# What brand of Dry/Wet food do u feed your cat?



## Shuyun1980 (Feb 28, 2012)

I did some reading up on raw food and seriously i am overwhelmed...

So even with all the positives i read about getting from a raw diet, im still remaining canned wet food for now~

Just want to find out what brand of wet food everyone is buying and feedback~
I need to go back look at what im buying first, cant remeber offhand...
I think its whiskas something...but its not in a can, its in packet form~

My Vet actually passed me some dry food samples to take home IAMS, and told me to crush it and mix with water for feeding~
*My kitten is only 5weeks old having difficulty breaking down the dry food*


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Why not just give the kitten canned? It's better for it anyway and then you wouldn't have to crush/soak the kibble?

I feed:

Month 1: By Nature's Beef/Beef liver & Merrick's Before Grain Beef flavor
Month 2: By Nature's Beef/Beef liver & Evo Venison
Month 3: By Nature's Beef/Beef liver & Merrick's Cowboy Cookout
Month 4: By Nature's Beef/Beef liver & Weruva Steak Frites

Then I start over with month 1.


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## ronss (Dec 12, 2010)

my cats i feed blue wilderness , chicken flavor, dry, but not much...%25 of their diet. my siamese really like this,,but i am trying not to give him much of it..
the other 75% is combination of other brands...they like wellness chicken and turkey..sort of like chicken soup for the cats loving soul....will eat some of the natural balance brands....

they don,t like merrick much, evangers, evo...these are the brands i have tried at my mom and pop store...

oh, i tried this brand, 
Earthborn Chicken Catcciatori Dinner in Gravy, and they like that the best, they really dig into this food...only bad thing, its not cheap...

YOU HAVE A KITTEN , SO SAVE THIS FOR LATER., GET KITTEN FOOD


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## mooney713 (Jun 19, 2011)

I feed my cat 1 pouch split into 2 meals of Felix wet food and 40g of Whiskas complete dry food a day


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## ibbica (Jul 28, 2010)

Unfortunately I can't give you too many specific brand recommendations (I'm in Europe), but since formulations change all the time anyway, you're better off understanding what to look for so you can assess each available food yourself 

An excellent resource is the catinfo site: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

The quick-and-dirty version of what to look for:

- "Complete and balanced" printed on the label;

- First ingredient is a named*** meat (e.g. "chicken", rather than "poultry", or "chicken meal"*** *rather than "meat meal");

- Second ingredient is a named organ source (e.g. "chicken by-products"**** or "chicken by-product meal", rather than "animal byproducts"), or the lack of organ inclusion can be compensated reasonably well by added vitamins and minerals;

- Protein is from an animal source rather than a vegetable source (grains, for example, can increase the total protein in the can without increasing bioavailable protein levels*****)

- Little to no vegetable matter (much easier with canned than kibble, which needs substantial carbs to hold its shape).

Also look for:

- Less than 10% of the calories coming from carbohydrates;

- Less than 50% of the non-carb calories from fat (or: over 50% of the non-carb calories from protein... IOW, for every 100 kcal, less than 10 kcal from carbs and less than 45 kcal from fat).


*** A vague "animal meat meal" is, however, preferable to any plant material.

**** For an explanation of what "meal", "by-products" and other listed ingredients actually are, see: AAFCO DEFINITIONS OF DOG FOOD INGREDIENTS If a 'meat meal' is listed, an additional fat source should also appear in the ingredients list (preferably named, e.g. "chicken fat"). Ideally manufacturers would specify the actual organs included ("liver", "lung", etc.), but very very few even keep track of those details, let alone print them on the label.

*****"Hydrolyzed" plant proteins are readily bioavailable, as the proteins have been broken down into their component amino acids. However, the amino acid proportions won't be the same as from an animal source, and some (e.g. taurine) aren't available at all from plants.


If you're feeding an all-wet diet, just let your kitten eat as much as she wants. A life-stage-specific food isn't really necessary, although "kitten" foods produced by companies that make relatively low-quality adult food do tend to contain relatively more fat and protein. Check the labels.

There really isn't much (any?) benefit to be had from feeding kibble, but if you feel you must feed some, Orijen and Acana are excellent quality for kibble (same company makes both); Taste of the Wild is decent as well. Note that TOTW includes a rather high mineral ("ash") content, including magnesium, so be careful with that one if you're concerned about struvite crystals.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I feed my cats canned food in the morning and afternoon. At night before I go to bed, they get a light meal with raw food. They don't get dry food regularly (which is bad for them, even the best brand), but I give them Orijin dry meal occasionally (once a week maybe) as a treat.

