good dry cat food and wet cat canned brand?

[Riptide Queen]

Since I have had cats for all my life and I've been doing a lot of research into finding good dry cat foods along with canned cat foods...

If anyone can give me they're input that'll be super helpful!

Thank you!

 

[Pipsqueak]

I would look into raw feeding, you can get freeze dried too!

 

[Riptide Queen]

I would look into raw feeding, you can get freeze dried too!

Thank you! I did look into raw food for them, they seem to enjoy it so far! But my mom is not wanting to pay too much (they are actually her cats but I am taking initiative to trying ti better their foods)

 

[rocky'smom]

at the farm, we feed a all organic dry cat food. we also make sure there is no wheat or corn products in that food. 2 out of four house kitties have food allergies. the outside (14) cats (all feral) get fed a cheaper version of dry food. at the farm, we do not feed wet food at all. it's not my choice but the Uncle says that dry food is better for their teeth. we try to vary the different types of dry foods, but so far Natural Organics & Rachel Ray's is the biggest hits with all the house kitties. the one I would not recommend is Newman's Own Organic Cat Food, our house kitties puked it up all over the house

Organic Cat Food Comparison

 

[Riptide Queen]

at the farm, we feed a all organic dry cat food. we also make sure there is no wheat or corn products in that food. 2 out of four house kitties have food allergies. the outside (14) cats (all feral) get fed a cheaper version of dry food. at the farm, we do not feed wet food at all. it's not my choice but the Uncle says that dry food is better for their teeth. we try to vary the different types of dry foods, but so far Natural Organics & Rachel Ray's is the biggest hits with all the house kitties. the one I would not recommend is Newman's Own Organic Cat Food, our house kitties puked it up all over the house

Organic Cat Food Comparison

that's what my mom said too, she doesn't want to really feed wet due to like what your uncle says, but the vets told me that I should be mixing some wet food because cats get their hydration from their food as well..
So far I don't think my meows have any food allergies... But I do not want to feed them bad food, I've been trying to convince her to switch our cats to better foods but she's too worried about the costs, so I decided that if i dish out the money and buy the cat food, then it should be no problem.... (My mom buys them Purina Cat food right now)

 

[rocky'smom]

we have found that better food is less costly because of the fact that it has less wheat corn and other garbage in it.

 

[Riptide Queen]

we have found that better food is less costly because of the fact that it has less wheat corn and other garbage in it.

And one of our passed away cats (he passed from megacolon at 16 yrs) was addicted to Whiskas at one point because of all of the not so healthy ingredients (and he became extremely picky but we were able to get him off of that)... Fortunately I had convinced my mom to stop buying Whiskas for the cats, but she brought purina. She tells me I'm spoiling the pets but I'm not, I'm just trying to have them all on a good diet so they can all live a long happy life. (esp bc now I have my tax returns I can focus on bettering my pets' diet.)

(I also sometimes forget that we have sections for our other pets too so I remembered that today and figured to ask you guys for advice! )

 

[rocky'smom]

the other thing we notice after change their diets to better food, was cat pan duty was less stinky and much easier to clean and keep clean. poops are smaller because their bodies are not trying so hard to process foods their tummies aren't use too. cats will eat grasses like wheat grass but they do not eat processed wheat or corn gluten whatever the heck it says. 2 out of four are long haired kitties, and were having hair ball problems with old diet , new diet less problems and less puking.

 

[Riptide Queen]

the other thing we notice after change their diets to better food, was cat pan duty was less stinky and much easier to clean and keep clean. poops are smaller because their bodies are not trying so hard to process foods their tummies aren't use too. cats will eat grasses like wheat grass but they do not eat processed wheat or corn gluten whatever the heck it says. 2 out of four are long haired kitties, and were having hair ball problems with old diet , new diet less problems and less puking.

