To think Felix, Whiskas and other cat "food" manufacturers are taking the mick

[TuppenceForYou]

Most commercial cat food has actually about 4% meat. This is for nearly 100% carnivores. They put soya protein shit in instead, plus carbohydrates (to make our cats fat).

Its really a scandal. And one I've only noticed because I've got a lovely little kitten I want to feed well.

Apparently this commercial cat "food" makes them hungry all the time (no real meat) so they overeat (diabetes) and it also makes their pooh pong when it doesn't need to, it makes them less energetic and their coats not so shiny!

Does anyone else wonder what planet we are on when our 100% carnivore pets are fed 4% meat by these bstd manufacturers? Its not even cheap!

We feed only raw, from a specialist supplier (Kiezebrink). We stick to the kind of diet a cat would eat in the wild (chicken, rabbit, duck, etc.) and ensure there's plenty of taurine from muscle meat such as chicken hearts.

The results have been amazing - our cats are muscular, bright-eyed and very energetic. Their bad breath and tooth decay have improved enormously too.

We paid £60 for 20kg of raw food in March. There's still about 2kg left, so it can be very affordable too.

Kiezebrink also sell mice, rats and other rodents, but I can't quite stomach it yet.

My cats are fed raw. I started with the commercial frozen raw foods, but now make my own by using a mix of meats and a supplement that ensures sufficient calcium and taurine. They also eat raw chicken wings (good for teeth) and day old chicks which I buy frozen in huge bags.

The best thing about raw diets is that their poos simply do not smell AT ALL. Give them even one sachet and it goes back to stinky. The other benefit is that they do not constantly nag for food as the raw satisfies them for hours.

My now sadly departed Sonny Jim had a mixture. Some Lilys Kitchen and a bowl of Hills Science Diet biscuits. I was hedging my bets

We have a local discount food chain stocking Applaws at 4 pouches for a pound! I have stockpiled for a year. Wee kitty (who actually does not really live here, turned up last August and never left) is in heaven. Prior to this she was on Aldi premium wet food with a good quality dry. She was very healthy on this but I worry about a return to the old regime. She is currently trying to open the door to the cat food cupboard. She was starving when she turned up in our garden so is a greedy cat but Applaws seems to be cat crack.

My two get Harrington's dry food, the chicken and rice one, as I can now only get it through Amazon and they only have the chicken, but I used to rotate it with the fish one. They also get a sachet of wet food each in the morning and at the moment are happily scoffing the Lidl's own brand. They refuse to eat Felix, are wary of Whiskas and won't touch the pate style stuff. They were eating hard food when I got them (actually, the rescue centre was giving them wet food and they weren't eating it unless desperate) and that is what they prefer. The wet food in the morning is fine, but they don't want it all day. They won't look at fish at all - unless someone else offers it to them! My vet is quite happy with what I am feeding them. CandleCat1 has a weight problem if you don't keep a strict eye on him. The boys are 14 now, so I don't mind indulging them.

My last cat was a fussy little sod, not helped by XH always adding treats to his dish so he refused to eat if it didn't have crispy sprinkle-type stuff on it. He also wouldn't touch water unless it was running...

As long as my cats are healthy, I don't worry too much about their diet.

Haffiana - are the day old chicks grim or is it ok? I might buy some next time.

I also love the fact that the cats seem so much more stimulated by their meals. It can take them a good 30 minutes to devour a whole chicken wing, bones and all. It's a great workout for them.

Willstart where are you that sells applaws punches fur for a £1?

Sorry pouches

One of mine has a severe grain intolerance (food literally goes down and then comes straight back up), so we are limited anyway to brands that are grain free (they also tend to be higher in protein, which is good)

the problem with the pouches is that mine love to lick the gravy off then leave the chunks to congeal onto the bowl....

Mine raw feeds herself several mice a day.

Encore and applaws are the same.
You can feed animals a fish diet as long as you supplement it with vitamins, else it misses taurine as another poster mentioned.
We give our one a vitamin including taurine everyday.
Only one of my cats has ever had smelly poop and they all eat the same.
We feed ours a diet of wet foods gourmet, encore and applaws ( as they like the pots)
Dry food james well beloved and greenwoods
And the one has fish several times a day.
one is a really fussy eater, he refuses to give up the gourmet.

OlennasWimple one of ours does that! Then he looks for more food!

Fuzzy we are in West Yorkshire and have Jack Fultons. Also snapped up loads of treat mackerel pouches.

Animonda carne works for us.

And I have spent my lunch hour visiting every local branch!

Oh boo we're in London.

You seen Wht they put in our food? Lol iam not shocked ... I have three cats ... thy cost me bomb 🤐

I'm interested in feeding my cat raw food.

But I draw the line at ordering mice, rats, chicks and RABBIT EARS.

Tiger-Lily will have to make do with Applaws

The issue with raw is it's so easy to do it wrong, much harder to do it right. But done right it is (IMO at least) the best diet for our carnivores.

Taurine is an amino acid that is produced in muscles when they are used. So any muscle that is used a lot has a high level of taurine. Hearts and tongue are the best. Chicken thigh is better than breast, and cheaper to buy. Liver is needed for essential vitamins and is a very important organ for carnivores to consume, but other organs are also required. Bones and muscle meat are also needed. And variety is key. Very few animals have a strict diet of one item, and cats are no difference.
So as a basic, 10% heart or tongue, 5% liver, 5% other organ, 10 to 20% bone (usual 10% for cats) and the rest muscle meat. And a mix of different animal proteins with a minimum of 3, with 1 of these being red meat (ie beef, pork, lamb etc). Feathers, stomach contents, fur etc are all debated for their benefits. IMO all have benefits, and if possible should be offered, therefore the best diet is one mainly consisting of whole prey ie mice, rats, chicks, quail, cornish game hen, rabbit, duck, pheasant, the list goes on, and supplemented with red meat.

Dry food is rubbish, cats often drink very little, and prefer moving water so often are quite dehydrated. Raw has a high moisture content which is ideal for cats, which wet food mimics. But unlike whole prey or chunks of raw food, tinned food doesn't help to keep teeth clean, encourage chewing which helps the body digest food or keep cats stimulated.

my cat eats whiskas in jelly and applaws dry food. i do also give her lactose free milk

id love to switch her on to better wet food, and eventually switch to raw, but i have no idea where or how to start.

we've tried her on better wet food, and IIRC she enjoyed Encore and Applaws.

i want to keep her grain free, can anyone recommened a brand to try?

BloodWorries
You can simply get vitamins for cats if they have a meat/dish diet.
Cats often get their water through their food, though i think mine get a lot through food and one of them through it's love of milk

Sorry should have been *fish

YANBU and this is a great thread, I've been wanting to feed my cats a better diet but wasn't sure what was good quality and what was just an overpriced version of the usual. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!