Hi,
We hope to get our new rescue cat in a couple of weeks and looking at food to get her, at the moment she is being fostered by a veterinary nurse who is feeding her on Royal canin senior biscuits and royal canin senior pouches that she gets from her practice. We may change this and were wondering which brands of food are good and which ones to ignore. Went to pets at homes yesterday and was amazed at the different varieties. Our cat that we are adopting in approximately 15 years.
Many thanks for any replies.
Best type of food
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Ruth B
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Re: Best type of food
I would suggest keeping her on the Royal Canin for a month or two until she has settled into her new home. (I would also suggest finding out what litter she is used to and keeping that the same for a while as well). Moving to a new home is a major change for any cat so keeping little things like food and litter the same as she is used to will give her at least some semblance of familiarity.
What cat food to feed is one of the biggest debating points on here and in the end there is no easy right answer. Some points to consider are:
Will she eat it. This may seem obvious, but cats can be extremely fussy animals when it comes to food. They are notorious for wolfing down a new type of food when you have just bought a pouch or two, then turning their noses up when you buy a box of that type. You can't starve them into eating it, a cat will hold out for a long time if they don't like what is on offer, and if they don't eat for a long time it can be bad for their health. My cats have set meal times and are fed three times a day. If they don't like what is on offer at one meal time I won't put anything different down until the next meal time. They get something different at the meal and it is rare for them to refuse two meals running, they will often go and eat the first meal once they have realised that pestering for something different isn't going to work.
Where will you be buying the food. I'm lazy, all our cat food is either bought from the local supermarket or delivered from Zooplus. You want something that is easy for you to get hold off, doesn't turn into a chore trying to get it, and won't be a problem to find an alternative supplier if your normal one is out of stock.
Budget. It's no shame is you can't afford to buy her premium cat food all the time. There are plenty of perfectly good cat foods available at reasonable prices. Also shop around if you can, some places will have really could offers on some cat foods and it doesn't go off quickly as long as you have somewhere to store it.
Make sure you buy a 'Complete' cat food. Some cat foods are sold as 'Supplementary' or 'Complementary', these are just what they say, fine every now and then but should not be the only food a cat gets. Cats require certain vitamins and minerals in their diet, in nature they get these from eating the whole mouse they caught, they don't just pick out the nice meaty bits. Cat food manufacturers have learnt to add supplements to cat food to make sure it contains all that a cat needs, these are the ones that are labeled as 'complete', some common brands don't actually say it anymore, but their food still is, so ones that are labeled complementary or supplementary are the ones to really watch out for.
I will also mention that cats are genetically inclined to have a varied diet. Again it comes from when they had to hunt for food and they couldn't guarantee to get the same type of animal twice in a row. Some cats will settle with just one type of food, but most appreciate variety.
As for what to buy, i can only tell you what i buy for mine. Felix As Good as it Looks is my mainstay wet food, and does seem to be a popular option generally. It has a relatively high protein content and is at the higher end of the standard cat foods. Gourmet Pearl and Gold, are ones I turn to when my cats are wanting something different. Thrive Complete is a higher grade of cat food that I started buying to try and help my golden oldie keep weight on, I get it from Zooplus and while expensive I feel it is worth it for her. It does however mean my two youngsters have also taken a liking to it. There are times when I open a tin, particularly something like the tuna one, and think it could easily be put in sandwiches and no one would tell it wasn't a tin of John West's.
I also buy them Applaws at times, but as it is only a complementary food they don't get it more than once or twice a week just to be on the safe side. I've no idea how often you are safe to feed complementary food, but I err on the side of caution.
As far as dried food goes, mine eat Purina One. I have tried other brands and always ended up back with Purina. When i have tried mixing other brands with it to use up old bags I swear my cats pick out the Purina and leave the other in the bowl. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the more expensive brand that they will eat, than a cheaper one and end up throwing it all out.
As far as things like 'senior' options go, they are supposed to be formulated of older cats, I however have never bothered with them as, as is fairly typical for me, I have one 18 year old, and two 5 year olds.