The canned I feed:
Wellness, Evo, Innova, Weruva BFF, Performentra, Nutrient Organic, Chicken soup for cat lover, Before Grain. Those are the best canned food available, but they can be expensive. 

The flavor are mainly chicken/turkey/quail, except Weruva BFF is fish based.


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## Violetzephyr (Feb 26, 2012)

Shuyun1980 said:


> I did some reading up on raw food and seriously i am overwhelmed...
> 
> So even with all the positives i read about getting from a raw diet, im still remaining canned wet food for now~
> 
> ...


I feed a canned diet to my kitty, though I have some dry food on hand. The dry food I have on hand is Nature's Variety Duck Meal and Turkey Meal kibble. His main diet is a rotation of Nature's Variety, Merrick, and sometimes Before Grain and Weruva. He goes crazy for Weruva Steak and Nature's Variety everything, especially rabbit!


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

I've switched to feeding my boys pizza.


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## LadyK (Jan 30, 2012)

No dry food here.

For canned, I've tried a lot of different brands and varieties for Josie. I even keep a list with me of what she likes and what she won't touch. Her favorites include Weruva, Wellness, Evo, Natural Balance, Blue, Soulistic, and sometimes Before Grain.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

For mine that get half raw/half canned, they get mostly Merrick Surf & Turf, then all the none fish flavors of Before Grain. They also do get some low quality grain free wet food to help keep the cost of their canned food down.

I don't (and won't) feed dry.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Evo, wellness core, blue wilderness, avoderm, soulistic. Chicken, turkey, duck flavors. Only grain free varieties, and i rotate on a daily basis with raw thrown in occasionally.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Forgot to mention that is all canned, i do not feed dry.


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## KMK83 (Mar 6, 2012)

We rotate Merrick Cowboy Cookout with Wellness Core Turkey/Chicken wet food. She also gets a quarter cup of Innova dry food per day that she rarely finishes. We leave it out while we're at work in case she gets hungry.


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## Julz (Feb 17, 2011)

my cats started on chicken soup for the kitten lover's soul but their 'presents' in the cat box would stink up my whole apartment so I switched them to BG kibble and canned. They'll eat it but it isn't their favorite so I bought them nature's variety and they loved it. I didn't realize at the time that I had bought it on sale and regularly priced is like a dollar more a can than BG and now they won't eat the BG. Oops.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Seriously, I'm dropping all fancy, high end brands except for Weruva, Soulistic, and sometimes Nature's Variety Instinct Lamb for mostly Fancy Feast Classic.

I've run the gambit on just about all of them, and in the end I'm starving my poor Truman to death. He wants Fancy Feast. The classic pate is respectable enough, and I won't be starving my biggest boy any more.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Before we made the final jump into all raw, I was feeding Weruva (no grain / chicken varieties only). They did extremely well on this food and I felt "good" about feeding it to them.


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## azcat (Oct 10, 2010)

Blue Buffalo. They don't puke/hairball anymore unless I feed them too much.


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## asrowley (Dec 17, 2011)

Wellness! I'm proud to say we made the switch recently!


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## Lucas718 (Feb 19, 2012)

Since I found this forum a few weeks ago, I've tried to switch Ziggy over to some better quality foods. Previously he had only ever gotten Friskies. He liked the chicken (shredded and sliced), the flaked tuna, the salmon pate, and was ok on the sliced or shredded beef. I've tried giving him Wellness chicken and turkey flavors, he wasn't interested at all. Tried Innova senior cat food, again no interest. Tried Authority chicken pate, no interest. He did like the Authority catfish until one time I put it in a syringe and had to force feed him. Since then, no interest. 

So I've learned to save the good stuff for the assist feedings and just put the darn Friskies in his bowl.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Lucas718 said:


> Since I found this forum a few weeks ago, I've tried to switch Ziggy over to some better quality foods. Previously he had only ever gotten Friskies. He liked the chicken (shredded and sliced), the flaked tuna, the salmon pate, and was ok on the sliced or shredded beef. I've tried giving him Wellness chicken and turkey flavors, he wasn't interested at all. Tried Innova senior cat food, again no interest. Tried Authority chicken pate, no interest. He did like the Authority catfish until one time I put it in a syringe and had to force feed him. Since then, no interest.
> 
> So I've learned to save the good stuff for the assist feedings and just put the darn Friskies in his bowl.


