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Old 09-18-2008, 12:26 PM   #1  
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Default dog/cat foods

When I had first gotten my cat Gideon (my first pet while an adult) I did what I was brought up to do, buy cheap! But shortly into my cat parenthood of cats I switched them to Nutro (at the time).. over the course of years I learned for both cats and dogs to look at ingredients, like I do for myself! I look for no byproducts, no fillers, and such.

In my indevour I was wondering what some of you "experts" use as feeding dogs and cats. What do you look for? And do you recommend moist or dry?

Thanks!
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Old 09-18-2008, 01:07 PM   #2  
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I have cats and have found the better quality foods (I buy Iams) makes a big difference on shedding, as well as urinary blockage (on male cats) I have found my Himalayan's hair does not get as matted since I switched from Purina One.
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Old 09-18-2008, 04:34 PM   #3  
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DJ, I noticed the same when I switched my two cats. But now I'm wondering if some of the products I was using isn't still a "no no." Even if some of the products say "no by products" it can still have fillers, or other things as preservatives that make it a bad choice, and from what I understand Iam's isn't the best choice. Thats why I'm asking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLaxX...eature=related
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Old 09-18-2008, 06:09 PM   #4  
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All seven of my dogs eat a raw diet. I do not feed any kibble at all and haven't for over 8 years. My dogs eat a variety of raw meats and veggies as well as an assortment of leftovers and other real foods.....

My cats eat a combination of raw and Wellness brand kibble (the taurine requirements for cats concern me so I dont feed a fully raw diet to them)

For cats who as a rule do not have a strong drinking urge, wet food is a must as it gives them the fluids that they might not drink on their own.

so thats what I feed my gang..... Let me just add that bloodbaths often happen in food discussions but my personal beliefs are that .....

there is no one right food for all.... like people, various dogs and cats do better on various foods. I tend to switch around the kibbles I use for my cats and the dogs get a wide variety....

but simply because one food works for me or anotehr for someone else does not mean that it will be the best for you and yours

S

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Old 09-18-2008, 06:22 PM   #5  
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Right now we feed both our animals (1 cat, 1 dog) Nutro Natural Choice, but I've been thinking about looking into different options.

My SIL feeds her dogs a vegetarian diet that she cooks for them. They just stayed with us and "the boys" got cooked lentils, lettuce, carrots, apples, and cucumber mixed with olive oil and braggs liquid aminos (all the veggies were raw.) She said she switches up the veggies to vary the vitamins they get. She has a book that talks about dog nutrition, but I'm not sure the name of it. BTW, her dogs are healthy and one of them has lost a lot of weight on this diet (he is now a healthy weight, he was very overweight when she got him.)

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Old 09-18-2008, 09:04 PM   #6  
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This is a timely discussion for me. I've fed my dogs Nutro since they were puppies, on the advice of my vet. It's expensive ($39 a bag, which lasts a month for 3 dogs). In the past two months, two of the dogs (who are from the same litter), have had tumors/cysts removed that turned out to be cancerous. So, now I wonder if Nutro was the best choice or if I should change their diet.

My current vet says Nutro is fine, but I may talk to the holistic vet next door. I have thought about a vegetarian diet for them and my mom did an all raw diet for her dog which helped clear up some conditions he had.
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Old 09-19-2008, 08:14 PM   #7  
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Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula

My one dog has an allergy to all grains - wheat, corn, oatmeal, and barley are all no-nos. Since I've started them on Taste of the Wild, which is grain-free, they've lost their pudge, their coat is much shinier, they're far more energetic, and my baby hasn't gotten hot spots from allergies. It's about $32 for a 30 pound bag, but I'd say its worth it.

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Old 09-20-2008, 01:26 AM   #8  
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Our trainer, Liz Palika who has written several books on dog nutrition, recommends high quality foods with no grains. Her top choice is The Honest Kitchen (a dehydrated raw food) but it's extremely pricey, especially for those of us with large dogs. Her next choices were Wellness CORE and the other one has left my mind at the moment.... Sorry. We used CORE for awhile and the dogs did wonderful on it. We only switched because our vet was concerned about the high protein content (not that its all protein, the carbs just come from things like sweet potatoes and fruit instead of rice or corn) on our 10 year old shepherd's kidneys. Generally high protein content is desired, especially for young or active dogs. I still question her advice but I'm not taking any risks with my baby We are now using Natural Balance Duck and Potato. It's also grain free but has a lower protein content, I think it's around 22% which is more average. That variety of Natural Balance was also on our trainers list of good foods, just a little further down.

Basically just look for a grain free, filler free food. That means no corn, barley, beet pulp, by-products, etc. The list of food ingredients should be relatively short and possibly followed by vitamins and minerals. For example...

Here is the list of ingredients from a Eukanuba food, which many people think is a "good" food:
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Brewers Rice, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Marigold Extract (source of Lutein), Rosemary Extract

Note things like beet pulp, corn meal, and by-products!

Here are the ingredients for Wellness CORE original:
Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

See how their ingredients include a variety of fruits and vegetables and meat, not by-products. Many people might think "meal" is a bad thing as in chicken meal, but all that means is the meat with water content removed. Kind of like oats vs oatmeal.

