What do you feed your dog or cat?

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CanadianGolden,

What kind of canned food worked for you?
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Electrophile said:
What diets are your guys' cats on? I talked to a vet on VIN from California about how she's reduced the weights on several of her rescue kitties so they can slim down safely before being adopted out. She wrote up some mini case studies which can be found here:

http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm#Molly
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Right now mine is on Blue Buffalo (dry)...we were doing the Evolution formula by them, but they didn't have it in the stores last time so we had to settle for the Chicken and Brown Rice formula (less ideal, but still better than the Deli Cat he was originally on).
He gets really freaked out if he gets wet food more than once or twice a week so right now he gets supplemental Whiska's Purrfectly Fish once a week to get him some wet food in there.
My cat is definitely overweight, but I swear he is not nearly as obese as he sounds. If he went down 4 pounds to 20 pounds, he would be in perfect shape. A lot of it is that he is just a huge cat. He can reach my hip with his front legs without stretching. :eek:
I tried giving him some fresh fish as well, but he has no flippin' clue as to how to eat a piece of meat. :laugh: He just licks it. We found him when he was 2 weeks old (his mom had been run over) and so he was bottle fed and raise by my Shih tzu...he has almost zero cat instincts.
But, yeah, I'm working out what food will work for him. If you guys have a suggestion, let me know. However, it needs to be not extremely expensive and somewhat easy to get, because he is my sister's cat and she is a daycare worker and a student. Not a lot of time to run around getting food.
 
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Electrophile said:
When you start at Texas A&M in the fall, check in with whoever is their Natura rep. They make Innova, Evo, and California Naturals, which you'll be able to get for free as part of their feeding program. Here's some more helpful hints from Dr. Pierson on how to make the switch from dry to wet food.

http://www.catinfo.org/index.htm#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_
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Thanks for the advice. Some of those tips will definitely not work on my cat and some of them are already in place (he's always had definite meal times, so that's a good thing).
The Parmesan cheese thing made me giggle.
He's kind of strange, because it isn't that he doesn't LIKE wet food, it's that he gets freaked out if he gets it too frequently. It is very strange, I've never seen a cat act like that. He's eating it like it is candy and then all of a sudden he won't touch it.
I'll work with him on it though.
 
The DVM who wrote the stuff that Electrophile linked to seems to say that cats will self regulate their food intake better on wet food. My guy eats waaay too much when left to his own devices with dry food, though, and given how darn hungry he seems to be all the time, I cannot imagine he wouldn't gorge on wet food if given the chance, too. Does anyone have any experience with cats that overeat not overeating with canned food? I'm starting to consider giving it another go since he's on meal times and will be hungry, so maybe making him eat the wet won't be as hard this time. Also, maybe this time he won't throw up every day. That'd be nice.
 
I use Wellness, EVO and Instinct. My cat lost weight on one of those...don't remember which, probably Wellness, but he maintains/could lose on any of them I'm sure. It was the high carbs in the dry food that kept him fat I think. Canned food is better anyway--less processed and more water, which is better for cats. Helps prevent kidney problems.
 
The other thing about canned is that you don't leave it out all day like you can with dry. Even if the poor wittle kitty cat acts like it is starving, politely remind them of their wild brethren that get to eat once a day if they're lucky. :D They sure don't get an all you can eat buffet. So it really is okay if they go 12 hours without a meal. Just be careful of the plump kitties and hepatic lipidosis.
 
I'm currently feeding my two kitties science diet W/D dry and canned. They both love it, and have started losing weight. Even though it's not all natural and contains grains, I prefer this food over other more natural diets for several reasons.
1. It has undergone food trials and has been proven to be suitable for adult maintenance.
2. It is lower in calories than many other "diet" foods. 281 kcal per cup versus 400+ that I've seen on non-prescription diets.
3. Mineral and pH levels are appropriate for kitties with FLUTD

