Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: Angel cake on August 25, 2008, 12:03:23 PM
-
Hi there. I was reading up about red flag ingredients in cat food, and I was horrified to find out what ingredients are actually used in cat foods.
I currently use whiskas complete dry food, as that is what Tiger was fed on, but apparently it is one f the worst culprits for red flag ingredients.
I want to change her diet, but she has issues with her motions at the moment. She will be going to the vet tomorrow.
I wanted to know some of your opinions on cat food brands, and what would you would advise for Tiger, and indeed my other two adult cats. I want to introduce wet food into her diet also, but would like to know if an all wet food diet is best, or a mixture of wet and dry. My other two have currently a mixture of dry, and wet food.
Any thoughts or advice will be most welcome
Many thanks
Hayley x :hug:
-
Goodness. I'd like to know about this too.
I'm using Hills Kitten plan and they get a mixture of wet food too: Sheba, Felix, M&S cat food and they seem to love Tesco pouches (any variety with Gravy).
This is where you tell me that Hills shouldn't be used lol
Lynds :hug:
-
I haven't looked at hills ingredients. But I will.
I haven't posted the artical, or any links, as some of it was very shocking, and I didn't want to offend or upset anyone.
If you are intersted google red flag ingredients in cat food.
Hayley x
-
I think all processed food products wether it's for animal or human consumption has muck in it we'd all rather not have. Even the so called healthy foods still need to put in additives just to preserve the shelf life of the product. Only way around it is to grow your own and breed your own free range sparrows and mice for kitties :evillaugh:
-
A lot of us on here - including me - believe in feeding a predominantly wet diet to ensure adequate fluid intake. I feed Blip two pouches a day and leave good quality dried food down for snacking.
As to brands, it can be a question of what your cats will actually eat! In general, I would aim for foods with a high meat content if possible: Natures Menu is a good one, as is Almo Nature and lots of people on here feed Hi Life (Blip wont eat it). A couple of members feed their cats raw food and I hope they spot this thread.
I am hoping to change Blip onto Orijen dried food* as she has been prescribed a high-fibre diet and also has arthritis: my point is that your cats needs will change as s/he gets older.
:Luv:
*for the dried element, that is
-
Aside from the obvious preservatives/colourants etc, big red flags to me - would be cereals, grains, sugars, potato starch, beet pulp (sugars) and on the whole, most vegetables - ruling out all dry foods (even the grain free dry foods have some form of starch and/or veggies to help form the actual biscuit) and many canned/pouch foods.
You could always make your own Hayley ;) at least if you are sourcing the ingredients yourself you'll know exactly whats going into your cats food. This site is good if you were thinking about doing that www.catinfo.org
I like to feed part raw/part grain free canned diet - biscuits are just treats in our house - a bedtime snack for the gang ;)
-
All I know is the two most popular dry foods are rubbish. They are full of grains which cats bodies aren't designed to process, then add all the artificial colourings etc and you end up with "McDonalds for cats" - a lot of other dry foods have much better ingredients - Orijen being the best as it is totally grain free. I have been trying to switch mine over to it totally but find they prefer it with some other dry they are familiar with with in - ie Royal Canin, PAH own premium (which is BOGOF at the mone so good value)
You may need to do the same with Whiskas dry - ie mix a bit of the new in to start then gradually increase the amount of good quality food until they aren't eating any of the rubbish one.
-
Whatever you choose to do, just change one part at a time ie alter her dry food to a better one and then once ok on that start on wet, if you do both you wont know which is the culprit if her stomach gets upset.
Hills is similar to james wellbeloved and PAH brand except it costs more. It also seems to make fat cats, whether its higher in fat or just the taste that makes them eat more im not sure :-:
-
I must read that ingredients section - I am really interested to know what's in them. I've only ever bought the cheap stuff like Whiskas etc when my cats were babies - I never ever liked the look of them, they look so waxy and rubbish looking.
I normally buy mine Hill's, James Wellbeloved or Pro-plan - though they are currently on Hill's prescription diet w/d as one of my cats is overweight (the other one is underweight so guess which one is eatting all the food). We go to see a nutritionist next week to try to sort it out as I'm a loss as to what to do. They've always been on light/house cat dry food. They very rarely eat wet food but every now and then I treat them to some anyway.