What cat food to feed is one of the biggest debating points on here and in the end there is no easy right answer. Some points to consider are:
Will she eat it. This may seem obvious, but cats can be extremely fussy animals when it comes to food. They are notorious for wolfing down a new type of food when you have just bought a pouch or two, then turning their noses up when you buy a box of that type. You can't starve them into eating it, a cat will hold out for a long time if they don't like what is on offer, and if they don't eat for a long time it can be bad for their health. My cats have set meal times and are fed three times a day. If they don't like what is on offer at one meal time I won't put anything different down until the next meal time. They get something different at the meal and it is rare for them to refuse two meals running, they will often go and eat the first meal once they have realised that pestering for something different isn't going to work.
Where will you be buying the food. I'm lazy, all our cat food is either bought from the local supermarket or delivered from Zooplus. You want something that is easy for you to get hold off, doesn't turn into a chore trying to get it, and won't be a problem to find an alternative supplier if your normal one is out of stock.
Budget. It's no shame is you can't afford to buy her premium cat food all the time. There are plenty of perfectly good cat foods available at reasonable prices. Also shop around if you can, some places will have really could offers on some cat foods and it doesn't go off quickly as long as you have somewhere to store it.
Make sure you buy a 'Complete' cat food. Some cat foods are sold as 'Supplementary' or 'Complementary', these are just what they say, fine every now and then but should not be the only food a cat gets. Cats require certain vitamins and minerals in their diet, in nature they get these from eating the whole mouse they caught, they don't just pick out the nice meaty bits. Cat food manufacturers have learnt to add supplements to cat food to make sure it contains all that a cat needs, these are the ones that are labeled as 'complete', some common brands don't actually say it anymore, but their food still is, so ones that are labeled complementary or supplementary are the ones to really watch out for.
I will also mention that cats are genetically inclined to have a varied diet. Again it comes from when they had to hunt for food and they couldn't guarantee to get the same type of animal twice in a row. Some cats will settle with just one type of food, but most appreciate variety.
As for what to buy, i can only tell you what i buy for mine. Felix As Good as it Looks is my mainstay wet food, and does seem to be a popular option generally. It has a relatively high protein content and is at the higher end of the standard cat foods. Gourmet Pearl and Gold, are ones I turn to when my cats are wanting something different. Thrive Complete is a higher grade of cat food that I started buying to try and help my golden oldie keep weight on, I get it from Zooplus and while expensive I feel it is worth it for her. It does however mean my two youngsters have also taken a liking to it. There are times when I open a tin, particularly something like the tuna one, and think it could easily be put in sandwiches and no one would tell it wasn't a tin of John West's.
I also buy them Applaws at times, but as it is only a complementary food they don't get it more than once or twice a week just to be on the safe side. I've no idea how often you are safe to feed complementary food, but I err on the side of caution.
As far as dried food goes, mine eat Purina One. I have tried other brands and always ended up back with Purina. When i have tried mixing other brands with it to use up old bags I swear my cats pick out the Purina and leave the other in the bowl. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the more expensive brand that they will eat, than a cheaper one and end up throwing it all out.
As far as things like 'senior' options go, they are supposed to be formulated of older cats, I however have never bothered with them as, as is fairly typical for me, I have one 18 year old, and two 5 year olds.
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Mollycat
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Re: Best type of food
How exciting, where did you end up on the insurance question, did you find anything worthwhile or run with the cat's bank account idea?
There's not much to add to Ruth's answers, something familiar at first then something she is happy eating and that suits you. Standard advice is introduce new foods gradually (a little of the new mixed with a lot of the old then gradually change proportions around) but that has never worked for me for anything, not food and not litter. If mine will take it they will take a meal of it, and if they won't they won't take one mouthful in a whole meal of something else. Our staple is also Felix Good as it looks, for the high protein content. I did like Butchers grain-free but a whole tin for one indoor cat is a lot of waste as it won't keep over 2 days.
There's a rather silly thing my mother posted on her facebook a few years back and trots out again periodically - a teaspoon of poop will ruin a kilo of caviar but a teaspoon of caviar in no way enhances a kilo of poop. I have no idea what it relates to or what prompted this deep pearl of wisdom, and I like to keep some mysteries in my life so I'm not planning to ask ... maybe she will whisper it to me on her deathbed, or take the secret with her, but it's true and I like it and you're welcome to it.
