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Old March 9th, 2006, 07:22 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Cat food change

I just adopted a kitten ( ) and am going to be changing her food. I have a some of the food she was on so can do it gradually but she eats mostly canned food though and was wondering how I should go about gradually introducing a new canned food to her? It seems a little more tricky with wet food as I don't want to have to have more than two cans open in the fridge at once as they dont stay fresh long, but if I do the same method as with dry food (gradually mixing the two together over a couple weeks) it seems like I have no choice? Does changing canned food have to happen as gradually as dry food?

Also, what is a good brand of food for cats? Is it the same brands as with dogs (ie. Wellness, Solid Gold, etc)? Also, my dog is on Kirkland food because after trying her on various holistic foods it is the only one she doesn't get runny stools on. I noticed on the Costco web site they also make a Newman's Own Organics cat food and was wondering if this is comparable to other holistic cat foods? Here is an example of the ingredients for one of the flavours:

Chicken & Salmon:

Organic Chicken, Sufficient Water for Processing, Salmon, Ocean Whitefish, Brown Rice, Oat Bran, Flaxseed, Guar Gum, Dried Kelp, Tricalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Sea Salt, Carrageenan, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Aicd Chelate, Copper Amino Aicd Chelate, Manganese Amino Aicd Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Vitamins (Vitamin E, A, D3, B12 Supplements, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Bitoin), Taurine, Choline Chloride.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:

Crude Protein................10.0% (min)
Crude Fat.......................6.0% (min)
Crude Fiber....................1.0% (max)
Moisture........................78.0% (max)
Ash...............................2.0% (max)
Magnesium.....................0.025% (max)
Taurine..........................0.06% (min)


Right now she would need to stay on kitten food but is this a good food I could switch her to when she's an adult? Any advice on cat food very much appreciated... Any "Prins" of cat foods around here?
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Old March 9th, 2006, 07:31 AM
Kerrye Kerrye is offline
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Hi
I have two resuce kitties - one is part maine coon and the other is a little fuzzy unknown. I feed both of them Royal Canin dry. My vet said it is a good quality food and my two thrive on it. They are also both fussy eaters. I mix two kinds together - Royal Canin sensitve skin and Royal Canin Maine Coon.
You could try and switch your kitty over to Royal Canin - I'm sure they have a kitten food.
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Old March 9th, 2006, 07:33 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Also, I just noticed that the Guaranteed Analysis between dry and canned food is quite different. For example, the Newman's Own dry food is:

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:

Crude Protein................30.0% (min)
Crude Fat......................11.0% (min)
Crude Fiber.....................4.5% (max)
Moisture........................10.0% (max)
Ash................................6.5% (max)
Taurine..........................0.20% (min)


I checked the Wellness web site and it was about the same difference. Is this just because of the higher water content of canned food or do they get more protein eating dry food? I was also reading that canned food is best for neutered males because of the high water content, is this the same for spayed females?
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Old March 9th, 2006, 07:39 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Thanks Kerrye. I just looked up the Royal Canin ingredients and the first four are: Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, corn. I know with dogs you are supposed to avoid corn, is this the same as with cats?
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Old March 9th, 2006, 07:44 AM
Kerrye Kerrye is offline
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I don't know about corn with cats? The reason I started using Royal Canin was because my vet said it was a good product. I had been using different cat foods that I was purchasing from the vet but they would'nt eat it. They are both very healthy and have excellent coats. You do however need to keep plenty of fresh water available.
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Old March 9th, 2006, 08:18 AM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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Kayla,IMO you need to feed your cat/kitten a balanced diet of canned and dry food.
I would not make dry food their only food,but that is my view,having experienced UTI(not me,my cats ).
My 3 cats free-feed on good quality dry,snacking,but twice a day eat their main meals canned.
Most vets are not knowledgable about nutrition.
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Old March 9th, 2006, 08:35 AM
kayla kayla is offline
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Ya that's what I was thinking too (canned twice a day and free feed the dry food). I know what you mean about vets and nutrition, especially those who only endorse whatever food they happen to be paid to sell in their office! Do you know of any good brands Chico? I know Medi-cal has a UTI preventative food which I have considered but wasn't sure if it was only necessary more for neutered males..?
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