Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folk buyingtheir people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

I'm skeptical that expensive cat food brands like Science Diet are
worth the money, health and nutrition-wise, over brands like Purina
One. Is this a "boutique" type issue, where those who shop at
expensive, organic grocery stores for human food (e.g. Whole Foods,
EarthFare, etc) also tend toward the same for their cats? I shop at
SuperWalmart for my groceries, and am not sure I'd shop at expensive,
snooty places like Whole Foods even if I could afford 2-3X the cost of
a cart of groceries.

I believe it's probably short-changing the cat to buy the least
expensive cat food; probably lots of junk in there that will just end
up as additional crap in the litter box--a false economy.

Anyway, would love to hear from people who know something about cat
health and nutrition who don't also subscribe to the view that buying
organic people food will significantly expand the life expectancy and
quality of life of people.

I'm always skeptical of marketing hoopla, and I'm thinking there may
be a parallel with boutique cat food and boutique people food.

And for those who do buy the expensive stuff, what would you consider
an acceptable "next step down" in cat food brands? Because frankly,
the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

Thanks.

Mike

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folk buying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

You've seen the ads, and you're skeptical - good.
Now you need to know some cat biology, what they need, and what's in the
commercial food that they don't need.
Don't believe me. Look it up. Ask your vet. Ask your friends, and at work,
and see if they know anything.
Ask at the pet food store. You may get surprised, and find some useful
information, from a knowledgeable person, who is not just a clerk or
salesperson.
- gotta do this one repeatedly. It's a time-consuming project, but it'll
pay off, in your cats life.

Especially as your pet gets older, it'll become important. A large
percentage of cats die of kidney failure. (I heard 30% frequently)
My vet never gave me any information in 15 years, on cat food content,
despite regular questions. I got bad advice, that made my cat sick.
The money I used to spend at the vet, has paid for a minor increase in food
cost, and lots left over for me.
My cat is now improving in health, after I found a combination of foods that
work for her.
I'm not rich, so I not only don't, but can't go for the expensive stuff.
She's now 17, and still purrs better than my car.

You might also check out a video from CBC called "cat got your wallet".
The "Shopping Bags" on TV, do reviews on commercial products, also did a
short piece on cat food, that I found helpful.



"mike" wrote in message
...
I'm skeptical that expensive cat food brands like Science Diet are
worth the money, health and nutrition-wise, over brands like Purina
One. Is this a "boutique" type issue, where those who shop at
expensive, organic grocery stores for human food (e.g. Whole Foods,
EarthFare, etc) also tend toward the same for their cats? I shop at
SuperWalmart for my groceries, and am not sure I'd shop at expensive,
snooty places like Whole Foods even if I could afford 2-3X the cost of
a cart of groceries.

I believe it's probably short-changing the cat to buy the least
expensive cat food; probably lots of junk in there that will just end
up as additional crap in the litter box--a false economy.

Anyway, would love to hear from people who know something about cat
health and nutrition who don't also subscribe to the view that buying
organic people food will significantly expand the life expectancy and
quality of life of people.

I'm always skeptical of marketing hoopla, and I'm thinking there may
be a parallel with boutique cat food and boutique people food.

And for those who do buy the expensive stuff, what would you consider
an acceptable "next step down" in cat food brands? Because frankly,
the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

Thanks.

Mike

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folkbuying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

On Apr 19, 1:47*pm, "Ralph" wrote:
You've seen the ads, and you're skeptical - good.
Now you need to know some cat biology, what they need, and what's in the
commercial food that they don't need.
Don't believe me. *Look it up. Ask your vet. Ask your friends, and at work,
and see if they know anything.
Ask at the pet food store. *You may get surprised, and find some useful
information, from a knowledgeable person, who is not just a clerk or
salesperson.
- gotta do this one repeatedly. *It's a time-consuming project, but it'll
pay off, in your cats life.

Especially as your pet gets older, it'll become important. *A large
percentage of cats die of kidney failure. (I heard 30% frequently)
My vet never gave me any information in 15 years, on cat food content,
despite regular questions. *I got bad advice, that made my cat sick.
The money I used to spend at the vet, has paid for a minor increase in food
cost, and lots left over for me.
My cat is now improving in health, after I found a combination of foods that
work for her.
I'm not rich, so I not only don't, but can't go for the expensive stuff.
She's now 17, and still purrs better than my car.

You might also check out a video from CBC called "cat got your wallet".
The "Shopping Bags" on TV, do reviews on commercial products, also did a
short piece on cat food, that I found helpful.

Thanks for the heads up. The video link is

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/cat_got_your_wallet/

It should be watched by all airheads whose only advice is take them to
the vet.

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folk buying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

"James" wrote in message
...
On Apr 19, 1:47 pm, "Ralph" wrote:
You've seen the ads, and you're skeptical - good.
Now you need to know some cat biology, what they need, and what's in the
commercial food that they don't need.
Don't believe me. Look it up. Ask your vet. Ask your friends, and at work,
and see if they know anything.
Ask at the pet food store. You may get surprised, and find some useful
information, from a knowledgeable person, who is not just a clerk or
salesperson.
- gotta do this one repeatedly. It's a time-consuming project, but it'll
pay off, in your cats life.

