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SillyTilly
18-06-2006, 05:21 PM
Hi Everyone,

How can I choose the best food for my cats. I'm totally bemused by the ENOURMOUS range of food available.

How can I select the best ones, what should I be looking for?

Also, as a vegan I'd really rather not feed wet food. I find dry biscuit much less nauseating for me. Can cats live healthy/happy lives on just dry mix?

Cheers

Olivia

Hreow
18-06-2006, 05:29 PM
They can do just as well on dry food. Just make sure they have enough to drink with them. The only problem might be if you have a cat who had kidney-problems and doesn't want to drink much. Think that can cause stones and all sorts of nasty, dehydration-problems. For normal, fairly healthy cats - no problem. Better for their teeth as well, I've read.

Don't get the really cheap biscuits, go for mid-range and up, unless you have other criteria than just feeding the cats well. (Animal-friendly, organic etc. For those do a search here, I remember a thread or two about that.)

CJK
18-06-2006, 05:39 PM
When I choose food I go for highest meat content, but as this isnt an issue....jsut go for a well known brand, as Hreow says, mid price range up
I was told go-cat is awfull for them, junk food.
I personally use james well beloved kitten for the little uns, and royal canin persian for the persians, or tesco premium range hairball control if not.
There are SOOO many on the market, but a lot arent that good really.

Things like purina, hills, james wellbelvoed are good,as i say tesco do thier own range of premuim dried foods too that are fairly good.
I ahve no experience or knowledge about pets at home brand foods though

Booktigger
18-06-2006, 05:43 PM
I go for a high meat content personally - these tend to be ones you dont get in the supermarket and can be more expensive. As for dry, I personally wouldn't feed dry food only, I have always given my cats both (but mainly wet). If they are male, you need to watch their water intake on dry food only, as they have a higher chance of cystitis/blockage on dry only, and if they are older, kidney issues may have to be taken into consideration. I am a vegetarian, and my cats do get mainly cat food for meat rather than proper meat (and they do turn their noses up at proper meat a lot). There are a lot of studies that show that normal dry food doesn't do that much good for their teeth.

Ruthlynn
18-06-2006, 05:43 PM
Oscars is also a good one - Lily loves it!

borderdawn
18-06-2006, 06:14 PM
I use Royal Canin sensible 33, all the Cats like it.
Dawn.

CJK
18-06-2006, 06:17 PM
some vets have free samples of royal canin you could try, pets at home have sample sachets at 25 p each, and james wellbeloved give free samples through the post if you go to thier website.
Just an idea on ways of trying diff brands.

The 99p stores also have packs of four or five tins of hi-life, which is cheap for it but check the sell by dates if you so try that

Donna
18-06-2006, 07:14 PM
My cats have Burns Nutrition dry food which is good quality. The only wet food they have are cod fillets three times a week and some chicken and the odd pouch of high meat content pouches!! All goes down very well!!