Adopting a cat--food recommendations?

[Butterball]

Hi all, DF and I have had our application approved and we are adopting a cat. I would prefer an older shelter cat but DF is leaning towards a younger cat. The decision may ultimately be up to him since the cat will live with him in his apartment. We will visit the shelter again in May and select our cat then.

We would ask a vet but we will not be seeing the vet until May when we bring in the cat. So we're keeping busy by getting everything together like scratching posts, toys, and litter supplies.
However, I would like some feedback on what food is best for cats.
I know we have to keep feeding the cat whatever the shelter is currently feeding it and then gradually introduce a different brand.
I also know that there are different foods available depending on the age of the cat.

So, what do you feed your cats/kittens? And do you recommend it?
Thank you.

 

[FredinFL]

Fancy Feast, 15 years this year, he's starting to fail a little bit. But Fancy Feast gave us 15 awesomely sick free years!

 

[Butterball]

Fancy Feast, 15 years this year, he's starting to fail a little bit. But Fancy Feast gave us 15 awesomely sick free years!

Thanks. I recall serving Fancy Feast to the family cat, he passed away 8 years ago and I haven't had a cat since then.

DF is just really worried about feeding the cat crappy food and wants to make sure he/she gets the best of the best. It'll be one spoiled kitty.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Science Diet. The nice thing is if your kitty has issues as age creeps up, Science Diet has all the specialized options, so it isn't as much of a switch. Plus, it's just a healthy diet. Our kitties lived to 15 and almost 18 respectively, and we just started over with 2 kittens.

Maria

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Science Diet. Almost everything else out there is complete garbage.

 

[Butterball]

Science Diet. The nice thing is if your kitty has issues as age creeps up, Science Diet has all the specialized options, so it isn't as much of a switch. Plus, it's just a healthy diet. Our kitties lived to 15 and almost 18 respectively, and we just started over with 2 kittens.

Maria

Science Diet. Almost everything else out there is complete garbage.

Thank you both.
BTW, Worfiedoodles, I celebrated my birthday in Boston this past Sunday. I totally fell in love with that city!

 

[FredinFL]

Seriously, they've done studies and Fancy Feast isn't the crap food everyone thinks. And Science Diet is full of corn and "meals" (as per dry food) wet is more expensive, but really, ick, my cat won't eat it. Since he's only got so much time left, i'm continuing to feed him what he loves. Most cats with Kidney Disease die from starvation, they just don't eat. I'll be darned if I'm gonna try to force feedhim that C/D science stuff. He'd starve first.

Iams, Science, Eukanuba, all have corn and meal in their dry, no idea what they have in wet, but I bet they ain't got no cheese or spinach, like Fancy Feast does. lol

You want to go best of the best, go something like "Blue Buffalo". No corn, no meal, meat is the first ingredient. They have dry and wet. Also "Soulistic" is a good solid food. The main thing is to have enough ash and magnesium for the cat. After that, whatever your cat likes. Because every cat has his favorite stuff.

 

[Butterball]

Seriously, they've done studies and Fancy Feast isn't the crap food everyone thinks. And Science Diet is full of corn and "meals" (as per dry food) wet is more expensive, but really, ick, my cat won't eat it. Since he's only got so much time left, i'm continuing to feed him what he loves. Most cats with Kidney Disease die from starvation, they just don't eat. I'll be darned if I'm gonna try to force feedhim that C/D science stuff. He'd starve first.

Iams, Science, Eukanuba, all have corn and meal in their dry, no idea what they have in wet, but I bet they ain't got no cheese or spinach, like Fancy Feast does. lol

You want to go best of the best, go something like "Blue Buffalo". No corn, no meal, meat is the first ingredient. They have dry and wet. Also "Soulistic" is a good solid food. The main thing is to have enough ash and magnesium for the cat. After that, whatever your cat likes. Because every cat has his favorite stuff.

I'm sorry I just re-read my response to you and it looks like I blamed Fancy Feast for the death of my previous cat!
What I meant to say is that Fancy Feast was the staple wet food for my old cat. My cat passed away from old age, not death by Fancy Feast.

Thank you again.
We really want high protetin wet food with no by products or grain but there's so many brands...I appreciate the feedback here.

 

[tvguy]

Seriously, they've done studies and Fancy Feast isn't the crap food everyone thinks. And Science Diet is full of corn and "meals" (as per dry food) wet is more expensive, but really, ick, my cat won't eat it. Since he's only got so much time left, i'm continuing to feed him what he loves. Most cats with Kidney Disease die from starvation, they just don't eat. I'll be darned if I'm gonna try to force feedhim that C/D science stuff. He'd starve first.

Iams, Science, Eukanuba, all have corn and meal in their dry, no idea what they have in wet, but I bet they ain't got no cheese or spinach, like Fancy Feast does. lol

You want to go best of the best, go something like "Blue Buffalo". No corn, no meal, meat is the first ingredient. They have dry and wet. Also "Soulistic" is a good solid food. The main thing is to have enough ash and magnesium for the cat. After that, whatever your cat likes. Because every cat has his favorite stuff.