Especially as your pet gets older, it'll become important. A large
percentage of cats die of kidney failure. (I heard 30% frequently)
My vet never gave me any information in 15 years, on cat food content,
despite regular questions. I got bad advice, that made my cat sick.
The money I used to spend at the vet, has paid for a minor increase in
food
cost, and lots left over for me.
My cat is now improving in health, after I found a combination of foods
that
work for her.
I'm not rich, so I not only don't, but can't go for the expensive stuff.
She's now 17, and still purrs better than my car.

You might also check out a video from CBC called "cat got your wallet".
The "Shopping Bags" on TV, do reviews on commercial products, also did a
short piece on cat food, that I found helpful.

Thanks for the heads up. The video link is

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/cat_got_your_wallet/

It should be watched by all airheads whose only advice is take them to
the vet.

This from the loser who had his heat turned off last winter. Yes, yes, we
know, you don't want to spend any money on "pussy."

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folk buying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

On Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:07:17 -0700 (PDT), mike
wrote:

I'm skeptical that expensive cat food brands like Science Diet are
worth the money, health and nutrition-wise, over brands like Purina
One. Is this a "boutique" type issue, where those who shop at
expensive, organic grocery stores for human food (e.g. Whole Foods,
EarthFare, etc) also tend toward the same for their cats? I shop at
SuperWalmart for my groceries, and am not sure I'd shop at expensive,
snooty places like Whole Foods even if I could afford 2-3X the cost of
a cart of groceries.

I believe it's probably short-changing the cat to buy the least
expensive cat food; probably lots of junk in there that will just end
up as additional crap in the litter box--a false economy.

Anyway, would love to hear from people who know something about cat
health and nutrition who don't also subscribe to the view that buying
organic people food will significantly expand the life expectancy and
quality of life of people.

I'm always skeptical of marketing hoopla, and I'm thinking there may
be a parallel with boutique cat food and boutique people food.

And for those who do buy the expensive stuff, what would you consider
an acceptable "next step down" in cat food brands? Because frankly,
the truth is often somewhere in the middle.

Thanks.

Mike


All I know of cheap versus expensive cat food is that feeding cheap
stuff leads to a very smelly litterbox. I don't feed overly expensive
food (mostly ProPlan Salmon and Rice since all three cats love it) and
don't have a smelly litterbox at all. Unless one of the cats has just
gone, there is no smell at all. It stands to reason that food that
produces foul poop isn't good to feed the furkids.

Personally I prefer organic food if I can afford it for me. But I'm
far more a Trader Joe fan than Whole Foods. As for the cats, they are
pretty picky and I got tired of wasting money on food that they don't
like. ProPlan it is.

Anything with artificial color is out though. That's pretty pointless
for a cat.

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folkbuying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

I wouldn't even feed Purina One. I have been convinced, by searching
online, reading, and even on recommendation from my vet, that cats are
not meant to eat dry food, and all the carbohydrates that are in there
can make them fat and contribute towards a shorter life. I have been
waging a slow but sure battle to convert my adopted cat over, since
he's never had anything but dry food. He was eating "Kit -n- Kaboodle"
which I understand is a nutritional horror show. I have been feeding
him the Wellness canned food, as well as EVO, topping it with a few
sprinkles of Pet Promise dry food when he feels he absolutely has to
have it. The Pet Promise is probably just as bad as anything else out
there, but I feel a little better now that he's eating more wet food
in proportion to dry.

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folkbuying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

Anyway, would love to hear from people who know something about cat
health and nutrition who don't also subscribe to the view that buying
organic people food will significantly expand the life expectancy and
quality of life of people.

Before you can choose a cat food, you need to learn about cat
nutrition. Cats are obligatory carnivores, which means they MUST have
meat as their diet. Look at the ingredient lists of most dry foods
(even Science Diet). The primary make up of these is carbs (corn,
wheat, etc). Not an appropriate diet for cats. This site has a good
article about feline nutrition: http://www.catinfo.org/

Also, the book, Your Cat contains a lot of good information on diets
for cats.

The short answer to your question for me is: I buy canned and raw food
based on the ingredient lists, not because of where I can buy it.

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folkbuying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

On Apr 20, 12:15*am, "cyberpurrs" wrote:

This from the loser who had his heat turned off last winter. Yes, yes, we
know, you don't want to spend any money on "pussy."

I get it now. Anyone laid-off, underemployed, maginally or unemployed,
on a fixed income or otherwise financially challenged is a "loser".

Must be nice to be independently wealthy and not subject to the
vagaries of the real world. And so very, very nice to be so gifted and
superior such that one may pursue anger and vituperation without any
need to be concerned with truth or reality.

The sun that warms us all must shine directly from your - well perhaps
not.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folk buying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

So what do you feed your cats? Which brands?

Cat food brands--Science Diet = cat equivalent of rich folkbuying their people food at Whole Foods and other boutique grocery stores?
 

On Apr 22, 3:46*am, Ajanta wrote:
So what do you feed your cats? Which brands?

I am not sure if you are replying to me, but I will offer suggestions.
I feed Nature's Variety raw nuggets (but they also have an excellent
canned variety) and Wellness grain-free canned (five of their
varieties are grain free, check the label). Innova Evo canned is also
very good, and I feed that on occasion.

This is what I feed. I am not affiliated with these companies. My cats
are all doing well on these foods, are proper weights, and are in good
health.