Which cat food?

[GA girl]

I have always been a "dog" person, but I let my daughter talk me into adopting a kitten last summer. Then her friend got a cat about a week later and got tired of him a few months later (that's another topic) and she ended up just leaving him with us. So I went from no cats to 2 cats!
I have been feeding them Meow Mix, but after reviewing cat foods found out that it is the equalivant to eating hot dogs all of the time! So I head off to PetSmart on Saturday and came home with Nature's Recipe. They seem to like this but its a little pricey and PetSmart is not very close to my house.
I have done some research and it looks like 4Health cat food is a good choice and there is a Tractor Supply about 3 miles from my house.
Does anyone have any recommendations on this food or any other good cat food that I should feed them?

[MNNHFLTX]

I am not familiar with the 4Health cat food, but if it's dry would strongly encourage you to try out a good canned wet food. A cat's natural food source in the wild (their prey) would be high protein with very little carbohydrate content and with higher water content. Dry cat food is pretty much the opposite of this. It is much healthier over the long run to feed them wet food rather than dry. I wish I had known this before we got our first cats because it can be very hard to switch cats to a wet food after they've established a preference for dry (like a human trying to switch from a potato chip to spinach diet). Our current kitties will eat their canned food but I have to supplement a couple them with dry or they wouldn't eat enough. We use Blue Buffalo grain-free canned and dry. I know they sell that at the Tractor Supply store near us.

Good luck and I think it's great you've adopted these two cats. It's obvious that you've got a good heart.

[PlutoToo]

FWIW, We haven't tried the 4Health cat food from Tractor Supply, but do use their dog food and were pleased with it.:twocents:

[kakn7294]

I have no experience with that brand. I'm currently using Wellness brand, both dry and moist pouches. However, I'm considering switching to a raw diet as that's supposed to be the healthiest option.

[Katzateer]

I find it much easier to feed dry. Find a good quality dry cat food that they like. Younger cats are easier to deal with- I just get a good bag of cat food at Walmart. For my older cats I have had to look for other products at pet stores. I think the one our siamese eat runs me about $45 a bag (12pounds) but they don't eat a lot and it helps with some health problems. Right now, our other 2 cats eat a lower calorie, indoor formula for overweight cats. The bag runs about $35 an 18 pound bag.

Look for a higher protein- less grain formula. I don't think a wet food is a bad idea but I find it too much work between trying to feed my cats and dogs and cleaning up afterwards. With dry it is a much cleaner and easier. Some of my cats and dogs seem to make a mess with wet foods. My Sheltie isn't an a good eater and she leaves a lot of crumbs and mess. One of the cats does the same thing.

I cringe when people get the cheapest dog and cat food and treats. Not a healthy diet with mostly grains and filler. Plus the higher quality food that is used the less they poop which makes
cleanup easy.

Hope you enjoy your new family members!

[TheDuckRocks]

I have had cats over a period of 50+ years, with them being very healthy and all living over 15 years. All of them were feed Purina products. Back years ago I only feed wet food as the dry food used to contain a very high unhealthy ash amount. During the past 20 years or so this has changed and I now feed dry at my vets recommendation. It seems dry is better for a cat's teeth and many illnesses in older cats are due to bad teeth. With all the new designer brands out there now, once again this year I asked my vet if Purina was OK and the answer was a strong yes. I have been using the Purina One line currently that is age and activity appropriate for Frank The Cat.

[ChipDale2708]

My two cats each have 1/4 to 1/2 a can of either Fancy Feast or Purina Pro Plan twice a day. Five years ago these were the two brands that put out kitten food so we stayed with them as they have grown. They have always had a bowl of dry food - a mix of Pro Plan & 9-Lives or Nutro Natural Choice. Both have done well and our Vet is happy w/ their weights, coats, etc. One has developed a dental problem and had two teeth pulled last December. I have never had a cat develop this; two of my previous cats lived to 19 & 20! I now have a bowl of Science Diet Dental kibble available for her, she likes it, her sister hates it. She is also loving Greenies Dental treats and letting me brush her teeth. :thumbsup:

[SurferStitch]

We have 2 cats (one turning 16 next month, the other turning 16 in September).

The Ragdoll always seemed to have issues with dry food... ANY dry food... Even Blue, Iams, Science Diet, Nutro Max, Simply Nourish, Wellness... you name it. She easily gets crystals in her urine, and our vet said that some cats just don't tolerate dry food well. She eats nothing but wet.

Our other cat likes both wet and dry, but at meal time, there MUST be a mix of wet and dry. We just get a dirty look if it's only dry. She will only munch on dry between meals when the wet isn't available.

We've found the wet food to be super clean and easy because they eat every last morsel, plus lick the bowl clean! Our one cat loves to play with dry food, so we find it all over the place. She also plays with the dry dog food as well. I'm always vacuuming it out from under our stove.

[GA girl]

They do like to play with the dry dog food. They also like to eat his wet food and the dog likes to eat the wet cat food. I have to stand guard to make sure they stay at their own dish.
All of them (dog included) love Temptations cat treats. They can hear the bag open from 10 miles away in a tornado! But one of the cats (Sheldon-named after Sheldon from BBT) will only eat the Temptation treats he will sniff out any others and leave them for Oliver.
I have been leaving out dry food all of the time and feed wet at night while I am cooking dinner. I have been feeding them 9 lives and meow mix. They are gaining weight and do not seem to have any problems.
Sheldon was a shelter kitty so he had all of his shots and was neutered when he was adopted. I am trying to get the girl that abandoned him at my house to give me his paperwork so I will know when he is due again. Oliver was gotten from a relative and was neutered in November so he does not need to go back to the vet until September.

[BriarRose0708]

Talk to your vet. I was feeding my Cat Cora a pricey Science Diet dry food that she had at the SPCA and as it turned out she gained 5 pounds in 6 months - not healthy! The vet showed me a really useful chart of the dry foods that have low calorie and carb counts. I currently use Purina Healthy Weight and do not leave it out 24/7. She gets 1/4 can of wet food in the morning and 1/4 cup of dry when I get home from work and she's back to a normal weight now.

[Katzateer]

I have had cats over a period of 50+ years, with them being very healthy and all living over 15 years. All of them were feed Purina products. Back years ago I only feed wet food as the dry food used to contain a very high unhealthy ash amount. During the past 20 years or so this has changed and I now feed dry at my vets recommendation. It seems dry is better for a cat's teeth and many illnesses in older cats are due to bad teeth. With all the new designer brands out there now, once again this year I asked my vet if Purina was OK and the answer was a strong yes. I have been using the Purina One line currently that is age and activity appropriate for Frank The Cat.

I love Purina, the company. Purina Farms where they test the food is a wonderful place to visit and the company does a lot of great things for animals. I don't understand all the articles that seem to have been going around about Beneful dry dog food. Seems to be a horrible product
And a lot of it gets sold at Walmart. I was hoping it would get pulled off the market. The dry dog food I get is a Purina brand but isn't cheap and I do get it at Walmart. My dogs both seem to be doing fine with it.

[JanetMegan]

We use a Purina Indoor cat food that isn't too expensive but I think our cats eat WAY too much, but they aren't too fat? They get fed from an auto feeder 3x a day and my dbf gives them extra cause he says they are hungry-IE they meow a lot (rolleyes). My boy cats barfs a lot though, I think he just eats too fast. We feed them Temptations Hairball control treats. They both hate wet food.

[Middle of the Map]

Whatever cat food your cats decide they "like" is the same cat food they will stop eating if you buy a lot of it. :D

You do know that cats are aliens in little fur suits, bent on taking over the world.

What, they've already done it? Oh.....