Dace
Revolution in Progress
We are planning to adopt a kitten. I have my do on raw, which kind of grosses me out....I may switch him to a commercial grain free food.
What the heck do I feed a kitty????
What the heck do I feed a kitty????
How to properly feed a cat?
- Thread starter Dace
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Javamama
Almost Self-Reliant
I just switched my kittens over to a grain free food. They were on some generic corn and soy filled crap before. Grain free = expensive- yes. But OMG the difference in the poops is so worth it. It was to the point where 2 small kittens stunk worse than all the chickens, ducks and dog put together. I would gag every time I walked by the litter box (they are outside cats). The kittens themselves were stinky little buggers and the body odor is almost gone. I think I bought Taste of the Wild. And they are eating less, so this bag is going to last much longer than the nasty filler "food".
Unfortunately I had to go to a specialty store to find it. I was in a hurry this time, but I may check out internet shopping to see if I can get it cheaper.
Unfortunately I had to go to a specialty store to find it. I was in a hurry this time, but I may check out internet shopping to see if I can get it cheaper.
freemotion
Food Guru
I would do raw first, I am past the grossed-out stage. (My stomach did flip-flops at first with the first dog, but that was over eight years ago.) I feed my older kitties homemade based on cheap chicken or turkey, livers, hearts, and gizzards, and veggies...a cooked version. Used to freeze it, now I have a pressure canner so I can it. There is a thread on it.
I buy food for the barn cats, and I use a grain-free food. Standard, big name catfoods lead to serious vet bill later in life for the cats. You can also feed less of the more expensive, grain-free foods. Homemade is more work but a lot cheaper. DH and I work on it together. It goes pretty fast now, seemed like a daunting task when we first started. Our cat that was to be put down is still alive because of homemade food, and that was...um...7 years ago? Six? A long time, anyways, and no return of the health problems....cystitis and pee'ing outside the box. A lot. Constant bladder infections and bloody urine. No more!
I buy food for the barn cats, and I use a grain-free food. Standard, big name catfoods lead to serious vet bill later in life for the cats. You can also feed less of the more expensive, grain-free foods. Homemade is more work but a lot cheaper. DH and I work on it together. It goes pretty fast now, seemed like a daunting task when we first started. Our cat that was to be put down is still alive because of homemade food, and that was...um...7 years ago? Six? A long time, anyways, and no return of the health problems....cystitis and pee'ing outside the box. A lot. Constant bladder infections and bloody urine. No more!
i_am2bz
Lovin' The Homestead
I feed mine (I have 4) Purina One...I look for the flavors that say "chicken is the #1 ingredient" (or turkey, fish, whatever). I always figure corn as the first ingredient can't be that good for them (or a dog, either, for that matter). It's not cheap, but all my cats are older 10+ years & are very healthy. If you keep them indoors they'll live longer as well.
Javamama
Almost Self-Reliant
I went to the websites of the foods I saw at the pet store and registered for coupons and one had a free bag offer - I think it was California Natural. I'm not worried about switching food brands since they are barn cats - they will be eating mice and whatever else they find.
Shiloh Acres
Lovin' The Homestead
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I haven't tried raw yet for cats. I will when life settles a bit. I have cooked my own catfood before. Yes, much cheaper!
For now my cats are on a premium high quality meat-based food that is grain free. They pretty much always have been. And my kitty DOES smell good. She actually smells clean and sweet. I like to hug her and I can smell the back of her neck.
The box CAN still get a little smelly. It's not exactly like roses, but it doesn't stink up the house. I can only smell it close by when it needs cleaning.
Some indoor cats you can smell as soon as you walk in someones house, even if the litter box is tucked far away.
For now my cats are on a premium high quality meat-based food that is grain free. They pretty much always have been. And my kitty DOES smell good. She actually smells clean and sweet. I like to hug her and I can smell the back of her neck.
The box CAN still get a little smelly. It's not exactly like roses, but it doesn't stink up the house. I can only smell it close by when it needs cleaning.
