What Should You Feed Your Cat?
In the wake of the Menu Foods Recall, cat parents have been very concerned about what to feed their cats. Considering that Menu Foods is the largest contract manufacturer of wet foods in the US, many cat parents have abandoned wet foods altogether. A tip from a well-respected blogger alerted us to this page written by a vet, who clearly outlines a case for the continued feeding of quality and safe wet food.
[This page] explains why cats have a better chance at optimal health if they are fed a quality canned food diet instead of dry kibble.
An increasing number of American Veterinary Medical Association members, including board-certified veterinary nutritionists, are now strongly recommending the feeding of canned food instead of dry kibble.
This is a very well thought out and thorough case for using wet food. Primarily for the addition of water through the cat’s diet (hence our picture) and its multiple life-saving benefits.
The outline is after the jump. (Thanks, SusanUnPC!)
The three key negative issues associated with dry food are:
- type of protein - too high in plant-based versus animal-based proteins
- carbohydrate load is too high
- water content is too low
Outline
- The importance of animal proteins, versus plant proteins
- Problems with carbohydrates in dry cat foods
- Cats need water with their food
- Reading a pet food ingredient label
- Common medical problems associated with dry food
- Tips for Transitioning - Getting dry food addicts to eat canned food
- Home prepared and commercial raw meat diets
- What I feed my cats
- Some final thoughts
A printed version is available here.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Thanks, Ben. Linked back to you too:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/m.....nday_.html
I remember years and years ago, when veterinians I took my pets to recommended dry food because it helped clean teeth. I started feeding my cats, and dog, more and more dry food, and found it more convenient — i.e., not as many dishes to wash. If only I’d had this article back then :(
Luckily, our local pet food store (and it’s one that doesn’t sell pets, thank goodness) has put up special stickers by the wet food brands that have no grains. So, after reading this article, I bought Innova, Wellness, AvoDerm and my cats are eating all of them! Whew.
March 26th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Great article. I feed my cats a combined wet and dry food diet (the dry is Innova Evo which is very high protein). Because they get some dry, I intentionally buy wet food with little to no grains. So, several varieties of Merrick, Solid Gold’s tuna formula (mmmm tuna), Wellness, Natural Balance, certain varieites of Precise. None of these are on the recall list.
My older cat can’t digest poultry in wet food, so I have to be VERY selective about what I buy them (they share bowls).
March 26th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Dr. Lisa’s site (www.catinfo.org) is fantastic. After reading her (and other) information, I switched all my cats to an all-wet diet (canned and raw). I have worked with seven diabetics, and five have lost the need for insulin injections on the all-wet diet. My IBD cats are all better off - one who was severely anemic, nearly euthanized for no “quality of life” is now healthy and happy without the dry food that was making him sick. My 19 year old with CRF has stable kidney values. My obese cat, who wouldn’t lose weight on 1/8 cup of Lite dry food twice daily and could barely stand up, has the pounds melting off - to date, he’s lost 8 pounds (since 2004).
After seeing the many problems caused or exacerbated by dry kibble (FLUTD, IBD, CRF, diabetes, obesity, dermatitis…) I will never again feed any of my cats any dry kibble foods.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Be forewarned that Innova ~ and some other brands you mention ~ are involved with Menu Foods. There are good wet foods that are not.
March 29th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
FELINE:
http://holisticat.com Great resource. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. LARGE, WELL INFORMED GROUP (SOME PROFESSIONALS) RESPONDS VERY QUICKLY TO QUESTIONS. Many advocate raw feeding but many members use combination or other forms. SEARCH THEIR ARTICLES FOR GOOD INFO. http://www.holisticat.com/archive.htm Find out what has worked for others who want better health for their companion animals. VERY USEFUL IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT TEST RESULTS OR DIAGNOSES. Get on their list and post your questions. I’ve been largely impressed with the great background many of their dedicated members bring to the site.
March 29th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
another good writeup
Animal Protection Institute: SELECTING A COMMERCIAL PETFOOD: http://www.api4animals.org/689.htm
March 29th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Healing Our World: EXPOSE
Food Even a Dog Shouldn’t Eat: http://drjackie.freeservers.co.....a_dog.html
March 29th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Something that I have not seen mentioned is: any cat with residual kidney damage or immune issues resulting from exposure to this toxin(s), whether from wet or dry food, is going to have to watch CRF issues (chronic renal failure) and other immune-related problems/diseases in cats VERY CAREFULLY FROM NOW ON for who knows how long. This is NOT JUST AN ISSUE UNTIL YOU FIND ANOTHER FOOD!! Start getting info now so you are not left without the facts. If your vet wasn’t omniscient enough to warn you about the dangers of the petfood industry, don’t expect him/her/them to google into the future effects on your pet either!! This is up to you if you want to protect your pets health.
