast classic wet food only, as all of the fancy feast classics are grain free, but I just hate the dyes. And the thing with friskies is that there is so much added water, and the actual pate is smaller that I have found that 1 5.5oz can of a high quality pate like wellness feeds like at least 1.5 cans of friskies if not more. Have you guys ever tried Trader Joes canned cat food? If your cats can tolerate rice and you dont mind fish inclusive (I cant remember if the turkey and giblets one has fish in it too, but the chicken turkey and rice dies) it is a really great deal and worth it to include in your rotation. I can’t feed it because of the sensitive one, but I used to rotate it in, because its only 69 cents a 5.5oz can here. My cats definitely didn’t love it though. Cats are really funny and fickle though and you really have to feed what works. My cats did really like Chicken Soup For the Soul and it used to be in my rotation because it is very reasonably priced, even though I would really like to stay away from Diamond.
Crazy4cats- I do refrigerate, but I have to microwave it for 10-15 seconds to bring it up to room temp before I serve it, and also, if its been in the fridge for more than 24 hours they don’t eat it. If it is cool and dry in my apartment and its only a few hours between feedings then sometimes I just use a plastic can cover and leave it out on my counter so that it is a non issue.
My older, sensitive system cat Aaron all of the sudden has not been able to keep his food down today, I am not sure what is going on. The other one isn’t sick in the least, no sign of diahrrea or even gas, they both have appetities, and I am using cans from the same cases I have been feeding from since the beginning of the month, so I don’t think its the food. This guy can be really immuno-suppressed, he has pretty severe stomatitis and as soon as I can get the money together I am going to have to get a full mouth extraction for him but that is sooo pricey. I adopted him at 10 years old, and he came to me with this problem, which the shelter vet/medical team didn’t catch (no one did until I took him to my vet). So I dont know whats going on but I am going to have to bring him into the vet if this continues tomorrow.

So great to hear from all of you, and very nice to chat! What a friendly, welcoming community! Its a real pleasure. 🙂

[arwyru24]

I guess the one thing that is different is that I introduced some Orijen kibble last night, and he did have a little of that, I mixed in a small amount with the wellness after giving them a couple kibbles by hand to see if they liked it and they LOVED it. But he is barfing whether or not he has any kibble at all. I didn’t put anymore out, just in case but I really doubt if it is more than just a coincidence.?

[Akari_32]

I think I only looked at a couple of the dry CORE varieties, the kitten being one of them. I was surprised at how carby it was. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a huge advancement over grocery store brands, but it’s not something I’d be looking into feeding a cat that I got having a UTI. I dropped $100 on that crap, and I’m not about to do it again! LOL I will check out the Original, though. I didn’t look at that one, assuming it’d be the least fancy. Best of all, I can get killer deals on Wellness if I watch for sales! >=D

I have some of the turkey/salmon (it’s salmon, right?? Or is it tuna? I dunno…) ones, and just a few plain tuna ones, as well as tons of the pain chicken ones ( purple can with orange strip on the label). He’s ok with them, but really wellness doesn’t seem to be his favorite. He likes Sheba, but I’ve not got a lot of that. Can’t get good deals on it, really. One thing I like about it, though, the pate ones are super high calorie. One 3 oz can per 4 pounds of cat, and it’s all meat (from what I can tell. Didn’t check them all).

Just curious, what are some of the percentages of fat on the foods you feed?

I’ve heard that, too. He doesn’t seem to favor the Friskies over anything else I feed him, thankfully, but he doesn’t get it every day. He just likes to eat LOL He really likes to steal pasta off the counter… He had pesto chicken over pasta the other night and lasagna today XD Oh, and butter. He has a thing for butter. Anyways, I think people are saying that in part because of the fact that most of their foods have fish in them, even the beef and chicken ones. I’m sure some of the other stuff doesn’t help, though!

I didn’t think I Diamond canned their own food, do they? I though someone else did. Could be wrong, though. I try not to pay much attention to them either, other than knowing what they make. Lol

Hope your baby feels better! Nothing is worse than a trip to the vet 🙁 maybe he just got into something?

[Bobby dog]

Sharon:
You never know, the new food might have upset his tummy. He is so lucky to be adopted by you at 10 years old!!!!

I agree the dyes and artificial flavorings are terrible in Purina canned cat foods. Fancy Feast Classic Turkey varieties & Kitten Whitefish, Pro Plan Finesse Chic & Liver & Friskies Poultry Platter don’t contain added color. Purina One and Sheba do, but I still include it in their rotation to keep them eating. I only have a few “grocery store” flavors to choose from once you limit it to low carbs, meat as the 1st ingredient, no starches, glutens, wheat, corn, or soy, and little to no fish. I wish they never got addicted to Purina, oh well. They have a much better diet now that I have more knowledge about pet food quality.