Thank you so much! I know Hobbit, she has a bit of hairball every so often. I do know one of our boys has the most smelly poo too. Hopefully they won't mind a change. Speaking of, I'm actually going to pick up some cat food tomorrow. I know at one point someone gave me a small bag of organic cat food at the pet store (I don't remember what the brand was) but they said there was no wheat or corn in that cat food and to see if my cats will love it. I tried it and they absolutely did love it. I think I still have one more small sample bag I'll go take a look when I get home from work tonight!

 

[rocky'smom]

you could call some of the companies and see if they give away free sample packages.

 

[Jaguar]

Raw is a good option. I preferred the powdered mixes like TCfeline that you just add to ground meat/organs. Meat's just so damn expensive unless you have a cheap source like a butcher/farm. And/or own your own grinder.

For canned convenience, I really like Merrick, specifically Cowboy Cookout. High quality protein and low carbs with less fat than Wellness/Evo/etc.

 

[Riptide Queen]

Raw is a good option. I preferred the powdered mixes like TCfeline that you just add to ground meat/organs. Meat's just so damn expensive unless you have a cheap source like a butcher/farm. And/or own your own grinder.

For canned convenience, I really like Merrick, specifically Cowboy Cookout. High quality protein and low carbs with less fat than Wellness/Evo/etc.

I heard Merrick was good. Along with Acana and Orijens.

Yeah that's the only thing with Raw meat don't come cheap esp in Hawaii too which is a real bummer.

 

[Jaguar]

I heard Merrick was good. Along with Acana and Orijens.

Yeah that's the only thing with Raw meat don't come cheap esp in Hawaii too which is a real bummer.

Neither Acana nor Orijen make canned food, unfortunately. I really don't like a primarily dry diet. Things like chronic kidney disease and urinary crystals are common in dry fed cats. It's really taxing on the renal system to be so dehydrated all the time. I do use a small bag of Wellness CORE as treats though

Dry food doesn't clean teeth any more than us eating cookies does. It's a myth perpetuated by the pet food industry. The best thing for teeth is to brush them regularly, or let them chew on raw meaty bones ("RMB"), but it's not for every cat/dog.

There's also freeze-dried raw like Stella & Chewy's if you've got a "crunch" addict, but it's also very expensive.

 

[Mizzely]

I have a cat who is allergic to chicken and reacts poorly to grains, so my choices are limited. Jasmine is also 15 and I noticed that a primarily dry food was really starting to work against her - throwing up a lot, etc. So now we do mostly canned and then they get 1/8 cup of dry in a treat ball that they have to bat around if they miss their crunchies.

Right now we're still trying to figure out what all proteins are safe, and she seems good with fish and venison, so we're feeding Canidae PURE Sea Dry food, Canidae PURE Sea Salmon & Mackerel Canned, and ZiwiPeak Venison & Fish canned.

I would eventually like to go to raw because it would be easier to control what my cats get. So tired of fillers and how much chicken gets snuck into foods!

For middle of the road dried/ canned foods, I'd look at:

Taste of the Wild
Canidae PURE Elements
Authority Grain Free (at Petsmart)
Simply Nourish Grain free (at Petsmart)
Merrick

More expensive but IMO better:
Acana
Orijen
Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Diets
Wysong Epigen


Canned foods, Friskies Pate is recommended a lot on the cat forum I'm on. The philosophy is that because dry is inherently drier and more carbs, the cheapest wet food is still better than the most expensive dry food. Some people disagree. I can't use Friskies because they all contain chicken or poultry.

Freeze dried really should be rehydrated from what I understand, or at least not fed as the sole food when dry.

Here is a blog that has some good info:

Canned: Today’s best cat foods–reviews of canned and raw options | Natural Cat Care Blog

Dry:
Best dry cat foods (with caveats) | Natural Cat Care Blog

 

[Riptide Queen]

Neither Acana nor Orijen make canned food, unfortunately. I really don't like a primarily dry diet. Things like chronic kidney disease and urinary crystals are common in dry fed cats. It's really taxing on the renal system to be so dehydrated all the time. I do use a small bag of Wellness CORE as treats though

Dry food doesn't clean teeth any more than us eating cookies does. It's a myth perpetuated by the pet food industry. The best thing for teeth is to brush them regularly, or let them chew on raw meaty bones ("RMB"), but it's not for every cat/dog.

