DU cat experts: Advice on food

[Lydia Leftcoast]

I am about to be owned by a cat, or rather, my cousin has to give up one of her cats (mean landlord), and I am its new Person as of tomorrow.

I've taken care of cats before for as long as six months at a stretch, so I know the basics of kitteh care.

However, I have a question about food. My cousin has been feeding the cat IAMS dry food, which I recall hearing is not so good, but I forget why.

What is the problem with IAMS, if any, and if there is a problem, what is a good dry food that comes in small quantities so that I'm not out beaucoup bucks if His Majesty rejects it?

Thanks in advance. I know there are a lot of cat owners out there, so any advice is appreciated.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Anything made by IAMs is crap. Anything that is sold in a supermarket is not

considered high quality food.

I am going to find you the link to a post from the Pets Group that will tell you all about foods for your pets. The extra money you spend on their food is money you will not have to spend at the vet's office. It is definitely worth the investment. You will have a healthier cat and your cat will be with you for a longer time...oh, and it will look better, too.
I always advise to keep your cat an indoor cat. They live longer and stay healthier. And always have your pets spayed/neutered.


Here is that link.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. The previous owner had the cat neutered, and he's always been an

indoor prowler, so that's taken care of. :-)

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Good news....

[davsand]

2. If your cat can eat it, Science Diet is good stuff.

Chaucer (of the species Fattipuss Rex) has an issue with all food except for Purina EN--the expensive prescription stuff for cats with funky tummies.

I have fed Science Diet to all my cats with great success until THIS one came along. I think you can probably get samples from the local vet clinic to test it out on the cat. That way you don't get stuck with a ton if the cat hates it.



Laura

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Science diet has a lot of the same crap in it that IAMS does

And, they were both affected by the pet food recall. My IBS cat was on Science Diet prescription for awhile, and the ingredients were shockingly crappy, and it made him fat. I switched him to EVO, and he did even better on it, and stopped porking out from all the shit in the Science Diet.

[LeftyMom]

3. A lot of higher end pet food stores will do baggie-sized samples.

My cats are on Natural Balance. It comes in a not-that-big bag that's perfect for one cat, and a great big one that's nice for my four.

I would not feed Iams, as it's crap, imnsho.

[Kali]

4. It is the top of line grocery store stuff.

It isn't bad, but it isn't great either. If you can move up a grade or two it would probably be better. I would go ahead and stick with the Iams until kitty is adjusted to the move.

I have been feeding Wellness for a month or so and Mamakitty is doing well.

There was some kind of protest of Iams because of an association with a vet that may have been conducting unethical experiments.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. My horde gets Wellness or Solid Gold Indigo Moon.

There is a nice little independent pet supply store on the corner of Bryant and 36th, Calhoun Pet Supply, that carries a lot of holistic/natural pet foods. That's where I usually shop for my owners' goodies.

I don't need to remind you about the photo requirement, do I?

Welcome to the ranks of cat slaves.

[SoxFan]

6. Just grill them fresh swordfish and be done with it

[Kajsa]

9. LOL!

that's about right!

Damn, your kitteh(s) have it good.

:D :hi:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

10. We feed the one cat Innova dry

She's super picky and she loves it. It comes in normal size bags, and isn't too much more expensive than IAMS.

The other cat has IBS. He eats EVO canned (same company as Innova, but higher protein). He'll eat anything, but it's one of the few foods that doesn't make him sick.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Thanks everyone!

The links and advice are great. We'll see about getting the little guy transitioned to grain-free wet food.

Reading the thread in the Pets Group, I was reminded that my grandparents' dogs and the dog we had while I was growing up were fed almost entirely on table scraps--usually meat scraps with veggies and maybe an egg. The dogs all lived to be at least 12, and the one we had when I was a kid lived to be 17.

[Robeson]

13. If I were you, I'd PM Lorien. She's done tons of research on this topic...

...and has some great advice. I bug her all the time when I have a pet food issue.