-
My Kylie was on Hills light for years and just gained weight on it.
-
We go to see a nutritionist next week to try to sort it out
I will be interested to see their recommendations. Will you let us know how you get on please ?
Hayley x
-
I favour wet food over dry food for cats as I think the moisture in wet food is essential, and I'm not keen on the ingredients in dry food - not exactly a natural diet for a carnivore and so easy to over feed. One of my cats eats wet food only and the other eats some wet and some dry. For wet food I feed mainly natures menu, hi life essentials, bozita and animonda carny with some other brands thrown in for good measure (tesco finest, tesco luxury, schmusy, hi life complementary pouches, cosma, applaws, almo nature and a bit of felix senior for Jaffa cos he likes it ;D). I'm lucky in that my cats will eat pretty much anything and will eat the stuff with high meat content. Mosi has a bit of dry - usually orijen (grain free) but he sometimes has James Wellbeloved or hi life dry.
-
Your comments are rather interesting re: Hills food. My parent's cats eat hardly anything. They get 1 pouch of wet food between them in the morning, 1 between them at night and then one slice of ham or chicken each for supper. The Hills food is out all day for them. I look at Sam and Alfie and I can see they are overweight. It has shocked me more as my new moggies are so lean, and to be fair, 11 years younger. I know my mum and dad don't play with them that much, so they should get a little more exercise but it's still not right that they are that overweight. Perhaps Hills is to blame? >:(
-
The trouble with all dry food is that it is very calorie dense and the amount you need to feed is very small so most people do over feed. I think most people would get a shock if they actually weighed out how much they were feeding. If a cat is getting some wet food too, then the amount of dry needs to be reduced even further. When I fed my cats more dry food (when they were younger and I knew less than I do now about cat nutrition), I used to feed them about 40g James Wellbeloved a day plus one pouch of wet food and they maintaned their weight on that. They were both quite large cats too. Weigh out 40g of dry food and you'll see it's not very much at all! I've never fed Hills but I believe it is quite high fat? If that's the case then I think you would need even less.
-
Fat isnt the problem, cats actually have a fairly high requirement for fat as it is one of their main sources of energy (the other being protein), its the dreaded carbohydrates that are the problem and as you said Susanne, dry food isnt a natural diet for a carnivore. Dry food is often left out all day in the belief that cats need to 'snack'. In the wild they would eat several small meals a day, its true, but they would be species appropriate meals i.e. mice, other small rodents, birds, rabbits etc, not carbohydrate filled dry biscuits.
Cats werent designed to eat carbs, (miniscule amounts only in the stomachs of their prey - and then only if they actually eat the stomach). Carbs in the form of cereals, grains, veggies etc are in far too high amounts in the vast majority of cat foods.
-
Fat isnt the problem, cats actually have a fairly high requirement for fat as it is one of their main sources of energy (the other being protein), its the dreaded carbohydrates that are the problem
I agree that carbs are the main problem, but a higher fat food is going to be higher in calories and presumably that will mean that less needs to be fed? So a high fat food that is overfed is probably going exacerbate the problem?
-
I agree that carbs are the main problem, but a higher fat food is going to be higher in calories and presumably that will mean that less needs to be fed? So a high fat food that is overfed is probably going exacerbate the problem?
Yep, agree, high fat + overfeeding, not good!
-
I still believe high carbs is more of an issue than high fat for cats as their bodies are designed to metabolise fat but not carbs. That's why I wish I could get Kylie to eat just Orijen + some grain-free wet.
-
did we ever get to the bottom of which PAH dry food is "better" premium in silver bag or purely.................
-
I think mark worked out the premium was a bit better than purely
-
All I know is the two most popular dry foods are rubbish. They are full of grains which cats bodies aren't designed to process, then add all the artificial colourings etc and you end up with "McDonalds for cats" - a lot of other dry foods have much better ingredients - Orijen being the best as it is totally grain free. I have been trying to switch mine over to it totally but find they prefer it with some other dry they are familiar with with in - ie Royal Canin, PAH own premium (which is BOGOF at the mone so good value)
You may need to do the same with Whiskas dry - ie mix a bit of the new in to start then gradually increase the amount of good quality food until they aren't eating any of the rubbish one.
