Ask Me Help Desk - How Important is the Type and/or Brand of Dry Food That You Feed a Cat?

Hi, All!

Okay, some people swear by the expensive stuff. For the most part, I'm always buying the cheap stuff that's mostly corn. I used to have two cats. Now, I have only one. (No pun intended there! LOL! :D)

The one that died had cancer. The one that remains is her son. He's about 17 years old, but you wouldn't know it by the way that he looks and acts.

A steady diet of Meow Mix for almost all of those years... And, just water to drink.

I tried the expensive stuff once when I had two cats. They didn't like it, one of them actual became ill eating it, and were quite happy when we returned to the Meow Mix.

So, how important is the type and/or brand of dry food that we might feed our cats, please?

Thanks!

Most of the time it doesn't seem to matter. Some cats are picky, or have health issues that limit what they can eat. I knew a cat that couldn't have any food with tuna or seafood ingredients or he'd go berserk.

The ingredient lists on most dry food seems to be pretty much the same. The exact amounts might change, but the order is usually basically the same, from what I've seen.

There are also the people who swear that you have to feed your cat canned food in order for them to be healthy. That obviously isn't true. I've known cats that lived on a steady diet of dry food, who lived very long, healthy lives.

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Originally Posted by hheath541

most of the time it doesn't seem to matter. some cats are picky, or have health issues that limit what they can eat. i knew a cat that couldn't have any food with tuna or seafood ingredients or he'd go berserk.

the ingredient lists on most dry food seems to be pretty much the same. the exact amounts might change, but the order is usually basically the same, from what I've seen.

there are also the people who swear that you have to feed your cat canned food in order for them to be healthy. that obviously isn't true. I've known cats that lived on a steady diet of dry food, who lived very long, healthy lives.

Every once in a very long while, I might feed Boots some canned food. It's usually when I run out of the dry food.

However, from my experience, canned food ='s stinky poop!

I've found that, too. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it right now. As long as she's nursing, edith needs the extre little bit that's in wet food.

Food is a HUGE issue.

Cats, need protein in their diet. In fact, they are a true carnivore!

Feeding the meow mix and other crap food is actually shortening their life span.

The body cannot digest the type of corn that is mixed into the food. The part of the corn that is mixed in, is actually the left over, undigestible, with no nutrients left in it part.

So, not only are you feeding your cat corn, your feeding your cat corn with absolutely no nutritional value to it.

Also.. the brands of food that are "cheaper" also do not have a reliable meat source to it. It is not uncommon, or unheard of that in those cheaper brands of food (and this applies to food from Meow Mix to Hills Science diet) for the "meat source" to be various body parts, intestines, feet, beaks and much much more. The flavoring portion of the meal is more than likely blood added into the mix. Also.. it is not unheard of or uncommon for the grocery brand foods to have meat sources from animals that were euthanized by chemical inject. The chemical does spread throughout the body, poisoning the meat, which in turn is poisoning your cat.

So yes, it does REALLY matter what you feed your cat. Compare grocery brand pet foods to eating McDonald's every day, for every meal. It won't do anything to you now, but down the road you'll have problems healthwise.

As for canned food. Canned food really doesn't have a lot of nutritional value to it. Feeding it by itself is definitely starving your cat. Its OK to use as an add-on or an incentive for the cat to eat its dry food, but alone.. might as well not feed it!

I know that feeding a good quality food does cost money. But in the long run, the more expensive food turns out to be cheaper.

Example: I have a 60lb Pit Bull. I feed her Innova, which is a very high quality food. She is given 1.5 cups twice a day and her hunger needs are met. When I run out of her food and have to skate by on the cheap stuff, her food intake doubles per feeding. So yes, I spend $55 on her food... but it will last me longer then the food I can buy for $30 or less.

A good quality food that I would recommend a cat would be EVO. Its very high protein, in fact, EVO is an alternative to RAW diets (fresh meat and veggies). It does have a reliable meat source that is an actual animal. Yes, it is expensive, but you also get what you pay for :)

Here's Evo's website. EVO also makes Innova, which is a step down from EVO. Meat-Based Pet Food – Premium Dog Food, Cat Food, Ferret Food, Dog Treats – EVO Pet Products

Oh.. and the reason why your cat got sick off the "good stuff" would more then likely be because of the higher quality food. Just think of it as eating candy you're entire life, then having to eat a salad. You'd feel sick too! The best way to avoid that, is to introduce the new food slowly... Mixing half and half and backing off with the old food more every couple days until the only food in the bowl is the new food.

Cats are picky if you allow them to be.

.. at 17 years, I wouldn't change the diet now. If you decide to get another one, I would definitely recommend the EVO cat food.