You mention he likes the shredded stuff, have you tried weruva, soulistic or avoderm?? It may be a texture issue. Weruva and soulistic make shredded chicken varieties, and avoderm makes one that is chicken chunks in gravy. My cat did not want anything to do with pate(wellness, blue wilderness, or Innova) when I switched him to canned, and I got him to eat it by mixing it with the avoderm.


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## Lucas718 (Feb 19, 2012)

shan841 said:


> You mention he likes the shredded stuff, have you tried weruva, soulistic or avoderm?? It may be a texture issue. Weruva and soulistic make shredded chicken varieties, and avoderm makes one that is chicken chunks in gravy. My cat did not want anything to do with pate(wellness, blue wilderness, or Innova) when I switched him to canned, and I got him to eat it by mixing it with the avoderm.


Thanks. I'll give those a shot. I've been hesitant to get him anything other than the pate styles because I figured I could still use the pate for assist feeding if he wouldn't eat it. Can't get the chunky stuff through the tube. I'll look for some of these the next time I pick up some food for him.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

I second Shan on the Weruva and Soulistic. My oldest boy LOVES those two, and he is a recovering Friskies "savory shreds" addict.


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## Hepburn (Feb 9, 2011)

I feed my cat Wellness Core dry in the morning, and Trader Joe's canned at night. Sometimes he gets Fancy Feast if I've run out of Trader Joe's and can't make the drive for a few days (I can walk to the regular grocery store, but Trader Joe's is a 15-20 minute drive).


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## Gummers (Mar 8, 2012)

My guys really like:

Dry:

Fromm's Salmon A la Veg
Acana
Blue Wilderness
Taste of the Wild
Nature's Variety Instinct

That's only a small part of their diet though. They go a few weeks at a time without dry food cause I don't think it's very good for them.

Wet:

Soulistic
Nature's Variety Instinct
Wild Delights (Blue Buffalo)
Wellness (the gravy type)
Authority
By Nature 95% Beef

Freeze-dried Raw:

Stella & Chewy's (sometimes, this is EXPENSIVE! D: )

...and various raw meats.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

*we feed our 11 yr old merrick's "Before Grain" wet*

she's just a little 8 lb-er and only eats 1/2 a 5.5 oz can per day along with 3/16 to 1/4 cup of dry food during the day. the dry food right now is just the costco brand because that is what she was eating at the shelter for the last 2 1/2 years. we will be transitioning her to the BG dry food as well soon, though. we just finished transitioning her wet completely from friskies to the BG wet to get away from the grains. we thought she might be having trouble digesting the fish flavored stuff so we're only doing the poultry flavors for now. may try fish again later on just to see because she sure does love that smell!

as for raw, we probably won't ever do that again but that's only because we had a really bad experience with it with a stray we took in a few months ago. we kept reading raw was the way to go so we thought we'd give it a try. the lady at the petstore said her kitties loved the beef so we started with that and think kitty had a horrible allergic reaction to it. she threw it up a few times and developed horrible scabs over the course of just a week. so no more raw for us. BG is just fine.


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## Shuyun1980 (Feb 28, 2012)

btw anyone heard of Whiskas?
Wellness is pretty expensive for my area and Whiskas is like 3x cheaper~
Wet food~


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I've been rotating through a lot of different foods recently, due to Blaze being so picky. So far the main winners are anything with fish... of course I don't want to fully encourage that but at this point... well, whatever he'll eat! So it's California Naturals, Evo, bff - serious love to this one in all its tuna flavors; though Blacky wasn't a fan of the tuna and veggie mix (why did I buy a veggie mix anyway?!), but it was all the more for Blaze!, Go! and Friskies and some other cheaper brand (forgot its name). We tried some others that didn't work out, and actually California Naturals is not that interesting to them now either, but they're stuck with it. Also Chicken Soup and Origen kibble... Blaze is trying out the Origen, he loves it... can't try it on Blacky since I'm not willing for that feral to eat expensive kibble and Blacky's food is always in an area where that cat eats it almost nightly.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Oh yeah, and only pate style. Blaze may eat it otherwise if it's shredded (not sure about chunks) but for Blacky any gravy is hugely snubbed.

