cat food.. which to buy?

[FrOZenKidS]

we have rehomed a rescue cat, approx 5months old (kitten?)
slightly bewildered by the different catfoods at the supermarket.. I came on here for inspiration and you all talk about brands I've never seen/heard of! and then slagged off the 'go cat' kitten biscuits that I bought!! please can someone do me a list from best to worst or point me in the right direction

[Fluffycloudland77]

Whats your budget?

[FrOZenKidS]

not really got one. isn't an issue really. obviously Im not going buy ridiculously expensive food just for the sake of it.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Amionda carny has a good reputation, I think zooplus sell it.

[chockbic]

Iams and Applaws worked well for ours.

[villagecorner]

Cats Protection told us not to buy anything with colour (like Go Cat) and not to feed them wet food in gravy, as it goes straight through them. Mine are on Purina dry food most of the time and pouches of Whiskas in jelly twice a week as that's what they are at the rescue.

[MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday]

I'm using Animonda Carny from zooplus after recommendations from here...that and Royal Canin kibble just for nibbles. Both the kittens and my 14 yr old LOVE the Animonda food. It has a much higher meat content than supermarket stuff, and they don't seem to need as much to fill them up, so less wasteful (Portia will like the jelly off Whiskers and leave the food)

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Mine are on one pouch of Felix a day each (one pouch shared between them twice a day) plus either Canagan or Encore dry food, which are high meat / cereal free. I get Canagan in bulk from Pets Corner or Encore from Sainsburys if I can't get to Pets Corner.

[McSnuff]

Waitrose own brand and Bucher's Choice for our cat - Whiskas kitten food went straight through him when he was young and although the adult food was better, he's less farty without it. The Butcher's Choice is gluten-free but I'm not too bothered about that.

He likes his biscuits, currently on Meowing Heads of some sort or other, mostly because I liked the packaging. Er...

[TryingNotToLaugh]

I get dry food, hay and pet litter for all our pets (cat & g.pigs) delivered by Oscars

It's received well by all the animals and delivered to the door. Cheaper than pets at home too.

[Corygal]

Mr Cory goes mad for Gourmet Perle but I've just sent off for a crate of Aminonda, will advise how it goes down (ie offer it free when he turns his little nose up on the second day).

[TryingNotToLaugh]

Our old rescue cat came to us eating James Wellbeloved and wouldn't eat anything else. That was good too.

Not that I tried it myself though the baby often did

[AlpacaLypse]

TBH you get what you pay for with pet food.

AlpacaCat is on IAMS, available to her at will all day long, and also gets a sachet of Whiskas in jelly a couple of times a day. However she's been ill so she's getting special treatment right now. I'd be happier for the wet food to be no more than once or twice a week.

[ClaimedByMe]

Feral cat will only eat cheap pouches, the cheaper the better, she also eats what she catches outside and most human food

Old fat man eats anything and everything

Young cat will only eat purina one chicken biscuits nothing else passes her lips except water out the toilet

[shaska]

We had a bunch of cats live long and happy lives on Whiskas and GoCat, then got these two and had a fit of madness and did tonnes of research on cat diets. Who knows what The Real Truth is, but here are my current opinions (your mileage may vary, especially as we are talking about cats):

• Feeding only dry food is not great.
  
• The Hills/Royal Canin type stuff is not as good as it makes itself out to be, nor as the price tag implies.
  
• One of those special raw meat hyper balanced hand made diets would probably be great if anyone had the time or inclination (congratulations to those who do).
  
• Ordering catfood online is AMAZING.
  
• Dreamies are the exception to all rules.
  

Ours have Grau grainfree which they like. James Wellbeloved pouches which they think is The Best. Applaws dry which they deign to eat. And dreamies. As many dreamies as they can wangle.

Oh and madcat eats quite a lot of brioche because we keep forgetting what she's like about brioche and leaving it on the bench.

[MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday]

Oh yes Dreamies... crack for cats

We are keeping Portia happy while we integrate the new kittens by a combo of Dreamies, two cat nip plants, and a peacock feather which she loves to attack!

Basically she's stoned...

[chickydoo]

Ours eat 3x sachets of wet food each a day ( Felix usually)
Also have a handful of dry food ( whiskers, iams etc)
They are very skinny & are always peckish.
They have cat milk from time to time, and if vey hungry give them a bit more dry food.
They also have chicken once a week, & one dental chewy stick a week each. Oh yes & mice.....plenty of those come in very well chewed.

[cate16]

My cat will only eat Go Cat or Whiskers

[LetItBeMe]

I buy smilla from zoo plus. I've always used the best I can afford. my cat is in great condition, lovely coat and small stools- usually in my front garden!

[RubbishMantra]

Animonda Carny (wet food) and Applaws biscuits.

Both from Zooplus. Both grain/cereal-free.

[PinkSparklyElephant]

Harry will only eat James Wellbeloved dry food. He has duck in the morning and turkey in the evening and if you get it the wrong way around he's not happy!

I would prefer he had some wet food but he refuses to eat it. We make sure he's got plenty of fresh water (although next door's algae-filled pond is much better) and he seems to be doing ok on it.

Oh and I think I have the only cat in the world who refuses Dreamies...

[cozietoesie]

Seniorboy won't touch Dreamies! I thought it was his (lack of) back teeth until I discovered recently that he'll happily gum on a few Vet's Kitchen treats.

The rest of the time, he's on a huge mix of wet food - given his advanced age, he basically gets what he'll eat just to get calories into him and cheer him up. A favourite and staple is the Coop's Gourmet chicken in gravy pouch although he also rather likes Felix AGAIL double duo pouches.

If he was a younger cat, I'd be tougher minded. (I've been saying that since he was 14 though and it's starting to wear a bit thin even to my ears.)

[Poledra]

When we got our two, their previous owner said they'd eat anything as long as it was in jelly. She knew them so well . So I'm afraid I didn't really research food, just gave 'em what they wanted.

FluffyCat is very fond of a bit of chilli or curry, when he can lick the dishes left on the table get it. He's not so fond of being chucked out of the living room when the resultant flatulence ensues...

[cozietoesie]

Try to keep him away from those? Curry can be bad for cats - the flatulence is your warning, I think.

[Poledra]

Oh yes, we do, cozie -since we discovered his predilection for spicy food, we make sure the dishes are at least dumped in the sink with water run over them so there's no tasty bits left. We just didn't think, as novice cat owners, that cats would want to lick spicy plates! Dogs, yes. Cats, no.

Other than 'proper' cat food, they only get trimmings from meat, chicken skin and sometimes a bit of offal when I buy a half lamb from the local farmer.

[cozietoesie]

Blighters. Sounds as if they're not trained to avoid kitchen surfaces?