As for the complementary foods - and I'll lump in treats in the same paragraph. Complementary is really stupid, because it doesn't tell you what is missing for you to make it up some other way. It could be that two complementary foods add up to a complete diet, or not, you have no way of knowing. The recommendation is that 80% of the cat's calories come from balanced food, and no more than 20% is from complementary foods, treats and titbits. Well. Dreamies and other manufactured treats are trash but who doesn't love a little trash food sometimes? Dreamies are also highly addictive, just search the net. I give Webbox sticks which are a semi-dry in my opinion not too bad treat. But really I'm a big fan of real meat for cat treats, raw or cooked, as a meal or as treats, and I don't really know or care whether she gets less or more than 20% of total calories from it.
One last throwaway comment, people are very different in the way we approach the care of a 15 year old cat, and wherever your own feelings are is absolutely fine. This is the girl you were going to see who has a clean bill of health? Fantastic. Last year we had to say goodbye to my 15 year old pedigree Boo who visited the vets religiously every 6 months all his life because he was deteriorating and tests likely wouldn't have been much help, whereas I drove past my ex's house yesterday to see our 23 year old Purdy curled up asleep on his bedroom windowsill, who hasn't seen a vet since Boo was born. I think there comes an age and a lifestage where there is no more right and wrong, where we can give up battling to make them eat their metaphorical greens and go into permanent Easter where it's ok to have a chocolate egg for breakfast ... not actual chocolate for the cat but you get my drift. Being owned by a cat can often involve throwing a lot of great intentions and honourable principles out of the window.
There's not much to add to Ruth's answers, something familiar at first then something she is happy eating and that suits you. Standard advice is introduce new foods gradually (a little of the new mixed with a lot of the old then gradually change proportions around) but that has never worked for me for anything, not food and not litter. If mine will take it they will take a meal of it, and if they won't they won't take one mouthful in a whole meal of something else. Our staple is also Felix Good as it looks, for the high protein content. I did like Butchers grain-free but a whole tin for one indoor cat is a lot of waste as it won't keep over 2 days.
There's a rather silly thing my mother posted on her facebook a few years back and trots out again periodically - a teaspoon of poop will ruin a kilo of caviar but a teaspoon of caviar in no way enhances a kilo of poop. I have no idea what it relates to or what prompted this deep pearl of wisdom, and I like to keep some mysteries in my life so I'm not planning to ask ... maybe she will whisper it to me on her deathbed, or take the secret with her, but it's true and I like it and you're welcome to it.
As for the complementary foods - and I'll lump in treats in the same paragraph. Complementary is really stupid, because it doesn't tell you what is missing for you to make it up some other way. It could be that two complementary foods add up to a complete diet, or not, you have no way of knowing. The recommendation is that 80% of the cat's calories come from balanced food, and no more than 20% is from complementary foods, treats and titbits. Well. Dreamies and other manufactured treats are trash but who doesn't love a little trash food sometimes? Dreamies are also highly addictive, just search the net. I give Webbox sticks which are a semi-dry in my opinion not too bad treat. But really I'm a big fan of real meat for cat treats, raw or cooked, as a meal or as treats, and I don't really know or care whether she gets less or more than 20% of total calories from it.
One last throwaway comment, people are very different in the way we approach the care of a 15 year old cat, and wherever your own feelings are is absolutely fine. This is the girl you were going to see who has a clean bill of health? Fantastic. Last year we had to say goodbye to my 15 year old pedigree Boo who visited the vets religiously every 6 months all his life because he was deteriorating and tests likely wouldn't have been much help, whereas I drove past my ex's house yesterday to see our 23 year old Purdy curled up asleep on his bedroom windowsill, who hasn't seen a vet since Boo was born. I think there comes an age and a lifestage where there is no more right and wrong, where we can give up battling to make them eat their metaphorical greens and go into permanent Easter where it's ok to have a chocolate egg for breakfast ... not actual chocolate for the cat but you get my drift. Being owned by a cat can often involve throwing a lot of great intentions and honourable principles out of the window.
