My vet (whom I trust) keeps telling me that I should feed my cats high-line cat foods like Iams. Well, I trust him up to here. He’s the guy whom I would buy high-line cat foods from, but since I was a little kid our family always bought mainstream brands like Purina or Friskies and our cats had long, happy lives. Now that I’m an independent adult-type person with my own stable of cats, I feed them the mainstream brands (yes, Purina and Friskies are #s 1 and 2 in Spain as well as America) and occasional stuff from a can or chicken breasts when they get lucky.
They seem happy and healthy to me. So is the vet just trying to get me to buy expensive cat food from him when my cats don’t need it? Somehow I bet he is. Anyone out there know more than I do?
If your cats are normal, healthy and like the cheap stuff, go ahead. Nutritionally, it’s about the same. Now, the expensive stuff may be a little easier to digest, and it probably tastes better (to the cats that is) so older or fussier cats may like it better. And of course if your cat has urinary or digestive problems, your vet will probably want to give him a prescription food formulated for its problem.
Actually, the cheaper foods probably taste better to the cat, because they are higher in fats and such. The premium foods have less ash and other byproducts, which can leave your cat with a healthier digestive tract, urinary tract, etc. The cat may have a better coat as well.
That said, I’m not sure those theoretical benefits translate into very much in real life, and the difference in price is extreme. We have two cats, and for a long time we fed them exclusively Nutro premium cat food, at $40 for a 30 lb bag. A few months ago, we switched them to ‘Mainstay’, a commercial-grade bulk cat food, which looks almost identical, and has the same basic ingredients. But a 30lb bag is $10.
I’ve noticed no difference in the cats since we switched.
I fed my cats Iams for a while, I didn’t think the price was THAT much higher than store brand cat food. Previous to that the boys enjoyed Dad’s dry cat food - both of them got urinary blockages. One cat was cured by antibiotics, the other cat had to have major surgery just before Christmas, $800 worth, wiping out our Christmas money. So, avoid Dad’s. I now feed them Friskies low-ash dry food, the blue box. Make sure they have lots of water to drink, and avoid giving them tuna which is bad for the urinary system. (Our boys do get a teaspoon of canned tuna as a treat once a month.)
Well, my kitty only gets Iams, and I’ve found very real benefits from the expensive stuff. First of all, it means your kitty’s litter box won’t be such a disgusting mess. Cats getting a store brand with lots of undigestable filler will make many more trips to the cat box, and what they produce is generally looser and much smellier. My Jennie craps about once every couple days, and she produces compact ‘tootsie rolls’ with little to no odor. I’ve been around cats all my life, and I’ve found this to be generally true, not just specific to my current kitty.
Of course, if your cat is the outdoors type, you probably wouldn’t notice this benefit.
As far as the price goes, for me, one 8 lb. bag of Iams lasts about two 2 1/2 months. Try getting that type of mileage out of a store brand. Because of the nutrient and protein content, the daily portion is less than half of Friskies or Cat Chow. Jennie doesn’t seem to be lacking. She’s even got a bit of a paunch.
I used to feed my cats Iams. They loved it too much! Made them fat. I Tried feeding them less, but they’re Bengals and they don’t take no for an answer.
Iams is good, but it is also the most expensive. Other brands like Science Diet or Mother Hubbard are better than Putridgina, I mean Purina, but aren’t as expensive as Iams.
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Someone get Michelle in here. The vet tech with four cats of her own ought to have some good information.
My thoughts: from what I understand, the cheaper foods can cause various digestive/other medical problems. The siamese cats I had growing up had been eating MeowMix for about 6 years when we had to bring them in for surgery to remove the bladder and kidney stones that developed, due to the high mineral content of the food. We were advised to put them on Science Diet, and did for the remainder of both of their lives–with no further problems. (Well, no further food-related problems.)
My current cat eats Science Diet. It’s pricey, but it’s kept him healthy. Except for that damn anal gland…yuck.
i have had a cat as well and fed it canned food–it was a happy cat. my mother for many years have fed her cats from a can but has recently started to feed them that “Science Diet” cat food. they are happier. Their coats are nicer and they don’t over eat it. My cat got fat on the canned food.
I used to feed my cats the expensive stuff (same with the dog) not the Iams or the Science Diet but the stuff that’s not marketed as much.
I have found that both sets of animals prefer Waltham brands…I buy the Wiskas for the cats and the Pedigree for the dog. Oddly enough they make a more expensive brand that the 3 didn’t like as much, but devour their cheaper brands, they love it.
