What is a good dry food to feed cats?

Question

My cats are picky and don't like alot of the good dry foods like Prarie or Blue but they do like Friskies dry. I also feed the wet friskies which they love so I won't change that! But I would like to buy them something thats good for them but that they'll eat.

Answer 1

i have a picky eater too...likes purina indoor formula and loves the goodlife recipe...both not fabulous on the healthy side.. they're good for all but the meat side of things...which you're covering with the wet diet and besides, if the cheaper brands are so bad for cats, why do cat owners buy them? i have never had any problems with purina, and thanks to the purina indoor formula my 7 kids are all at a healthy weight for their respective sizes..

Answer 2

My cats eat a combination of canned, raw and some dry, and we use Evo and BG by Merrick (both grainless dry). My cats hated Prairie and Blue, and they also did not like a number of other dried foods we tried.



Personally, I'd stay away from Friskies, Purina, Iams, Science Diet and Nutro. I would recommend staying away from any food that has wheat, corn and/or soy products, and artificial coloring. There are also a number of other ingredients I would recommend staying away from but rather than list them all I've included some links to help you decided on a healthy food for your kitties.

Answer 3

If the food is quality, and they are happy, they have decided. I don't see a real problem with what you are feeding them. Your cat is the decider, so what you think is the finest food in the world is of no value if your cats will not eat it.



Try and feed in a narrow range of flavors. The more you switch between flavors and brands, the more likely your cats will become picky. My cats are fed in a very narrow range of choices, so they don't know there are lots of other foods out there and are satisfied with what they are eating.

Answer 4

I used to buy my cat her dry and wet food from the supermarket, but she became allergic to those. Now I give her Innova Adult Dry Cat Food from the Pet Store.

It contains fresh, natural, whole ingredients from each of the five food groups: meat, dairy, fruit, grain and vegetables, to provide a balanced, nutritious and healthful diet for the cat, and is formulated with added antioxidant vitamins, beneficial probiotics, and is rich in Omegprobiotics, a 6 and Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids for a silky coat and optimum health.

Innova Cat exclusively uses only the highest quality turkey and chicken, foods that we ourselves eat. Innova Cat is the first pet food to take advantage of advanced fresh cooking methods to incorporate lean turkey and chicken, lactose free milk, vegetables and fruit along with whole ground grains to create a cat food unequaled in nutrition and health benefits.

Answer 5

I would buy a bag of Neutron.. and several times a week maybe every other day.. (3) feed them...

then the other 4 days.. either Purina.. friskies,,, naturals.. It can get very costly feeding them only the good stuff..

but it is a good dry food.. try a small bag first..

Merry Christmas to all..

Answer 6

OK, the only good suggestion ive seen was the neutro, try orijen or go or something like that. nothing you can buy at walmart is good for your cats, mainly chemicals and grossness... and wet cat food rots teeth, if you can find something like tender vittles that is much better for your kittens.





AND PEOPLE NEVER BUY IAMS, IT IS A HORRIBLE BRAND OF FOOD FOR STARTERS AND THEY TEST ON ANIMALS!!!

Answer 7

Hmmm, I feed mine Spa Select but Wellness and EVO are really good for them. But if you're starting them on something new then dont forget to do it gradually. Mix the new with the old and little by little increase the percentage of new until it's just the new food. Otherwise they may reject it outright (because they're used to something else) when they might otherwise eat and enjoy it. ^_^

Answer 8

i used to feed my picky kittys purina cat chow for indoor cats.

its in a green bag.

they loved it!

and wouldnt eat anything else after that.

Answer 9

well considering your feeding them Friskies, you might as well be feeding them sawdust. Any cheap food is horrible, anything you can pick up at walmart or petsmart isn't the best either.



If you're on a budget..

- Science diet or IAMS



If you're willing to spend some money..

- EVO

Answer 10

IAMS, Friskies, and Science Diet are the worst for cats!!! Most of it is by product and "corn" meal which is grinded up chicken beaks and legs!



Try wellness my cats love it and its healthy!

