I had my little beggars used to Halo’s grain-free dry kibble, which they happily ate for five years. Very little kitty barfing, and no GI problems. Of course Halo has changed the formula, and the new version seems to upset the girl-cat’s tummy. Took her to the vet, who did an exam and said that she’s fine, and she also thinks the new version of the cat food just doesn’t agree with girl-cat.
I’d prefer to keep them on grain-free food (they’re cats, FFS; they do not need corn or wheat), and I do feed them a premium brand. I won’t use Iambs or Science Diet. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is a maybe, as is Rachel Ray Nutrish.
Does anyone have a dry cat food that their feline overlords like and that they do well on?
My cats have no belly issues, they will eat anything. I like Rachel’s, It makes the litter box not so gross. Don’t know why. We have just noticed it over the months.
I have tried Blue, at various times. Also Rachel. Rachel’s is much more cost effective. I suspect Blue’s is higher quality.
I would suggest visiting a pet store and checking the bags. The big chain stores will carry several options, but smaller stores do now as well, as do feed stores, and even grocery stores, vets, Target, etc.
You might also investigate a diet that includes more wet food, as an alternative to get closer to something that is “natural”. Cats aren’t naturally eating dehydrated meat and crunchy kibble. They do also get some non-meat matter either in the gut from their meals, or even just by eating grass or other flora. They are not omnivorous, but they do have more variety in their diet than you might think. I grant you, grain is not likely a large part of the natural diet.
I tried Blue and also California Naturals, but she wouldn’t eat it. Science Diet for sensitive stomachs (or something like that) and she thrived. I know you said no to Science Diet, I’m just throwing this in there. Not a lot of barfing from seven-pound hellcat and she did not get fat. The other cat would eat anything, so he ate it too.
I swear by Royal Canin for dry food. They offer a wide variety targeted to different life stages and nutritional needs, including some prescription diets your vet would need to approve.* My vets think highly of it, and my cat with megacolon gets a gastrointestinal diet dry food to help with his digestive and excretory issues. But I second the suggestion to feed wet food; it’s healthier in many ways and there’s plenty of different brands you can try that will be grainfree.
*If you order Royal Canin from Chewy.com they will take your info, contact your vet’s office, and get the approval/prescription for the food. Of course, you’d want to talk with your vet first about it.
The feline overlords get wet food twice a day from their devoted slave, so they are covered there. All of my cats have done well (and not gotten fat) on the wet food/free feed dry food combo.
I don’t care for Iambs or SD because they’ve had several recalls and nutritionally, they aren’t that great for the money. Certainly they aren’t awful, but there is better out there.
I wonder if I should try another version of the Halo. There are other flavors and formulations.
Ours eats Crave which has apparently reimagined itself as a high protein, no wheat/grain/corn/soy food. I remember when it was just another standard supermarket brand like Meow Mix. It does have the advantage of being stocked in the grocery store, Target, etc which is a plus in my book.
I feed my three Taste of the Wild kibble and the low-carb (Classic) Fancy Feast. I buy TOTW kibble from amazon- venison & salmon.
I also will not use Science Diet or Royal Canin-- just read the ingredients on those! They’ve got the vets wrapped around their corporate fingers, but the food is crap IMHO.
Grumpy, I feed mine the same Halo food. I really like the brand and the quality, but I was surprised (and pissed) they changed formulations so abruptly particularly since cats’ digestive systems don’t react well to change. I usually order it from Amazon since it’s about $12 less per bag than Petco. However, when I realized they’d changed, I ran to Petco and got a bag of the old formula. Then I bought a new bag from Amazon. I’ve been mixing it two-thirds old to one-third new and haven’t had any problems. I’ll probably go half-and-half in the next week. They seem to like it as they manage to pick out the new stuff before they eat the old.
I had a cat with skin problems and someone on the Dope recommended Walmart’s Turkey and Sweet Potato cat food. I believe it is grain-free. The cat liked it and I think it helped his skin issues. Sadly he is no longer with us but our other cat likes it and is dong well so I’ve kept up with it.
My cat is old and has issues. Currently, she’ll only eat Rachel Ray’s Nutrish or cooked human food. Not sure why she won’t eat other cat food, but she’ll let it sit all day basically untouched.
Thank you for the suggestions, everyone! My wee beasties have never had food with grains, so I don’t see a reason to add them. I’ll go ahead and look into some of the ones that you all have had luck with!
ThelmaLou – I had not even thought about including Royal Canin in my “no” list. Thanks for the reminder.
I’m leaning toward Rachel Ray’s, as I can buy it in Target and it’s not quite as expensive as some others. I will probably pick some up and see how they do.