The reason why so many cats get sick off the food is because of the crap they put in it. Compare ingredients with what your feeding to EVO. I'm sure there is a world difference. So no, not all food is the same. Not all ingredients are the same. Each brand has their own nasty secret. Any food (both dog or cat) that has a colored kibble, gets the coloring as a throw back that was deemed unsafe for human consumption.

Meow Mix, Alley cat and other nasty brands of cat food is nothing but wheat middlings and floor sweepings. The canned food is just as bad, if not worse. Might as well let the cat hunt for itself.. at least it would be getting real meat, unlike the nasty stuff that Purina Mill makes..

Poor kitties are always being nutritionally deprived :(

It's then amazing then though, that every cat that I've had since being on my own, (for a few decades) has thrived and lived a very long life by eating the cheaper food. The exception would be the one that died because of cancer about five years ago.

I also had one in the 1980's that died of cancer. However, she was 18 at the time.

Thanks!

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Originally posted by alesha8781
A have a 21 year old cat who has eaten nothing but meow mix her whole life and the vet can't get over how healthy she is

Perhaps there might be something about them getting used to the type of food that they've eaten most of their lives?

I'm sure that how much their nutured and loved also plays a part in their longevity.

Ever wonder why your cats are getting cancer?

I bet the food is the #1 reason why cancer is becoming so rampant in animals. All the byproducts, fillers and preservatives just aren't natural in a cats diet.

Yea, they can survive off Meow Mix and other types of food. They'll probably live a long time. Guarantee that their health could be improved 100x over by upgrading to a decent food.

Just because your animals seems to be doing OK on that food, doesn't mean its good for them.

Would you feed your kids McDonalds every day? Even if it was from the "healthy" portion of the menu? Doubt it. Its still bad for you.

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Cats, need protein in their diet. In fact, they are a true carnivore!

Feeding the meow mix and other crap food is actually shortening their life span.

OK, I'm agreeing with you there. But I'm having a hard time believing a person who brings up the issue of protein also said this:

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As for canned food. Canned food really doesn't have a lot of nutritional value to it. Feeding it by itself is definitely starving your cat. Its OK to use as an add-on or an incentive for the cat to eat its dry food, but alone.. might as well not feed it!

Please, where did you get the idea from that canned food doesn't have a lot of nutritional value?? On average, canned food has way more of that protein you spoke of. Can you explain your reasoning behind this statement? Show me where you're getting the nutritional info on canned food that says this.

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A good quality food that I would recommend a cat would be EVO. Its very high protein, in fact, EVO is an alternative to RAW diets (fresh meat and veggies). It does have a reliable meat source that is an actual animal. Yes, it is expensive, but you also get what you pay for :)

EVO also makes canned (including their 95% meat line) and I guarantee the canned has more protein than the dry. EVO dry is absolutely not an alternative to a raw diet. Even if you want to argue the nutritional content of it, if it's dry, it's still dry and lacking moisture. Cats naturally get their moisture from their prey, with their food. Dry doesn't accomplish that. It can also lead to urinary tract problems and possibly kidney issues later in life.

I'm extremely surprised than anyone who pushes a food issue like this and on the one hand acts like they know what they're talking about, could NOT understand the moisture issue.

I'm curious if you're selling EVO or something. There are other goods quality foods out there besides EVO. You're pushing that one brand entirely too much and it makes me suspicious.

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Oh.. and the reason why your cat got sick off the "good stuff" would more then likely be because of the higher quality food. Just think of it as eating candy you're entire life, then having to eat a salad. You'd feel sick too! The best way to avoid that, is to introduce the new food slowly... Mixing half and half and backing off with the old food more every couple days until the only food in the bowl is the new food.

That I'll agree with, but I'd start with less than half of the new. Some cats can switch more quickly and some more slowly -- better to go slow.

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The reason why so many cats get sick off the food is because of the crap they put in it. Compare ingredients with what your feeding to EVO.

If you think canned is as bad as Meow Mix, perhaps you should be comparing ingredients. Nearly all canned food, even the cheap stuff, is better than dry. There are a very few dry foods with good ingredients (and yes, EVO is one of them), but they are still dry.

I also disagree in terms of cost. That doesn't tell us everything. The better foods will be more expensive than their counter-parts. That is, a better dry will be more expensive than a crappy one, and a better canned will be more expensive than a crappy one. However, being more expensive doesn't mean it's good, and being cheap doesn't mean it's a terrible food. You can only take that as a very basic generality that only goes so far. (Royal Canin is a good example of a very expensive food that isn't very good.)

Clough, I can only repeat the same concept I said when you brought this up before. Some people smoke their whole lives, live to be 90, and never get cancer. But would you say it's OK to smoke based on that? I doubt it.

