What is the healthiest canned cat food you can get from a regular grocery store?

Question

I know you can get great gourmet ones from a pet store, but if I were to just walk in Publix or any grocery store, what kind of cat food is the best?
I have EVO for my cat, but the other day it was too late to go to the pet store, so I went to the grocery store and got her Fancy Feast and she LOVED it... is it the healthiest best one for a cat to eat?

Answer 1

She loves Fancy Feast cause it's junk food.. It's probably the best choice out of the grocery store stuff, but, picking a best grocery store food is like picking the less of two evils. If I was absolutely out of food and the regular store was closed, I'd maybe get fancy feast.. But, they'd be back on Evo as soon as the store that sold it was open..
http://www.petco.com/product/10200/Friskies-Fancy-Feast-Grilled-Gourmet-Cat-Food.aspx#description
There's some Fancy Feast ingredient information.. All of it has wheat gluten in it, which was part of the recall not too long ago. The ash level is just barely within healthy levels and none of their cans state how much magnesium is in it.. Both of those things can cause your cat to have kidney disease later and develop urinary crystals.
Purina One's ash and magnesium levels are double what's recommended even in the food they claim is for urinary health.
Iams is halfway decent, ash and magnesium just barely within range, but, most of their flavors are currently recalled.
http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=ICF

Answer 2

Healthiest Canned Cat Food

Answer 3

There aren't too many healthy senior cat foods at the grocery store. You can find a decently priced senior food at any one of your local pet stores. If you really need to get it at a grocery store then just make sure it is a senior cat food. I know Cat Chow makes a senior cat food that would be at a reasonable price and be ok to feed him. Unfortunately it is really just a guessing game depending on how picky your cat can be. Find something that he will eat and has the ingredients that you are looking for. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Look for anything that doesn't have by-products. There should be 3 meat sources (NOT by-products) in the first four ingredients, and no corn. If you can find something like that, then it's better than most foods out there. Cats can't digest corn but it raises their blood sugar level, which isn't good.

Some Fancy Feast is ok, you can check the types against each other on this site (scroll down):

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

Answer 5

I wouldn't worry much about a rare can from the grocery store when you've run out of your cat's regular food. That said, to answer your question, I'd likely choose Iams or Purina One. What matters is what you feed your cat the rest of the time.

Answer 6

In a pinch, anything would be fine.

Here's a list of various canned foods, including those you can find at the market. You can see the relative values for yourself. There's just too many for me to go over and pick one.

But you can use this rule of thumb: Make sure meat is one of the top 3, find one that has no corn, wheat or soy (if you can) or that has it farthest down the list, doesn't include BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin, and doesn't list "meal" or "byproducts." You may not be able to meet all these requirements - just do the best you can. Of these things, avoid BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin above other things I listed.

NOTE: I had problems posting the link, so just remove the spaces and it will work.

Answer 7

Hi

Very glad you are feding canned and looking out for the health of your pets.
I would call Fancy feast a middle grade cat food and yes the best at supermarkets. It has real muscle meat as the first ingrediant. You should not though give the ones with gravy as gravy + carns and you should also pick the ones that are gluten free
I assume you already know about human grade cat foods like wellness ad merrick available in pet stores that are grain free

Answer 8

None. Stick to EVO or Wellness. If you are really desparate, just get some chicken from the grocery store until you can get to the healthy food. I mean since you feed great food regularly, chances are one shot at Fancy Feast won't be a big deal, but it's not good to recommend lol, and there are healthier snacks they'll love... Stay away from tuna, it is very bad for cats.

Answer 9

Not sure if it's the "healthiest" but Blue Buffalo is definitely healthier for cats and dogs than your common brands. And can usually be found at tractor supply stores and the like.

Answer 10

I'm with Jams. Fancy feast is junk. Never buy food that has "meat-by-product". By-product means the parts of the animal that is NOT meat. This includes beaks, feet, feathers, blood etc...gross but true. And trust me you don't want to know what "meat" means and what animals it can come from.. :(
Try to get food that the first ingredient is actually meat. Chicken, fish, beef etc. Anyway good luck. Trying to find healthy food for animals is a tough job because everyone has a different idea of what "healthy" is. I mean my cats eat dead animals and seem to like it...is that healthy?? Cats have seemed to survive before we started giving them kibble so ...maybe...