what are the best dry and canned for for cats ????

Question

What kind of food are safe out there for dry and canned food for cats. I keep mine with Purina chow and Fancy feast any other suggestions. AND ALSO my cats nails break with a humans do . why is that? is he missing something? can i give him something so he can have stronger nails?

Thank you

Answer 1

It is normal for your cats nails to break. They actually like it when they break or "shed" and make it happen on purpose by clawing on things. As for the cat food, as long as your cats are eating what you give them, you are doing fine. The ONLY dry cat food my cats will eat is Purina Cat Chow and the ONLY wet food they will eat is Friskies. It just depends on what they like.

Answer 2

There are a lot of great foods for cats, but if you can, try to avoid foods with excessive fillers. I feed my cats Eagle Pack Holistic Select for dry and Merrick's for canned. After some advice, I feed them (one of them a kitten) different flavors (to provide different protein sources) of the brands above for variety. So far there's no problem, and I think it'll be better for them in the long run, as cats don't naturally eat the same thing day in and day out.

A lot of people like Innova EVO and Wellness, but sadly they're not available where I live. Which food you choose will mostly depend on its availability in your area, but please do not feed your cats supermarket brands. They're usually not that good for cats as their first-listed ingredient tend to be filler and not protein.

Also on can v.s. dry, I believe canned food is the better choice. People have also been really successful with raw diets too, and it does depend on your lifestyle and timetable. In my case, my cats get a small can every night, plus a little bit of dry food throughout the day, as raw diets are not available here as well, and very little choice in cans.

If certain brands aren't available in your area, a good idea would be just to find a food that is low on fillers, has protein on top of the ingredients list instead of grains and whatnot, is using human-grade food or the like (just stay away from the words "by-product") and that food is probably a good food.

The thing to keep in mind is that all cats are different. Different cats will do better on different kinds of food, and as long the food is high-quality, all is fine.

I can't help you with the nails thing, I'm afraid, but it can be their diet or something else. Good luck!

Answer 3

Definantly try Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard. It is an all natural food with a balanced diet so the cat will get all the nutrition it needs. I also recommend Nutro Natural Choice for most of the same reasons.

Answer 4

Blue Buffalo dry & wet food is what I feed my cat. She also gets By Nature Organics dry food mixed in.

Make sure your cat has a sturdy scratching post, that'll help to prevent the nails from snagging on something and breaking.

Answer 5

I am so glad that this whole recall is finally making people take notice of the crap most people feed their animals. I’m glad you’re looking into a new food for your cats.

Right now, wheat gluten is the big suspect in cat food that everyone is trying to avoid, and it SHOULD be avoided. Should have been avoided before and even more so now. But corn should always be avoided as well. It’s a huge filler worth NOTHING. Corn as an ingredient in cat food is a joke. Ever seen a cat chewing on a corn cob in a field? No you haven’t. Cats are carnivores. True and honest meat eaters and that is what they need most. Protein!

Be aware that there are three Categories of Pet Foods:

-"Grocery store" foods – (Generic Brands and cheap name brands)those found in grocery stores and mass-market retailers - are typically made with lower-quality, less-digestible, inexpensive ingredients and are therefore a cheaper alternative. While easy on the pocketbook, "grocery store" foods normally do not provide your cat with the healthiest, most nutrient-dense ingredients.

-Premium foods – ( Iams, Purina and such)often found in grocery stores, pet stores, and veterinarian offices - contain higher-grade ingredients, but may still include some elements of "grocery store" food, such as artificial colors, artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, and "filler" ingredients. Premium foods are usually more expensive than "grocery store" foods because their ingredients are of a higher quality, and are therefore somewhat more beneficial and digestible.
-Healthy foods – (Wellness, Eagle Pack, Drs Foster and Smith) the newest addition to the pet food market - provide pets with the highest quality, healthiest, and most nutritious ingredients. They are typically available for purchase online or direct from the manufacturer. Foods in the Healthy class - contain nutrient-rich ingredients. Formulated to provide optimum health benefits for pets, these foods often use whole, fresh fruits and vegetables, real meat as the primary protein source, and carbohydrate-rich whole grains like brown rice and barley. They should not contain artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They will almost always be fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, and will use the best natural sources for fatty acids to help build healthy skin and a beautiful coat. Because healthy foods use high quality ingredients, you should expect to pay a little more than you would for other types of pet food. Remember, though, with healthy foods you can feed less since healthy foods are more nutrient-dense than other types of food.

With all that in mind, when you are choosing a new cat food, look at the first ingredients. All ingredients on pet food labels are listed by weight. Meaning whatever is listed first there is more in there. The first ingredients listed should be whole meat ingredients, protein sources, such as Chicken or Turkey. NOT just the word “meat”, who the heck knows what that is? The word Chicken Meal is ok, but it should be a secondary ingredient, not first. Meal is the meat dehydrated and ground into a powder.

The ingredients also should not include any byproducts whatsoever. Those are disgusting left over animal parts that are scraped off the floor of meat and poultry plants, which should just go into the trash but go into pet food instead. EW!!!! Also make sure there are no artificial colors or flavors. And make sure there is no BHA and BHT used preservatives. These preservatives have been shown to cause cancer.

Be aware though that when switching to a better food, you will pay for what you get. Good foods are not cheap. They are pricey and will cost you. But to me, they are well worth it.

What are some good foods I recommend? I feed my cats Drs Foster and Smith Holistic Adult Lite Dry cat food. I purchase it online and have it automatically delivered to my door so I never run out and never have to go get it. It’s one of the best foods on the market and has no fillers in it. It is also very reasonably priced compared to other holistic foods as well.

If you want to buy in a store, Complete Petmart carries quite a few natural, organic, and holistic blends. Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Brand is a great holistic food. As is Eagle Pack Dry Cat food. Merrick canned is also a great source of nutrition and they will be coming out with a dry line this summer. Some brands, not all, of Nutro cat food are ok is you want to spend less money, however I personally would never chose their food for nutritional value.

I highly recommend people take the time to research for themselves, but the information I have given should get you off to a good start. Good luck choosing a new food for your cats!

Side note… Please don’t feed Iams/Eukaneuba. It’s ALL fillers and CRAP. There is nothing good for your cat in that food. Not to mention they do the most terrible animal testing you have ever seen. www.iamscreulty.com to see the terror they create.

Answer 6

Royal Canin (available from vets) is a good choice of food.

What you see breaking is the nail sheath, which is normal. As a cat scratches, the outer covering of the nail will shed, but the nail is intact.

Answer 7

See the links below.

Answer 8

For dry food, I use Hill's Science Diet. So far, it has stayed off the lists of recalled food.

Answer 9

I've always loved eukanuba, but what you're feeding is ok to...as long as you don't feed the cheap brands (walmart, local grocery story store brand, etc.).