Some indoor cats you can smell as soon as you walk in someones house, even if the litter box is tucked far away.
savingdogs
Queen Filksinger
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I like to feed dry kibble. No muss, no fuss. Lots of choices, it is a matter of what you want to spend and where you shop, the more expensive stuff is better usually although it is good to read labels. Dry kibble is also good for their teeth and kittens can start on it as young as four weeks (softened in water).
My favorite is made by Solid Gold and is called Katz n flocken, available at specialty stores and clinics. But Purina does make a "urinary tract health" one I buy sometimes when I need to pick up cat food at the market in a pinch, and Iams makes a good dry kitten kibble that is available at grocery stores around me. You don't want to buy the cheapest cat food, it is not a good value, they just eat and poop more to feel satisfied. Friskies is a particularly bad choice, IMHO. I choose ones marked urinary tract health whenever possible especially for male cats as you don't ever want them to have that issue. Cat pee is worse than cat poo and poor food can make them tend to get urinary crystals, which causes them to have....ahem....out of litterbox experiences, just as Freemotion described.
At the feed store you have more choices, I like Nutro brand food for cats as well, they have one called Max Cat that I like but it is for adults, you want to go with a kitten chow for now.
I do give my cats meat protein (scraps and tidbets) occasionally and they certainly hunt, so they get their own raw! You don't want to give canned tuna as a sole diet either, but if you need to get a kitten out of a small hole or out from under the house, a can of tuna does the trick! I add the tuna water from the cans to the dry kibble as a treat (water packed) for my adult cats and they come running when they hear the can opener!
I can't do raw, I work at a clinic that is adamantly opposed to it and so have my last two clinics, so I have chosen to not go that route, kinda against company policy and that is where I take my sick pets so for now not trying it. I have heard other stories such as Freemotion described however, I just don't have the time or inclination to make homemade food for my cats like she is and do it right. I'm looking for quick and easy.
I occasionally buy canned cat food, but more as a treat or as a way to rehabilitate someone who has been sick or eating poorly/thin. Canned food makes cats have very loose, very sticky, stinky poop (I work at a boarding kennel, so believe me, I know all about cat poop) so if you can get away from feeding canned cat food you are better off. Some cats get finicky though and that is all they will eat, so get them started off right and enjoying the kind of food you like to feed. Same with litter, they get finicky so figure out what you and they like and try to stick with a routine.
Hope that helps! Good luck with your babies.
My favorite is made by Solid Gold and is called Katz n flocken, available at specialty stores and clinics. But Purina does make a "urinary tract health" one I buy sometimes when I need to pick up cat food at the market in a pinch, and Iams makes a good dry kitten kibble that is available at grocery stores around me. You don't want to buy the cheapest cat food, it is not a good value, they just eat and poop more to feel satisfied. Friskies is a particularly bad choice, IMHO. I choose ones marked urinary tract health whenever possible especially for male cats as you don't ever want them to have that issue. Cat pee is worse than cat poo and poor food can make them tend to get urinary crystals, which causes them to have....ahem....out of litterbox experiences, just as Freemotion described.
At the feed store you have more choices, I like Nutro brand food for cats as well, they have one called Max Cat that I like but it is for adults, you want to go with a kitten chow for now.
I do give my cats meat protein (scraps and tidbets) occasionally and they certainly hunt, so they get their own raw! You don't want to give canned tuna as a sole diet either, but if you need to get a kitten out of a small hole or out from under the house, a can of tuna does the trick! I add the tuna water from the cans to the dry kibble as a treat (water packed) for my adult cats and they come running when they hear the can opener!
I can't do raw, I work at a clinic that is adamantly opposed to it and so have my last two clinics, so I have chosen to not go that route, kinda against company policy and that is where I take my sick pets so for now not trying it. I have heard other stories such as Freemotion described however, I just don't have the time or inclination to make homemade food for my cats like she is and do it right. I'm looking for quick and easy.