We just went through a tramatic round of what apparently was a food allergy with our cat. We ended up switching to Purina ProPlan, and that finally seems to have solved the issue. We had good luck with the Fancy Feast too, but good lord, I thought the vet was going to have a stroke. It certainly doesn't have a good reputation with vets, deserved for not.

 

[FredinFL]

Oh, I hear ya with the vets. Funny how most of them sell expensive foods like Sciene Hill, isn't it?

A vet I really liked told me once that the most important two things in a dog or cat food were:

1. Meat (not meal or by product) is the first ingredient.

2. No corn. It makes the animals fat. It's not supposed to be a "food grain". Barley, rice, much much better.

No worries, I didn't think you blamed the FF, I know how the vets cringe with it tho. That's why I mentioned the study. A girl who runs a blog about cats with kidney disease mentioned the study on her board. Made me feel better....it's kinda considered "kitty crack" cause Fancy Feasters just won't go back to other cat food suposedly...lol.

 

[scrapquitler]

My cats all eat Wellness Brand (from Petco) except for one. He eats a Science Diet Prescription food because he has urinary tract issues.

 

[ilovejack02]

My cats eat Wellness, switched last year from Purina .. Oh lordy can I tell you how much better the cat box smells WOOOHOOO lol. Very little poop now and what they do it has very little order. THANK YOU WELLNESS !!! lol

I order from Amazon, by the case for the wet, cheapest I have found.

 

[Kae]

My cat cat is almost 19 she ate all differents food. What ever I had a coupon for or that was on sale. Now she eats Halo because it is the smallest kibble I can find. And a full can of wet food she likes the basic wet food 9lives.

kae

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

we feed our cat By Nature wet food. She LOVES the turkey-chicken one. I will not lie, she'd prefer dry food, but because of us feeding her junk cat food for so long, she is now diabetic and cannot have any carbohydrates at all. We found out too late that cats are carnivores. They do not need fruit, vegetables, or grains. They do much better without them.

If you go the dry food route, I'd reccomend the "nicer" ones like blue buffalo or by nature. They have types that are grain free and high protein. If you go the wet food route, there are many high-quality yummy ones that aren't too expensive.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

It is funny how cats have different tastes just like humans! We were giving our cats all dry food until one of them got sick and needed to take canned food for pills. They also both got quite fat and the vet said that feeding them wet food would help them lose weight because it is more filling. Kitty loved the Iams "mush" in a can. Jack was OBSESSED with Fancy Feast "florentine" and "shredded fare" flavors because it had leafy greens in it and he loved that! They have both since passed but they were both otherwise healthier once I switched to wet. Good luck!

 

[Cinderella94]

We did Science Diet for the first couple years that we had ours because one had digestive issues. Then they stopped liking it though so we switched to Fancy Feast. They love it.

 

[twinboysmom]

We just recently switched all of our pets (3 dogs and 3 cats) to taste of the wild. Our kitties litter box has vastly improved. I would recommend a grain free formula such as taste of the wild, blue buffalo, or wellness to name a few. Yes, they cost more but they are so worth it. Btw, I don't think they're any more expensive than science diet which is full of corn and other fillers.

 

[BGK]

I'll say up front, I'm very opinionated about what I feed my cats. I base my opinions on the best facts I can get. I belong to a Siamese cat web forum (I have two Siamese mixes), and one of the members works in a food science lab and has analyzed a dizzying array of major and minor brands.

The bad news is that most of them are garbage, or near it. Non-prescription Science Diet is much more marketing than actual quality. The prescription foods are marginally better. Royal Canin is decent. The remaining supermarket brands are all pretty harrowing.

I used Innova Evo, both canned and dry, for nearly eight years with outstanding results. Evo is the grain-free product line. I insist on this because cats are obligate carnivores, and grain and other plant matter is of no nutritional value to them. My vet, whom everyone in town pretty much thinks is second only to St. Francis in their admiration, strongly agrees. My cats have been in excellent health, are in good shape, and have no digestive issues and infrequent hairballs. My only real concern was that Evo was pretty high in protein, which some vets suggest can, long-term, cause kidney problems in cats. Last May, Proctor and Gamble bought Natura Pet, parent of Innova, California Natural, et cetera. I don't think that bodes well for the future of the brand.

As of two months ago, I switched to "Now Fresh" from Petcurean. It's high-quality, grain free, and has a better protein percentage than Evo. My cats all really like both the dry and canned. It's gotten good reviews. My lab "source" is going to be analyzing it soon, but based on his initial inspection, he believes he'll get good results.

I think grain free, U.S. or Canadian made, with meat as the primary ingredient are the most important criteria. Making an effort to give them good food pays dividends later.

 

[hopemax]

Our kitty gets Wellness CORE dry food in the morning, and a can of Fancy Feast in the evening. He is really finicky about his wet food, and the Fancy Feast with Gravy is the only stuff that he eats. I want him to get some wet food, to make sure he gets enough liquid. The classic pate style, he licks into a giant mound, so that stuff is definitely out.

 

[FredinFL]

Hopemax, I put 2-3 tsp. of water into my kitty's food and mix it up to give him extra moisture.