I've been concerned about the dry food I'm feeding Alfie for some time now.
Since I got him in December I've basically been feeding him 2 pouches of wet and some Hills Science dry food. All of a sudden he seemed to put on quite a bit of weight and I realised I was giving him too much dry food so I cut the quantity right down to about 10g for through the day and 10g for his early morning munchies. I tried to get him down to 1 and a half pouches of wet but he doesn't seem keen on this!
A couple of months ago I switched him to Hills Light formula but he is STILL gaining weight. He has always been powerfully built but he has now got a hanging belly and I don't want it to spiral out of control.
I'm very strict about treats and although he is an indoor cat I try to give him a good 'workout' everyday with a variety of toys.
I'd never heard of Orijen until I read this thread, certainly in theory it sounds like a much better option than Hills. I think I'll order a sample size and see if his lordship approves... :)
-
did we ever get to the bottom of which PAH dry food is "better" premium in silver bag or purely.................
The premium seems to have more "goodies" in it such as prebiotics. I suppose it makes sense at it's £2 more than Purely.
Anyway, the premium is BOGOF until 9am Thursday so get down there quick!!! - Purely isn't in the sale.
-
All I know is the two most popular dry foods are rubbish. They are full of grains which cats bodies aren't designed to process, then add all the artificial colourings etc and you end up with "McDonalds for cats" - a lot of other dry foods have much better ingredients - Orijen being the best as it is totally grain free. I have been trying to switch mine over to it totally but find they prefer it with some other dry they are familiar with with in - ie Royal Canin, PAH own premium (which is BOGOF at the mone so good value)
You may need to do the same with Whiskas dry - ie mix a bit of the new in to start then gradually increase the amount of good quality food until they aren't eating any of the rubbish one.
I've been concerned about the dry food I'm feeding Alfie for some time now.
Since I got him in December I've basically been feeding him 2 pouches of wet and some Hills Science dry food. All of a sudden he seemed to put on quite a bit of weight and I realised I was giving him too much dry food so I cut the quantity right down to about 10g for through the day and 10g for his early morning munchies. I tried to get him down to 1 and a half pouches of wet but he doesn't seem keen on this!
A couple of months ago I switched him to Hills Light formula but he is STILL gaining weight. He has always been powerfully built but he has now got a hanging belly and I don't want it to spiral out of control.
I'm very strict about treats and although he is an indoor cat I try to give him a good 'workout' everyday with a variety of toys.
I'd never heard of Orijen until I read this thread, certainly in theory it sounds like a much better option than Hills. I think I'll order a sample size and see if his lordship approves... :)
It does smell quite meaty so in theory should appeal to them - I am curious about trying the fish one as I'm hoping mine will like it more. If it is smells like salmon. they won't touch it.
-
If you are looking for a great quality food but you're on a budget I can highly recommend Pets At Homes own premium dry food. It has very similar ingredients to JWB but much cheaper. If you go into a PAH store and ask for a sample they will give you one.
I feed Jameson two pouches of wet per day (Whiskas in morning mixed with a small amount of water, and Hi Life Essentials for dinner). At the moment he will scoff the wet food first and pick on the biscuits, whereas in the winter he seems to be stodging up on the biscuits and leave the wet food, but most of the times he seems to get the balance right.
When it comes to buying wet food, or cat food in general, I avoid anything with ''EC additives/colourings and Various sugars''. I maintain that my cats food does not need to be coloured, nor have sugar in it. I also make sure he gets a wet food with a high meat content (Hi Life).
-
interesting thing about hi life. I bought two boxes of the kitten-junior pouches today because I ran out. When I got home I noticed that the consistancy was completely different to normal- more mushy. Anyway when I looked at the box I noticed that one was a new and imporved formula andthe one I had opened was an old one. Anyway looking at the boxes the ingredients had chnaged a lot!!!