Feline health links: http://www.mindspring.com/~kerspin/
For pets with immune systems compromised by the effects of this toxin(s) (see VIN for info on that) please be aware that vaccinations should NOT be given to pets that are already ill.
It’s not only the petfood industry that panders to vets for profit - big pharmaceuticals also do this. For a look at what one forward looking DVM with PHD in immunology has to say about this see: http://www.drpitcairn.com/talk.....cines.html
March 30th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
feed tuna,salmon,and shrimp,only
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
TUNA SHOULD NOT BE FED TO CATS.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 pm
CATS WITH KIDNEY DISEASE SHOULD NOT BE FED FISH.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
what do i feed my two SENIOR BOYS that have ALREADY been living with COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS for years??? :(
history, below.
please feel welcome to write to me at quietstillness@animail.net if you have any suggestions or experience in managing this type of delicate situation.
“““““““`
hello. thank you to all of you doing some great research to uncover the TRUTH. i am writing because i am overwhelmed and need feedback. i have two 15 y.o cats, one, quito, with kidney, thyroid, heart and liver disease. the other, taño, just dx with kidney value of 36. 30 being the max for ‘normal.’
anyway, been feeding sciene diet k/d mixed with chkn soup for cat lover’s soul, both dry… wet is an inconsistent sell to my boys… guess that’s good now.
i bought wellness dry yesterday but updates tell me that their company is connected to menu foods.
i also bought some raw cat food but so far, i have no takers…
i am looking for absolutely no menu foods, no wheat gluten, no wheat, and ideally no corn?, connected food…. for my ailing, senior babies.
quito has been thriving mainly due to adding holistic meds a few years ago. he still takes western meds. gets sub-q fluids. recent labs show progress in kidney disease.
vet wants me to push the k/d. i do not want to do that because of hill’s recent recall of their m/d prescription dry.
apart from loving them more than i can express, i will not lose my boys to this human-ego-greed crap… especially, after my boys and i have all worked incredibly hard for many years to manage these diseases and still be doing as well as they are…
what in the world, literally, do i feed my boys?? i will only accept human-grade (for what that’s worth at this point).
the research i’ve done has me down to the following brands: evanger’s, stella and chewy’s, kumpi, honest kitchen… none of which have anything to address kidney or heart disease…
i’ve learned that i need to find something with low phosphorous content. unfortunately, that element isn’t listed on the bag’s/can’s nutrient ratio list.
i read that if i can somehow get them to eat raw, the improvement in digestion can make a huge difference in health improvement.
between, 1. the diseases, 2. their finicky appetites, 3. their advanced age, 4. food-switching process, and now 5. this insanity… i am very scared. i know about holisticat.com. our problem lies in trying to balance the 5 issues. i can’t see risking them not eating for a couple of days to create enough hunger for them to eat…
so in the meantime, my best plan seems to be: to start with the best of the best of those brands that i mentioned above, despite that none are for kidney disease; keep working on the raw-food-enticement project :) ; and send recent labs to my holistic vet, hoping there might be another supplement to add (to quito’s current regiment of 4 daily western meds and 4 daily homeopathic/holistic meds, plus sub-qs!)
thanks everyone, for listening.
maria
April 4th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I sympathize. After the recall food made my cats sick , I threw away the IAMS, and Nutro Max and bought food I thought was not connected with the recall company, Wellness, Del Monte and Wysong.
Then I learned that they all used Menu for some products. See
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/#comment-11294
Meanwhile my cats were refusing Wysong dry and Wellness wet just like they had rejected the recalled IAMs. The little one threw up meow mix 8 times in a row before I pulled it. Three sick cats and no food.