And I think everyone's heard of Whiskas, but it's not as healthy so that's why it's cheaper. I've never tried it, but I know a cat that wouldn't anything else in its last few years... maybe I should try it on Blaze.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Shuyun1980 said:


> btw anyone heard of Whiskas?
> Wellness is pretty expensive for my area and *Whiskas is like 3x cheaper*~
> Wet food~


Because it contains a lot of junk fillers like wheat gluten and carcinogenic ingredients like BHA/BHT.


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## Charley Sullivan (Jan 16, 2012)

I've always fed our cats Science Diet dry and Fancy Feast for dinner and they seem have done fine.


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## Violetzephyr (Feb 26, 2012)

Shuyun1980 said:


> btw anyone heard of Whiskas?
> Wellness is pretty expensive for my area and Whiskas is like 3x cheaper~
> Wet food~


I started Hanx off on the Whiskas pouch variety packs and he loved it, got him off of the Science Diet he ate at the shelter. Once I switched him to Instinct (and various other grain free wet foods, but mostly Instinct) he ate a bit more furiously, he's more playful than ever, and his coat is unbelievable. We both loved the Whiskas variety packs for a couple months, but I don't think I could ever go back!


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Charley Sullivan said:


> I've always fed our cats Science Diet dry and Fancy Feast for dinner and they seem have done fine.


 
My cat came from the shelter with his bag of Science Diet, and he stunk!! His poop stunk up the whole apartment, he was gassy, he had bad breath, he was just stinky! I switched him to a grain-free canned diet and it all went away. His poop shrunk in size, I don't even know when he goes to the bathroom now because I can't smell it, and no gas or stinky breath!
I can't beleive the difference. My vet even told me that Science Diet was a good food :roll: I cant wait until his next vet visit so I can tell my vet about his new diet and how much he has improved.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

I have an entire case of Merrick Turkducken, quite a bit of EVO, and a few cans of Go! Natural and a few cans of Wellness collecting dust in the cabinet.

Yeah, I know. Donate it to the shelter. I likely will, but sheesh........ I just wish they'd eat it!!! It's expensive stuff! 

I've tried blending it with stuff they like, and tried saying "well, that's what you get!" but that breaks my heart. They'll simply starve themselves out.


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## sprinkles (Dec 18, 2011)

The healthiest wet food I could find at our local grocery is Natural Life. All the other other really good brands are at stores that are quite far, and I don't grocery shop there.


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## hurricanediana (Mar 5, 2012)

My cats will absolutely not touch any of the holistic branded wet foods. They have to have their classic Fancy Feast cans or they won't be happy!

As for dry food, we feed them various flavours of Innova. 

I truly believe the holistic brands have better ingredients! Since we switched from generic pet brands you can get at any grocery store to Innova, their coats have grown softer/shinier, eyes are brighter, etc.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

hurricanediana said:


> My cats will absolutely not touch any of the holistic branded wet foods. They have to have their classic Fancy Feast cans or they won't be happy!


A bit like a kid who only wants McDonald's. Why eat broccoli if you can hold your breath and out wait the parents for McNuggets.


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## Gummers (Mar 8, 2012)

MowMow said:


> A bit like a kid who only wants McDonald's. Why eat broccoli if you can hold your breath and out wait the parents for McNuggets.



Funny you should say that, my cats actually like McNuggets. ;-)


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## Shuyun1980 (Feb 28, 2012)

I was thinking of changing to wellness from the current whiskas...was planning to order 24cans 5.5oz at one go *cheaper*, but i think i'll go buy 1 can to test out first...incase he refuses to eat......


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Shuyun1980 said:


> I was thinking of changing to wellness from the current whiskas...was planning to order 24cans 5.5oz at one go *cheaper*, but i think i'll go buy 1 can to test out first...incase he refuses to eat......


 
that is a good idea, wellness doesnt seem to be a big hit with most cats. my boy eats it now, but I had to mix it with other canned food he liked to get him to start eating it.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

shan841 said:


> wellness doesnt seem to be a big hit with most cats.


Not sure where that info comes from...it's one of my best selling canned foods. Now the dry is another story...


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

doodlebug said:


> Not sure where that info comes from...it's one of my best selling canned foods. Now the dry is another story...