I know far too many people with cats that have diabetes and chronic renal failure, etc. to ever believe that dry rot isn't hurting a lot of them. These diseases are running rampant. There's no good excuse for a cat to get diabetes - except for all the extra carbs. It's not that stuff like Meow Mix is OK. You've just gotten lucky. It's also possible your cats could do even better on a better diet. And there are going to be genetics involved - some cats will just be more predisposed to certain things, just like one person who smokes their whole life doesn't get cancer and someone else who doesn't smoke dies at 40 from breast cancer. Things happen like that sometimes.

It's simple logic. Think about what a cat would eat in the wild. Read the ingredients on the food you feed. Do they resemble each other in any way at all?

I would have to agree that probably cats have somewhat gotten used to the way we've been feeding them for the past 40 or so years. They are overall living longer, but that's also due to people keeping them indoors, advanced vet care, etc. 30 years ago a diabetic cat would have simply been put to sleep or perhaps not even diagnosed at all, whereas my diabetic lived another 5 years. (And I lost him to cancer.) But they would probably do even better if they were allowed to get back to their natural roots in food. Short of letting them find their own prey, all we can do is the closest thing we can come to that -- I don't think ANYONE has come up with the ideal way of doing that, even people who feed raw. But there's better and worse ways of doing it.

BTW, my diabetic ended his life on all canned, and my two current cats get mostly canned, and none of their poop ever stunk, except on rare occasions -- or certain foods. (Wellness dry gives my one cat problems, both puking and diarrhea. I've no clue why. That's the dry - the canned doesn't cause that.)

Bit of bad news... just heard that Proctor & Gamble bought Natura, who makes EVO.

P&G changed and ruined Iams when they bought them out. If they're par for the course, they'll ruin EVO as well, which would be a real shame.

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Originally Posted by morgaine300

OK, I'm agreeing with you there. But I'm having a hard time believing a person who brings up the issue of protein also said this:

Please, where did you get the idea from that canned food doesn't have a lot of nutritional value???? On average, canned food has way more of that protein you spoke of. Can you explain your reasoning behind this statement? Show me where you're getting the nutritional info on canned food that says this.

EVO also makes canned (including their 95% meat line) and I guarantee the canned has more protein than the dry. EVO dry is absolutely not an alternative to a raw diet. Even if you want to argue the nutritional content of it, if it's dry, it's still dry and lacking moisture. Cats naturally get their moisture from their prey, with their food. Dry doesn't accomplish that. It can also lead to urinary tract problems and possibly kidney issues later in life.

I'm extremely surprised than anyone who pushes a food issue like this and on the one hand acts like they know what they're talking about, could NOT understand the moisture issue.

I'm curious if you're selling EVO or something. There are other goods quality foods out there besides EVO. You're pushing that one brand entirely too much and it makes me suspicious.

That I'll agree with, but I'd start with less than half of the new. Some cats can switch more quickly and some more slowly -- better to go slow.

If you think canned is as bad as Meow Mix, perhaps you should be comparing ingredients. Nearly all canned food, even the cheap stuff, is better than dry. There are a very few dry foods with good ingredients (and yes, EVO is one of them), but they are still dry.

I also disagree in terms of cost. That doesn't tell us everything. The better foods will be more expensive than their counter-parts. That is, a better dry will be more expensive than a crappy one, and a better canned will be more expensive than a crappy one. However, being more expensive doesn't mean it's good, and being cheap doesn't mean it's a terrible food. You can only take that as a very basic generality that only goes so far. (Royal Canin is a good example of a very expensive food that isn't very good.)

Well excuse me that my entire post was, in your eyes, wrong.

Name one food that is "cheap" that is good for an animal? I don't know of any. Anything worth any type of nutrional value costs at least $30 or more. And yes I realize that not all expensive food is good for your cat. But, as far as I know, there isn't any dry/canned food out there that costs more than $15 ;)

I haven't ever heard that canned food was actually good for your animal. I do apologize if I'm wrong, but the canned food doesn't have ALL nutrients in it. Its mostly water. Maybe the higher quality brand cans of cat food are different... but Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and others aren't going to put all their meat sources into the canned food and leave the dry with saw dust. Its still bad for the animal. I don't agree with feeding just canned food. I don't think there is enough nutrients in the cans to sustain a young, healthy cat.

I like Innova. It did good things for my animals, and I don't have to feed as much to them.. And I have a lot of mouths to feed. I can keep a bag of Innova longer then I can keep a bag of Nutro, and the bag of Nutro is bigger.

Once again, excuse me for my post. Didn't realize I was going to get scolded instead of educated :)

It was never my intention by starting this thread for there to be some kind of debate.

What's good for one cat, might not be the best for another cat.

I just know what works for mine! As I'm sure, others do for theirs!