I bought a $30 cusinart min prep food processor. Cooked a steak bloody rare. Kitchen scissors cut the steak into half inch cubes and 10 seconds pulverized it in the processor. My cats ate it, including the bloody juice, and slept all night without puking
These cats have been so sick.The vomit is unlike hairball with a huge volume of water. No animal can continue like that. For now I will make them meat cooked on the outside to kill germs. I have to get supplements
The last thing I wanted to do was this but the pet food bakers have been so dishonest I cannot trust them with my cats already poisoned
Dr Goodpet has some recipes
http://www.goodpet.com/library/recipes.html
Dr Goodpet reccommends fish oil. I already give my cats emu oil which is similar and has additional quality of being anti inflammatory. I cut open a capsule and squirt it into their mouths.
Isn’t this a royal pain? I despise the food industry for their betrayals. I couldn’t finish a piece of bread yesterday thinking about the gluten in it.
April 4th, 2007 at 10:36 am
see itcho article about Royal Canin lawsuit
http://www.itchmo.com/read/roy.....t_20070402
April 5th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
please dont kill my pets my uncles cat is sick and it might be from the recalls but we dont know yet so til we know i would feed your pets human food!
April 5th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
please dont kill my pets my uncles cat is sick :( and it might be from the recalls but we dont know yet so til we know i would feed your pets human food!
April 6th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
My 10yr cat got very ill on strictly dry food(Special Kitty). His chest cavity has been drained and is still labouring to breath. He has been given vitamin boosts and seems content but is still very lathargic and labours to breath. Does anyone have any suggestions on what should be done? We have switched to canned human food for now
April 7th, 2007 at 9:32 am
i have just been making myself ill over what to feed my best friends. done the calling a few vet offices thing only to never get told the same brand of food from office to office ……. so i went to a dog training (nationally recognized), grooming, pet supply seller and cat and dog boarding facility. i had one of the owners, who is a cat lover and shares her home with a few cats talk with me about safe foods. here is what she suggested i use (she also gave me samples of all so i could she what my girls would like)
1.Felidae (cat & kitten formula) made by Canidae in USA www.canidae.com
2.California Natural made by Natura Pet Products in USA www.naturapet.com
3.Innova also made by Natura Pet Products
4.Precise made by Precise pet Products in US www.precisepet.com
right now 4/7/07 my girls are doing a taste test to see which one we will change to, we have cut out ready made cat treats for a few small pieces of boiled white chicken
i hope this might help someone
April 7th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I switched my dogs & cat over to a holistic pet food 8 months ago from foods that are now on the list. Thank god. My pets love this food. I was so impressed with the food, and the company I became a distributor.
Check out this food. None of the food or treats are on the recall list
www.hpnpetfood.com
April 7th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I too hunted around to find a dry food that wasn’t connected to Menu foods. I bought Wellness for our cat and dog and right after opening it and giving it to them I searched to find more info on the internet about them and found that they were also connected to Menu :(. So then I took it away from them and searched the internet to check out Innova and found that it was also connected to Menu. I was beginning to think that all pet foods were connected to Menu….. but then I found Solid Gold, it is not connected to Menu foods. So that is what the cat and dog are both eating now. From reading what all of you have said though… I am wondering if I should get the cat and dog wet food now, maybe Solid Gold has wet food…..
April 8th, 2007 at 12:12 am
I see that Pet Essentials is a dog food on the recall list. What store sells that brand? I bought my cat some Merrick cat food today from a store called Pet Essentials should I be concerned?
April 8th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Susannah —
According to the list at Howl911.com http://www.howl911.com/petfoodrecall_list.htm
the “Pet Essentials” on the list is the Target store brand of food. It looks completely unrelated to your store — I think it’s just an obvious name (I know three unrelated “pet connections”, for example).
Merrickpetcare.com says that they’re unaffected by the recall. At this point, I’d think that all the tainted wheat gluten should have been identified, but you might want to be extra-certain and not feed any foods containing wheat gluten.
April 9th, 2007 at 8:34 am
PLEASE do NOT assume that all tainted wheat gluten has been identified. Both my two-and-a-half year-old indoor cats are currently in the hospital getting IV fluid treatments for kidney damage from canned food that was NOT ON THE LIST (the brand is Nutro - cease and desist ALL Nutro products IMMEDIATELY). Yes, check for wheat gluten in the ingredient lists and DO NOT FEED if the product contains it. Also strongly recommend avoiding ALL products from any brand that is on the list whether or not the specific product item is included.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
My 16 yr old cat in early stages of CRF reluctantly been eating Purina NF kibble since last Oct; vet just said he should now eat Science Diet kibble s/d as she thinks he may have kidney stones (can’t figure out why he still has blood in urine after being on dosage of clavamox). He’s refusing to eat any NF or s/d since I got the new bags & he’s starving, only thing he’ll eat is his old favorite, Science Diet sr hairball kibble. He’s never liked wet food; however, i’ve gotten him to eat a little canned eukanuba max calorie. I just bought a bag of Wysong Uretic kibble hoping he’ll eat it. I’m at a loss as to what to feed him but from what i’ve read, he needs a more nutritious wet diet. He threw up on Nat’l Balance & timberwolf (?) & won’t eat innova anymore. I’ve ordered some grizzly salmon oil, vitamins & probiotics to put on whatever food I end up with but we need to feed the poor guy. Help!