Old hilife kitten - junior
Chicken recipe - Chicken (min 26%), poultory, pork, minerals, fish oil
Turkey recipe - Turkey (min 26%), poultory, pork, minerals, fish oil
Poultry recipe - Poultry (min 46%), pork, minerals, fish oil
Typical Analysis - all varieties
Protien 11.0%, oils and fats 9.5%, Fibre 0.2%, ash 1.8%, Moisture 78.0%, Vit.A 2,600 IU/KG, Vit.d3 260 IU/KG, Vit.E 20 MG/KG, Taurine 300 MG/KG. Phosphorous 0.24%, Magnesium 0.5%, Calcium 0.3%
New improved recipe hilife kitten - junior recipe
Chicken & Turkey - Chicken & Turkey (in variable proportuins, min. 60%), Sunflower oil, Fish pil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca.
Chicken & Lamb - Chicken & Lamb (in variable proportuins, min. 60%), Sunflower oil, Fish pil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca.
Chicken & Liver - Chicken & Liver (in variable proportuins, min. 60%), Sunflower oil, Fish pil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca.
Chicken & Duck - Chicken & Duck (in variable proportuins, min. 60%), Sunflower oil, Fish pil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca.
Typical Analysis - all varieties
Protien 11.0%, oils and fats 3.5%, Fibre 0.5%, ash 2.0%, Moisture 82.0%, Vit.A 2,200 IU/KG, Vit.d3 250 IU/KG, Vit.E (as ox-tocopherol) 50 iu/KG, Copper (as cupric Sulphate) 1mg/kg
None of these anymore...........Taurine 300 MG/KG. Phosphorous 0.24%, Magnesium 0.5%, Calcium 0.3%
What is even more weird is that it's no longer a product of the EU but is instead made in Thailand :Crazy:
Any ideas if it is indeed improve or not?
-
Good that they don't use pork as it isn't good for cats. My vet told me not to give it to the cats at all as the molecules are too big to pass through cats tiny capillaries.
-
We go to see a nutritionist next week to try to sort it out
I will be interested to see their recommendations. Will you let us know how you get on please ?
Hayley x
Yes, I definitely will! Be interesting to see what she recommends for him. Will be right on here though to let you all know.
I'm really surprised by the comments regarding Hill's dry food - I never connected it to his weight gain but there's maybe something to be said there. The only thing is, I think this nutritionist will also recommend Hill's food (as all vet's do!) but then maybe there is a right way to give it. It's funny because Harvey has been on their prescription diet w/d dry food and yet he still put on weight. I always went by the weight it said on the packet for all brands of dry food but when I went to the vet she told me I was giving them far too much yet I was going by what the company had told me.
I think one of my problems is that I weigh their food out for them and then it gets left out but I have 2 cats - so there is no way of knowing who had what amount so pretty sure that Harvey probably has way over what he should have as Ollie is the correct weight for his size. Think I'm going to have to put their food down to them then take it away after half an hour so that I have better control of their food weight.
-
Can anyone recommend wet food?
I've tried my cat on a number of different brands but the clear winner (as far as he is concerned) is Sheba - specifically the essence pouches.
I'm considering switching him to something that has a higher percentage of actual meat, however part of me thinks I'm being unnecessarily cautious as plenty cats throughout the country lead normal healthy lives on the basic 'supermarket' stuff.
-
What is even more weird is that it's no longer a product of the EU but is instead made in Thailand :Crazy:
Any ideas if it is indeed improve or not?
Don't know to be honest - a lot of cat foods seem to be including Tapioca in their recipes now - don't understand why, its another type of grain. I don't see why they've added sunflower oil as well as fish oil - fish oil is perfectly fine on its own without a 'plant' oil added as well.
I'm really surprised by the comments regarding Hill's dry food - I never connected it to his weight gain but there's maybe something to be said there. The only thing is, I think this nutritionist will also recommend Hill's food (as all vet's do!) but then maybe there is a right way to give it.
No cat is going to lose weight on a carb filled dry food - theres no right way to feed it - just don't feed it LOL! If the nutritionist recommends Hills dry - then I despair :sigh: Try feeding a high meat/no grain, cereal, or veggie wet diet - or a homemade diet.