None of them have any problems with being overweight ('cept the dog, but he’s been chubby looking since he was a pup.) The cats seem as healthy as ever and they are 12 and 13 years old.
I actually think that the less expensive brand I feed them “smell” better than the more expensive ones. The others smell like an old box of Cheerios. I would rather eat something with an aroma than that of a cardboard box and I think my animals agree.
I don’t actually do the cooking myself, (yet) but my day will come. My sister found some information on the internet about how unhealthy and “corrupted” commercial pet food is. These web sites gave recipes for making cat food. (For instance, 1 lb. gr. turkey, 6 oz. canned tuna, 1/2 cup cooked oat bran or other grain, 1/2 cup of veggies - liquified - like collard greens or pumpkin, 1/2 cup water. Cook 1 hr at 350 degrees.) This concoction stores in freezer or fridge, and will feed a few cats for several cats. (We have six large hungry cats, so this recipe lasts about 2 to 2 1/2 days.) We suppliment with an avocado-based dry food called “Avo-cat”.
The cats started looking better right away after eating the home-cooked food. We haven’t made an exact study of it, but the price of cooking the food seems to be cheaper than buying commercial canned food, and it seems to “satisfy” the cats longer. (The kitties aren’t begging for food as much.) The cats’s coats got silkier. Their nerves are better now. The most dramatic example sister’s cat had this terrible bowel condition, was basically dying, very thin. The vets could do nothing for him, and she had spent lots of money on him. After a short amount of time, the cat improved greatly, gained weight, and the bowel problems improved. We think changing his diet saved his life.
My sister got a lot of her information about cooking cat food (and why commercial cat food is nasty) from a book called (I think) “Food to Die For”.
I’ll have to get some web links from my sister, she has far more accurate information than I do.
My mother’s one old cat, and many previous cats, have always been fed the cheap stuff. Some time back the current cat began repeatedly acting less-than-well. A friend with dogs said the high-priced stuff really does seem to make a difference so I started buying Science Diet Mature and the cat not only liked it better, but also seems to have fewer problems too. Mom still buys the cheap treats and canned food even though the treats give the cat gas something fierce; I suspect the canned stuff ain’t all that great healthwise either. I suggested trying high-end food in both cases (she can well afford it) but as of yet she ain’t done it. And Michi thought I was abusing the cat. - MC
If they are like canines, they can’t process corn, for example. The cheap foods have lots of corn. It goes in the mouth & out the butt without ever being processed. Then they have to eat & eat & eat to get all the nutrients.
More expensive foods are meat based. So the cat eats a lot less. Thus, less mess, less poop.
My three kids get Iams, but I buy it at the local pet store. My last cat (who lived till age 20!) ate Fancy Feast for the longest time. (She was my wife’s cat originally) Then I started looking at the labels, and discovered that the store brand (I shop at Edwards) had more meat in it. On the beef and liver, beef and liver were the first ingredients. Not so with the FF. Also, the ash problem is worse for the male cats, but no one should be feeding them only dry food. As for tuna fish, when I fix tuna for me, the kids get the can to lick, and whatever scraps are left in there.
My folks’ cat is about 19 years old. A little over a year ago she was very thin and acting like she was near death. She was not eating a whole lot.
The Vet suggested switching from the hard dry cat food to the softer canned type. The cat bulked right up. It seems the dry type was either too much effort for her to chew or hurt her teeth in some way.
This could play a role in the stories of the previous posters saying older cats preferred canned food.
I can only speak from personal experience. I switched my cat over from DeliCat dry mixed with Fancy Feast canned (which she gobbled up) to Iams about a year ago. Her weight has stablized, her coat is much thicker, glossier, and softer, her poop isn’t as smelly, and her behavior has improved. She eats less of the Iams, so I actually spend a little less than I used to. YMMV
My cat Dusty lived to the age of 19 on Cat Chow and Meow Mix, fed from a bulk feeder. Cats are self-regulating if the food isn’t TOO yummy. My cat Cloud got fat on Iams; too tasty. My present cat Freckles got big and healthy on Kitten Chow, and has just this week gotten old enough to switch to Cat Chow.
–AskNott
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We fed our cats Atta Cat until one day the older one started acting like he was having urinary tract trouble. So we switched to the prescription food the vet sells (can’t remember the name right off the bat). It’s expensive, but that cats seem t like it well enough.
My sister’s cat also ate Atta Cat until he developed urinary tract trouble, too. Her vet even told her that a lot of the cats he sees in with urinary tract problems were eating Atta Cat. Too bad, it was cheap and came in fun little letter shapes (C, A, & T, which also spells Atta Cat).
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