Cat Food - Trying to work out what to feed the "girls".

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  Diji1 on 03/06/2017 - 15:09

  +1

  it is likely the market is so large that the product is controlled and regularly tested for compliance

  Hahahahahahaha that's hilarious.

  Also cats don't give a shit.

• 

  Islund on 03/06/2017 - 15:12

  I have had my cat since she was 3 weeks old - 8 years old now.

  I feed her mostly dry food with a pouch of wet food once a month. Mixture of Friskies, Whiskas and Dine.

  No health problems to date - knock on wood.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 03/06/2017 - 15:41

    We had one of ours on a low fat dry food, due to indigestion problems and overweight, and she was OK until she got to 12 then she had severe kidney and heart troubles. I realise that is not a bad age but our first cat got to 18 so we feel a bit cheated when they go earlier.

    • 

      endotherm on 04/06/2017 - 00:07

      +1

      This is why you need to be cautious about feeding them primarily dried kibble—it affects their organs such as kidneys in the long run. Cats are carnivores, pure and simple. They get all the nutrients they require from meat, and minerals like calcium from the bones. In the wild they would eat small animals and the small quantity of vegetable matter in the prey's stomach would be the only vegetables they would eat (aside from chewing blades of grass as a digestive to clear hairballs stuck in their digestive system). I've never seen a cat stalk an ear of corn or a lettuce growing in the garden! Most if not all of the dried foods on the market are padded with rice or corn etc, which has no value for the cat and is used to increase their profit so they don't have to spend more on expensive ingredients. A lot of the flavours and added vitamins are constructed to appeal to humans so you will buy it. All the added ingredients don't do much at all for the cat, it just makes the human think it will be good for them.

      My cat died at 18 from cancer, but up until then he was as strong as a bull, and rarely sick. He was primarily fed minced kangaroo, which you can pick up for a couple of dollars a kilogram. High protein, low fat. They love it and it satisfies their inner carnivore :). Unlimited access to fresh water, and a bowl of dried kibble to munch on if he got peckish. Occasionally you could mix it up with boneless fish (e.g. blue grenadier) or whole sardines. Sometimes chicken fillet when they were really cheap, and chicken necks and wings if you can tempt them (they have to chew it and work hard to get through it, it cleans the plaque off their teeth and keeps the gums healthy).

      Most cat health problems involve them being fed the wrong food all their lives, which ends up affecting their longevity. This question comes up from time to time on OzBargain, so it might be worth searching and checking out some of the earlier threads on the subject. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/cat+food?t=f

      • 

        try2bhelpful on 04/06/2017 - 12:07

        We have never got any of our cats to eat chicken necks or chicken wings. They cart them around a bit and then ignore them. I agree that cats are mostly carnivore but they do need the extra nutrients they would get from the whole prey, not just the muscle meat.

        The current intake for my girls is: wet food (fancy feast and better quality ones when we can get them to eat it), quality dry kibble and beef chunks (human grade). (We have tried Kangaroo in the past with our old cats but they tend to go nuts on it and get really fat).

        Unfortunately with our old girl she got bad diarreah when we fed her anything but the low fat dry food. (We tried just about every food on the market, including just meat).

      • 

        endotherm on 04/06/2017 - 21:34

        @try2bhelpful: They see chicken necks/wings as "prey" to drag around. If they are introduced to them when they are kittens, they will chew at them and play with their prey. Unfortunately when they get older it is harder—they get lazier and they know they don't have to work hard for their food any more because their pet human will provide something tasty and easier for them to eat.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 03/06/2017 - 15:35

  +1

  Royal tuna with shrimps. My cat loves it.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 03/06/2017 - 15:37

    Thanks. Will look into it.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 03/06/2017 - 15:39

      +1

      Dine pure whitemeat Tuna is also a good one.