I have to admit that the more holistic diets tempted me for some time, but I just don't want to risk my cats' health. Maybe one of us should start developing natural foods, but with the benefits of prescription diets. Who's up for the challenge? :)
 
annaig said:
I'm currently feeding my two kitties science diet W/D dry and canned. They both love it, and have started losing weight. Even though it's not all natural and contains grains, I prefer this food over other more natural diets for several reasons.
1. It has undergone food trials and has been proven to be suitable for adult maintenance.
2. It is lower in calories than many other "diet" foods. 281 kcal per cup versus 400+ that I've seen on non-prescription diets.
3. Mineral and pH levels are appropriate for kitties with FLUTD
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My apologies as I know more about dog nutrition and AAFCO protocols than I do for cats, but...interesting that a weight loss diet has been approved for maintenance when a maintenance diet, at least for dogs, the animals should not lose more than 15% of their body weight by 26 weeks, which is precisely what a lot of these obese and morbidly obese cats actually need to lose (around 1-2% a week nice and slow). So yes, it seems a fine diet for keeping the weight on as is required for a maintenance diet, which is kind of not so much the point, yes? And no, it hasn't been proven to be suitable for adult maintenance (i.e.-for years and years). It's been proven to keep 6 out of 8 test subjects alive for 26 weeks. If you're not familiar with AAFCO feeding trials for maintenance, basically the animals are at least a year old, they must use a minimum of 8 animals (which is not exactly statistically rock solid foolproof), and they check weight each week, and do a simple serum and blood chemistry panel at the end. Pardon me for not falling out of my chair with how impressed I am. :rolleyes: As I don't have an AAFCO handbook (you have to pay $50 for one), I actually don't know what they require or don't require for a diet to be labeled as a weight loss diet, though the labels "light," "reduced fat," etc have definitions that are apparently covered in chapter 13 of Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th edition (which I don't have). :( I may see if I can find it in the vet school library tomorrow. :)

annaig said:
I have to admit that the more holistic diets tempted me for some time, but I just don't want to risk my cats' health. Maybe one of us should start developing natural foods, but with the benefits of prescription diets. Who's up for the challenge? :)
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Give me a few years. :p Actually, Natura will supposedly soon be releasing a guide for vets on how to use their OTC diets for certain medical problems like obesity, which is very helpful for owner compliance when they can't always make it across town to the vet. I'm most interested to see this. I did ask Natura if they are planning on developing a full line of veterinary/therapeutic diets and they say not currently, as the research to develop diets like those from scratch is very costly and it's pretty invasive (like to force a dog or cat into chronic renal failure). If they would, they'd likely design it from previous research done by other companies. I actually think that'd be a good idea. Say for a renal diet, you'd want to pick highly digestible protein source at a moderate level with low phospherous. That could be doable without having crap for ingredients that say, Purina NF or Hill's k/d has.
 
I don't consider feeding a biologically appropriate food to be "risking my animals' health" but that's just my opinion. (I personally would not feed raw, because to me the risks outweigh the benefits, but of course many people feed it and feels that the benefits are greater than the risks. To me, feeding a natural, grain free or low carb, high protein diet--canned and dry for the dog, canned for the cats--is the best nutrition with the fewest risks.)
 
I have always fed my cats a mix of dry and wet food, but my dogs are always on dry food. From my understanding with cats (and dogs?), the main reason to feed dry food is to improve dental health. It seems as though wet food is more nutritional than dry food. (Please correct me if I am wrong, I admittedly do not know much about nutrition) Are there people who feed dogs only wet food, or a mix? I actually do not know anyone who feeds any wet dog food, but perhaps this is not the best approach...

Basically, I just want to know if wet food is more nutritional than dry food for dogs, if dry dog food is solely fed for dental health purposes, what percentage of dog diet should be wet / dry?

Thanks :)
 
greenie53 said:
I have always fed my cats a mix of dry and wet food, but my dogs are always on dry food. From my understanding with cats (and dogs?), the main reason to feed dry food is to improve dental health. It seems as though wet food is more nutritional than dry food. (Please correct me if I am wrong, I admittedly do not know much about nutrition) Are there people who feed dogs only wet food, or a mix? I actually do not know anyone who feeds any wet dog food, but perhaps this is not the best approach...

Basically, I just want to know if wet food is more nutritional than dry food for dogs, if dry dog food is solely fed for dental health purposes, what percentage of dog diet should be wet / dry?

