Let's talk Cat Food! What do you feed your cats and why?

My cats get IAMS, mainly because when I got them as kittens, my sister told me to buy IAMS. I do like it mainly because it has something that helps keep their urinary tracts clear--and urinary tract problems are very common in cats. However, I'm wondering if I should switch because one has a very nervous stomach, and maybe something else might be help cut down on her throwing up. I should add that they only get dry--again, I tried giving wet as an occasional treat, and the nervous one threw it up.

I saw a post somewhere where someone said IAMS was crap, but I don't think it was here, and the person didn't explain. Does anyone else think IAMS is over-rated? What do you feed your kitties????? Are they happy with it?

He ate what he goddamn wanted. No packaged kitty food for hime. Mouses, lizards, birds....prey. I could not train him. He had a mind of his own.

mention, but don't know to eat them unless their Mom teaches them!

Someone threw him away when he was about 6 weeks old. We rescued him, but knew right away he was "different." He tolerated us for about 8 months, then one day after weeks of eating mice and birds, he packed his bags and left.

He was a red tabby, and very very strange.

the road--probably out of a moving car. When they got her they thought she was only a few weeks old, but when they took her to the vet, it was moe like a few months because she was so undernourished. She is one starnge cat, and they're pretty sure there was some brain damage due to her early life.

Out cat, Finnegan, could not stop. He drooled alot too.

used to "nurse" on this stuffed dog I had on my bed--he would suck on the fur, and puch with his paws just luike he was nursing from his Mom. Did it til the day he died.

if they are separated from their mother too soon.

Kittens press their mamma's nipples so that the milk will come out. They make dough their entire life and sometimes when they are dying they make dough.

My Mama cat made dough on my lap right before she died from cancer.

The reason that cats suck on something or act like they are sucking on something is because they are remembering when they were hooked up at the milk bar.

My boys only eat the gravy out of the cat food and they leave the rest of it.

The also eat Eukaneeba(?)dry cat food and the only flavors that they will eat is chicken or lamb and rice.

they love it.

Iams is not the best, for sure although certainly better than a lot.

Had my oldest cat on that when I got my kittens and they liked it so much they wouldn't eat kitten food so I've stuck with it.

IAMS has some questionable policies as to what they put in their food

specific about the problems with IAMS? Thanks!

And they like it!!! Especially the newer "gourmet" flavors like Chicken cacciatore :).

Back when they were an independent, the food was likely of better quality. The batches were smaller, and I imagine Iams had a different corporate mission than megaglobal P&G does. I wouldn't say it's crap now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't much better than any other store shelf brand, at this point.

We've been feeding Iams for years -- it was a local company until a few years back, when P&G bought them -- but we're thinking about trying to move ours off to something else. Our vets are pretty fond of Science Diet, we had to move the dog off the Iams canned anyway because it was aggravating his innards. Only problem we have is, we have four cats, some of whom are devilishly picky about what they'll eat.

You do know there's a 'pets' forum now, don't you? I don't know if they'll move this thread or not, but you might check it out -- it's one of the new forums. Here's the link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=243

there was a pets forum here!

it'll be nice not to have to hear people gripe about cat threads in the lounge, from now on!

we used to give him royal canin sensible. It worked just fine, but he also is too fat, so now we switched again, because he had to go on a diet. but royal canin seemed to work just fine for him. I don´t think there´s anything wrong with IAMS btw.

only sold in pet food stores, sort of the way IAMS used to be?

and you can ask the vet for it.. I do have to tell you that I live in Europa so I dont know if it´s the same in the USA. I do know that Royal Canin is mostly recommended by vets, it is not cheap, but neither is IAMS :)

but they also like:
meringue
peanut butter
ice cream
tuna
pate

The cats we had growing up did! And obviously your's do!

We have two kitties, age 13 and 12, and a kitty who died in April who was around 14(+/-2 years.) They've been on Iams for 3 years now, because other foods give a whole host of issues. Our boy cat has a nervous tummy too, and the Iams is the best of the bunch for that. (I may be less than thrilled with Iams, but at least on Iams, the litterbox doesn't require a gas mask to scoop....)

Our girl cat gets hair ball treatment (a fish flavored malt syrup with mineral oil in it) and vitamins; our boy cat gets treats with the same ingredients (she likes the treatments; he likes the treats.) They have an indoor grass patch which helps with the nervous tummy issues.

