Are these good foods to feed my cat?

Question

i feed my cat stripey (pookie) whiskas purrfectly fish entrees...she loves it but on the pouch it says it might have up to 87% moisture...is this bad for her nutrient wise...the dry food i feed her is 9 lives tender morsels or something like that and also 9 lives daily essentials and sometimes the whiskas meaty morsels (in the purple bag) are these ok to feed my cat exclusively...shes very healthy but i want to make sure I'm giving her everything she needs to stay that way for a long time as shes young ( almost 2 years) shes big too, about 12 lbs (compared to my moms cat who's is barely 8 lbs)...p.s. i heard that cats under 2 years aren't supposed to weigh more than 10 lbs...is this true? thanks for any help! ;)

Answer 1

A big cat will weigh more than a thin boned cat, so weight vs years really doesn't apply.

The moisture isn't what's important--look at the protein level, it should be above 10% on canned foods and 35-50% in dry foods.  Cats need these levels, not lower levels.  Also, the first four ingredients should have at least two meat sources, there should be NO corn (cats can't digest corn, it's a useless filler) and no by-products.  If your food meets those qualifications, you've got an ok to good food. Anything else is the cat equivelent of 'junk food'.

Most grocery store cat foods aren't going to be the best.  Look for Wellness, EVO, Royal Canin Siamese 38, even Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul is better than the 9-Lives and Whiskas.

Ideally, only one grain should be in it, no by-products, and no people oriented things like cranberries/blueberries/sweet potato, etc.  Those are featured on labels to make things sound healthier, but cats can't digest them the same way we can, and they don't make use of the nutrients from them the way we do.  They have a carnivore makeup. It doesn't function the same as an omnivore or herbivore's.

That comment being made about 'mostly made from dogs from the pound' that the person above me posted---false with qualifiers.  Pet food manufacturers buy meat meal that's been rendered--basically cooked till nothing is left alive in it.  It's used as a protein source for cattle food and for the pet food industry. This includes parts of cows that don't make the grade for human consumption, road kill, disposed of animals from shelters who do not cremate the dead animals, etc.  You get this stuff shipped to a rendering plant and it's steam cooked down to a meal and the meal is then sourced out to companies looking for protein meal to add to the mix.

Reputable cat food producers do not buy rendered meat meal, they have their own ingredients they supply the manufacturing plant. If they're not used, it's a lawsuit waiting to happen against the plant. We saw what happened with the pet food poisonings due to the China imports in the past years, this really brought that all out. Certain pet food makers don't use the major manufacturers to make their food, and were not involved in the recalls.  Their foods were not contaminated and didn't have things like rendered meat put into their cans.  

It pays to know what does go in. I'll post a URL below, it can help you decide what you're actually feeding your pet.

Pet supply stores carry pet foods that don't make it to major store chains like WalMart and Sentry, the places can't do that kind of volume to supply entire chain stores, so are only found in the supply stores.  I've found a lot of good foods available at the local level, and those stores can order bags and cans for you if you have something special you want to feed your cats.

Answer 2

I have a ragdoll who is going to be quite heavy, average weight of neutered male 15-20 lbs.  All cat weights vary, I believe the average weight of a cat is 8-11 lbs.  My vet recommends Science Diet, I use Blue Buffalo True Spa Select for kittens and Wilderness formula for cats.  Why?  Mainly 1st ingredient whole deboned chicken, plus lots of natural antioxidants and vitamins (my sister picked a bag up for me and said it seemed good enough to feed her kids).  Before I tried Purina One and Iams, but have tried to avoid the "lesser quality" foods, such as whiskas, 9 lives, tender vittles etc.  Flip side, my sister took her kittens to the vet and he said he thinks all cats should be fed only wet food and only premium foods like Science Diet (they don't graze so much).  W/ dry food I look at weight recommendations and feed cats half in am and half in pm.  If they eat it all at one sitting, oh well.  Science diet is so pricey but there are some premium foods that sell at grocery stores for slightly better prices.  Look online and there are tons of pics of obese cats (diagrams actually of different weight sizes and cats body looked at from above) so you can get an idea about your 12 lb. cat.  And if you switch foods do it slowly to avoid runny poo problems.  Good luck!