Trader Joe’s is on my list to try. The only TJ’s near me is about 20 miles away and right now I don’t travel in that direction. More than likely I will be this summer so I am going to try it out. If nothing else, I can mix it with better food to help with the budget if they aren’t too keen on it; and I can’t wait to shop there anyway!! I also want to try their dog food, Bench & Field I think is the name. 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Akari:
You are correct, Diamond only manufactures dry food.

[arwyru24]

Good to know about Diamond only manufacturing dry!! I learn something new on here everyday. It also makes me feel better about feeding TOTW rocky mountain canned because my cats really love it.

I use this chart as my go-to reference: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf
And I mostly use the wellness grain free cans, tky/sal, tky, ckn, ckn/hrg, (my cats seem to like them in that order) They LOVE HALO pate chicken sooo much, I feed that A LOT and I can always get coupons online. I feed the evo adult chkn/trky sparingly like maybe a can every other week, and I know its crazy high in fat (no wonder they love it) but Im ok with it. Oh, I also use the CORE chicken,chickenliver, Newmans own turkey 95%, chicken and liver 95%, california natural salmon and sweet potato, TOTW rocky mountain, NV rabbit, chicken, duck, venison, NB LID chk, salm, venison. What I rotate in depends a lot on what I have coupons for, what is on sale, what they have been turning their noses up at recently etc and its just easier for me to refer you to that site. Im sure I forgot some.

I feel like when I was feeding fancy feast, the ones I used didn’t have fish in them because I was more focused then on avoiding fish….I used the liver and chicken, chicken and beef, turkey and giblets, chop grill, and I had a hard time getting them off the crack. lol. they also LOVE the friskies shreds like the chicken and salmon, chicken, turkey, they love love loved them. I hated myself for it because of alllll the carbs and gluten but made myself feel better because I am poor and at least they were getting well hydrated. But I got them off of all of that and they are happy with their food, and if they prefer the turkey and salmon wellness then so be it, I am not going to get too upset that whitefish is the third ingredient. lol

[crazy4cats]

Sharon-
Yes, definitely take your cat to the vet and get some blood work done. My 14 year old senior cat was vomiting more frequently and she was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. It is a very common condition for cats 10 and older. I saw that you were aware of this condition in an earlier post and mentioned that gluten was a factor. In my opinion, that is not correct. I have done tons of research on symptoms, cause and treatment of hyperthyroidism in the last four months. I’ve never read anything about gluten contributing to it. They don’t actually know for sure what causes it but they suspect either PBDEs (flame retardents) found in a lot of furniture and fish, BPA found in cans, soy, and high levels of iodine, which is also found in fish. Also soy is mentioned once in a while. She was vomiting, losing weight and looking a little scruffy. She’s been on meds now for about 3 or 4 months and doing much better. Good luck to you!

[crazy4cats]

Also, on another note, we have a Trader Joe’s being built right now about 5 miles from my house. Woo Hoo!

[arwyru24]

I had a cat pass away last May at 18 years old and she had developed hyperthyroid at about 14, and we suspect she had cancer, maybe in the gland itself because at the end she really stopped responding to the medication regardless of dose or route of administration and was under 5lbs when she passed away. At that point the vet was able to feel bumps all over her liver that had not been there before. I thought I read somewhere that wheat gluten was a suspect contributor but I know that it is the “old cat” disease, it seemed like at the cat shelter the majority of cats over a certain age had the thyroid issue. This seems different. He was throwing up a lot when I had him on different food, sometimes hairballs, a lot of times not, and he also had diahhrea a lot. But I have stabilized him since then and he rarely throws up now. This happened all of the sudden, starting Saturday night, he would eat, then puke it alllll up at every meal. Last night I didn’t give him wet cat food, but instead a little jar of chicken baby food that I keep on hand for such occasions. It just so happens that I had long ago agreed to stay over night at my parents house last night and today to puppy sit while my parents go down to PA to the internment of my grandfather’s ashes so I couldn’t monitor how he did with that but when I went up this morning, I couldn’t find any new vomit so that is a good sign. I gave him just a teaspoon of his normal wet food because I was out of baby food and I will check in again on them a little later. I had him in for a checkup most recently in March, but his last blood panel was over the summer last year, so you are right it is a really good idea to have that checked just incase.

I LOVE trader joes! It is one of my very favorite places to shop ever. There is only one here, luckily it is very close by, but I lived in SoCal for years and there was one in every town there which was very nice. You won’t know what you did without it. At least I dont know how I ever lived without TJs 🙂

[Akari_32]

Here’s a question for you guys, how do you think Simply Nourish Source and EVO dry stack up against each other? Are they similar, does one look better over the other?

I wish Trader Joes was closer to me! They have awesome pop corn…. Lol

[Suburban Gal]

I used to have cats. Now that I’m a bird owner cats are no longer in the pet equation.

