Cat foods

In My Humble Opinion
1

I know this will turn into a discussion, so even though I have a specific question, I actually kinda hope there’s a discussion, and people chime in with their experience. Otherwise, I’d just call my vet.

My cats used to eat Iams, the kind with tuna for flavor. We used to feed Biljac years ago, when we had several cats, but we acquired one cat with an irritable bowel, and after some experimentation, the Iams for cats with delicate stomachs was the only thing that prevented diarrhea in her (this cat had been a litter runt who was raised on formula, because her mother pushed her out of the litter, so maybe that was the reason for the irritable bowel).

Anyway, after we lost that cat (who did live to be 16), we kept feeding Iams, but switched to the “regular,” because it was a little cheaper, and it had become available in supermarkets, while Biljac was still a petstore only item.

Now, during Passover, when grain other than matzah is forbidden in the house, the cats always got canned tuna with potato, sweet potato, and a little egg yolk mixed in, and KFP olive oil. We’d also soak some matzah meal in the tuna juice, and let them eat a little of it everyday, for the fiber.

Well, this year, a couple of things happened. Conservative rabbinical rules were relaxed a little to bring Conservative Passover rules more in line with Sephardic rules, making legumes, rice and corn OK. (I actually have kept Sephardic KFP since a few years after I became a vegetarian, but nevermind.) Also, all these “gluten” or “grain” free (but still often with legume flour) pet foods appeared.

So, this year, I bought the cats Purina Beyond Grain free food with Herring, Egg and Sweet Potato, and fed that to them for Passover.

They LOVE it.

Based on how much they love it, I’m thinking of making it their regular food, but I just don’t know. I’m so used to hearing that Purina is crap. But they love this stuff like it’s crack. I bought a second bag, and they are still loving it.

One cat is 11, but she is in great health, so I’ve held off on old-cat foods for her. Her weight is normal, and she’s very active, has no joint problems at all (she doesn’t have that “old cat” look to her fur, and people think she’s 5 or 6; they can’t believe it when I say she’s 11), and the other cat is 7, and has always been a little thin, and extremely active. She is weird, and likes to go for walks around the block on a leash. She goes up to strangers for petting. Like a dog or something. If I lived in LA I could probably get her onto a TV show. I keep waiting for a community production of* The Diary of Anne Frank*, so I can audition her for Peter’s cat.

Anyway, how crap is this food? Is it better than the regular Purina stuff? It doesn’t have dyes in it, like the Purina foods with the fake vegetables that have the dye that turns dogs’ poop funny colors.

Please hit me with all opinions before my cats get too hooked on this food.

Anyone use this food? Heard good things? bad things? Meh things?

2

You mean to say that your religion determine when a cat can eat a particular food?

I can’t say I recall which God a cat would worship, indeed I would suggest that most cats would prefer you to worship them

3

it can’t be in the home, regardless of who is meant to eat it.

4

My vet has recommended wet food vs dry food because the dry food is more fattening and she thinks overweight is the biggest risk for indoor cats. Also grain free is good. I see that Purina advertises the food you are using as “nutrient dense” and has 32% protein so it probably isn’t as fattening as some. But obviously if they love it you will need to watch quantities! I have been feeding Fancy Feast to mine for a long time, (along with a grain free dry food for the weird cat who likes dry better) and they’re doing well. I think the protein content is probably the most important part.

5

I can’t find any ratings for it, but some folks have put together a fairly extensive list of dog foods, and the dog food version of Purina’s “beyond grain” food seems to rate fairly well.

at least far better than the mostly-grain “dog chow/cat chow” junk.

6

It looks like decent food.

Purina has different lines of food, from basic low cost foods to expensive prescription diets. The Beyond line looks like a premium quality food. I checked the ingredient list and nutritional analysis and it looks pretty good.

I check Dog Food Adviser a lot to compare brands and it’s a good resource for learning how to interpret ingredient lists and what kind of red flag items to look out for.

I’m pretty picky about what I feed my pets, and after having a dog with food allergies I did a lot of reading of ingredient lists to make sure his trigger foods weren’t buried far down. I never thought I’d feed a grocery store brand of food to my dogs and my cat, but I’ve found one that works. If that one works for you and your cats like it, I think it’s a good choice.

7

Watching quantities shouldn’t be too difficult, because no one is there to keep refilling the bowl all day. They get a certain measure in the morning, and a refill when I get home to meet my son’s bus. They tend to sleep on the bed most of the night. Maybe I’ll use a measuring cup to keep track of how much they eat, though.

Thanks for all the input.

8

Mine free-feed Halo grain-free (similar issue to yours; a kitty with IBD) and no one is fat.

My vet said that Purina One was fine as long as the cat was healthy, so I imagine the Purina grain-free is also fine. You just don’t want to feed them Meow Mix or similar. That’s not very good.