They get the occasional packet of wet food divided between them as a treat and occasionally, when I used canned fish or canned chicken, the liquid from the can. They get bits of whatever meat or fish we eat every night if they'll eat it and cheese occasionally, too. We spoil them rotten.

Pcat

from other people (as well as yourself) they do really help with the nervous stomach issues.

seeds on the same trip, and a clean dishpan at the farm store. Water twice a week with water from the running the tap till warm bottle; snip when the kitties don't eat fast enough (grass grows from the TOP so it must be kept cut short) and add seeds occasionally. Ours has been growing for a year, no problems. I've added oat seeds and alfalfa and clover occasionally for variety; they seem to enjoy the mix.

Total costs were maybe $6?

Even people with black thumbs do okay with this type of plant, and the humans in the house appreciate the oxygen and the humidity.

Pcat

Because it has all the things cats need.
Its an ultra premium cat food. They also make a product for dogs.

I buy it at the pet store.

Its absorbed and not sent to waste. Read the ingredients and there are no "by products" no fillers.

You have to feed less, so although it cost more it last as long.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/VenCat.html
on edit added link above with info on the foods

We vary it from standard to adult to senior due to the varying ages of our family.

It is a urinary balanced food. They like it.

Other things they like

birds
squirrels
bugs
oatmeal
eggs
tuna (of course)
anything that they think is stolen

I tried giving her the fancy stuff and she turns her nose up at it. The ferrets, on the other hand, eat science diet kitten formula.

he wont touch anything else.

because a holistic type vet told me it was good. The cats love it.

My cat has good manners and never tries to steal food from the table. But one day we left a bowl of linguini with clam sauce on the table and found the cat scooping linguini out of the bowl with her paw and eating it, just like Garfield.

spaghetti with tomato sause. I have a photo of him sitting in a chair at the table eating spaghetti off a fork!

Our cats have good taste!

but I caught our two youngest kittens licking the icing from the cinnamon roll pan a few times, now we cover it up or rinse it immediately. Cats on sugar high is BAD NEWS, I couldn't believe the little 1 and a half foot monsters could jump to the top of the fridge from the floor on that stuff. They also busted open my roll of tums and ate three of them before I took it away. Reeses loves coffee, with cream and sugar, and Cocoa loves iced tea(we don't give it to them, they sneak it, we don't leave our cups on the table for even a minute anymore). Also during one new years eve's celebration, we left a 12 pack of canned beer, bud light, on the floor in the kitchen, our dog Lucky drank that shit up and left a HUGE mess in the kitchen, every can was empty, and he was running into walls. That was messed up.

maybe it is some kind of allergy? My cat turned out to have some food allergy, and in that case you have hypoallergene or hypoallergic (don´t know the exact english translation for it...) food, which may help to stop the throwing up.

And I think it´s good that you give them mostly dry food. It´s better for their teeth.

runs from other people--always has. I think she's just one hell of a nervous cat, and sometimes food upsets her also!

she also likes Pringles, most any snack cracker, Popeye's chicken breading (she won't eat the chicken) etc.

So one day I compared the ingredients of SD with a brand I've only seen at PetsMart called Authority, I found them to be almost identical (in fact Authority had MORE of a couple of key nutrients). He adapted fine. I vowed never to feed canned food. But once I brought Maya into the home I buckled. They now share 1 cup a day of Authority lite hairball control and 1/3 can of IAMs (some fish flavor). I was told by Maya's previous owner never to feed her tuna fish 'cause it makes them fart a lot and their poop stink.

They are both fairly young (about 4 and 3 years old), but Riley is one fat tabby butterball. They are indoor cats and have plenty of stuff to play with, but except for the 10 minutes a day Riley goes spastic and tears around the apartment, he lives a very sedentary life. Any suggestions?

Peace,
AL

Check your ingredients. See any "by-products" or (egads!) "digest" on there?

I may be changing brands, though, as there's a comparitively priced, better alternative that was pointed out in one of the DU groups.

Besides, IAMS, owned by Proctor and Gamble, performs horrific feeding tests on domestic animals.
http://www.iamscruelty.com/iams.asp

kit'n'kaboodle because its cheap and she WILL eat it... she is so darn picky! I can't feed her canned food cuz either she won't touch it at all or she'll lick all the sauce off and leave the food!