-
That is why I didn't bother enrolling Kylie onto the weight loss course at the vets as it is sponsored by Hill's :tired:
-
I think if you have 10 nutritionists in a room you'll get 10 varying opinions of whats good and whats bad, with not one giving a straight forward clear answer. Anyway once you open up the temtations box your back to square one ...
-
Anyway once you open up the temtations box your back to square one ...
:evillaugh: Too true!
-
Angela - you actually need to feed for the weight you want them to be, not the weight they are to help them lose weight, and also bear in mind that the guidelines are on the high side so you will buy more.
Hannikat - that is in line with the adult and senior Hi-Life - mine are really fussy with it, I have given so much away it is unbelievable - dont think they got through one box of the 5 I bought. They have always liked HiLife though, so I dont rate the new recipe!!
-
Lol - oh right, that would explain the weight gain then. Thank you for that. I've lowered their calorie portion so I will see how they get on. One of my cats is ok but the other one is seriously overweight.
My other problem is that the one who is overweight won't eat wet food - not even fresh meat like chicken or fish. I dont like them just having a dry food diet especially as Harvey wasn't well for a couple of months last year with FLUTD. I would love to make my own food for them but one of them just won't eat meat.
-
Can anyone recommend wet food?
I'm considering switching him to something that has a higher percentage of actual meat, however part of me thinks I'm being unnecessarily cautious as plenty cats throughout the country lead normal healthy lives on the basic 'supermarket' stuff.
Hi Life Essentials is a winner in our house. It has a high meat content and little else added. In Asda you get 12 x 85g pouches for £2.88, while the Whiskas (with only 4% meat content) costs around £3.50 for 12 pouches (although the pouches are 100g). For us it doesn't make that much of a difference as Jameson usually don't finish a whole pouch.
We also buy tins as they are more economical. I feed him a standard good quality wet food in morning (Whiskas) and a high meat content wetfood in eve (Hi Life).
Natures Menue proved successful here too, but a bit too pricey for my poor wallet!!
-
I spoke to the vet, and he recommended a dry food diet, although I am not convinced by this. He wouldn't recommend a brand though !! :P
Very interesting. Do they do hi life in kitten pouches ?
-
There is another thread running about high fibre diets which people might be interested in too. I've just ordered some Applaws and Porta 21 for Blip to try as well as Orijen dry food (plant-based but non-cereal).
Gillian, what would you do to increase fibre on a meat-only diet? Or haven't you had to? I'm getting some Nutrifyba from MillysMum for Blip to try: that is plant-based too, of course.
-
Gillian, what would you do to increase fibre on a meat-only diet? Or haven't you had to? I'm getting some Nutrifyba from MillysMum for Blip to try: that is plant-based too, of course.
No, I havent had to increase fibre and mine have bones (either whole to crunch up - or those with little or no teeth, minced up with the meat) which provides some fibre, and they have tinned as well. Psyllium is sometimes recommended for extra fibre in homemade diets - plant again of course!
-
I believe the Nutrifyba is Psyllium and the Orijen certainly contains it, along with glucosamine. Blips anal gland problem means she has to have a high-fibre diet so there have to be plants or cereals in her diet. I am certainly convinced by the predominantly meat / fish argument but equally, Blip must get her roughage and I am sure she is not alone in needing some.
Of course, if she had been living a natural life in the wild, she would have been long gone by now so the problem wouldnt have arisen. But I hope to have her around for a while yet :)
My point is that our care for our cats has extended their lives so much that new requirements arise - just like with people, I guess.
Such an interesting and important topic :Luv:
-
I spoke to the vet, and he recommended a dry food diet, although I am not convinced by this. He wouldn't recommend a brand though !! :P
Very interesting. Do they do hi life in kitten pouches ?
That sounds about par for the course :shify: Most vets get virtually no training in nutrition so I take their nutritional advice with a pinch of salt since most of it comes from pet food manufacturers. If it was dietary advice for a particular condition, I would listen to the vet (initially at leat) but for general nutrition for a healthy cat I think I have done more study on the subject than the average vet ;D
I'm very grateful that I have 2 cats who will eat anything I give them. There's been the odd thing they aren't too keen on but nothing they have refused to eat.
Of course, if she had been living a natural life in the wild, she would have been long gone by now so the problem wouldnt have arisen.