Both of those foods are dog foods, but the pattern is obviously similar, I'm just not as familiar with cat food. I know that they make a Wellness CORE for cats and that Natural Balance makes a Duck & Green Pea formula for cats which would be the cat equivalent of what we use.

I know many natural food stores have dog food samples, not sure about cat food, but its worth a try!
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Old 09-20-2008, 01:28 AM   #9  
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My two kitties get Wellness brand. I also liked California Naturals, but they stopped carrying "our" favorite flavor.
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Old 09-20-2008, 08:01 AM   #10  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stacylambert View Post
Her top choice is The Honest Kitchen (a dehydrated raw food) but it's extremely pricey, especially for those of us with large dogs.
Honest kitchen for a premade dehydrated food is fine..... interesting that it would be her first choice over a homemade raw or cooked diet.....

however,

I do use honest kitchen products when I am traveling to shows as it is much easier than carrying raw frozen food and I have to say....my dogs HATE it..... they just absolutely hate it..... I have several who will not eat for several days until they are absolutely famished before they will eat it..... even my good eaters don't finish their meals and will pick around at it....

I think personally it has to much fruit.... and while my dogs like fruit.... they just hate that stuff.....

s
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Old 09-21-2008, 01:20 AM   #11  
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I just found this website and have found it informative. They have reviews and ratings on different brands of food.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
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Old 09-25-2008, 11:18 PM   #12  
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In reality, it mainly depends on your animals. I feed my cats purina indoor formula because for some reason it lowers their hairballs and keeps them fairly skinny (one of my cats is shorthair but very furry, he used to have a huge problem with hairballs). I don't give them wet/canned food very often because it gives them the runs and some of them definitely don't need the calories lol.

My dogs, all large dogs, I feed Iams large breed. The food isn't tiny like a lot of dog food, so they actually have to chew it instead of inhaling lol. I got lucky in that I can keep the food out all day without any of them overeating and getting chunky. I also keep the food off the ground, it's on a chair, because being so big/tall it's less stressful on their necks. One of my dogs has very bristly fur that makes him itchy. We tried a few different types of dog food and none of it helped, but we found a liquid vitamin supplement that makes his fur a lot more silky. That stopped his itching, even more so than the benadryl the vet prescribed.

Again I don't feed the dogs any canned food (except for a treat once in a great while). Dogs need something crunchy for their teeth, if you feed dogs wet food you also need to feed them some dry or something crunchy. I used to feed my youngest dog some wet food in order to bulk her up, she was really boney when we got her as a puppy. She ended up getting swollen anal glands from the wet food though so we don't feed her any anymore (that was a fun experience lol).

All in all, whatever works for you and your pets is what you should use. Some people are really strong on the "natural foods" which is great, but sometimes not practical. And some animals really don't like them. I used to work at a vets and some of the dogs being boarded would never eat their own food. After being there for a few days without eating we'd end up giving them our own food, else they'd starve. Some dogs won't eating vegtable heavy food, others would eat anything set in front of them.
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Old 12-13-2008, 08:34 AM   #13  
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After researching I put the dogs on Chicken soup due to the raves and the ingredients in the food. Jade, my 2 yr old, didn't care for it. Her coat got course and skin flakey... Cody's coat got Course and he couldn't stop itching.

Last week I switched them to Taste of the Wild, the Prairie formula, and their coats are so soft, the flakes are gone from Jade and Cody's not itching. Let's not forget that Jade's handing me her bowl four times a night! She loves the taste! I've never seen her so crazy over ANY dog food, not even canned!

Five stars to TOW.
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Old 12-15-2008, 07:00 PM   #14  
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Wellness is supposed to be one of the best brands of commercial cat food, with the lowest percentage from carbohydrates and the best ingredients next to homemade. Most people I hear of feeding cats homemade raw food add supplements (to ensure proper taurine intake, for one).

I definitely agree with feeding a good wet food to cats - as mentioned above they really need the water, and they tend to eat less when given meals and not self-feeding. In addition, wet food has a higher protein content than dry food, and carbs in cats are pretty much useless and are stored as fat. My two kitties came to us from the shelter at 15 and 19lbs... they are big boys to begin with but *definitely* overweight. We feed wet food twice a day, and they have both lost significant amounts of weight (haven't been to the vet recently to be sure, but their bellies don't hang quite so near to the ground!).

I think any animal owner should read up on optimal nutrition for whatever it is you have - you owe it to your companion who adds so much joy to your life to feed them as well as you can! Think of it as preventative maintenance - if they aren't fed stuff they shouldn't be eating, they are less likely to develop health problems prematurely.
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Old 12-15-2008, 07:17 PM   #15  
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My cat is so fussy that he will eat nothing but whiskas. Doesn't matter what flavour as long as its whiskas. I tried to switch to Iams and a few other brands but he just wouldn't go near it so I'm sticking with what he will eat.

I feed wet food twice a day but he always has a little bowl of dry stuff out with his water in case he gets hungry during the day or I'm late getting home from work. I think he quite likes the change in texture sometimes from the dry stuff.
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