That said, my cat food recommendations are as follows:

-Solid Gold
-ByNature
-Holistic Select

These are the foods I’ve mainly fed my cats and have had pretty good success with.

[Bobby dog]

Surburban Gal:
Thanks for sharing your cat food recs with us. All of us cat lovers appreciate it! 🙂

Sharon:
Please, no bragging about your proximity to Trader Joe’s!! lol

I agree with C4c, if diarrea and vomiting have been an on-going issue in the past and he is vomitting again for unknown reasons, I would take him to the Vet for a check-up & bloodwork. I just recently had both of my oldest cats in for bloodwork, fecal exams & urinalysis’. One is the hyperthyroid kitty the other has no issues, but it was time for his wellness visit. Both cats’ tests came back perfect so that was a big relief.

Only one of my cats will eat Halo and he leaves all the vegetables in the dish, too funny. None of them are too keen for Core canned foods; they prefer Wellness GF canned. They only go for EVO canned once in a while. It must be nice to be that picky and get away with it! 😉

Me and C4c are big fans of catinfo.org, that is our go to cat site!

No one should feel bad (I don’t) for feeding any brand of canned foods regardless of their financial status. As Dr. Pierson states on her website, she would recommend a canned food over feeding kibbles.

Unfortunately, cats tell us what they will eat. I know it is taking longer than I want to change my cats’ diet, but we have made great strides since September. The important part is to learn how to read labels so better choices can be made in regards to what our pets eat. Each grocery store brand/flavor I feed has a few undesirable ingredients, but are low in carbs to keep the UTI’s away, have a named meat as the 1st ingredient, most don’t have added colors, and all are void of grains, glutens, and starches. Who knows, I may always have to rotate in what I call “grocery store” canned foods, maybe not; time and my cats will tell! 😉

C4c:
I really don’t appreciate you bragging about your new TJ’s! lol I do have an Aldi’s near me but I know for a fact it is not anywhere near a TJ’s shopping experience. I read somewhere, and this may just be an Internet rumor, that when Aldi’s and TJ’s split apart in Germany and each later came to the U.S. that they made an agreement that each company will only build in certain states. If that is true, I may never have a TJ’s close by. 🙁 I guess I will have to I buy the popcorn when I eventually make it there!!

AKari:
I will have to check out those foods later tonight, but do you have to choose between them or is one of them going to be purchased soon? Both are pretty good from what I remember! Also, this may be a stupid question so please forgive me in adavance, are we talking dog or cat food?

[Akari_32]

I’m taking the cat ones. I know both are good dog foods, but I’m still trying to figure out this cat food thing lol I’ve got Source now, and want to try EVO again in a larger bag at some point (the 2.5 pound bag didn’t last long enough to see any difference LOL).

And you HAVE to get their popcorn! It’s the kind you cook on the stove. Comes in a resealable bag. 🙂

[arwyru24]

Hey Bobby Dog, thankfully the vomiting has officially stopped, funny enough it stopped after I removed all Orijen kibbles, I will have to test that out again at another time. I get paid in a couple of days so I will have to take him in after that. His blood work always comes back on point so hopefully that will continue, although he is definitely sensitive digestive system, and is really immuno-suppressed, so he seems to be really suceptible to infections of various types that my other cat never ever gets. We will see.
The veggie thing is what I don’t like about the Halo Spots Stew, its watery, and my cats don’t want to eat big chunks of green beans or carrots or peas. I don’t think its a good value for the money. Have you ever tried the HALO Spots PATE though? It only comes in 2 varieties, chicken and whitefish, and it is a nice firm, smooth pate that my cats seem to love more than any other chicken variety I have tried. I mean they really love it. The wellness chicken formula is hit or miss with them. The instinct formulas seem to have a rubbery texture that they aren’t really crazy about. The weruva and soulistic chicken shreds and gravy with pumpkin they like enough, they like drinking the broth and the shreds they eat but often leave a bit behind. and worst of all is that is just doesn’t fill them up like a pate does so it is a poor value for me. But yeah, Halo Spots Pate chicken variety is a must try if you haven’t yet.

[jakes mom]

Welcome Sharon! My cats were not thrilled with the dry Wellness either. Glad to hear your input on the cat foods, we’re all always looking for new things to try.
Bobby dog, Jake’s getting better with his chicken backs, he’s used to them now and really enjoys them. Gave everybody, dog and cats, hearts and gizzard again, very popular. C4C you really need to try some with your guys!
My poor guy Benjamin is at the vet tonite. Hate to leave him overnite but have to be at work at 7am so can’t drop him off in the morning. Somehow he broke a tooth so tomorrow he will have it extracted and while they’re at it will do a cleaning on his other teeth.

[Author]

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