Thanks :)
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Dry dog food does nothing for dental health. That's like brushing your teeth with toast. Something like 85% of dogs show signs of periodontal disease by the time they are 3 years old! :eek: Here's my 3 year old raw fed (plus about 20% commercial canned) dog. He doesn't show much in the way of periodontal disease, does he? :laugh:

zososnarl2yu7.jpg



Here's my Siberian husky/Rottweiler mix's teeth. I got him about 2.5 years ago as a "failed foster" from the local shelter. His teeth are blunted as he's a fence chewer. They were disgusting when I first got him. Full of tartar and smelled awful. He's now on a raw diet as well. I have never brushed either his teeth or any of my other three dogs' teeth. His age? Around 10 to 12 years old.

buckteethah8.jpg

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For the average chewer, if you feed kibble and want to help your dog's teeth, giving them a frozen raw knuckle bone (not smoked...these can be too hard on their teeth) to work on in their crate. It's the bottom part of the femur and it's softer than the shaft. But if you've got one of those dogs that is just hell bent on breaking teeth, letting them have a raw turkey wing to work on a few times a week should help for large dogs. Chicken wings or pork neck bones work for small dogs.
 
Electrophile said:
My apologies as I know more about dog nutrition and AAFCO protocols than I do for cats, but...interesting that a weight loss diet has been approved for maintenance when a maintenance diet, at least for dogs, the animals should not lose more than 15% of their body weight by 26 weeks, which is precisely what a lot of these obese and morbidly obese cats actually need to lose (around 1-2% a week nice and slow). So yes, it seems a fine diet for keeping the weight on as is required for a maintenance diet, which is kind of not so much the point, yes? QUOTE]

W/D is meant as an obesity prevention diet (or for DM cats) not as a weight loss diet. Usually you put the cats on R/D or M/D to lose weight and then transition to W/D to maintain weight. If you switch from OTC food to W/D, the cat will likely lose weight because of the caloric difference, but, from what I understand, W/D is a maintenance diet.

You should tell your hills rep to get on the book, I have 2 (one pocket size and one large hardback)...
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Yeah, we were supposed to get one, but we never did. :rolleyes:

Here's how w/d is described on their website:

w/d® Canine

For Weight Control and the Nutritional Management of Fiber Responsive Diseases
Excess weight, diabetes and digestive troubles can cause problems for your dog. Feeding the right food can help your pet live a healthier lifestyle. Prescription Diet® w/d® Canine dog food, with its fiber rich formula, may be useful as a nutritional aid for dogs with fiber responsive diseases such as diabetes mellitus, colitis, diarrhea, constipation, and to help manage overweight dogs, including those with struvite urolithiasis. The nutritional formulation of Prescription Diet® w/d® may also be useful for pets with a variety of conditions.
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Here's r/d:



r/d® Canine

For the Nutritional Management of Obese or Overweight Dogs
Being overweight can cause your pet discomfort, reduce energy levels and even shorten their life. Just as in people, weight gain is usually associated with excessive calorie and fat intake combined with a lack of exercise. Obesity can lead to such serious conditions as heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Prescription Diet® r/d® Canine dry dog food is designed specifically for the management of dogs that are overweight or obese. Its low fat, reduced calorie, high fiber, high lysine formula helps dogs lose weight while helping them feel full. Prescription Diet® r/d® Canine dry has the highest levels of L-carnitine and lysine of any competitive therapeutic weight loss food to help burn fat while increasing lean muscle mass. r/d® Canine dry provides an optimal blend of soluble and insoluble fiber to trigger GI tract satiety signals and to fill the upper GI tract to give dogs a feeling of fullness. The nutritional formulation of Prescription Diet® r/d® Canine may also be useful for pets with a variety of conditions as recommended by your Veterinarian.
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I sorta see what you mean, but they are labeled both for weight control. Either way, gotta hand it to Hill's though. Only the big four would have the gall to charge $50 for a 30 lbs bag of dog food that is 17.1% (!!!) powdered cellulose. So...you're paying nearly $9 out of that bag for what is essentially saw dust. Bravo, Hill's, bravo...
 
I myself have two dogs with very different demands, and i haven't yet got them into raw food, though i want to. Instead I stick to premium foods. from time to time i feed them royal canin. Mostly its canidae, chicken soup, california natural, innova, artemis, natural balance or some equivalent.

on occasion, i'll buy wysong au jus canned food as a treat for the dogs, but it is more of a holiday treat.

I think that dogs are omnivorous carnivores. unlike the cat , which is an obligate carnivore, i prefer not to give a high percentage of protein to my dogs.

as for my cats, they eat blue buffalo or royal canin hairball. Except for my one FLUTD cat who maintains on C/D . i tried to switch him to waltham's equivalent but he ended up having blockages and problems and i put him back on c/d.

in general i do not like purina/hill's/eukanuba/nutro etc, however hill's c/d keeps my cat healthy and i tip my hat at that.