April 12th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
My mom’s cats will eat nothing but canned Friskies (likes the gravy). It contains wheat gluten. She doesnt want to feed but cat’s MUST eat as not eating could cause additional problems. Does anyone out there have a recipe for making cat food with gravy?????
April 12th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
kathleen: i have two senior cats with crf. the most important thing that i’ve learned so far is that cats with crf must eat. so eating is a priority over what they eat. still i’d avoid menu foods and wheat gluten completely. my boys love science diet k/d and i’m trying to switch them to a high quality wet food. ha! they’re 15 y.o. and stuuuuubbbborrrrnnnn! i’ve also learned that our cats need certain balances in minerals, etc. e.g., phosphorus must be low; protein range not as critical. this website is FULL of info for moms and dads of cats with any kidney problems! http://www.felinecrf.org
i also posted info regarding the cat foods (includes some dog foods) that i am considering for my cats with crf. it includes all the nutritional analysis of the foods. i did this research because i have not found any cat food for crf cats that is wholesome, without by-products, grains, etc… AND with the correct balance that cats with crf need. ultimately, it doesn’t have to be a prescription food but rather the correct balance. this site has more details: http://www.felinecrf.org/nutri.....ements.htm
martin: try adding chicken broth to the wet food. http://www.catinfo.org/ has recipes. this site is pro-wet food and pro-animal protein for cats. don’t know if they include ‘gravy’ but it’s a start… has a lot of other great links regarding cat food, reading labels, tips for switching from dry to wet food, etc.
good luck everyone!
btw, does everyone here know about the march going on april 28 in response to the pet food contamination? i live in los angeles and noone here has organized anything yet… maybe i will… check out: ttp://pnv2.com
April 12th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
oops. here is the post i made with the nutritonal analysis: http://64.79.216.38/~itchmo/fo.....board=52.0
April 13th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
martin: cook some chicken & debone it. teh broth will “gel” as it cools.
I added some cooked rice & also cooked mashed carrots & green bean. If they werent mashed, they picked them out & threw them on the floor :0
April 14th, 2007 at 6:17 am
[…] Recall Links: Recalled Food List | What to feed my pets: Cat or Dog | Sign up for Itchmo’s Pet Safety […]
April 17th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Kathy, you mention Wellness dry, ect. but then found out they were connected to Menu. They ARE NOT conntected to Menu because Menu DOES NOT manufacture any DRY foods.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I just read in a post above that you should NOT feed fish to a cat with kidney disfunction. The message was from 4lgdfriend. It concerns me a lot!! My Barkley Peeperton, 16 years old, was just diagnosed with a kidney disfunction. I have him eating ONLY canned food, Fancy Feast, types without wheat gluton. Tender Beef, Gourmet Chicken, cod,sole, shrimp, and savory salmon. That is it. I stopped feeding him the Hills RD, against the vets orders, which he was getting because he is obese, I saw it was filled with corn, and thought that had been bad advice from her.
I was told to hydrate him once a week, 150 ml, and the 2nd time it took him THREE days to get rid of the water pouch. It scared me and I don’t want to do it again tomorrow. I don’t think he was dehydrated and needed it. She said I caught him early, and so I hope the diagnosis may have been an error on her part.
HOWEVER, regarding the fish, HE LOVES HIS FISH Fancy Feast. He gets NO dry food now. Does anyone know if it is accurate that I must not give any fish to him? Does anyone else know about this.