There's also freeze-dried raw like Stella & Chewy's if you've got a "crunch" addict, but it's also very expensive.

Thank you so much for these information!!

I think my four cats (hopefully) aren't crunch addicts... hmmm I'll be shopping today for cat food so I'll be on the look out for those!

 

[Riptide Queen]

I have a cat who is allergic to chicken and reacts poorly to grains, so my choices are limited. Jasmine is also 15 and I noticed that a primarily dry food was really starting to work against her - throwing up a lot, etc. So now we do mostly canned and then they get 1/8 cup of dry in a treat ball that they have to bat around if they miss their crunchies.

Right now we're still trying to figure out what all proteins are safe, and she seems good with fish and venison, so we're feeding Canidae PURE Sea Dry food, Canidae PURE Sea Salmon & Mackerel Canned, and ZiwiPeak Venison & Fish canned.

I would eventually like to go to raw because it would be easier to control what my cats get. So tired of fillers and how much chicken gets snuck into foods!

For middle of the road dried/ canned foods, I'd look at:

Taste of the Wild
Canidae PURE Elements
Authority Grain Free (at Petsmart)
Simply Nourish Grain free (at Petsmart)
Merrick

More expensive but IMO better:
Acana
Orijen
Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Diets
Wysong Epigen


Canned foods, Friskies Pate is recommended a lot on the cat forum I'm on. The philosophy is that because dry is inherently drier and more carbs, the cheapest wet food is still better than the most expensive dry food. Some people disagree. I can't use Friskies because they all contain chicken or poultry.

Freeze dried really should be rehydrated from what I understand, or at least not fed as the sole food when dry.

Here is a blog that has some good info:

Canned: Today’s best cat foods–reviews of canned and raw options | Natural Cat Care Blog

Dry:
Best dry cat foods (with caveats) | Natural Cat Care Blog

Thank you so much!!

Currently I'm trying to balance out the dry and wet, but I'm not sure if it's better to give more wet than dry, or a good balance in between etc

 

[AvianCrew]

Reelraw is a good raw meat pet brand. They have samples as well.

 

[mochiballs]

Acana and Orijen are great. It's the same company that makes both of the brands. I believe Orijen is higher in protein than the Acana.

I'm not sure about wet but my sister feeds her cats Wellness?

 

[Mizzely]

Thank you so much!!

Currently I'm trying to balance out the dry and wet, but I'm not sure if it's better to give more wet than dry, or a good balance in between etc

I mean ideally, the more wet the better. Cats who eat dry drink more than cats who don't, but they still only consume half the moisture of a cat on canned. Cats are biologically designed to get most, if not all, of their water requirements through their prey. So when we feed dry as the sole food, it really taxes on the system because they are essentially perpetually dehydrated.

I used to feed all dry, until a few years ago. Then I did one can a day divided between two cats, then half their calories from wet, and now they only get 1/8 cup of dry to share as a foraging item. My cats went from hairballs multiple times a week to one hairball every other month? Litter box stinks less, they pee more but poop less, and they have a lot more energy. So for us, the proof is in front of me that wet is a better diet.

And dry does not help with dental, unfortunately unless its an Rx food specifically designed to do so.

6 Reasons why dry food does not clean your cat’s teeth

 

[Riptide Queen]

Acana and Orijen are great. It's the same company that makes both of the brands. I believe Orijen is higher in protein than the Acana.

I'm not sure about wet but my sister feeds her cats Wellness?

i think I might have to order Orijen and Acana online it looks like, I don't seem to find it at pet stores in my area.