# Mix & Match Brands of Dry Food?



## sykuo515 (Apr 12, 2004)

Hi all,

Last Saturday, we adopted our first cat, Zoey from the shelter. Since then, I've been reading quite a bit of treads about cat nutritions and such. I'm curious, if it's okay to mix & match the dry foods. We got some pretty good deals on the cat food. (If you are interested, you can get 3.5lbs bag of Natural Choice or Science Diet free after rebate at petco right now. You need to ask for rebate form at the register if not at the shelf) Anyway, since we are starting out with two brands already... can I simply dump both bags into one storage bin and feed the mix to Zoey? Or is this something bad for them? Thanks! 

First Time Cat Owner


----------



## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

Congrats on your new family member!!!! How exciting, hope to see pics sometime?

You're going to get a mixed bag of answers (sorry for the pun) on this one. It'll be informative, you can read all the different reasons why people are doing what they're doing, and make your own decisions. If you do a search of the forum you'll find answers from others who've asked the same thing too.

A lot of the stuff you've been reading probably stated that you should only have one food at a time for the cat, because cats' stomachs are sensitive. These, including the food instructions, say to switch your cat over gradually to avoid stomach upset. 

This is true for cats that have delicate tummies. How do you find out if yours is? Do an abrupt change, and your cat will vomit, or more commonly have diarrhea. Other members can give you more symptoms to watch for.

I personally have had very good experiences mixing different foods. I don't trust any one brand, and I want variety in their diet, so I have a nice mix of 2 or 3 different dry foods all the time. I also give them different wet foods too. No problems here from the variety. My regular vet and my vet dentist also highly recommend this, for different reasons.

Remember, disclaimer: this is my own situation.  This is not suitable for all cats.

And thanks for the heads up on the Petco rebate! I'm definitely getting some.


----------



## Annissa (Dec 9, 2003)

I consistently use the same brand of food and switch the flavors on a daily basis. Using the same flavor over and over tends to make cats finicky eaters.

I don't see a problem with mixing different brands of dry food, so long as both brands are good quality. Someone with more experience feeding dry food may have a more well-informed opinion, though.

I feed an all-wet diet to keep Sabby's blood glucose stabilized and to help him lose weight (everybody on this board is probably tired of hearing about it.  )


----------



## Maleke (Jul 2, 2003)

I feed my kittens one brand of dry food, but I switch the wet food all the time. They get TONNES of different wet foods and they never have a problem. I have heard it's good to switch the dry food once every 4 months or so, but I have also heard that it isn't. Haha. I don't see a problem with mixing two dry foods together, I have never done it but I don't see the harm.


----------



## sentimentalgirl (Jan 29, 2004)

Annissa said:


> I feed an all-wet diet to keep Sabby's blood glucose stabilized and to help him lose weight (everybody on this board is probably tired of hearing about it.  )


Don't worry, we never get tired about it!


----------



## sentimentalgirl (Jan 29, 2004)

Annissa, is it ok to give them different kind of wet food every day? For some reason I thought that it's good to switch the food every 3-4 months. I"m feeding only with wet food (and using dry food as treats). Do you think I should change the wet food more often?

Thanks!


----------



## Mike (Jan 27, 2004)

Annissa said:


> I feed an all-wet diet to keep Sabby's blood glucose stabilized and to help him lose weight (everybody on this board is probably tired of hearing about it.  )


No we aren't. We care for Sabby too and we want to see him get slim and trim.

Peace,
Mike


----------



## sykuo515 (Apr 12, 2004)

Thanks all for the comments. I think I will try mixing two brands first, and see how Zoey likes it. 

Shirley


----------



## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

On my grandmas cats, when I lived there, we constantly changed brands of food, and never had any tummy troubles. But now I feed one brand of food, different flavors.


----------



## octoberdana (Jan 16, 2004)

I feed my cats lots of brands of wet foods. Sensible Choice, ProPlan, Authority, sometimes Iams, and Natural Balance. I also try mixing up the flavors too.

This gives them good variety.

I keep them on one dry food for 4 months.


----------



## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

The reasons that switching dry foods every 3-4 months is a good idea are:
1. switching makes the cat less likely to become "addicted" to one kind
2. it prevents nutrient imbalances (deficiencies or excesses) that may arise from feeding a single food
3. varying the protein/carb sources prevents food allergies from developing

You can change wet food flavors daily; for the same reasons. In my experience, cats seem to adjust quickly to a variety of wet flavors (probably because the macronutrient contents are similar across types) but the gut gets "used to" a certain balance of the dry and it takes time for the bacteria to adjust to a new configuration. That's why dry food should be switched gradually.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


----------



## sentimentalgirl (Jan 29, 2004)

drjean said:


> ....You can change wet food flavors daily; ...


If I understand correctly, I can give them e.g. different wet food in the morning and different in the night? Or one day one kind, second day different kind..... Is it ok for them? What about mixing different kinds of wet food together? Is it a good idea? 

Thank you!


----------



## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

I give mine a different flavor wet food at every meal. With 5 cats, I get the giant sized (15 oz) cans so I don't have to mix, but if for some reason I'm down to my "emergency stash" of small cans I'll combine 2 or 3 to give them enough. It doesn't much matter, really, as long as they get a variety over time. Having been fed everything but the kitchen sink since kittenhood, mine have very flexible tummies and appetites! In fact I had to shove a couple of noses out of my lunchtime artichoke today!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


----------



## sentimentalgirl (Jan 29, 2004)

Thank you Dr.Jean. I didn't know about it. I'm glad I know now.  I will work on it because I don't want them to get too spoiled!


----------