:( :(
-
Of course, if she had been living a natural life in the wild, she would have been long gone by now so the problem wouldnt have arisen.
:( :(
But it is true, isnt it? Our love, care, nutrition and medicine extends their lives beyond what their ancestors would have managed, so new problems arise that must be taken care of. As I say, its the same with us too. I think Im right in saying that the life expectancy of a stone age man was about 30 years...
-
I think it was up until victorian times :Crazy:
-
Hannikat, does the hi life kitten now say complementary on it if its missing the taurine?
-
All the new range is complete, even adult, but I dont rate it, have had to give loads away - I could have sent you some, but I only have senior left - 2 boxes until I find a cat that likes them!!
-
Wow that's so interesting about the Hills dry, I learnt a lot in this thread. Last year Jess was on Hills and gained ALOT of weight on it and I guess that explains it especially as we didn't feel like we were feeding him much.
Now though Jess is on urinary food, with whiskers sprinkles on it (to get him to eat it) but no dry food.
Milo is on JWB biscuits and Felix pouches. I've tried Milo on Hi-Life and he wouldn't eat it, I tried to give Jess some too and he wouldn't touch it, so now we have almost a whole box and can't use it. I'd like to try Milo on a wet food that had a higher meat content in but I'm not sure which one.
-
My two seem to love hilife kitten they eat the whole lot. When they were on whiskers they would turn their nose up after bit and often certain flavours. Also because its like pate I can mixed the dry complete in with it and they LOVE it
-
Well I just received my 400g sample pack of Orjien and I can honestly say both Nobo and Izzy love it!!! I'm much happier knowing they are eating something that's better for them.
;D
-
We buy a big bag of James Well Beloved and mainly give our cats this but put a little of wet food from the Whiskers Pouches to signal 'tea time'.
It works though...we'v started to allow them outside and Binx who's the timid of the two is the most daring outside! God knows where he goes but he always comes back at 5:30PM for his food
-
I had to stop feeding Nobo and Izzy Whiskers as it made them fart non stop and their poos were really smelly. TMI I know, but hey ho..
:naughty:
-
But it is true, isnt it? Our love, care, nutrition and medicine extends their lives beyond what their ancestors would have managed, so new problems arise that must be taken care of. As I say, its the same with us too. I think Im right in saying that the life expectancy of a stone age man was about 30 years...
[/quote]
Oh no - I would have been dead by now!! :shocked:
-
Mitzy was on Whiskas when I got him. Their supermeat (And if anyone knows what meant they make "Origional flavour" with I would really like to know!) It smelt and looked horrible! That origional flavour more so than the rest. It was revolting! And the ingrediants? Don't even get me started! So I asked around and was recommended Hi life.
There's like 60% meat in there, named meat. Not meat and animal derivatives. I mean my tuna and chicken one is:
Tuna (min 55%) Chicken Garnish (min 5%)
Which is a big difference fromall whiskas supermeat
Meat and animal derivatives (min 4%)
And you would not believe the difference in him since I changed! I took him to my sisters for the unfortunate vet trip mitzy is complaining about elsewhere on this site and my sister was just like WOW! He is so different! He's fluffier, happier, more alert, brighter and just healthier. He looks amazing! He smells miles better too! And that's just a few short weeks with the change in effect. I've only just got rid of the spare whiskas cat food. Donated it to thornberries, although I felt bad giving them whiskas. But I couldn't dump it when thornberries cats need all the food they can get.
Now the dry vs wet debate is harder. Some people say all wet is the way to go, some say add dry. But the general consensus is that wet is best. But me personally? I have and will continue to add a little handful of dry to Mitzys wet food. Not entirely sure whether the dry is beneficial or not, but he likes it and I firmly believe in my theory that eating is an experience, not just something to do, but something to enjoy. Different textures and flavours are important in diet. I know myself and some of my pets get bored of the same things, so I always vary textures and flavours depending on my mood. Mitzy has no objection to this.
-
I would love to be able to give mine a wet food diet but Ollie only eats a tiny bit of it and Harvey turns his nose up at it. They used to eat wet food when they were babies until I started giving them a little bit of dry, now that's all they really want. I do buy them wet food and try a couple of times each week but its really a waste of money.