      • 

        try2bhelpful on 03/06/2017 - 15:42

        +1

        You might find this interesting as well.

        https://www.choice.com.au/catfood

• 

  argonide on 03/06/2017 - 15:45

  +1

  BTW - When I went to post this it asked if I had a duplicate with "No Microwave Food for Work". Either the algorithm is a tad weird, or, I wonder what the moderators are eating for lunch.

  Or the algorithm matches words e.g. "food" and "work"

  No Microwave Food for Work
  Cat Food - Trying to work out what to feed the "girls".

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 03/06/2017 - 15:48

    Can see the point, but the algorithm still seems a tad "loose". I would've thought the main check would be against "Cat Food". This match did make me laugh though.

    • 

      Yummy on 03/06/2017 - 18:37

      I wonder what the moderators are eating for lunch.

      Cat food obviously, nyaan (meow)?

• 

  Savas on 03/06/2017 - 19:51

  +2

  Detailed comparison here

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  rainbow612 on 03/06/2017 - 20:09

  I have one cat (1.5 yrs old), and I give him Advance biscuits in the morning, and half a sachet of Purina Friskies in the evening(wet food - any flavour). I give a mix of wet and dry foods to avoid any health complications related to the biscuits. Advance is seen as quality food, the rescue where we got our cat recommended it, as well as his vet.

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  lazyevenings on 04/06/2017 - 07:59

  +1

  We try to avoid dried food for the most part by only giving a few biscuits overnight. Unfortunately, this has led to them demanding frequent wet meals (3-4 times per day) especially when we are home. Not sure how to overcome this. Would love to try feeding them a raw diet full time but they do not seem to be a fan of the taste compared to canned Fancy Feast Royale, Royal Canin wet food, etc.

  • 

    endotherm on 04/06/2017 - 21:21

    +1

    Cats are creatures of habit and don't like change. They obviously like what they are used to, but if you want to change them over to something else, do it slowly over time. Replace some of their usual food with a little bit of new food, and gradually ramp it up until it is changed over. They will then become used to the new food. It is easier to get them hooked on something if you do it from a young age.

• 

  ms_caz on 04/06/2017 - 08:29

  My fussy cat loves the Aldi premium small tins. Similar to Fancy Feast in size and flavours but only 65c a tin. She rarely eats anything else in terms of wet food although occasionally will eat a Whiskas pouch. Both cats love the Aldi premium dry food. Since they have both recently become indoor cats, I notice that this gives them "better" pooh than other commercial dry foods.

  For what its worth, I feed my dogs Blackhawk dry and I know Blackhawk make a cat food too. Miss Fussy wouldn't eat it, but it could be worth investigating if you are looking for a dry alternative.

  • 

    Peter Enis on 04/06/2017 - 09:55

    +1

    We use Aldi cat food as well. Just beware of the fine print on some of their tins (such as the tuna/anchovy one that my cat loves) - "Intended for occasional or supplemental feeding". In other words, they aren't a fully balanced diet.

    • 

      ms_caz on 04/06/2017 - 20:50

      yes - there was a segment on the Checkout at one stage that highlighted that - for a whole range of foods, including the Fancy feast varieties. I figure if they are eating wet food and dry they are going okay. One puss will eat anything (and everything), fussy puss will eat other things such as chicken necks/wings as long as she is locked in a solitary environment with her food. But thanks, it's a good reminder.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 05/06/2017 - 10:13

    With the tray "inside" - if you have a balcony and a cat door to it we found if you put the cat tray in a kennel and turned the hole away from the weather then the cat could still go outside to do their business, the litter stayed dry and you didn't get the smell through the house. The kennel needs to be tall enough so the cat doesn't need to crouch whilst it is squatting.

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  GreyMelb on 04/06/2017 - 11:47

  We used to feed our cat kangaroo meat along with Advance dry food but she used to get bad diarrhoea - ever tried to bath a cat?? Not fun.
  We then just stuck with dry food. Mainly Advance but I did try her on Ivory Coat and other grain free premium foods.
  Unfortunately she recently started throwing up regularly no matter what she had. The vet recommended Hills Science Diet for sensitive stomachs as it has hydrolised protein. That seems to be working well and has stopped her throwing up.
  We also occasionally give her plain human tuna.
  Our cat is 11 and a half years old and her diet has changed over time. Good luck with finding the right food for your cat. They are not all the same and what works for one might not work for all.