All my other cats are eating Innova’s EVO since the scare, it uses NO GRAIN and is only 7% carb. I am giving EVO and Fancy Feast with no wheat gluton to my 16 year old diabetic cat, and he is doing very well. His coat has improved a lot and his glucose was down to 58 (at the bottom of the curve) from 450 within a few weeks, and I have reduced his insulin too. Evo uses Menu for canned, but NOT for dry. Amazing how many companies use Menu. Thank you all for the Petfoodlist!!! It is invaluable.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:03 am
To B. Weimann:
I have been reading EVO is not the best dry food for a cat with kidney problems because it has too much phosphorus. Innova Lite dry food, also made by Natura may be a better choice for your 16 yo diabetic, as it has low phosphorus and magnesium and still has high quality protein. It may be safer for those diabetic kidneys. My cat is eating the Innova Senior now because I don’t trust Nutro dry food anymore. She is a very fussy girl, and she LOVES the Innova. Switched with no problems whatsoever. Hill’s food is crap, because cats are not vegetarians and they can’t digest beaks and feathers, and I applaud you for going against your vet’s advice to feed Hill’s, but keep doing research and be vigilant about what you are feeding. I hope your kitties all do well.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Heather, Innova Lite dry food is a VERY POOR CHOICE for a diabetic cat!
All cats, but especially diabetics, need to limit carbohydrates! In fact, many diabetic cats when fed a low-carbohydrate canned or raw diet will no longer need ANY insulin.
I have personally worked with seven diabetic cats - and five no longer needed insulin when fed low-carb canned foods such as 9-Lives ground dinners, Whiskas savory ground pates, and Fancy Feast.
For more information visit:
felineoutreach.org
yourdiabeticcat.com (Dr. Hodgkins’ site)
felinediabetes.com
catinfo.org
catnutrition.org
April 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I should add - for a cat with renal issues, you should be feeding WET food only!
Moisture is imperative for proper kidney health - that’s why in end-stage CRF many give sub-q fluids at home!
Again, visit:
felineoutreach.org
catinfo.org
April 18th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Feeding a cat with renal insufficiency dry food and giving subq fluids is an oxymoron. You’re giving fluids to hydrate your cat but by feeding your cat dry food, you’re contributing to your cats dehydration. Wet food provides the moisture your cat needs for good kidney health.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I must have goton lucky becasue I use to feed dry Iams until I seen a horifying website about the company I switched over to chicken soup then Premium edge dry as it has more taurine for them and it has had no problems as of yet and I hope it never does. my cats do well on it and it agrees with them well. I do not feed wet at all most my cats don’t like it anyway. If I did however I would use Chicken soup or innova wet cat food.
I see no problems with an all dry diet providing they have cool fresh water every day and changed once daily. I think kidney problems and problems from a dry diet is more the quality of food and the water source like if you have to much calcium water that would contribute to urinary crystals.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
They sell diabetic cat food at the vets office and I think there is one for renal insufficiency I agree once a problem like this starts this cat should have wet food at least twice a day and good water not chorinated nor well water but spring water.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
To B. Weimann: Lynette is right about the Innova Lite having lots of carbs. I wasn’t trying to tell you what to feed, but suggesting about the phosphorous. You also didn’t say if the Evo you were feeding was wet or dry. Just ignore me.
To Lynette: You are advocating pet food that contains euthanized dogs and cats.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Read this if you want to know what the “meat” and “meat by-products” in your pet food are:
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/a.....food1.html
April 18th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html
Read this one too.
April 18th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
[…] to feed my pets: Cat or […]
April 19th, 2007 at 11:05 am
OMG :-O This is so confusing! I have been feeding the Siamese sisters Lilith 10 yo and Nimue 8yo (both healthy, thank God) exclusively Iams dry life long with occasional wet food as a treat, (per vet) and thought I was OK. They LOVE the wet, so they would likely welcome the switch. But to what?? (I’m not about to put rabbits and chickens through the meatgrinder as suggested on one of the links, but I’ll go the extra mile for quality canned…)
April 19th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
For all that have now realized that commercial pet food is nothing but a poor diet for your pets, there is a solution. Many of you have tried the raw food diet but did you have an expert help you prepare these diets with the proper nutrients. You just can’t throw raw meat to your pets and expect them to eat it. There is some preparation involved to feed your pets a proper and healthy raw food diet.
My cats have been on a raw food diet, Coconut and Matrix, since their inception to this world. With the proper nutrients your animals will live a long healthy life like mine. Celeste Yarnall Ph.D. of Celestial Pets celestialpets.com has a proven technology and ten (10) generations of naturally raised cats on her raw food diet. My cats are so healthy that my vet is amazed.
