How much does cat food matter?

[Catt1sh]

I used to feed my cats Whiskas but then after hearing how bad is it and that there’s low meat content, I researched different food and tried my cats out on lots of different types of expensive high meat brands. I have finally found one that they like, which is Untamed. It’s expensive and they don’t enjoy it as much as the cheaper supermarket type stuff. I cat sit as a second job and most of the cats I visit are on Felix, Whiskas, Sheba etc and doing just fine! I was with one at the weekend who is 15 years old and his cost is so lovely and soft and shiny and he is in great health and eats Whiskas. How much of a difference do the likes of Untamed, Thrive, KatKin etc actually make?

It doesn’t. As the vet told me the best food is which ever food your cat will eat as they all have to meet certain standards. My cat gets Felix as good as it looks wet and Purina One dry.

I have two geriatric cats (both over 15) with very little health issues. They've been reared in whiskas and Felix AGAIL

Meh.... All my cats have been on Felix or similar for years and all have been healthy and long lived. Bog standard outdoor cats though. They supplement their diet with mice so perhaps that helps a lot. They also get all the off cuts of raw meat when I cook. Chicken and prawns being the favourites.

I love untamed my two have been on it since they were 3months old, they don’t smell and enjoy every mouthful. I like the tins as they are recyclable unlike pouches.

My first cat lived on Whiskas and local pet shop unbranded biscuits. He eventually died of old age but was healthy up until the very end.

Cats 2 & 3 (litter mates) fed on expensive dry food. Neither got to 10 due to kidney failure.

Cats 4 & 5 currently being fed a mix of expensive dry biscuits and Whiskas pouches. So far so good but they are only 5. Time will tell.

TWO of the (supposedly amazingly healthy) foods we used to buy from pet shops were discontinued so are now on whiskas to be safe. No difference in Cat that I know of!

In my experience a cat will always prefer the most expensive food you offer

Mine like NOOD dry food and a mox of tesco, Felix and whiskers wet food

Our cats have a mixture of fairly high end food but I reckon they’d eat pretty much anything. I think we’ve been a bit brainwashed by the posher branding tbh. Boy cat loves tender stem broccoli leaves (raw) no other part of the broccoli just the leaves. They also had left over roast lamb earlier. I think my cats are spoilt! 😂

My cats eat Untamed and they devour it. They have one tin each in the morning then Royal Canin urinary dry food in the evening.

One of them was very overweight and she's lost 2kg. It is expensive but I'm happy if it keeps the weight off her.

DCat won't eat any of the posh food and Scrumbles dry food made her fart.

I give her Sheba pouches and Go Cat (because the boxes are smaller and she won't eat dry food if the box has been open too long!)

My late Pud would only eat Purina One, anything more expensive was roundly ignored.
I gave him chicken as a treat and that had to be M&S chargrilled chicken, but it was only acceptable on the day the packet was opened, so I often had chicken sandwiches for work.
And though given filtered water in the house, he liked green water from the garden, preferably from somewhere manky.....

My cats are on Republic of Cats with high meat/protein content. Since they moved on to it their coats are definitely glossier and softer. They don't like their dry kibble though so still have a bit of Purina kibble at lunch time.

My cat got himself rather stressed with a rather territorial male cat causing blood clots and a urine infection. On the vets instructions I purchased all the correct Royal Canin food (wet and dry) which was out of budget for me at the time!
He threw it up.. every single time. He will eat any wet food but only likes Morrisons dried food these days. He's a senior cat now so I feed him more wet than dry.
But he's also has phases of becoming overweight because he's overly social and people feed him. Then I buy him a collar (which is lost within a few days) so it stops again til the next family feel sorry for his cute fuzzy face and the pattern starts again.
He does eat the occasional mouse or shrew as well.

Never had any urine issues since though.

Yes. Mine is addicted to Lick- e- Licks and will come from several gardens away to get it. We keep it as a high value treat to tempt her in.
Goodness knows what's in it. She practically licks the finish off the dish!

Tuna-rich foods can be too fatty/rich. If your cat goes off the untamed, do try Katkin. It is the only food my cat has reliably eaten for years. Sometimes wants a bit of dry kibble instead but always comes back to katkin.

Nothing much to add to this thread yet but commenting and watching for bumps.
Our 2 rescue boys now 18 months have Sheba and I feel guilty about that. Is it bad? Their coats are like glossy black velvet.

History - rescue dog on special online fresh food, elderly cat age 21 every whim catered for but she didn’t like expensive food!

Please don’t feel guilty and just ignore those that say if your cat doesn’t have x,y,z food they’re not getting fed well. As my vet said to me all food must meet the same standards and the best food is the one your cat will eat.

Thank you @Scottishlass10 that makes total sense. There is still a small part of me that says…they had a rough n tough first 6 months of their lives and so they must now have the best food we can afford.

In my saner thoughts though, I know from having cats for over 40 years that if I get the Untamed initial offer, they will love it, I will then start a monthly plan only for them to immediately hate it. Inevitable.

Dried food/kibble, they have IAMS, seems to go down well.

No problem. My cat is a rescue cat too. He has Felix As good as it looks wet and Purina One dry.

My cat used to have Carny which is a German 100% meat brand from Zooplus. Full of organ meat, including tubes etc. She is a retired breeder and that was what the breeder fed her. She liked it but occasionally would have horrible stomach upsets. I changed to Harringtons after trying a few-she ate them all. She no longer has upsets-maybe the Carny was a bit rich for her. It I like the fact it’s squeezed out of a packet and there are no more bits of vessels in it which used to make me feel a bit queasy. She also has dental dry food-the tartar which was there on previous vet check ups has now gone.