I also have a ferret and a parrot (lovebird). they're a whole other story but i follow the same guidelines in choosing their food : food that has good ingredients. the ferret gets a wide variety mix of different brands, and the bird gets one of two very high quality pellets (harrison's or roudybush) with healthy treats.

If at all possible i try to inform people about the contraindications of the lower quality kibble food and steer them towards the premium kibble. In general, i think that most people are not equipped to feed raw food, but if they are buying premium kibble, i figure its better than the other option. and if i spark some curiousity in them, they'll be able to find info on raw food on the internet, or at their local food store that sells their premium kibble or at the bookstore.

that's my 4 cents.
 
pets behave said:
as for my cats, they eat blue buffalo or royal canin hairball. Except for my one FLUTD cat who maintains on C/D . i tried to switch him to waltham's equivalent but he ended up having blockages and problems and i put him back on c/d.

in general i do not like purina/hill's/eukanuba/nutro etc, however hill's c/d keeps my cat healthy and i tip my hat at that.
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That is exactly what I worry about whenever I get the urge to switch foods. There is no point of putting him on a "healthier" all-natural diet if I have to spend all the time checking his pH and panicking about blockage. I figure that if no company has come out with good foods that also deal with health issues I'll do a nutrition residency and focus on developing new lines of foods.

ps. what in the world is powdered cellulose? Is it paper? ground mulch? grass?
 
I'm currently trying to work out what to feed my cats. I know what they're on now just isn't good enough. I've got a 10y/o fatty (small frame, 12.5lbs), and a 3y/o who is skinny as a rail. I've had the 3y/o (Rahvin) for almost a year now, he gets as much food as he wants, he's just pretty good at managing his own needs. I worry about my little fatty (Hope). I've got them on OM dry, with a side of wet (friskies...I know here come the rotten tomatoes). I had to start feeding wet because Hope got sick this summer and will now starve himself and vomit all over if he doesn't get wet food. The only reason I've been feeding purina is that I get it for free. Michigan State has a TERRIBLE nutrition program. My prof (who no longer teaches it, thank goodness) was a dairy forage animal scientist who fed his dogs Ol' Roy under the impression that as long as it has all the right nutrients, the source doesn't matter. Our "nutritionist" advocates the big 3, and I'm quite sure hasn't passed the nutritional boards after 2 attempts. We just got an Integrative Medicine club that's paired up w/ Natura, so if I join I'll get a free bag of dry food or case of wet food each month. I really want to try something better than what I've got them on. You all know as well as I just how hard it is to afford the good stuff on our budget. I think I'll start with some Innova wet, and see how that goes. Both of my boys have pretty bad teeth....something I need to get checked out. The free stuff may not cover both of my kitties completely, but I'm certainly willing to invest some money in something that works. I've been trying to get Hope to lose weight since I got him over 4 years ago.
Anyway - Opinions? I know I should get them to all canned, but I am reluctant to take them off the dry food just yet. I'm sure hubby will eventually complain that our kitties are fed better than we are!
 
Both of my cats have eaten Iams weight control for years. They aren't overweight, but my one cat needs to eat a greater volume of food in order to satisfy her, and Iams w/c allows her to do that. It's a great food (highly recommended by all of my vets) and has kept them healthy and happy for as long as we've had them. See how handsome the cat in my Avatar is? :rolleyes:
 
So after following this thread for awhile, and doing lots of research of my own on different food brands for my cat, I decided to change his food and post the results:

I've had him on Iams dry food and science diet canned (mostly as treats) up until last week (he is 1.5 yrs old). He was not on an open bowl diet because he could not control himself, so his food intake was fairly regulated but I felt he was slightly overweight. I switched his food to an all canned diet (well mostly..) one week ago and I have had great results! I've been playing around with a few different brands- including Wellness, Innova EVO, and Merrit. I've had very good results with Wellness (results based on his personal tastes), and ok results with Innova EVO because I think the flavors I picked were a bit too fancy for him (duck and venison). The Merrit went over pretty well too. He has lost a little bit of weight, and his coat looks amazing. He also has pretty much an open bowl of wet food because I think he eats more slowly than ever before and snacks periodically. However, I have noticed that he has become a bit picky, I know that my giving him multiple options doesn't help, but sometimes he will completely snub a certain flavor. I did order a free trial of Blue Buffalo dry food several weeks ago and it arrived the other day, just in time for when he got a little finicky (I know I shouldn't support this behavior though..). He now acts as though this dry food is a great treat! I am still feeding him nearly all wet food and I think I will stick to Wellness and maybe Merrit, plus a little dry food, but overall I am very satisfied with the results!! Thanks for everyone's input and comments :D:D
 
I think my cats are carb addicts...I have them on canned food only and they will kill for a piece of dry, flavorless, Harlan Teklad lab blocks. One sits outside the pantry door and meows. They're very odd.