-
AA - the only thing you have to watch with HiLife is that some of their food is complimentary. I think the one you mention is one of their complete foods, but I haven't bought that one to know for certain. i like mine to have a mix of wet and dry, but do make sure it is a good quality dry.
-
Well I just received my 400g sample pack of Orjien and I can honestly say both Nobo and Izzy love it!!! I'm much happier knowing they are eating something that's better for them.
;D
When I look at the ingredients I wish there were a human equivilent - I'm sure I would be a lot healthier for it :evillaugh:
It just looks and smells wholesome :Luv2:
Until a wet food is made to that standard, I will stick with it.
-
Blips order of Porta 21 arrived on Friday and I have tried her with it over the weekend. She loves it! ;D And here is an interesting thing: Zooplus sent some Porta 21 chicken by mistake and, although she will never normally touch chicken, Blip has even eaten a pouch of that!
So far I am seriously impressed with Porta 21 and Zooplus :wow:
-
Mosi has been eating Orijen for the dry portion of his diet and he loves it. Jaffa does too when he gets a bit (usually only when I drop it on the floor!). Since my zooplus order has not turned up >:( he's slumming it with hi life dry at the moment though ;D
AA - many cats like dry food because it's sprayed with animal fat or digest to make the unpalatable palatable. It can be very addictive. I agree about the different textures though (although Jaffa - like a lot of cats - swallows it whole so I don't think he exactly appreciates the texture!) and do like my cats to accept the texture of dry food in case I need them to have it in an emergency. That's why I feed Mosi a small amount of dry. I don't think there are any health benefits to feeding dry though and feed it very sparingly.
-
Well I just received my 400g sample pack of Orjien and I can honestly say both Nobo and Izzy love it!!! I'm much happier knowing they are eating something that's better for them.
;D
When I look at the ingredients I wish there were a human equivilent - I'm sure I would be a lot healthier for it :evillaugh:
It just looks and smells wholesome :Luv2:
Until a wet food is made to that standard, I will stick with it.
:rofl: :rofl: tell me about it.
-
I'm going to some Orjien samples for my cats to try. I'd never heard of it before coming onto this forum - but anything that gets a thumbs up on here is worth a try.
-
My lot are not that fussed with it and one stray wont even sniff it :evillaugh: he likes purina one salmon, its almost like he knows that salmon is my most hated aroma :sick:
-
Mine liked it, but I am sticking with JWB, as I get a good deal on that, and can feed everyone in the house on the same thing, it also means that new owners are more likely to stick with it as well, as it is relatively easy to get hold of. Might get another small bag for Zi though, as she does need to lose some weight, but spent 17 years eating dry only, so I can only get so much wet into her.
-
Well, my cat went to see the nutritionist today. He weighs 8.4kg (but he only has to get to 5.5kg as he is a large/long cat). The nutrionist has surprise surprise....put on him on Hills R/D dry food. He is to get 60g in total a day and once I've put their food down for my 2 cats I've to take what they haven't eatten away after 1 hour. They currently get 2 meals a day - one at breakfast and one at dinner. What I might do at night tho is split it up into 2 separate meals again as cats like to graze.
-
This is for you! :evillaugh:
-
It baffles me how a nutrionist can think a dry food will be the best thing for weight loss, I have tried Hills r/d and didn't rate it at all.
-
This is for you! :evillaugh:
Lol - thanks. I noticed that on another post about the smell....mmmmm, I'll look forward to it - its stinking enough as it is! :rofl:
-
It baffles me how a nutrionist can think a dry food will be the best thing for weight loss, I have tried Hills r/d and didn't rate it at all.
The nutrionist actually said that dry food was the best diet for a cat - I don't actually agree with that statement as that isn't what they would eat if they were out in the wild but unfortunately I can't get Harvey to eat wet food so don't know if she was trying to make me feel better. To be honest I didn't have the greatest confidence in her and she kept checking books but surely if that was your job and you only promote Hill's you should know the products like the back of your hand. We'll just need to wait and see how it goes. I have to get him to lose weight - he was diagnosed as having Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and he is overweight. I have already been told that only has 2 - 4 years to live (he's only 2 a half years old) but I want to prove them wrong.