I have just seen a lot of people post on here that their cats aren't crazy about the taste. My cat didnt want anything to do with it the first time he sniffed it, and It made it harder when I switched him to canned from dry. I had to try other brands before he would even recognize canned as food. I think it smells weird myself...kind of like coffee or something. I still buy it because it is a good food, but that doesnt mean my cat particularly likes the taste(I mix it with avoderm or weruva, which he LOVES)


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

Same here. I have 9 brands of high-quality canned food rotating every day. Wellness is the only one my girls won't touch if I offer it alone. I has to mix Wellness with some other food, any food, or else they would rather starve.


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## Gummers (Mar 8, 2012)

My cats don't care for Wellness either. :-? The chunky recipes in the pouches they'll eat up though...


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

My point is that a few posts here from people who's cats don't like Wellness is not a good basis for a "most cats don't like Wellness" statement. But it is a good idea to try feeding a food for a few weeks before ordering huge quantities online. Sometimes they'll love the first few cans and then as soon as the case shows up....turn up their perky little nose.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

doodlebug said:


> Not sure where that info comes from...it's one of my best selling canned foods. Now the dry is another story...


I've stated a few times that I can get any of my three to eat it. 12.5 ounce cans of chicken and beef formula. 

It's a good food, and I wish they would eat it, but not one of them will.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I've been told from more than one pet store that Wellness is one of their top selling foods. Haven't tried it on my cats but it seems many cats must like it if that's true.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

doodlebug said:


> My point is that a few posts here from people who's cats don't like Wellness is not a good basis for a "most cats don't like Wellness" statement. But it is a good idea to try feeding a food for a few weeks before ordering huge quantities online. Sometimes they'll love the first few cans and then as soon as the case shows up....turn up their perky little nose.


well I never claimed to be an expert, and I didnt say "most cats dont like wellness" i worded it in a way that shows that it is my opinion. It is also my opinion that sales of a certain food is not an accurate measure of weather or not a cat likes the taste. I buy wellness and my cat doesn't like it, and I feel like many others do the same. 

I just don't want shuyun to get frustrated if his/her kitty doesn't go for the wellness right away, I don't know why we are splitting hairs


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I was curious about the sales breakdown so I ran some quick numbers for sales since the beginning of the year:

Wellness 28.6%
Weruva 14.5%
Natural Balance 10.9%
BFF 8.3%
Tiki 7.9%

Total 70.2%

So Wellness sells double it's closest competitor.

Avoderm, Blue Buffalo, Chicken Soup, Felidae, Cal Natural, Earthborn, EVO, Fromm, Go!, Halo, Holistic Select, Innova, Instinct, Merrick, Pinnacle, & Taste of the Wild share the remaining 29.8%.


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## LadyK (Jan 30, 2012)

Interesting to see the break down. Do the big cans of Wellness sell especially well? If so, I wonder if people buy Wellness more because it is more cost-efficient to buy the big cans, rather than dozens of the little 3 or 5.5 ounce cans from the other brands? I know some of the lower-demand foods you listed also come in big cans so maybe that's not it... but I wish more companies did this.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

The large Wellness cans do sell well, but no...I don't think it's that. I sell the large cans of EVO and the price is lower than Wellness. I also have the 10oz cans of Weruva & BFF and they don't move that well. With Weruva & Tiki it's the 3oz cans that move the best. 

Wellness does have more flavors and textures than the others but a lot of them are snoozers. The big sellers are Turkey, Chicken, and Turkey/Salmon, Chicken/Herring also does well...I don't have the numbers available (I'm at home), but I'd bet those 4 outsell all the others combined.


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## Violetzephyr (Feb 26, 2012)

shan841 said:


> that is a good idea, wellness doesnt seem to be a big hit with most cats. my boy eats it now, but I had to mix it with other canned food he liked to get him to start eating it.


My cat doesn't like Wellness very much. It's the first food I've had to throw out (because he just left it sitting there forever). Since then though I also found out he doesn't quite like the California Roll from Merrick and I'm wondering if it's because it had brown rice...? He had only had grain free canned for like 3 months. Who knows, he just might not like it.


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## SallyGracie (Feb 6, 2012)

For dry food I feed Natural Balance green pea & salmon and for occasional wet food I get them the Platefulls pouches – usually the fish dinners (there’s one with Mackerel they go nuts for).


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## Shuyun1980 (Feb 28, 2012)

well fortunately i think my sonic eats anything...lol
tried wellness, avoderm, natural balance, addiction and he finished everything up~

For the above 4 brands are they all the same lvl range?
as in quality wise~


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