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 04/06/2017 - 12:20

    Yup, our old cat used to have bad diarrhoea as well, so I know where you are coming from. This is why we went for the low fat dry food and it cleared her up overnight. The problem was she had kidney trouble at 12 so I am a tad concerned. It might be worth trying a low fat wet food to see if that helps. Unfortunately is is not designed to be really palatable, because it is designed for overweight cats, but it might be worth getting a couple of cans to see. Our poor little girl ended up with kidney, heart issues and a duodenal ulcer. We had pet insurance so we did what we could for her, but she only lasted about another 5 months anyway.

    I really want to be a good fur parent but the girls are particular about what they will eat and what they won't; so we are taking it slowly and feeding them small amounts of the "good stuff" to start with. We've found a spoonful of the fancy feast broth makes the "good" stuff more palatable.

    Our two are very active runners and climbers, they have clear eyes and shiny coats. We just want to make sure we aren't causing them issues in the long run. Everytime I read about the food recalls it makes my blood run cold - we spend our times trying to give them the best and then the food manufacturers do something "wrong" and it injures/kills your animal.

• 

  Sensiekatie on 04/06/2017 - 13:03

  We have 3 - one 2 and a bit, one 1 and a bit and the baby 6 months.

  We use Royal Canin adult and the baby which is available as they wish.

  At meal times, there are 3 Kmart double bowls.

  1 dude has a part portion of raw meat pouch. The other a soft food.

  They will play musical bowls and we don't stop that as long as Miss Picky has had a fair chance. Once pushed, she will not return.

  The baby hates kitten food other than Royal Canin. However, he will now eat safely other offerings. The Aldi fancy cans are a hit but not given every day. The Aldi normal pouches generally favoured. Woolworths have large cans of Tuna and sardine - they love those too, but are given sometimes as available. They actually look like what the name is too, instead of barely recognisable. Dine is acceptable.

  Fish is preferred- but others are offered. They all tend to eat raw meat only at times. At others a bit of each. When the soft is exclusively eaten, you know that is acceptable.

  Luckily for us, what is not liked is served up to the dogs as the treat portion of their meal . That is usually very little except food that is unacceptable. 1 dog will not eat at times unless tempted.

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  Tiffany57 on 04/06/2017 - 13:16

  +1

  We have 4 cats….3 young Ragdolls and an older Tiffanie (14 this year). After losing our previous 2 at 9 and 17 years of age, to kidney disease, I did a lot of research about the link between dry food and kidney disease (and UTI's) and am convinced that it's the cause of many a poor cat's demise….despite what vet's will try to sell you (they have a vested interest in pushing these products http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-24/cat-food-study-leads-t…)

  Cats are inherently desert animals….carnivores, who mainly get enough water from the food they eat. When fed dry food, they often don't drink enough fluids to compensate….this is one reason that they may stop having loose stools, but it also means that their kidneys become overworked and this leads to kidney disease.

  It's been my experience that switching to a mainly raw meat diet has resulted in happy, healthy furbabes. Until recently, ours were fed the Fussy Cat portions of raw meat ( 5x 85g in a pack for $4.95 in Woolies and Coles), until I discovered Aldi's virtually identical packs at $3.99.
  I do supplement with the VIP Grain Free dry food, but limit the amount to 1/2 a cup a day between them.

  I have also tried the Aldi gourmet tins @65c, but I find that they cause the loose stool problem…yuk!

  When they were kittens we followed the diet that they'd had at the breeders, which was chicken mince (human grade, but frozen for a day or two first) You could also try the human grade Kangaroo mince….ours liked it for a while, but then went off it.

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  Aussie Smurfette on 04/06/2017 - 14:07

  As with humans, processed foods are not good for your pets. My cat has roo or chiecken raw and diced.