You probably can't see a significant coat difference in a week--generally it takes time for good nutrition to change an animal's coat since the old hair is still mostly there. However, that doesn't mean you won't! My cats are incredibly shiny and have thick, luxurious coats.
 
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Well, I changed his food on April 2nd, and I definitely have noticed a shinier, less dandruff, and above all a softer coat. Maybe it has to do with a change in the oil secretions from the skin, or different enzymes present in the saliva. I'm not sure, but it is nicer :) It is funny how they always want what they can't have or don't get as frequently.

Our cats are almost identical! Except mine has a white spot on his chest
 
Oh I see it!! haha well here's your kitty's long lost sibling!
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I've started my big kitty on wet mixed with his dry after this forum. I still can't feed him just wet food, because of cost and his own comfort, but he has been doing well with the wet/dry mix. He's a good drinker, though, so I don't worry too much. (Maine Coons....they seem to actually like water for some reason, it's weird.)
I've also started adding salmon oil to my dog's food (Blue Buffalo Evolution Diet). I got this idea from a lot of different threads on here and some research I've done on my own because it appears to me that she is allergic to something outside that is presenting itself as a skin allergy (inhaled allergy dermatitis or something like that). Plus, Omega 3's are so good for her anyway.

She is definitely shinier, her coat is thicker (and, when she's done shedding it looks like she might grow a bit longer fringes, which will be great!), and she has definitely not come in from outside looking quite so pink anymore.

Yay for salmon oil.

Sorry, this is probably a way tangent post, but I thought I'd put up some info about what I have done in response to this post.
 
Steelmagghia--In case you didn't know, nearly all allergies in dogs present as dermatitis, so your dog could be allergic to food, pollen, grass, etc. I think Blue Buffalo is a good food though (haven't seen ingredients, but have heard things) so I'm sure it's working out for your dog. You can also get her allergy tested to find out definitively what she is allergic to, and put her on allergy injections. I don't think salmon oil actually alleviates allergies, but if her problem was just dry skin then it is probably helping.
 
CanadianGolden said:
Steelmagghia--In case you didn't know, nearly all allergies in dogs present as dermatitis, so your dog could be allergic to food, pollen, grass, etc. I think Blue Buffalo is a good food though (haven't seen ingredients, but have heard things) so I'm sure it's working out for your dog. You can also get her allergy tested to find out definitively what she is allergic to, and put her on allergy injections. I don't think salmon oil actually alleviates allergies, but if her problem was just dry skin then it is probably helping.
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Salmon oil doesn't alleviate allergies so much as the Omega 3 f.a.s reduces the production of histamine. Or something like that, I have the research somewhere.
You're right that most allergies do present as dermatitis, but I'm almost 100% certain it's an outdoor allergy and that it is inhaled. She only gets pink and itchy when she's been outside for a long time, and it is never in just one spot like a contact allergy would be.
I don't want to do allergy injections or antihistamines or steroids if I can help it because I've seen how those types of things work on my allergies (they work for a little bit and then I have to switch or take more or something else, because they stop working).
Thanks for the advice though! :)
 
Flopotomist said:
Darn insomnia has me reading the vet threads.

So my cat is a super active 1 year old healthy cat that won't eat anything but dry food. She loves drinking water (in non-concerning amounts) so I am not worried about her not getting enough moisture, but this thread makes me worried that I am being negligent by not feeding her differently.

I tried to get her to eat the wet stuff, but she won't touch it. She likes Friskies, Meow Mix, and similar brands. I tried some Iams stuff once and she wouldn't touch it... only thing she has ever thumbed her nose at.