Answer 11

I feed my cats BG (Before Grain...by Merrick) wet and dry...it's everything a cat needs and nothing they don't. My cats have really been thriving on it.

Answer 12

I get mine purnina cat chow

Answer 13

Here, you can check out this site.



http://cats.about.com/od/catfood/Dry_Cat_Food.htm



I don't have a cat for myself (with me, that is) so I can't give you any advice out of experience but I hope this helps!

Answer 14

Why feed dry at all? Wet is much healthier. Blue and Prairie are much higher quality foods. Don't give in and feed your cats crap like Friskies and Purina. Of course they like it... it's sprayed with all kinds of fats and flavorings to make it taste good. It's like feeding your cats Mcdonalds every day.



Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren't safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your cat? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.



Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.



Thankfully, there are some excellent cat foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.



Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Whiskas, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Meow Mix.



Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Felidae, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature's Variety Prairie, Nature's Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timber Wolf Organics.



Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients... this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!



Before following your vet's food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)



A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Diets high in grain have been attributed to problems with diabetes in cats. Cats are obligate carnivores, so why should there be grain in their diet? Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, and Sold Gold Indigo Moon, Taste of the Wild.



Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.



Another option, if you can't find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here's an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/



Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.



Another option for feeding cats is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:

http://www.rawfedcats.org/

http://www.rawfed.com/

http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml



Now the question is, do you feed wet or dry? Wet is the correct answer. The reason is, in the wild, cats normally get most of their water content directly from their prey items and drink very little. Domestic cats are no different, and because of the fact that they are designed to take in water with their meal, they have a very low thirst drive. Cats often just don't drink enough. This leads to urinary tract infections and crystals. The bit about dry food being better for teeth is a myth and has not been proven in the least (cats barely even chew their dry food and, really, does a pretzel clean /your/ teeth? Cats should have their teeth brushed with cat toothbrushes and cat toothpaste at least a few times a week as well as see the vet for dental cleanings when necessary /regardless/ of what they are being fed). Canned/wet food is better because it more closely mimics the cat's natural diet. More on why canned food is best:

http://www.catinfo.org/ (Excellent cat nutrition information by a vet)

http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canned_food.htm

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood

http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm



Another option to get cats to drink more would be a cat fountain. Cats tend to like to drink from running water and cat fountains see to that need, encouraging cats to take in more water.



Also remember that freefeeding (leaving food down) is the fast lane to feline obesity. Make sure to have scheduled feeding times based on the feeding instructions on your cat's food.



More:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. It's for dogs, but most of the high quality brands also put out excellent cat foods. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)





Darksong~

Answer 15

I don't see that you have a problem... Friskies is a great brand. Unless you want to start selling your limbs so you can feed them feline greenies which is slightly better for them.

Answer 16

Whiskas, Iams, Friskies... I don't really know a lot of the brands. I don't even know what we feed our cats xD

Answer 17

purina cat chow

Answer 18

According to the shelter the other day I was at, Friskies is full of salt which can affect the kidneys, this shelter also said to avoid the dry cat food in the cardboard boxes also because these one were full of salt. I also checked this theory out IN THE cardboard boxes-and friskies is lower in salt 1%protein then whiskas 2% and the one optimum 2% the lady was recommending. Show you now that shelter volunteers don't alway know even when they have a KNOW IT ALL ATTITUDE, and she sure was most certainly a OLD KNOW IT ALL.

I would also avoid store names such as your love coles, coles smart by pet food etc-This is absolute garbage. It not the salt that actually causes kidney problems, it the excessive amounts of protein that causes kidney failure and lack of other neccesary nutrition.



Excellent meat based ingredients-however i still not fond of the combo cat and kitten formulars-i think there a reason why cats should have adult food formulated for their needs and kittens should have also their formular based on their needs, I don't think they should have a combo formular. Avocardos are actually toxic to cats! Recommend protein for kittens is 50%protein, recommended protein for adults is 30% protein. However another shelter also told me that extreme ;protein can also be bad for cats, and they had a number of cats that were fed Kangoo roo meat that devloped kidney failure due to the kangaroo meat high protein levels.I would not go over 50% protein myself just to be safe.