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Re: Best type of food
Hi Ruth and Mollycat, Thank you for the replies. We will keep Rummy on the Royal Canin for a while as we don't want her getting stressed by changing her food so soon, it will also give me time to have a look around.
I might be getting the insurance from this link https://www.theinsuranceemporium.co.uk/ ... 247C10226D but I am going to talk to my vet about it too.
Hopefully we will be able to pick Rummy up at the weekend.
Once again thank you for the replies, I may be asking a few more questions for a while
I might be getting the insurance from this link https://www.theinsuranceemporium.co.uk/ ... 247C10226D but I am going to talk to my vet about it too.
Hopefully we will be able to pick Rummy up at the weekend.
Once again thank you for the replies, I may be asking a few more questions for a while
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Mollycat
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Re: Best type of food
Look forward to pics of Rummy once she has settled in!
Please do hang around it's always fun to share and as everyone has different experience and perspective everyone has something to offer.
Please do hang around it's always fun to share and as everyone has different experience and perspective everyone has something to offer.
Re: Best type of food
And why did you decide to get insurance? Some of my friends also want to get it, maybe you know more about that company?Lynne Phillpot1963 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:48 pm Hi Ruth and Mollycat, Thank you for the replies. We will keep Rummy on the Royal Canin for a while as we don't want her getting stressed by changing her food so soon, it will also give me time to have a look around.
I might be getting the insurance from this link https://www.theinsuranceemporium.co.uk/ ... 247C10226D but I am going to talk to my vet about it too.
Hopefully we will be able to pick Rummy up at the weekend.
Once again thank you for the replies, I may be asking a few more questions for a while
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Re: Best type of food
Hi, Rummy is settling in well with us
Rummy has now decided after buying her Royal Canin Senior consult 1 that she has gone off of it, she seems to suck the gravy off and leave the meat, this has left me with quite a few pouches has we had to buy it online for her. She turned her nose up at Iams senior which we mixed in with the royal canin, she eats her iams ocean fish biscuits (this is all food that came with her) I am a bit at a loss what to do as there is a lot of different food out there. Any advice greatly appreciated, we want to do the best for Rummy.
Regarding insurance we have decided to put so much money away each month for Rummy. She had a check up at the vets this week and they said that considering her age she is in good condition.
Rummy has now decided after buying her Royal Canin Senior consult 1 that she has gone off of it, she seems to suck the gravy off and leave the meat, this has left me with quite a few pouches has we had to buy it online for her. She turned her nose up at Iams senior which we mixed in with the royal canin, she eats her iams ocean fish biscuits (this is all food that came with her) I am a bit at a loss what to do as there is a lot of different food out there. Any advice greatly appreciated, we want to do the best for Rummy.
Regarding insurance we have decided to put so much money away each month for Rummy. She had a check up at the vets this week and they said that considering her age she is in good condition.
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Mollycat
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Re: Best type of food
Great news and thank you for the update. Pictures would be ever so welcome!
Unfortunately many cats like to lick off the jelly or gravy and leave the chunks. Molly gets Felix Good as it Looks Senior precisely for the flakes, Hubby bought the normal Senior in jelly and for a week we were left with a pile of little chunks in the dish, licked clean.
You can try mashing it up with a fork and see if that helps, or see if there is a pate type version and if Rummy will accept it. But there really isn't an answer or any short cuts to finding a food you're happy to give and the cat is happy to accept, it's an expensive game of trial and error. My Boo refused point blank to touch the £40+ worth of portioned raw that he had eaten for years with his previous owner from the instant I brought him home.
Unfortunately many cats like to lick off the jelly or gravy and leave the chunks. Molly gets Felix Good as it Looks Senior precisely for the flakes, Hubby bought the normal Senior in jelly and for a week we were left with a pile of little chunks in the dish, licked clean.
You can try mashing it up with a fork and see if that helps, or see if there is a pate type version and if Rummy will accept it. But there really isn't an answer or any short cuts to finding a food you're happy to give and the cat is happy to accept, it's an expensive game of trial and error. My Boo refused point blank to touch the £40+ worth of portioned raw that he had eaten for years with his previous owner from the instant I brought him home.