SO... can she continue to live a happy, healthy life like this, or should I change this up?
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My own cat is on dry food only. She is young, healthy and doesn't have any problems with needing higher water intake so I have no problem keeping her on dry. I also think its better for her teeth (as being in veterinary school it costs me a LOT for dentals on my pets).
I would not feed your cat Friskies, MeowMix or any of those other brands. But after eating that, I'm sure she wouldn't want to switch over to a better food. The less expensive foods tend to have a higher sodium content which makes the pet attracted to them and the owners think "wow, (s)he really likes this!"
As far as her not eating it... she has broccoli syndrome... its like a kid being offered broccoli or McDonalds. But if broccoli is all she has, she will eventually eat it. (Please don't starve your cat as anorexia in cats can lead to other problems!). Slowly mix in some (science diet, natura, royal canin) food and over time (maybe 2 weeks + for your finicky feline) out with the old and in with the new. As there is less and less of her old food in the bowl, she will find herself compelled to eat the new.
As far as animals not eating because of the taste... my German shepherd has food allergies and I kept him on Royal Canin IVD duck and potato and I loved the results (he liked it too)... I just love royal canin foods anyway (they're the best IMO). But KSU doesn't have Royal Canin so I was S.O.L. I put him on science diet d/d but didn't like the results so switched him to Purina HA (its free thank's to purina's feeding program). But that food is colorless, odorless, and flavorless (tasted by myself, 1 ER vet and 3 ER VT's on one particularly slow night in the ER). Needless to say there was nothing attracting my dog to the food bowl. At first he ate rather slowly for him (which I prefered better than him wolfing it down!). But he since learned to eat it just like any other food.
I finally got bold and switched him to California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato and he is doing really well on it (I like the fish as it is a source of oil for my aging GSD who can't be on many other supplements because of his allergies). So as far as food reccomendations, I can only go on what I have experience with, my top food companies are Royal Canin! Natura. Science Diet.


Just one more thing! (sorry for the novel) Most IAMs/Eukanuba foods are not by default low ash. They market a separate food that is low ash (this means not as much bone/particulate matter is ground up in the food). Compare this to science diet, where (I believe ALL, or at least all veterinary diets) are low ash and it is considered a standard for thm as opposed to a marketing strategy by others. Some people see the low ash on the label and think it must be better, but it is already low ash to begin with for Science Diet... just something to ponder.
 
Dry food is not any better for cats'/dogs' teeth than canned food, the same way pretzels are not better for your teeth than chili. If anything, dry food conglomerates and sticks to their teeth more.
 
linzucf said:
My own cat is on dry food only. She is young, healthy and doesn't have any problems with needing higher water intake so I have no problem keeping her on dry.
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The African wild cat, which the domesticated house cat is derived from, gets almost all of its water from its prey. They have a low thirst drive for water (because there was little of it in their environment). No one has any problems with their cat being on dry only...well, until they get urinary tract problems up the ying yang. Feeding at least a combo of wet is a better way to go. Do a bit of browsing on the VIN message boards when you have time. The cat specialty folks seem to really be recommending wet or wet/dry combos. If you need help transitioning your cat, this doctor who I've talked with extensively has a great site on hints for this:

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food

I also think its better for her teeth (as being in veterinary school it costs me a LOT for dentals on my pets).
I would not feed your cat Friskies, MeowMix or any of those other brands. But after eating that, I'm sure she wouldn't want to switch over to a better food. The less expensive foods tend to have a higher sodium content which makes the pet attracted to them and the owners think "wow, (s)he really likes this!"
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Being on dry food does nothing for their teeth. As I said up above (in the post with the picture of my dog's teeth) it's like brushing your teeth with toast. We certainly learned about this in nutrition class and GI physiology. I have never brushed my dogs' teeth, let alone gotten them a dental, thanks to being on an appropriate raw/commercial canned diet combo. What's also interesting is that I don't feed Purina or Hill's for the same reason you don't feed Friskies or Meow Mix. Their ingredients are not actually all that dissimilar.

As far as animals not eating because of the taste... my German shepherd has food allergies and I kept him on Royal Canin IVD duck and potato and I loved the results (he liked it too)... I just love royal canin foods anyway (they're the best IMO). But KSU doesn't have Royal Canin so I was S.O.L. I put him on science diet d/d but didn't like the results so switched him to Purina HA (its free thank's to purina's feeding program). But that food is colorless, odorless, and flavorless (tasted by myself, 1 ER vet and 3 ER VT's on one particularly slow night in the ER). Needless to say there was nothing attracting my dog to the food bowl. At first he ate rather slowly for him (which I prefered better than him wolfing it down!). But he since learned to eat it just like any other food.
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You are braver than me! :laugh: Hehe, we did a food tasting lab in nutrition class. I wasn't going to try any of that canned Alpo and Science Diet crap. I had to sit next to all the open cans during the intro part of the lab and I almost had to leave, the smell was overwhelmingly bad. The dogs get canned green cow tripe (mmmmm!) a few times a week and that didn't even smell as bad. :barf:

