premium edge cat food

[Dumpsterkitty]

Our vet recommend Purina One Special Care for the cats over the more expensive Science Diet.  It gets some good consumer reviews http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/one-purina-special-care-urinary-tract-health-formula-cat-food-reviews and the cats like it.  I know that the corn and grain based pet foods available in the grocery stores get a bad rap, but at this point, we're more inclined to trust the well known Purina brand over the possibly problematic Diamond.

nwfloridafalconfan   

My guys have only eaten dry food since forever.  I had a hard time finding something that Nub (a diabetic Manx) could eat without clogging up his bladder after Agway and their low magnesium cat food left town.  He did well on Science Diet until the end-he was 19.  After that I really didn't think about it much because I had girls until I got Chewbacca.  He started forming crystals as soon as he got off the kitten food.  I've been feeding them the purina special care urinary health ever since and he's been fine.  It works for us.

[rssport]

I agree with Dot in PA's concern about raw food and supermarket meats. 

I agree with you both but coming from a microbiological view this raw food scares me. It's not safe for humans, why would our pets fare better. Almost all raw chicken has Campylobacter sp., turkey has Salmonella sp. (can't cook stuffing in the bird anymore) and beef has hemoragic E.coli which can effect the kidneys. Had a cat who stole some fresh raw chicken scraps. It was not pleasent.
Please cook all meats for your pets.

[KapiVT]

This is the first time I've tried to reply to anything on the forum so let's see if it works!
Regarding raw feeding:  I've been doing it with my dogs for over 8 years.  You can't compare what they can eat to what humans can eat because their digestive systems are much shorter.  Basically, things that would harm us pass right on through before they can be a problem.  When my now 11 year old dog developed a life threatening grain allergy at about age 2.5, there were no grain free kibbles available.  I had no choice but to make my own food.  I am lucky in that I live near a free-range poultry farm and the chicken parts I get from the farm make the basis of his diet.  Sherlock, at 11, is still doing agility classes and making therapy visits.  My other dogs eat/have eaten raw as well even though they don't have to.  Of the 3 cats who have been in residence since I started doing this, only one showed the least interest in the raw food.  The Elder MaxCat would sit by the grinder and munch away on the mince I made as it came out of the grinder.  As he lived to 18, I don't think it did him any damage.  One thing I have always read about homemade cat food it that you need to be sure that it includes taurine which is a necessary component for a feline diet.
Kapi in VT

[Caitie]

Thats a lot of points I've read exactly about feeding raw Kapi. Its not good for us at all and as a matter of fact even the frozen raw food prepared for cats and dogs suggest you wash your human hands after handling because of e coli. But think of it this way Chocolate is awsome for us but its toxic to dogs and cats..their digestive system just isn't the same as a human. Ideally Organic and free ranging is best but what they throw in 99% of canned food is far worse then any raw food we can buy in the market. Always proceed with any change in diet slowly and well informed. I'd say go with the advice of your vet but many vets are tied into the perscription diet companies so use your head there as well and seek out an diet educated vet. Just be informed. I know what Ive seen. Speaking of Garlic I used it for years. A little powder mixed in with my dogs food year round to keep fleas and ticks away. Worked like a charm on 4 of my dogs over the years and my vet still swore it was heresay. Better then chemicals I say. 

[Tokira]

I am going to also go raw and supplements.     

do you mean uncooked? explain further please.


Salem is my first cat and I want to do what is best for her

Uncooked is how they do it in the wild, but some would have to be cooked for obvious reasons.  AND they need something of substance to clean their teeth, hence bones or some type of crunchies.  Keep Salem away from the garlic    Nothing in this world comes close to garlic cat breath!  My Jasmine loved Fra Diovlo - heavy on the garlic.  The FUS ultimately got her, sadly.   

Carol (was it you?), I think, posted the chicken liver, turkey catfood recipie on the old board.  Would you do so again for Salem, please?   