I occasionally buy canned cat food, but more as a treat or as a way to rehabilitate someone who has been sick or eating poorly/thin. Canned food makes cats have very loose, very sticky, stinky poop (I work at a boarding kennel, so believe me, I know all about cat poop) so if you can get away from feeding canned cat food you are better off. Some cats get finicky though and that is all they will eat, so get them started off right and enjoying the kind of food you like to feed. Same with litter, they get finicky so figure out what you and they like and try to stick with a routine.
Hope that helps! Good luck with your babies.
freemotion
Food Guru
Cats, unlike dogs, are true carnivores and should not be fed any grain at all. So don't just look for meat to be the first ingredient....there should be no grains at all in catfood.
- Thread starter
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Dace
Revolution in Progress
Great feedback as usual 
OK, Free....my biggest issue, aside from the grodiness, is that I am worried as it is that the dog is not getting enough variety. He won't touch innards. I give him chicken backs and wings daily and a couple times a week I give hime a beef bone. Once-twice a week I give him a couple tablespoons of cooked pureed veggies and a tablespoon of kefir( I put it on top of the chicken)....anymore than that at once and we have 'accidents'.
If you can your own cat food, then it is not raw...so I am a bit confused (as usual) I will go look for the other thread. Thanks for the info!
OK, Free....my biggest issue, aside from the grodiness, is that I am worried as it is that the dog is not getting enough variety. He won't touch innards. I give him chicken backs and wings daily and a couple times a week I give hime a beef bone. Once-twice a week I give him a couple tablespoons of cooked pureed veggies and a tablespoon of kefir( I put it on top of the chicken)....anymore than that at once and we have 'accidents'.
If you can your own cat food, then it is not raw...so I am a bit confused (as usual) I will go look for the other thread. Thanks for the info!
freemotion
Food Guru
No, my cats aren't on raw. They were older when I got educated on this by the vet who ultimately saved that cat by teaching me about cat's diets, and they just wouldn't do raw. They were both very difficult to switch from crappy commercial foods. Iams and Hills are among the worst, even the prescription diets. My sick cat was on Waltham urinary diet, and it was a tiny bit better, but not nearly enough. He never had even a slight issue since switching to homemade, even cooked.
So I cook it because it is the only way they will eat it. The like it even better overcooked, as in pressure canned as opposed to frozen. But if I got a new kitten, I would start it out on raw right from day one, that is what I meant.
We have a system to make it...dh or I put a large, commercial lasagna pan full of whole chickens or leg quarters in the oven, then glove up and strip the meat and skin. Bones go back in the pot to boil for broth and meat goes into the fridge until the next day. Then I grind veggies and the meat and add some of the broth back in....the rest of the broth for us!
You can hand chop the meat for one cat, especially if it is a kitten just starting out. My cats would pick it out. The once-sickly cat still won't eat treats from our plates, so coarsely chopped chicken is out of the question for him. He is so used to commercial mush that he must have his food in the same form or he will go on hunger strike, very bad for cats.
Remember, they need less of really good food. My two ginormous cats eat a pint of food between them daily, and I put out a pat of butter for them, too. One of the cats eats the butter, the other gets treats from our plates and bits of raw veggies like cukes and tomatoes, which he loves.
So I cook it because it is the only way they will eat it. The like it even better overcooked, as in pressure canned as opposed to frozen. But if I got a new kitten, I would start it out on raw right from day one, that is what I meant.
We have a system to make it...dh or I put a large, commercial lasagna pan full of whole chickens or leg quarters in the oven, then glove up and strip the meat and skin. Bones go back in the pot to boil for broth and meat goes into the fridge until the next day. Then I grind veggies and the meat and add some of the broth back in....the rest of the broth for us!
You can hand chop the meat for one cat, especially if it is a kitten just starting out. My cats would pick it out. The once-sickly cat still won't eat treats from our plates, so coarsely chopped chicken is out of the question for him. He is so used to commercial mush that he must have his food in the same form or he will go on hunger strike, very bad for cats.
Remember, they need less of really good food. My two ginormous cats eat a pint of food between them daily, and I put out a pat of butter for them, too. One of the cats eats the butter, the other gets treats from our plates and bits of raw veggies like cukes and tomatoes, which he loves.