I finally got bold and switched him to California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato and he is doing really well on it (I like the fish as it is a source of oil for my aging GSD who can't be on many other supplements because of his allergies). So as far as food reccomendations, I can only go on what I have experience with, my top food companies are Royal Canin! Natura. Science Diet.
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Good for you! I know all too well how German shepherds are allergy machines, but yes, California Natural is a good one. It's definitely good for those who need a reduced ingredient diet. If you wish to try fish oil capsules as supplements, they (in theory) shouldn't be an issue for allergies as they are fat derived instead of protein derived.
 
Interestingly, if you compare the ingredients of Science Diet and RC to Meow Mix and then to Nature foods, you will find that they are far closer to the former than the latter...

I feed super premium dry and canned to my dog and her teeth are also very clean with no tartar.
 
CanadianGolden said:
Dry food is not any better for cats'/dogs' teeth than canned food, the same way pretzels are not better for your teeth than chili. If anything, dry food conglomerates and sticks to their teeth more.
Click to expand...

I realized after I posted that someone was going to comment on my dry food remark... to clarify: my cat gets royal canin's dental diet, you can look it up on their website or VIN, make your own decisions on it and do as you will with the information.

From other posts regarding water intake, my cat was (and still is when I go home) a regular blood donor, which means I do bloodwork (CBC or PCV/TP) and USG on her prior to donations. On all of these she has shown to be well hydrated and no other problems. *And because I know someone will feel the need to inform me of the risks of feline blood donations: I know the risks, she is strictly indoors, has routine screening every 6 mo-1 year, and we follow all protocols for ensuring her safety and the safety of the recipients*
 
Electrophile said:
You are braver than me! :laugh: Hehe, we did a food tasting lab in nutrition class. I wasn't going to try any of that canned Alpo and Science Diet crap. I had to sit next to all the open cans during the intro part of the lab and I almost had to leave, the smell was overwhelmingly bad. The dogs get canned green cow tripe (mmmmm!) a few times a week and that didn't even smell as bad. :barf:
Click to expand...


Well, so it doesn't look like we're a complete bunch of freaks (even though we do work at an ER). It didn't start as someone saying "oh, lets try the food :idea:..." It was actually one of the techs that saw the food in a ziplock bag (I also bring my dog with me to work as he is a blood donor as well) and thought it was cereal of some sort. For those who have never seen it, HA is colorless and odorless and looks like corn puffs. So she opened the bag, grabbed some and stuck it in her mouth, all while I was watching in horror. She then stated "Yuck. Who's cereal is this? Its STALE!" After that we all took a taste and came to the conclusion that it is (on top of being colorless and odorless) quite flavorless. BTW, Dylan loves the herring and sweet potato (though I hate fish and the smell is rather offensive to me), but I feel that it is better for him in the long run. Oh, and I kept him off fish oil for a while as well because he was having intermittent diarrhea while on d/d and oil supplementation... I since have discovered it was the roomate and not the d/d or the oil responsible for the breakouts :mad:.
 
I know what you mean about the herring. My ferret gets Evo cat and kitten (they don't sell Evo ferret locally). Herring meal is fairly high on the ingredient list and he gets a fish oil capsule broken on his tummy to lick up while I'm clipping his nails. It does give him a rather fishy smell rather than the usual musky smell of a ferret, but as he has hyperadrenocorticism, keeping his nearly bald little butt eating and in good body condition is important. It's high protein, high fat, low carb. Still haven't decided if I'm going to get the adrenalectomy surgery done for him though...it may not even work. :(
 
I have a quick question related to this topic.

I feed my dog Solid Gold and Canidae (we sort of switch off depending on availability). He LOVES chewy treats, though. I can't give him any rawhide chips/ compressed rawhide/ anything like that because he will literally try to swallow them whole. The two things that seem to work best for him are Bully Sticks and Purina's Busy Bones. He gets them really infrequently, but they just make him SO happy! They're also way expensive and I suspect that they aren't really all that good for him.

