What do you feed your cat?

[cath007]

I always notice less protein when your cat is an indoor one.Purina Pro Plan have like 17% of protein; I was explained at Mondoux that a cat in indoor need less protein because he is spend less energy than the 19% protein for exterior cat...A cat food should be 90% protein!!!!!!!!!Wowsers so this Purina is low in that.....

[cath007]

I forgot to say that time to time I give my cat half of a can of salmon dinner Friskies wet can food.

[Fibrana]

My 2 Siamese cats will only eat junk food! I've tried other expensive formulas and food made especially for Siamese cats (apparently, they eat differently), but they only like Meow Mix cups and Friskies dry food, and occasionally tuna. They have sensitive stomachs and are not getting sick or having diarrhea, so I basically have to stick to this formula. I really do not like feeding them this crap! I am on a very specialized diet myself (for Crohn's disease) and do not eat any grains, milk, sugar, no processed foods or chemicals, etc. Whenever I try to introduce healthier food, slowly, they will not eat, or vomit and get diarrhea for weeks. For now, I guess I'll have to stick with the food they can tolerate. Ugh!

[cath007]

I just checked the ingrediants n the Science Diet Balance Bag and nothing scarry me ;seems very natural and I am surprise by the 27% protein containt.I guess I will not see my cat food the same manner of before.

[natynat]

Hmm does anyone still have the $10 Science Diet coupon left? I've traded mine, and don't remember when they expire(d). Thanks. I may try the expensive type and see how well that goes. I just don't see myself cooking for her at this time. I sometimes forget to cook for myself with the hectic school/work/house cleaning schedule!

[frugal50]

my cat hates human food, but will eat plain yoghurt and he only likes premium wet food.

[MortgageQueen]

I always notice less protein when your cat is an indoor one.Purina Pro Plan have like 17% of protein; I was explained at Mondoux that a cat in indoor need less protein because he is spend less energy than the 19% protein for exterior cat...A cat food should be 90% protein!!!!!!!!!Wowsers so this Purina is low in that.....

OMG! What would happen to you, a human, if you ate MORE carbs. You'd blow up 5 sizes. That's why we see so many FAT cats.
When you give a cat mostly protein, he doesn't require huge portions. . .he does require a certain amount of fat however and that should definitely not be overlooked. Fat would be measured more to their activity level. . .but they need good fat for their healthy coats and energy.
My cats are indoor/outdoor cats (we live om 50 acres) I slightly increase their food portions in the summer for the activity levels. Of course they hunt, but they generally only eat what is healthy for then (don't get me started on what I have to do to keep parasites and worms under control!) For my cats and dogs, it's normal and healthy to gain a bit extra winter weight (from laying around more) but they soon lose it in spring.

[MortgageQueen]

My 2 Siamese cats will only eat junk food! I've tried other expensive formulas and food made especially for Siamese cats (apparently, they eat differently), but they only like Meow Mix cups and Friskies dry food, and occasionally tuna. They have sensitive stomachs and are not getting sick or having diarrhea, so I basically have to stick to this formula. I really do not like feeding them this crap! I am on a very specialized diet myself (for Crohn's disease) and do not eat any grains, milk, sugar, no processed foods or chemicals, etc. Whenever I try to introduce healthier food, slowly, they will not eat, or vomit and get diarrhea for weeks. For now, I guess I'll have to stick with the food they can tolerate. Ugh!

Fibrana

Commercial cat food is "kitty crack" That's why they are addicted to it. One of my cats did at one time have kibble and she is so addicted to it, that if you shake a bag that "sounds" like a bag of kibble. . .. she'll just lose it. . .I kid you not!

If you asked your 6 year old whether he'd like to have McDonalds or a healthy home cooked meal or a chocolatebar vs. a bunch of grapes. . . .I think we all know what the response would be. No different for animals. . .
They have to be weaned off the "crack"

[natynat]

My kitty is a crack addict She loves the treats. I had started a bad habit with her, that every morning I woke up, I'd give her 4 pieces of Whiskas. She got so used to it that evvverrrry morning she would wait for me to wake up and scream her head off until she got those 4 pieces. I found it to be unhealthy so I stopped and it took her a month to stop screaming. Now she just looks at me with pitiful yet hopeful eyes that I will still giver her a treat...I do, but only on certain occasions.