Clough, any time you bring up subjects like this, you're going to get a debate.

I'm sorry, but you did ask. If you didn't expect opinions, I'm not sure what you did expect. Opinions are different and often lead to debates. I gave my opinion and I'm disagreeing (and still disagreeing) with someone else's.

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Well excuse me that my entire post was, in your eyes, wrong.

Hmm... apparently you didn't read the parts I did agree with. Where did "entire post" come from? I'm having an issue with the canned food thing, not the entire post.

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Name one food that is "cheap" that is good for an animal? I don't know of any.

That isn't what I said. I said that even cheap canned foods are "better" than most dry. "Better than" doesn't mean "good." And it's also true that even cheap canned is better than most dry. Which is because most dry is pretty terrible. And all of it is still dry.

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Anything worth any type of nutrional value costs at least $30 or more. And yes I realize that not all expensive food is good for your cat. But, as far as I know, there isn't any dry/canned food out there that costs more than $15 ;)

First, it's difficult to speak of prices when things vary so much in different areas. Around here, nothing costs $30, so it's impossible to even say that. Second, you are also speaking of only dry. I only made a generality about costs.

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I haven't ever heard that canned food was actually good for your animal. I do apologize if I'm wrong, but the canned food doesn't have ALL nutrients in it.

Generally, it has more nutrients in it. You're the one who mentioned protein (which is in short supply in a good chunk of cat foods), but canned has more protein. EVO is one of the very few dries that can beat many canned foods out on protein. But... it's still dry.

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Its mostly water.

It's supposed to be mostly moisture! That's the entire point! You apparently did not read the part about cats naturally getting their moisture from their prey with their food, and that dry can lead to all sorts of problems. Cause it's dry. So it's supposed to be mostly moisture. I keep repeating "it's still dry" for a reason -- emphasis on the word "dry." It's dry. You can't deny that. When was the last time you saw a cat in the wild eating dry kibble?

Go do some research on something known as dry matter. You can't just look at the package and look at the worthless numbers they give on it and expect to make a comparison between foods.

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Maybe the higher quality brand cans of cat food are different... but Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and others aren't going to put all their meat sources into the canned food and leave the dry with saw dust.

That's EXACTLY what they do! If you compare Fancy Feast canned to Fancy Feast dry, the canned is absolutely better. Fancy Feast canned is not as good as Wellness canned, for example, but between the same brand canned and dry, the canned will be better nearly every time. That goes for the cheapest crap and on up to good stuff. And most dry foods are sawdust. EVO is probably the only dry that has the same nutrient content as the canned, at least according to them. But... it's still dry.

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I like Innova. It did good things for my animals, and I don't have to feed as much to them.. And I have a lot of mouths to feed. I can keep a bag of Innova longer then I can keep a bag of Nutro, and the bag of Nutro is bigger.

I have no argument with that. I like Innova too. And no, you shouldn't have to feed as much of a good food, because more of it is usable. (And EVO dry is very high calorie, though not as high as the package says.) You just sounded like a commercial. I get suspicious of people who sound like a commercial.

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Once again, excuse me for my post. Didn't realize I was going to get scolded instead of educated :)

I was disagreeing, not scolding. And I wasn't aware that you expected to get educated instead of scolded. I asked you to please tell me why you thought canned was so bad -- the only thing you've said is that it's mostly water and doesn't have the nutrients, but you still haven't told me why you think that.

Please go do some comparison shopping and look at the ingredient list. Compare the canned and dry of the same brand. Stop looking at the guaranteed analysis, which must be what you're doing if what you have against canned is that it's "all water" and therefore "can't have all the nutrients." Seems to me the only way you could have come to that conclusion was looking at the percent of weight numbers they generally give. The guaranteed analysis is worthless. It's merely a requirement of AAFCO, who really doesn't have very high standards for food, nor do they seem to care about the info consumers get or whether it has any real meaning. And then go study up on what "dry matter" means, because that's what you need to be looking at, and you can't look at that unless you know how to get that info out of the company -- which can be like pulling teeth in some cases.

Feeding Your Cat Know the Basi
Feline Nutrition

Very few sites put dry matter numbers up or I'd have you go look at that. (Hills does put that up on their site, but they're one of the few exceptions where the canned is almost as terrible as the dry. Of course, the dry is still dry.)

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Originally Posted by morgaine300

Clough, any time you bring up subjects like this, you're going to get a debate.

I'm sorry, but you did ask. If you didn't expect opinions, I'm not sure what you did expect. Opinions are different and often lead to debates. I gave my opinion and I'm disagreeing (and still disagreeing) with someone else's.

No need to apologize! What I should have stated was the words "contentious argument" rather than the word "debate".

Thanks!