<p>Our cats have always eaten dry food bought from the vet. The ones we have now are get a mix of dental, renal and lower calorie. We also feed a stray with a mix of wet and dry food. (Mostly kitten food because it is scrawny.) Some cats we’ve had drink from bowls and others from the toilet. The renal food is made saltier so they drink more and that flushes their kidneys more. </p>
<p>Wet food is great as long as you realize in the wild cats only live a handful of years (maybe 5 up to 9) and that they die often of things like stones. Many cats, including relatively healthy domestic tabbies, are prone to stones. One of ours developed stones and almost died. That was the only time I’ve seen a cat moaning in agony. Required reconstructive bladder surgery and creation of a new uretha; some male cats have a relatively kinked pathway that blocks even the smallest of stones. That process cost as much as a decent car.</p>
<p>They also develop a number of tooth problems, like abscesses, that can become infected and cause death. In that regard, one of our cats hid an abscess so well, she acted completely normal until she stood up on the back of a chair and passed out. </p>
<p>So the choice of food is more complicated than just that cats eat only meat and in the wild get some of their liquid from that meat. If you take your cat to a vet regularly, then choice of food shouldn’t matter. Given that more and more cats live into their late teens and 20’s, it’s pretty clear dry food isn’t shortening their lives.</p>
<p>Hi Poetsheart - no, fortunately they didn’t. Smudge is the one who had it but fortunately I think we caught it in time before he viewed the litter box as a bad place. Royal Canin Urinary SO comes in many varieties including wet and dry food and also there’s “moderate calorie” for oreo who’s a little, um, portly. They love the dry food and eat that exclusively and haven’t had problems since then thank goodness. I did ask our vet about the lack of wet food but said it wasn’t a worry with this food. It’s very low ash - which apparently is what helps with the UTI problem. </p>
<p>I had an older kitty - Waldo - who had renal failure. Very sad. He was one of the world’s great cats.</p>
<p>First, a disclaimer - I don’t currently have a cat.</p>
<p>But, I do have a lot of experience and research with dog and other animal food, and I think the lessons from those apply here too.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most pet food is junk. Most food you find in pet stores (never mind grocery stores) contains bad ingredients, artificial flavors/colors, unhealthy preservatives, etc. There are a few decent brands (for dogs it would be, Orijen, Innovo Evo, Wellness, Core, etc.), but it’s not safe to assume that most brands are good or even decent, especially the widely-known ones (Iams, Pedigree are junk).</p></li>
<li><p>Just because it’s sold at the vet, doesn’t make it good. Even vets themselves have come out to say that vets in general are not trained well in nutrition. Furthermore, vets’ offices often get incentives to sell junk, like Science Hill for dogs, or whatever it is. Some vets ARE aware of good brands, but I would say they are in the minority.</p></li>
<li><p>So, if you are looking for a good food for any animal (and I have had to do that with 3 entirely different species), I would recommend finding a good, legitimate forum dedicated to that specific animal. That’s really the best place to get information. There, you will also get a breakdown of all the ingredients and what they mean. That’s really your clue that the information is good - when you find a place where the ingredients are explained and discussed, not just something vague, like “this food sounds good” or “my friend has used this.” </p></li>
</ol>
<p>We also have a new 13 week kitten. Ours is a Maine Coon. The breeder highly suggests Life’s Abundance. We’re switching the other cats to that. The breeder told us one reason you see recalls is because of how old the food is - many times it’s years old. This stuff gets delivered to us at a rate we choose. I give him 1/2 a can in the morning and afternoon and free feed him throughout the day. All our cats are free fed highly quality food and none are overweight. When we switched our dog to the highest quality, no filler food, she lost her fat.</p>
<p>I had a cat(neutered male) that ate wet cat food (nine lives & friskies) his entire life. He lived to be 21. We currently have 2 cats and a dog. One of the cats(neutered male) got bladder stones about 5 years ago. So both cats have been on the prescription dry cat food for cats. So far no more problems for him. so I think it depends on your cat… The other one was fine on regular wet food but this one isn’t.</p>
<p>2 Ragdolls here. Our very experienced vet recommends ANY wet food–cheap is fine. We feed a combination of Friskies and Fancy Feast (so many varieties available, I can’t believe any cat would turn up its nose at all of them), but I do give them a midnight snack of Hill’s Oral Care–very big kibbles that they do have to crunch and that seem to keep their teeth in decent shape, though maybe that’s my imagination. But they do love the dry food, so I can’t eliminate it entirely. They are 14 and 15 years old and going strong. Never had any health issues. I think all the pricey cat foods are a bunch of hooey. Cat health has much more to do with genetics, so if you are buying a pure bred, finding the right breeder is essential and will mean more to your cat’s future than any overpriced brand of cat food.</p>
