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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

I would like to hears form cat owners who only feed dry kibble

48 replies

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 07:42

My 2 cats, brother and sister, are nearly 2 years old. The boy is a lovely shape, spot on I think, but the girl is definitely fat. There's no definition of her ribs and when I feel her body there's definitely a lot of bulk there. When she runs (rare) I can see the wobble on her tummy swinging from side to side. Thing is, I feed them both exactly the same in micro chipped feeders and she is a shy timid lazy homebody who doesn't venture far, so I doubt she's eating elsewhere.

Anyway my question, what exact quantity of dry food do you feed your cats per day? Please don't confuse me if you also feed them wet food, only answer if you feed dry in the morning and dry in the evening as their only source of food. Thank you!

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 12/02/2018 09:52

Having looked at royal canin ingredients you are paying an awful lot for rice, corn, wheat and vegetable protein! Cats need meat protein, not all that crap

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 09:57

I thought that I was giving them really good stuff with Royal Canin. I would be pleased to find a better feed if it's cheaper, but cannot go any dearer than that. I usually order from Zooplus; occasionally Amazon is better. Any suggestions on alternative cheaper feed that's just as good?

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dementedpixie · 12/02/2018 10:07

I have recently bought thrive chicken from zooplus as its 90% meat. Before that i gave AVA grain free chicken stuff from pets at home which is 60% chicken. I'm mixing both just now to use up the AVA

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 10:44

That looks expensive. I buy 12 Kg of royal canin for £40.99.

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IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 11:13

Thanks demented but I think it works out more expensive; the reviews are not that great but I can't read them... I wonder why.
I cannot consider a more expensive feed than Royal Canin, if anything I need to find something more economical; I just really son't want to lower the quality, but if I can find something that's about the same but cheaper...

For a PP who mentioned their cats couldn't work out microchipped feeders, it took both my cats quite some time to get used to them, and also to work out and accept the microchipped catflap. It's worth persevering though.

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dementedpixie · 12/02/2018 11:18

At least you would be paying for meat rather than cereals

dementedpixie · 12/02/2018 11:18

The reviews complained about kibble sizes changing

dementedpixie · 12/02/2018 11:20

'Concept for life' on zooplus looks reasonable

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 16:21

I think I might have been feeding my cats more than what says in the packet. Just looking now, if I feed them per packet, it would be 30 grams morning and 30 grams night. It seems so very little!!

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Feb2018mumma · 12/02/2018 16:25

Handful of dry food in morning and again at night if she meows for it. I took my cat to vet when she was 6 as she had a right belly and the vet says it is normal with girl cats that have been neutered? It's like a pouch of fat! They said there was nothing we could do about it so if is the same thing you might not be able to get rid with diet?

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 17:07

Thanks Feb. What brand you use? I'm thinking there's no different between Iams and Royal Canin...

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Feb2018mumma · 12/02/2018 17:44

She has to have go cat crunchy and tender! She only really likes wet food but becuase of cat acne she can't have it and only dry food that tastes like wet food for her is the go cat, tried tricking her with half half with other ones but she rifles through and only gets the one she likes!

AnnaMagnani · 12/02/2018 20:56

Would seriously think about getting them a grain-free cat food. They don't need to eat much of it and they just don't gain as much weight.

Kittens have tried a couple from Zooplus and current favourite is Sanabelle. Preference seems to be based on crunchier the better! Brands like Sanabelle and Bozita are full of meat, more so than Hill's and Iams and cheaper. It's worth spending time on Zooplus looking at the foreign brands.

Saggy belly can just happen though - of the two older cats one got it and one didn't. However it was the fat one that got it and once she lost weight it did look really bad Blush

IWillSurviveHeyHey · 12/02/2018 21:57

I am going to try Sanabelle; it's ever so slightly cheaper than RC and grain free! Result!

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GingerKitCat · 13/02/2018 00:41

I feed mine Porta 21 from Zooplus, the yellow bag (adult cat). The green bag (grain free) looks even better nutritionally but the reviews made me concerned my contrary cat would refuse it! As it is he eats the yellow bag no problems, maybe in future I'll buy a small bag of the grain-free to try - wish they sold smaller samples!

here

I've recently started feeding Harringtons chicken and rice dry food from the supermarket for variety. My cat prefers the flavour to the Porta 21 - that or he thinks it's a special treat as I rustle the paper bag, the other food lives in a plastic pourer. I tend to sprinkle a bit on top of his Porta 21 to get him excited about mealtimes Grin

He's really good at self regulating, perfect weight (vet) and never finishes his biscuits in one sitting.

I thought I had the nutrition/ analytical constituents cracked for my tight budget but am prepared to be told I'm feeding absolute rubbish Blush

Agree with pp the European brands on sale at Zooplus are much better value/ nutrition than I would've imagined.

OlennasWimple · 13/02/2018 00:57

I like Taste of the Wild. A small handful twice a day is sufficient - grain free, so higher protein, which makes it more filling

Bloomed · 13/02/2018 01:12

Your cats might feel fuller with smaller portions if it's pure meat.

Broken11Girl · 13/02/2018 06:24

The amount on the packet does look meagre to human eyes, yup, been there.
I feed Cannigans or Mill Stream, both grain-free and not too pricey.

JackieReacher · 13/02/2018 10:03

I've jsut been looking at the protein content of some of the grain free foods (didn't know about them) and they appear to be lower than for the Hill's old age cat stuff with grain in it.

Pengweng · 13/02/2018 10:59

We feed a mix of James Wellbeloved and Applaws (the adult versions).

She weighs 5kg and gets 65gs a day. Normally split into three meals, breakfast first thing, some in her food maze before we leave for work and then the rest at 6pm when we get in. She is 11 and doesn't go out alot. She is now maintaining her weight, was on a diet, then had thyroid issues and went down to 3kgs (from 6!) and now is back up to normal.

She does have a jiggly belly when she runs but this is more from loose skin hanging than being fat.

dementedpixie · 13/02/2018 15:11

Some of the dry foods with lower meat contents have vegetable protein added so that boosts the protein figure artificially. I don't even know if cats can process vegetable protein tbh

EachandEveryone · 13/02/2018 21:49

Purizon on Zooplus is what mine like. 70% meat. Also i noticed today that Sainsburys are now selling their own grain free dry.

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