Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday Food Fest

No, sorry, no food to share here. [Insert sounds of kitties leaving in droves...] No, what this post is about, is looking for some food tips from you kitties and moms. I've been thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to start feeding the kids something a little more natural and healthy, partly because of Bugsy's recent bladder stone problems (he had surgery a few weeks ago to remove a stone, for those not in-the-know) and partly because it just seems the right thing to do.

We've been lucky that our usual kibble, Purina's Kit 'n Kaboodle, hasn't been involved in any of the food recalls. And it's something they'll all eat. But that doesn't mean it's good *for* them. So even though the v-e-t hasn't said that Bugsy needs to go on any specific diet for his bladder stone problem, I thought it would be good to go ahead and switch them all to something better. Now the question is - what?

I'd seen Addiction Pet Food mentioned favorably on a couple of blogs, so ordered a small bag of the venison flavor. Unfortunately, so far Pixie is really the only one showing much interest in eating it. I've seen Daisy mention that they eat California Natural dry cat food as part of their diet, along with other wet/raw food (my kids have never really liked wet food, so we just do kibble), so I've thought about trying it. I've also read good reviews about Innova's EVO and Wellness's Core, though not specifically on any blogs.

Obviously, this stuff is more pricey than regular ol' off-the-shelf cat food, and I don't mind that to keep the kitties safe and healthy. But for taste-testing, and possible rejection, it can get a bit expensive even for small bags.

Soooooo....my question to the bloggiesphere at large is -- has anyone else tried any natural/healthy dry kibble and if so, what have you found that works for your kitties? Or alternatively, what have you tried that doesn't work? (Yeah, I know it's going to be different for all kitties so I'll still likely have to do the buy-and-try routine, but at least maybe I'll have some recommended brands/flavors to look at, or to avoid, from kitties/moms I "know". )

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and tips on where to buy online if ya got 'em would be great too; between work schedule and living sort of in the boonies (even though near a major metro area), it's a lot easier to shop online.

Thanks, folks!! And Happy Finally Friday, I hope everyone and everycat has a great weekend!



Because they're worth it...




18 comments:

The Monkeys said...

We get a combination of Orijen chicken kibble, Solid Gold Indigo Moon and Wellness Core. Now that Samson has a bladder problem, he needs wet food, so we use the Wellness grain-free and Nature's Variety Raw diet as a supplement. All great food! The Orijen is the biggest hit in the kibble department.

Anonymous said...

Our mom gives us Nine Lives Daily Essentials, but another really good one is Hills Science Diet. They make all sorts of kibble for different problems. They really are a good one too! We, luckily, don't have any issues right now. Except King is a little lactose intolerant and usually gets sick after having milk. But it has to be ALOT of milk. Our mom always yells at dad to stop giving him the milk after this cereal! Men! They never listen...LOL
Good luck on your search!!! :o)

The Island Cats said...

We eat both canned and dry...mom thinks canned food is better for us mancats cuz of the extra moisture...we eat grainfree foods too cuz Ernie has allergy issues...so we'll eat the Wellness grain free canned food and Natural Balance venison and peas canned food...as far as kibble, we've been eating the Addiction samples we got but Addiction is hard to come by...we've also eaten the Wellness Core, EVO, and we get the Royal Canin limited ingredient prescription diet from our v-e-t...all of these are grain free...

Mishkat said...

Mom learned a LOT from this site:
http://www.petfoodratings.net/

We also recommend that you talk to the Monkey's mom - she knows a whole lot about cat food. Our mom was really ignorant about the issue because the ones who came before us were on prescription food - but she has definitely decided to upgrade our food after reading that site and talking to Karen.

We are eating Addiction right now - the cats like the Salmon Bleu a lot - in fact, Tasha likes it too much, so she's gorging herself again, and we are going to switch back to Viva La Venison. The better quality food seems to be helping the cats a lot. Of course, it also helps that Tasha and Dobby will eat ANYTHING. Franklin is the only one our mom needs to worry about.

Jasmim said...