<p>Genetics are genetics for any species - dog, cat, and human. Yes, there is that guy who eat McDonald’s every dat, and he is in his 80’s. That doesn’t mean it’s good to eat McDonald’s.</p>
<p>Expensive foods are not ‘hooey’. Orijen (the brand I use for my dog) is expensive because you actually know the source of the ingredients; they don’t use artificial colors or flavors or the dangerous preservative that is used in many other brands. You absolutely get what you pay for.</p>
<p>Unless you personally analyzed the food using all sorts of analytical techniques, you have to go with what the manufacturer says on the label. “Organic ingredients” could be sourced from China, fwiw. </p>
<p>I personally have no analyzed the ingredients, but there are many places to find people, organizations, and even labs that have.</p>
<p>Orijen does not source ingredients from China - there is quite a bit of info on where different foods source ingredients from. Also, it’s not too hard to find out exactly what all the different ingredients are.</p>
<p>My best advice to OP is this - don’t ask for food suggestion on a college forum. What has helped me when I knew very little about different foods (besides doing my own research) is to find forums that are dedicated to the specific animal and are all about nutrition. Just as people here have carefully researched all the different schools, there is information out there on all different foods, but that level of information would not be available on a college talk forum.</p>
<p>My cat eats Spot’s Stew Chicken variety in the morning and will ONLY eat one kind of wet food: it must be Fancy Feast GRILLED variety, chicken, turkey, or the fish varieties. If I give her the grilled beef, she often throws it up later, so no more of that. I’ve tried other varieties of wet, but the FF grilled is something she was willing to take a stand for. :D</p>
<p>She is 11 and very healthy, with perfect teeth and gums. Perhaps we’ve just been lucky-I had assumed it was the kibble which kept her teeth and gums in good shape, but per a post above, that’s just urban myth.</p>
<p>We have a 16 year old kitty, and a three year old. They eat dry food only. There is a full water bowl near their food bowl. We feed them twice daily…we don’t just fill their bowl. Both are very healthy.</p>
<p>We use Purina One Sensitive Systems. Both cats love it.</p>
<p>Wow, lots of ragdoll owners here! I have my son’s two ragdolls and a tabby manx. I feed them Merrick before grain dry, and purina one canned, pate types only. The tabby was significantly overweight and over the course of 2 years feeding her this diet she has made the vet (and me) happy. </p>
<p>Just saw a cute kitty catching a sparrow that was trying to steal someone’s breakfast off the table! Both the restaurant guests and the staff applauded! bird control. </p>
<p>Someone mentioned feeding their cats baby food. That is NOT a good idea! Some baby food has tiny amount of spices and salt that are perfectly fine for humans but could be detrimental to cats’ health:</p>
<p>“For this reason, Dr. Perea cautions owners against offering human baby food to their cats to stimulate appetites, because it can contain onion powder, which could cause anemia in felines.”</p>
<p>My cats have lived for over 20 years and I’ve just given them dry food, usually IAMs. I think they prefer the wet food, but the IAMs makes cleaning the litter box and odors a lot better—I experimented with brands. They always have plenty of fresh water which I replenish daily and clean the bowls when I replenish. Until this cat, I’ve always given them all they wanted in terms of food. Portion control for this one as she was putting on the weight. </p>
<p>Occasionally there have been hairball problems which I correct with a tube of some gel for that purpose, but my cats have been a healthy lot. </p>
<p>We feed only Gerber 2nd Foods Chicken or Ham. The only ingredients are the meat, water, cornstarch. (I just double-checked this on the jar and internet.) We further dilute it to make it a watery gravy. Our vet recommended this when we had a sick cat both to tempt him and to get liquid in him - it worked. Our vet knows we’ve continued plus included the other cats. He’s always given it a thumbs up. </p>
<p>My daughter frequently fosters baby kitties plus the mama cat. On one occasion she fostered a litter with a MIA mama cat and they came with a supply of the tiny jars of baby food chicken…</p>
<p>I have an indoor cat and use the dry/indoor/weight control/non-hairball formulas. I try different brands. I do not like the smell of canned food, and the brands I use (mostly on bad/ugly list. . .) seem to keep down the litterbox odor. My cat likes it and he always has plenty of water. After reading this I feel a bit sorry that I’m not giving my cat “the BEST” food. But, oh well, I don’t eat organic food either, and I’m happy with my diet.</p>
bird control. </p>