Just out of curiosity, I thought that soft food was "worse" for cats. I don't remember when I read that, but it said that dry food is better for them and their teeth. However, I was looking at the Fancy Feast ingredients, and although it had some by-products, the first 3 ingredients were fish, liver, and kidney...which seems a lot better than corn. How often should we feed our cats soft food?

[frugal50]

My kitty is a crack addict She loves the treats. I had started a bad habit with her, that every morning I woke up, I'd give her 4 pieces of Whiskas. She got so used to it that evvverrrry morning she would wait for me to wake up and scream her head off until she got those 4 pieces. I found it to be unhealthy so I stopped and it took her a month to stop screaming. Now she just looks at me with pitiful yet hopeful eyes that I will still giver her a treat...I do, but only on certain occasions.

Just out of curiosity, I thought that soft food was "worse" for cats. I don't remember when I read that, but it said that dry food is better for them and their teeth. However, I was looking at the Fancy Feast ingredients, and although it had some by-products, the first 3 ingredients were fish, liver, and kidney...which seems a lot better than corn. How often should we feed our cats soft food?

i'm glad that you weened her off those awful treats, four a day was excessive.... i use to give my cat treats everyday too, but stopped, my vet said it's not necessary since they get all their nutrients from their food.

as for wet food, it's not necessarily "worse" .... you can feed your cat both or just give it to her once a week. dry food doesn't really help clean the teeth, cuz the cats usually just swallow the kibbles whole, you can get dental kibble which is larger and forces the cat to chew.

if your cat does not suffer from dental problems, just give her a good healthy mix of wet/dry foods, not the cheap kind.

[alicia]

We feed our cats a quarter of a can of wet food in the morning and then a quarter can at dinner (just Friskies). Then we supplement with dry during the day and over night. We had them on more expensive cat food ($60/big bag) but we switched them to Kirkland brand ($20/big bag) weigh management.

They are big time beggars (worse than dogs!). Last night he took a bite of my burrito, tortilla and all, and he's been known to eat fries (accidentally). Generally we give them tastes of the meat, but apparently they are like their human Mama and love carbs.

[MortgageQueen]

My kitty is a crack addict She loves the treats. I had started a bad habit with her, that every morning I woke up, I'd give her 4 pieces of Whiskas. She got so used to it that evvverrrry morning she would wait for me to wake up and scream her head off until she got those 4 pieces. I found it to be unhealthy so I stopped and it took her a month to stop screaming. Now she just looks at me with pitiful yet hopeful eyes that I will still giver her a treat...I do, but only on certain occasions.

Just out of curiosity, I thought that soft food was "worse" for cats. I don't remember when I read that, but it said that dry food is better for them and their teeth. However, I was looking at the Fancy Feast ingredients, and although it had some by-products, the first 3 ingredients were fish, liver, and kidney...which seems a lot better than corn. How often should we feed our cats soft food?

If you must feed commercial food, wet is better. Dry food is especially bad for male cats as it causes urinary tract blockages. As we know from the horrific contaminated pet food scares, some ingredients in pet food comes from places like China. . .and is extremely poorly regulated. . and most people don't even realize their pets have died due to some of these products as they would have to be autopsied and tests done to find that out. I read that the "statistics" of deaths reported by those episodes of pet food contaminations were only based on animals that were either autopsied or conclusive testing done on their bodies!!! The "actual" amount of deaths caused by the food was probably many, many times more than reported.

[frugal50]

If you must feed commercial food, wet is better. Dry food is especially bad for male cats as it causes urinary tract blockages. As we know from the horrific contaminated pet food scares, some ingredients in pet food comes from places like China. . .and is extremely poorly regulated. . and most people don't even realize their pets have died due to some of these products as they would have to be autopsied and tests done to find that out. I read that the "statistics" of deaths reported by those episodes of pet food contaminations were only based on animals that were either autopsied or conclusive testing done on their bodies!!! The "actual" amount of deaths caused by the food was probably many, many times more than reported.

i agree 100%
with male cats, you have to be very weary what kind of dry food to feed him
my vet recommended his food from the clinic and swears by it
wet food is optional.

[natynat]

Thank you!!! I am so paranoid now...I will wait for her to finish off the Purina Chow and then buy something else that's better for her. What do your vets recommend? The only one that I'm really familiar with that her vet sells is Hill's products.

[frugal50]

for my cat, my vet recommended
royal canin veternairian preventive adult S/O dry food
and medi-cal wet food
it's not sold in retail stores