Here Y' go :-)
The recipe, not necessarily precisely measured each time, starts with ground turkey 85/15, as cats have a high fat requirement.
I put in the blender:
1 1lb tub of fresh chicken livers
1/2 tub of water
about a quarter cup of plain (miller's) bran
1 tbsp cod liver oil
1-2 tbsp bone meal
5-6 capsules L-Lysine, 100 mg., emptied and the capsule shells dropped in as well
1 capsule Taurine 100 mg., emptied and the capsule also included
1 tbsp Fruit Fresh powder (this is Vitamin C, used to preserve freshness and color, as cats make their own vitamin C if they eat meat)
Sometimes a "glug" of olive oil

Blend very well, until it looks like a smoothie
Pour half into the tub the livers came in, and freeze for the next batch.  Add the remaining purée to 3 lbs of ground turkey and mix well.

I buy the supplements online, you can compare prices and get what works for you.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE:  NO garlic for cats!  The onion and garlic families cause Heinz Body Anemia in cats, and you sure don't want that. 

Carol
WV

[Tokira]

Another note re: feeding cats raw...
Raw chichen necks are great, as they help clean and stimulate gums.  The ads for crunchies all say they clean teeth, but really all they do is coat them with carbs 
My cats, however, just bat them around all night, and the outside kitties get them in the morning.
Carol
WV

[Tokira]

This thread is scaring me.  Pet owners have to be REALLY careful about "going raw".  Meat sold in the markets these days has often been treated with growth hormones and heaven knows what else, and many meat animals are fattened up before sale with non-optimal foods and drugs different from what they would normally eat.  I'm not sure I'd let my cats eat raw meat, just as I would not let them eat a wild mouse or bird due to any number of dangerous organisms that might be present in the prey.  I have never seen any statistics for barn and feral cats who eat prey bones and all.  It's always possible that their diet can sometimes kill them. Nobody knows.

Also, I sincerely doubt if it is safe to give bones to cats.  I would think it might result in damage to their digestive systems just like dogs, from splintered bone pieces getting caught and ripping sensitive tissue.

I'm not telling you not to feed your cats raw food, but I am suggesting that you carefully check out feline vet and food requirement sites on the internet before making up your mind.

Dot in PA

Since cats are obligate Carnivores, we cannot expect them to thrive on cereal, which is what dry cat food is.
Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, one of the premier feline nutrition researchers, and other Vets who do research, and are not beholden to the food companies that provide them with bags of kibble,highly recommend a good raw diet for optimum health for cats.
More can be found at http://www.felinenutritioneducationsociety.com/
Raw bones, including poultry bones, are OK for cats, they don't splinter like cooked ones.  If a cat doesn't get the calcium from bones, he must have it as a supplement, ie: bone meal in a raw mixture.  Whole ground chicken or rabbit, bones and all, are great for cats.
Cats' digestive systems are designed to eat raw meat.  People shouldn't, of course, because of things like salmonella, etc., but cats with healthy immune systems are not bothered by salmonella.  Cats are not little dogs either, and are much more susceptible to obesity, diabetes, and urinary troubles as a result of eating  kibble than dogs are.
Mice and birds may well carry various parasites, and vets and breeders do not recommend that cats eat them.
But the myth that kibbles are good for cats is just that, propagated by the manufacturers.
Cats need to eat meat.
Carol
Tokira Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs since 1970

[Tokira]

More Info on Cat and Dog Nutrition:

National Report -- The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) estimates half of the dogs and cats in the United States are overweight or obese. That’s 33 million dogs and 51 million cats, according to APOP.

On Wednesday, the APOP hopes to raise awareness about the dangers of pet obesity during the third annual National Pet Obesity Awareness Day. Veterinarians are being asked to gather data on the weight of the pets they treat, and pet owners are invited to log on to APOP’s Web site to answer questions and report their animals' size and weight.

"Pudgy pooches and fat cats are now the norm," says Dr. Ernie Ward, founder and president APOP. "This is the first generation of pets that will not live as long as their parents. Even worse, the majority of today's overweight pets will endure painful and expensive medical conditions -- all of which can be avoided. We're loving our pets to an early -- and painful -- death."

The biggest cause of the obesity epidemic is carbs, according to Ward. Today's pets consume high carbohydrate and sugar treats and foods that create changes in their brain chemistry, causing them to crave these foods even more, he says.

Too often veterinarians aren't taught how to prevent obesity -- only how to treat the consequences, which is why APOP has partnered with the Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) to heighten discussion at the nation's veterinary medical schools.

For more information about Wednesday's events or APOP, click here.
http://www.petobesityprevention.com/

Carol
WV