Also i would not solely feed my cat dry food, as cats don't drink enough water which can affect the urinary tract causing urinary tract infection, i would provide canned or pouches as well, to increase the water content in your cat diet. However not all cats will eat wet food and wet food alone will rot the cats teeth.





Annamaet Dry Cat and Kitten Food-meat meal based

http://www.annamaet.com/for_the_cats.php



Artemis-meat based-fresh mix

http://www.artemiscompany.com/products_detail.asp?product=feline



Back to basics-meat meal based

http://www.beowulfs.com/cat_food.html



Before grain-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=301109709&dept_id=131&brand_id=1097&Page=



Blue Longativity-Fish based

http://www.bluebuff.com/products/cats/longevity-adult.shtml



Blue Spa Select-meat based

http://www.bluebuff.com/products/cats/ss-adult-chick.shtml



By nature adult-meat meal based

http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/adultcat.php



By Nature brightlife-Meat meal based

http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/brightlifefelineformula.php



By Nature Natural-meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30148209&dept_id=131&brand_id=998&Page=



By nature organics-meat based

http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/organiccat.php



California Natural-Meat based-not enough ingredients i feel, however suppost to be high quality food

http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?panel=ga&id=1338



Feline Caviar Chicken with Pink Salmon Cat Dry Food-Meat based

http://caninecaviar.com/Chicken%20With%20Pink%20Salmon.aspx



Chicken Soup-Meat based

http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/cats/dry_food/adult_cat_formula/brand_id=630&Page=



Eagle pack Holistic Select-Meat meal based

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_CatChix.html

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_CatDuck.html



Eagle pack holistic select-fish based

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_CatFish.html



Eagle pack-Meat Meal based

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/SP_Hairball.html

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/SP_CatAdult.html

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/SP_MultiCat.html



Eukanuba Wholesome Naturals-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3011853&dept_id=131&brand_id=5&Page=



Innova Evo-Fish based

http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?panel=in&id=1338



Evolve-meat based

http://www.evolvepet.com/catmain.html



Felidae-meat meal based

http://www.canidae.com/cats/chicken_and_rice/dry.html



Fromm Four-meat based

http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-c-d-duck.php



Go Natural-meat meal based

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=153



Grandma Lucy-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=301109201&dept_id=131&brand_id=1092&Page=



Halo-meat or fish based



Healthwise-meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3011231&dept_id=131&brand_id=945&Page=



Hi-Tor; meat meal base

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3013703&dept_id=131&brand_id=233&Page=



Iams-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3012142&dept_id=131&brand_id=8&Page=



Innova-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3011205&dept_id=131&brand_id=9&Page=



Lick Your Chops Kitten & Cat Food-meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30144502&dept_id=131&brand_id=253&Page=



Natural Life-meat meal

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3011302&dept_id=131&brand_id=11&Page=



Nature logic-meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30155801&dept_id=131&brand_id=963&Page=



Nature Variety-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30140111&dept_id=131&brand_id=618&Page=



Newmans Own organics-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30149001&dept_id=131&brand_id=701&Page=



Now! meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=301108304&dept_id=131&brand_id=1083&Page=



Nutrisource-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30165110&dept_id=131&brand_id=966&Page=



Nutro-Meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3012427&dept_id=131&brand_id=14&Page=



Organix-Meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30136104&dept_id=131&brand_id=714&Page=



Orijen-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=301107501&dept_id=131&brand_id=1075&Page=



Pet Promise-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30155103&dept_id=131&brand_id=910&Page=



Petguard-meat based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30175303&dept_id=131&brand_id=304&Page=



Breeder's Choice Pinnacle-Meat meal based

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=30146601&dept_id=131&brand_id=667&Page=



Precise Plus-meat meal

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=3014323&dept_id=131&brand_id=16&Page=

Answer 19

"Neutro" cat food.

Answer 20

garbage