-
I would follow their advice and if there isno weight loss, take it into your own hands. I bet she has never even heard of Orijen? :Crazy:
After all the various things I have tried. I really think Kylie is startig to lose weight slowly but surely on Orijen, RC Slimness, Wet food and fish.
-
I noticed on here that Orijen is highly recommended so it might be something that we try at a later date - I'll see how we get on with this R/D first. I think the problem in my house (and its my fault) is that I put their meals down to them and leave it there for them to pick at all day (it is weighed out with the correct amount for each of them) but of course, I don't think Ollie eats much and Harvey eats the rest hence his weight gain. So their dishes won't be getting left out all day for them - instead I'll break it down into 3 meals a day for them.
-
I have to get him to lose weight - he was diagnosed as having Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and he is overweight. I have already been told that only has 2 - 4 years to live (he's only 2 a half years old) but I want to prove them wrong.
In which case I would read the www.catinfo.org website, which is written by a vet, it will open your eyes about carbohydrate filled dry food and how it doesnt help with weight loss. It also gives ideas on how to get dry food addicts to eat wet food.
-
This makes sense to me
"Molly’s veterinarian had prescribed Science Diet dry r/d for her and instructed her caretaker to feed Molly only very small portions. This is not sound obesity management advice. Science Diet r/d is an illogical and poor quality diet that contains 33 percent carbohydrates and the following - less than optimal."
So my idea of feeding Orijen and wet is a good compromise. I can't get Kylie onto q completely wet diet so this is hopefully the answer. Another thing that was pointed out by Jackspratt a while ago was a feline diabetes site. They recommend food in jelly as it is lower in carbs than food in gravy. It recommended "Classic" food in cats which is one of the cheapest. I can't get my cats to eat it so they get Felix senior in jelly.
-
I agree with Mark. Since this post started, I've spoken to more and more people offline who have overweight cats and it's Hills they get.
Perhaps you need to get a second opinion...
-
And for more than one reason, switching to Iams isn't the answer :tired:
-
OMG - this is so confusing! I will try the Hill's first and see how he gets on - he had lost a little bit since the last time we were there and that was on w/d. Obviously, if he doesn't lose any then I will need to re-think the brand he is having. The nutrionist had said that the wet foods were high in sugar so not a good idea for him (although he wouldn't eat wet food anyway). If I could get him to eat fresh meat then I think that would be ok but again he won't touch it ever since I used to hide tablets in it last year - he plays dumb, but he knows my game!
I have to get him to lose weight - he was diagnosed as having Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and he is overweight. I have already been told that only has 2 - 4 years to live (he's only 2 a half years old) but I want to prove them wrong.
In which case I would read the www.catinfo.org website, which is written by a vet, it will open your eyes about carbohydrate filled dry food and how it doesnt help with weight loss. It also gives ideas on how to get dry food addicts to eat wet food.
Thanks, I will have a look at that website. :thanks:
-
I'm not sure if this is a proper nutritionist or a "Hill's advisor" :evillaugh:
Cereals = carbs
Sugar - carbs
I once read something.
Which has the highest calories
4 ounces of cornflakes or 4 ounces of Frosties
The answer is exactly the same as the cereal and the sugar are both carbs.
-
Its not what he eats but how much! And exercise, but gently with his heart condition of course
-
I've now taken him down from 80g a day to 60g and I'm breaking the evening meal up into 2 smaller meals. Although he's looking for the 2nd smaller meal about an hour after the first one as obviously it isn't filling him very much. Since cutting the portion size down they are both now looking for food in the morning more than what they did before and they have started meowing looking for their dinner the second I get in from work which they never used to do. Hopefully we can get this weight off him though.
-
Is it ok to give cats tinned sardines in a tomato sauce? I wanted to give my other cat a treat - the overweight one won't touch wet food but Ollie needs to have some wet food to compensate for the fact that he's eatting diet food as he doesn't need to lose any weight.
-
Yes they are fine to give.
He would really benefit from wet food as they can eat more and therefore feel fuller for less calories. As hes on rations he may be persuaded :sneaky:
-
Thanks - he's in for a wee treat tonight for his dinner then. :)