Does anyone have an alternative? I'm concerned about raw bones being messy and hurting the floor in my rental apartment. Giving them in his crate is an option, but he does like to carry things around to different spots (usually, he follows me from room to room.)
 
What I do is give my dogs the raw frozen knucklebones in their crates (with the door closed). Once they work the meat off and it's pretty dry, it's the same as any other bone and they can bring it wherever in the house. If they don't get the meat off, put the bone back in a plastic bag into the freezer for the next time. You just have to get rid of it after a few days because they dry and get real hard. The softer part at the top and bottom of the femur is the good part.
 
Bully sticks are fine (as long as you don't give so much/so many that you cause pancreatitis by overloading him)--they are just dried bull penises.
 
They're also really *expensive* - too much to buy very often on my budget. Do you know of a good, cheap resource?
 
Nope, they really are just that expensive. You could buy a giant one and cut it up instead of buying lots of the littler ones; some people say that's less expensive. I don't really buy them so I don't know if that's true.
 
So, I need some advice... my two fat cats are eating restricted amounts of C/D multicare right now, since one of them had crystals and was blocked last summer. I'm moving in with a friend whose cats eat Purina's urinary care diet and are free-feeders. I was just wondering if anyone has an opion on whether the C/D and the Purina urinary are comparable, or whether one or the other is better?
 
I think they are of comparably poor quality. Plus free feeding isn't the greatest idea for health and also for monitoring your cat's eating habits. I would arrange to keep my cats in their own area of the house if I were you, and switch to canned food if you really want them to lose weight.
 
I didn't know bully sicks were dried bull penises.... ewww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
yeah, yeah, we all know you snack on them like popcorn.... ;)
 
My youngest dog turned one year old the other day, so he got a 3 foot long one! It was $15, which I assume is cheaper that way. It was difficult to break in half though. You could still kind of see the cross section layers of the penis though! I'm a nerd. :cool:
 
Has anyone heard/had experience with the brand Weruva? Apparently my kitty has become a bit picky with the Wellness brands because most of them have some kind of seafood in them that he doesn't like. But I feed a can of Weruva to him today and the whole thing was gone (I portioned it our a bit, but he just kept eating!) in 1-2 hrs. :D I just haven't heard anyone talk about it in this thread, so are there any thoughts?

ingredient list of one flavor as an example:
[FONT=Verdana, Lucida, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Chicken (boneless, skinless, white meat chicken breast), Tapioca Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Xanthum Gum, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate Heptahydrate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Nicotinic Acid, Ferrous Sulfate Monohydrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate Monohydrate, Vitamin D3, Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate, Riboflavin Supplement(Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride,(Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Water.[/SIZE].
 
this one I think is a different flavor:

»Chicken (Boneless, Skinless, White Breast Meat) - Water Sufficient For Processing Balance - Carrot - Green Pea - Rice - Thickening Agent (Tapioca Starch and/or Potato Flour and/or Xanthan Gum) - Sunflower Seed Oil - Dicalcium Phosphate - Choline Chloride - Taurine - Vitamin E Supplement - Zinc Sulfate Heptahydrate - Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1) - Nicotinic Acid - Ferrous Sulfate Monohydrate - Calcium Pantothenate - Vitamin A Supplement - Potassium Iodide - Manganese Sulfate Monohydrate - Vitamin D3 Supplement - Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate - Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2) - Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6) - Folic Acid - Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K) Vitamin B12
Guaranteed Analysis

Crude protein 8%min
Crude fat 1.2% min
Crude fiber 0.5% max
Moisture 8.5% max
Ash 1.2% max
Taurine 0.05% min
Magnesium 0.008% max

But on second look, there are a few of their other flavors (not the ones I got) that do have corn flour in them, which from my understanding is not good.
 
There's no way the moisture in a canned food is 8% max...are you sure that's right?
 
Ah, googled them... 87.5% max. As I thought. ;)

I think you divide the nutrient % listed by (100-moisture content) to get real % nutrient, so 8% protein/12.5% = 64% protein. etc.
 
I went back to the website I found that on and yeah, clearly it was a typo (I copied and pasted). Moisture should be 85%

I also found this in a review of the food: "Its made in Thailand to EU human standards (the company sent me their EU certifications). They actually are a company that makes food for people and they use the left overs for cats. Mostly fish combinations, they just came out with 2 chicken flavors. It has no grain protein added."

The company prides itself on the notion that it their food is human grade. A good quality to have, a little worrisome though that it is made in Thailand...
 
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