Answer 3

You want al lot of moisture in the food. That though is too much . Not cause it's unhealthy. Cause it's a ripoff. Should be around 78% moisture

You should not fee just fish. High phosperous content. Fish should be no more then 25% of the meals.

Dry food Uggg Please read and learn

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health

Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.

Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or is it meal or other things? Learn what meal and other things mean here.

http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Rea...

Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms of food allergies probably from the grains. Constipation? Dry food, not enough moisture. Blockages? Again not enough moisture in the food and you are risking something serious. People on this board say feed fiber but this is a cat not a dog and cats are obligate carnivores unlike dogs an they don't eat cereal and don't need fiber.

The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food (Cats are not naturally big drinkers) but in

Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.

You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at all or grains  at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food as it uses a muscle meat as the first ingrediant. 9lives, friskies whiskas are lower grade canned but still better then dry and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods.

Many foods are not mentioned here but if you read the labels you wiull know if it is qualaty. The price offers no guideline.

The optimum food to feed cats has no grains whatsoever, cats have no use for them and many have trouble processing them as well as the carbs. IBD is another disease that is rapidly becoming common amoung cats because of the inappropriate diets being fed.

Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? Why do people constantly repeat this old wives tale and put teeth over the organs like the kidneys?? (I have no clue)   http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bp...

Please read about cat nutrition.

http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics...

http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.ht...

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.ht...

Answer 4

Yeah I feed my cats and dog Science Diet, my one kitten is just over a year spayed female she gets Science Diet Kitten, and my 8 yr. old neutered male tabby gets Science Diet hairball control mature formula which is for cats 7+. so if i were you id try to give moist food only about twice a week. it is good to give both but mostly dry food. too much wet food isn't good, and all cats are different so its fine if your cat looks a little big, just as long as it looks healthy. if she isn't having any problems, and if you don't notice a fat pouch on her, and if shes very active, then shes fine. If she is getting too big you'll need to put her on a little diet and try to slowly switch her to light blends. I recommend science diet if your really not sure what to do food-wise, its very meaty which is just what cats need, and it is veterinarian tested and approved.

Answer 5

We have had our cat for just about 2 years now, she was a kitten when she came into our home. We give her dry cat food only and thats all that she eats and she is a beautifully healthy cat. We give her fresh water every day she gets enough moister just by drinking the water. She is a healthy happy cat and we love her very much. Don't go to extremes with food for your cat or she will begin to get very finicky, get her the Frisky's dry cat food  and she will eat it when she sees that there is nothing else to eat and just give her fresh water every day place it right next to her dry cat food and she will be fine. I was wondering if your cat is expecting kittens? Do you let your cat go outside? Better take her to a Vet and find out:) Hope things work out for you...

Answer 6

My vet told me that 10lbs is a healthy weight for cats. She also recommended Science Diet for food. It's a little more expensive, but it's worth it!

Answer 7

Science Diet isn't that pricey if you look at the fact that store brands have more fillers. Look at a couple of things. One most store brands food carries a AAFCO label (this is American Association of Feed Control Officers) ,the group that is like the FDA for pet food, that says good for all life stages. If it says this or does not specifically mention that it is for adults only then it has enough protein/fat for a kitten. Which means your store brand foods do this so they can sell to a wider range. They are made by companies like Colgate and Nestle. Which are in the pet food business for money making purposes only.

Personally I like Hills Science Diet, also if your trying to natural I like Solid Gold. But if you absolutely must do with grocery store brands I would go with Purina One not the Cat or Kitten Chow.  

Answer 8

i think that these three brands tend to be more nutritious.. it is more high on protein..(iams, science diet, or eagle pack) foods like purina and whiskas are all mostly made of the dogs that get euthanized in the pound.. that means your dogs now possibly has a chemical inside its body.. i would just go with 1 of those food.. they tend to be a little more expensive but its worth the money..!!