Oh! Mom doesn't know what recommend for you =(
I hope you get what you want!

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

WE tried By Nature. our kitties did not like it or we did not give it enough of a trial. I mixed it with their normal Science Diet and they would pick out the SD and leave the new stuff. I would be glad to send you some of this to see if your kitties will eat it!

The Creek Cats said...

Yes, the great food debate! We have tried nearly every food on the market! We are currently on Blue Wilderness and Addiction Salmon Bleu and Venison. Both are holistic and healthy. We have also tried Wellness and California Natural and have liked both. The problem for us is availability in our small town. Our mom really dislikes ordering food because of the high shipping costs. Last year we got a Pet Smart in the next town over and that is where we get our Blue Wilderness.
Best of luck with finding new foods!

Jasmim said...

Oh, I forgot to tell you, we have a award for you: "This blog is satin" (in Portuguese: Esse blog é de cetim)
Hugs

Whitey said...

After Gandalf's emergency FLUTD episode nearly 3 weeks ago, the Vet put us all on Hills Prescription Diet, C/D. It has controlled levels of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and oxalate to reduce building blocks of crystals and uroliths, as well as enhanced vitamin B6 to help decrease oxalate formation and excretion in the urine. In simpler terms, it helps lower the pH of the urine to dissolve crystals and helps prevent them from forming (again).

http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524441783040

We use a combination of wet and dry: We have 1 cup of the dry crunchies to share, and we split half a can of the wet in the morning, and the other half in the evening.

It adds up to what the recommended feeding is for a 10-pound cat, which is what we *should both weigh. Right now Gandalf is a little under 12 pounds and Grayson is a little over 11 pounds, so we are both a bit over what we *should weigh.

Daisy said...

We ended up with California Natural because it has limited ingredients and is good for allergic cats. But we have also tried Wellness CORE dry food and EVO canned foods, and we liked them all.

Another really good canned cat food is made by Merrick. They have human-grade delicious recipes like "Grammy's Pot Pie" and "Cowboy Cookout." The great thing about them is that if you order from them directly, there is no shipping cost, even on the canned food!

The Taylor CatSSSSS said...

WHAT A CUTE PICTURE!!! What??? You didn't think that Mommy's hint was very good????? :)


Love, uSSSSS

Peggy's Place said...

Your vet didn't suggest anything? Ask them for a small bag of Hills Prescription Diet that would be good for bladder infections/stones. If you kitties won't eat it they (Hills) are real good about returning your money for any unused food.

loki said...

My Nanny is feeding me with dry and wet food. But my daddy did the raw diet for a while. Nanny makes her own dog food, it's a lot of work. But we don't know if it will make a difference in the long run.

Loki

Reese =^..^= said...

No, sorry. I've been lucky so far so regular off the shelf stuff works for me so far. Good luck in your search, buddy!

Happy Friday.

Anonymous said...

Have ya seen me (I weigh 20 lbs)? Our Mama needs some of that advice herself! Heeheehee! ~Crikey

Baby Patches said...

Hai, its very nice to meets you and I hopes to gets to knows you better!

Momma will no longer uses da major brands likes purina etc. She feeds us Royal Canin which is a very good natural premium dry food. Den she feeds us wet food once a day which is highly recommended and its AVODerm & Advanced Pet Diets. Wellness is a good brand as well.

Looks likes da Island Cats mentioned those too, dey are very good. So I hopes dis helps!

I adding you to my cats who blog list.

Purrrrrrrrrrs

Anya said...

Advice about food is always great :)
I am on a diet now :(
But my favorite food is fish ^__^

have a great weekend
Kareltje =^.^=

Cory said...

This is so helpful reading all the tips because we are also on the hunt for the right food. Jonesie and Ginger have allergy issues and now Cecilia has a bladder issue, so we need to find something that works for everyone. We are thinking of trying Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw food. We did not like the Merrick canned food and California Naturals made Ginger gassy (P.U.)! All we know now is that we will no longer get our Fancy Feast fish flavors as treats.

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