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