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Re: Best type of food
Thanks Mollycat, I am going to mash it up and see is she will eat it like that...hopefully she will it eat it.
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Ruth B
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Re: Best type of food
I'm another that finds Felix As Good as it Looks is more likely to be eaten than most others, the other mainstay for me is Gourmet Pearl. Normal Felix, Sheba, and most other cat foods just get the jelly licked off them. I also buy some tins of Thrive Complete and Applaws (Applaws is a supplementary rood so isn't suitable to be their only food) from Zooplus, and while some times my three will clear the bowls of those, i have found they quickly seem to become bored of the novelty. My Mothers older cat loved Gourmet Gold pate, particularly the ocean fish flavour. Where my Mum lived it was cheaper to buy the mixed boxes and then give the beef ones that she refused to eat away, the charity i support used to get bags of Gourmet Gold Beef Pate tins from her, I guess some cats must like it. While we had her we would often come out of Asda with 1 box of mixed Gourmet Gold Pate, and then 12 to 18 single tins of Ocean fish.
Unfortunately it is a case of trial and error, and even if you buy a few separate tins or pouches to see if Rummy likes them, there is no guarantee that she will eat that type of food if you then bought a box.
Unfortunately it is a case of trial and error, and even if you buy a few separate tins or pouches to see if Rummy likes them, there is no guarantee that she will eat that type of food if you then bought a box.
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Gwynhazzleton
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Re: Best type of food
Hi. My cat Lanson (LANs) has hypothyroidism, poor kidneys and liver function. He’s 15 and has 6 monthly blood tests. The last one showed thyroid balanced but flagged up kidney and liver issue. Put him on this kd food, cost a bomb and he hates it. Put him on 2 different drugs to lower his blood pressure, was poorly and lethargic straight away. Now, I’ve stopped all drugs except his thyroid transdermal gel, and Yumove, feed him a combo of senior and regular felix plus KD biscuits. Result, he’s happy, lively for a 15 year old, just eats what he wants mainly the jelly. Fortunately, Fluffy cat, 6 years hoovers the remains. And they are not insured, I put money aside each month. Conclusion, they are all different no one size fits all as it were. I’ve made endless visits to the vet with LANs, listened to advise and done everything they suggested. But now, he has what he wants and thrives!
You get to know your cats and gut instinct is key. They won’t live forever but while they are here keep em happy and healthy.
You get to know your cats and gut instinct is key. They won’t live forever but while they are here keep em happy and healthy.
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Re: Best type of food
Thank you for the replies, I have brought a selection of different pouches of food to see which one she prefers, just want to do the best for Rummy. I made the costly mistake of buying the Royal Canin senior consult 1(48 pouches) on line which is the food she had been eating at her foster carer and now she doesn't like it...but we love her and will find her something else.
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Ruth B
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Re: Best type of food
Keep the spare pouches of Royal Canin, in a couple of weeks of eating something else, offer her one, she will probably eat it. If she really refuses then I'm sure the charity would be more than happy to have it off you so at least it wouldn't be wasted. Cats cost, and frequently it can feel that you are throwing pound coins in the waste bin, but then they come and snuggle up to you purring like mad and you forgive them everything.
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Lynne Phillpot1963
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Re: Best type of food
Hi Ruth B
Thank you for your reply, I am going to keep the food and if after a few weeks of giving her something else she goes back on it then that would be fab, if not the charity will be receiving it.
You are right, I can forgive her anything, she had pushed a load of litter this morning from her tray onto the floor but she started rolling around on the floor and purring and looking very cute
Thank you for your reply, I am going to keep the food and if after a few weeks of giving her something else she goes back on it then that would be fab, if not the charity will be receiving it.
You are right, I can forgive her anything, she had pushed a load of litter this morning from her tray onto the floor but she started rolling around on the floor and purring and looking very cute
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Mollycat
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Re: Best type of food
Wonderful! You are truly a Cat Person now! Luckily we also have a dog so nothing is ever wasted if the cat leaves it. So we happily took 10 foil trays that had been reduced to £2 for 10 in our local supermarket last week, and sure enough Molly said those were not edible.