# Best Cat food at Wal Mart?



## ziggystyles

Hey all,
Im looking for suggestions on the best kind of cat food to buy at Wal Mart. I hear lots of different varieties mentioned on here but many / most of them are more specialized that I can't find at the local Wally World. 
They have the regular stuff such as Iams and Purina, and a bunch of other ones. Just looking for suggestions as far as nutrition. 

We have two cats, they both eat the same food. We bought Pro Plan when we had a Petsmart nearby. Up until the last shopping trip we bought Purina one. My wife bought something else a bit cheaper (due to fundage) and Cleo (aka...Fat Cat) tries to cover it up, so that tells me she doesnt like it, lol. 

Im looking for suggestions on both dry and wet. They eat all dry food however I do like to split a can between both of them because Cleo gets dandruff and I think she needs some wet food in her diet.


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## ~Siameseifuplz~

Do they have Newman's Own organic pet food? The wet is ok, I don't really like the dry but if that's the best you can get then I suppose it's better than many others. Are there no pet stores that sell good food near you?


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## doodlebug

Walmart is now carrying a food called Natural Life, the wet food is pretty decent...it has a couple things in it I'm not thrilled with (rice flour and generic ocean fish, as opposed to naming the fish) but other than that pretty decent. And way better than anything else Walmart carries. However, their dry food is junk. 

There isn't a dry food from Walmart I can recommend in good conscious, but the new Iams Naturals or the Pro Plan Select look to be about the best of the lot, but they have a lot of stuff in them that isn't really good for a cat (corn, wheat, glutens etc.)

All cats need wet in their diet, it should be mostly wet. Please consider reversing the way you feed them. Even the worst wet food is better than the best dry. See the sticky at the top if Health & Nutrition for some good reading on diet.

I'll move this to Health & Nutrition for you.


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## talullah

I'm a recent (sorta-kinda) convert!!! My kitties still want a handful or two of dry so I leave some out for them.


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## chris10

doodlebug said:


> Even the worst wet food is better than the best dry.


I still make peoples jaw drop when I make this statement. But doodlebug 100% right on the money. That statement should be enough for people to wonder why dry is not good and to check out the sticky that doodlebug mentioned. Worst better than the best, theres got to be a reason or a lot of us wouldn't be saying this.
Good luck.


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## doodlebug

I had never heard of Maxximum and went looking for info. It appears to be Walmart's private label food (marketed exclusively by Walmart). Couldn't find ingredients listed anywhere, which always makes me wary. I found a site that does food reviews and they only had a partial list which included things like brewers rice, corn gluten, corn meal & beef tallow. Assuming this is correct, it's not a good food...


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## ziggystyles

argh, sorry guys...had a brain fart, forgot I posted, lol. 



> Do they have Newman's Own organic pet food?


Im not sure...I should have written down some names. Will give them a looksie next time Im in. 



> Are there no pet stores that sell good food near you?


There is one that I can think of off the top of my head....sad that I don't get around town that much, haha. Even so, Im so used to buying them basic purina stuff, wouldn't know the best kinds to get. 

Basically I get the dry food, not that Im cheap...its just that....Im cheap, lol. Im in small town WY (need to change my prof) and the selection isn't that good and Im sure anything at a pet shop would be pricey. I do get some cans of Fancy feast from time to time when we haev a few extra bucks and I split them between the cats. 

I dont know how theyd manage eating the wet food once or twice a day or so as what they have right now is a bowl that basically gets refilled each day and they nibble as they walk by (...."hey the food dish, that reminds me...time for a snack!")

Ill post more when I get more info...need to find some info on here in regards to what to look for, nutrition wise for food.


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## doodlebug

You mention that Cleo has dandruff and her nickname is Fat Cat...both are directly attributable to free feeding poor quality dry food. What you save on food now, is likely to translate into vet bills later. 

Here is a quote from Dr. Jean who is a holistic vet who visits the forum on occasion. Something to think about:



drjean said:


> As a feline vet, I have researched nutrition for many years. The scientific evidence is OVERWHELMING that wet food is far better for cats than dry food. It is much closer to what nature intended, and helps avoid lots and lots of problems. Here is a partial list of diseases related to diet:
> * Obesity
> * Diabetes
> * Vomiting
> * Constipation
> * Diarrhea
> * Hepatic Lipidosis (Liver Failure)
> * Pancreatitis
> * Arthritis
> * Heart Disease
> * Asthma
> * Allergies
> * Inflammatory Bowel Disease
> * Triaditis
> * Chronic Renal Failure
> * Lower Urinary Tract Disease
> * Hyperthyroidism
> * High Blood Pressure
> * Viral Conjunctivitis
> * Skin and Coat Problems
> 
> All of these (except possibly thyroid disease) are seen most commonly in cats eating dry food, and most can also be solved by converting to a wet diet.
> 
> If people would rather spend their money for vet bills than on healthy food, that's fine--just realize it's going to cost one way or the other, but only one involves suffering for the cat. I admit, I'm getting crankier about this as time goes on...because I see so much damage done by dry food. Dry food has 2 advantages: it is cheap and it is convenient. But those are not benefits to the cat, are they?
> 
> To be clear, canned and dry foods are not nutritionally equivalent. Dry cat food is typically around 30-35% protein, wet food is 45-50%. Dry food usually has around 30-40% carbohydrates, wet food around 10%. Feline physiology uses protein and fat for energy, so carbs are mostly excreted or stored as fat. The most important nutrient, water, is present at 10% in dry food, but nearly 80% in canned.
> 
> Okay, I'll get off my soap box now, but will leave you with this: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... cannedfood


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## ziggystyles

Well, I don't know how much of her weight is due to being overweight compared to the type of cat she is. I know she is overweight but when I see other cats like her (Norveeeeegan Forest)...she seems comparable. I jsut call her fat, lol. 

Id upload a picture, but she is impossible to photograph being all black...just looks like one blob of fuzz. 

Anywho...I just finished shopping at Wal Mart. My wife got the last thing of cat food and I think it is Purinas Natural kind. Cleo isn't fond of it and Hercules doesnt know how to complain about his food.

Here is what they have along with prices:
*Dry Fud:*
Newmans own 3.5lb bag $9.67
Iams Natural life 7lb bag 14.27
Natural life (I think?) 4.40 for either a 4 OR 8lb bag. 
Rachal Ray (God, lol...)641 for a 6lb bag

Hand writing got bad...not sure of the following brands...doesnt make sense)
Sound life (argh...cant remember name...white bag with blue writing) 7.97 for 6lbs
Iams with Natural something...doesnt make sense as I wrote about Iams above...can't finda ny other Iams products online that are natural.....6.18 for 3.5 lb bag

Along with those, they have other brands such as: Special Kitty, Whiskas, 9 lives, Meow Mix and Purina

*Wet Food - small or big sizes*
Iams .33 or .64 
Meow mix .52
Newmans own 1.07 / 1.34
Natural Life .92
Whiskas Pouches .42 / .52
Fancy feast .54
FF Medleys .76
Sheba .98
Friskies .46
9 lives four packs of big cans...didn't write price...prolly wont get
Special Kitty.... .42

Any recommendations from this selection for either?

Ill have to browse the site some more, havent had a chance yet....to see what others recommend as far as cat food, maybe from pet stores.


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## chris10

ziggystyles said:


> Any recommendations from this selection for either?


IMO all the canned listed is better than any dry, including holistic dry food (the list that doodlebug posted is scary). For a specific canned I would say newman's own. The same for dry food.


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