I have nothing to fear from the commercial pet food industry. I make all my own food and my cats thank me for it. Whether you consider changing your pets diet or not, I wish you the best of luck in finding some solution to this continuing problem with the commercial pet food industry. Personally, I do not trust ANY money-making corporation to tell me what’s good for me and my animals. You have to do the research yourself and Celestial Pets has done most of it personally for you already.
Thank you for your interest,
Kevin.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
“I see no problems with an all dry diet providing they have cool fresh water every day and changed once daily. I think kidney problems and problems from a dry diet is more the quality of food and the water source like if you have to much calcium water that would contribute to urinary crystals.”
Research and studies show this not to be true. Studies show cats fed only dry food will drink more water, but not ENOUGH more water to compensate for the lack of water in their food. Cats fed only wet food have more dilute urine (meaning there is more water in their urine), are better hydrated and have no recurrence of urinary crystals.
http://www.felineoutreach.org/.....t=Cystitis
As for by-products, there are just as likely to be by-products in dry food as in canned food. There are many great by-product free canned foods, such as Organics by Nature. Dislike of byproducts is no reason not to feed canned food.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
here’s a list of cat foods, prepared by Dr. Pierson (prepared prior to the recall):
http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm
April 19th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
A healthy cat fed high quality food, be it wet, dry, raw is less likely get obese, diabetic, have dental problems, or develop renal failure. Some cats, like people, may be predisposed to diseases. Geriatric kitty needs are another story. Food poisoning is another story also. We all have to do more research to provide for the special needs our pets have, whatever the cause was. What we can’t prevent, we need to treat as best we can, and need to remember the vet is not going to know everything. Awareness and research are the best ways we can help our pets live happy lives, with or without medical problems.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
To Lynette:
You are providing great information to people. Please keep doing it. I was not objecting to wet food, just the ones you listed. I have always fed my cats both wet and dry food, and they have not devoloped renal failure even at advanced age. I have been guilty of feeding my cats foods that I now strongly object to without any ill effects on my cats. Food that I did not object to and trusted made my cat sick (luckily without permanent damage). If the only way to keep a cat as healthy as possible is to feed her something I object to, I think it is OK to do that. If my cat refused to give up one specific food, I would feed it to her. Keep up the good work with diabetic cats.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:28 am
My best friend of nearly 23 years, is Celeste Yarnall, Ph.D., and we’ve successfully raised 10 generations of our own animals over the last 15+ years on our raw feeding regimen. If you want to know how to successfully achieve the same results, check out our website, www.celestialpets, and/or write to us. We can help. The ingredients we feed are graded for human consumption. Heck, I’ve even eaten my cats’ food…I baked my portion, and I fed their’s raw. Would your vets or commercial pet food reps ever conceive of or consider such a thing? No way! Why not? Because they know the junk they’re peddling is disgusting (at best). You need to take control of what you feed your pets, and the only way you can do that is by making it yourself and not relying on the garbage being “pushed” by the commercial pet food industry. Even if they used the most wonderful, natural ingredients possible, after it’s been cooked, processed, bagged and canned, there is no real nutritional value left! The truth is, they don’t. They use the cheapest quality ingredients possible and load their products with fillers and other nastiness that has no business being fed to our fur babies! How else can they make a profit? … all at the expense of your pets’ health and well-being. And I don’t care who tells you otherwise (your vet, the commercials, the company reps, the pet store employees, etc.), dry “food” (and I’m being kind with that term), is the WORST thing you can feed a cat or dog! ! If you’d like to know more, check out our site. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. This recall disaster is only going to get worse. Don’t allow any more pets to suffer.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:24 am
And I had an email from a well known blogger here that said their nutritionist says dry food is best - less chance of crystals. WHAT?? I think this person needs a new nutritionist. All the research I’ve read indicates canned is best - and exactly why my cats are transitioning slowly from dry to canned (50/50 now)
April 20th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I have 5 cats of various ages - we find strays and keep the ones they would put to sleep because they have defects. I feed them wet in the
morning and keep dry out all day for noshing. I stopped feeding them
the Nutro I was giving them and now have them on Core Wellness dry
which is grain free and 2 different brands of wet such as Merrick and Felidae and they seem to love them. I also bought them Natures Variety
Raw Instinct which is grain free and high protein. I guess my cats
are use to different foods ( I do feed them table food along with my
dog) so they don’t have a problem getting different brands.