IAMS vs Whiskas?

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:50:47 -0700 (PDT), Lord_Alex
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?

D) None of the above.

And if they have urinary issues, get the cat to a vet to rule out a
medial reason like an infection.

http://catinfo.org/

Don't feed them dry food except as a treat. It's easy for you and
mostly bad for them. Wet food is smelly and has to be disposed of
fairly quickly and is generally a PITA to deal with. It's also what
they should be eating. So what's more important, your convenience or
their health?

More expensive food does tend to be better. Supermarket brands like
Friskees and 9-Lives (and yes, IAMS which once was a good brand) are
pretty much junk but many cats do ok with them. My four cats mostly
eat Weruba, BFF, or something PETCO sells called Soulistic. That's
because one of my cats really only likes the very liquidy stuff and
those brands have lots of liquidy food.

Other good brands are Wellness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, etc. The stuff
you find in good pet stores.

What you can afford is important. If you can't afford Weruva or the
others, get the 9Lives and Friskees. But get them off dry food or
you'll probably make up the difference in vet bills sooner or later.

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:56:11 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:50:47 -0700 (PDT), Lord_Alex
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?

D) None of the above.

And if they have urinary issues, get the cat to a vet to rule out a
medial reason like an infection.

http://catinfo.org/

Don't feed them dry food except as a treat. It's easy for you and
mostly bad for them. Wet food is smelly and has to be disposed of
fairly quickly and is generally a PITA to deal with. It's also what
they should be eating. So what's more important, your convenience or
their health?

More expensive food does tend to be better. Supermarket brands like
Friskees and 9-Lives (and yes, IAMS which once was a good brand) are
pretty much junk but many cats do ok with them. My four cats mostly
eat Weruba, BFF, or something PETCO sells called Soulistic. That's
because one of my cats really only likes the very liquidy stuff and
those brands have lots of liquidy food.

Other good brands are Wellness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, etc. The stuff
you find in good pet stores.

What you can afford is important. If you can't afford Weruva or the
others, get the 9Lives and Friskees. But get them off dry food or
you'll probably make up the difference in vet bills sooner or later.


See my response, further down.

And: BITE ME!!!

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:56:09 GMT, Gandalf ingold1234(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
(Gandalf) wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:56:11 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:50:47 -0700 (PDT), Lord_Alex
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?

D) None of the above.

And if they have urinary issues, get the cat to a vet to rule out a
medial reason like an infection.

http://catinfo.org/

Don't feed them dry food except as a treat. It's easy for you and
mostly bad for them. Wet food is smelly and has to be disposed of
fairly quickly and is generally a PITA to deal with. It's also what
they should be eating. So what's more important, your convenience or
their health?

More expensive food does tend to be better. Supermarket brands like
Friskees and 9-Lives (and yes, IAMS which once was a good brand) are
pretty much junk but many cats do ok with them. My four cats mostly
eat Weruba, BFF, or something PETCO sells called Soulistic. That's
because one of my cats really only likes the very liquidy stuff and
those brands have lots of liquidy food.

Other good brands are Wellness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, etc. The stuff
you find in good pet stores.

What you can afford is important. If you can't afford Weruva or the
others, get the 9Lives and Friskees. But get them off dry food or
you'll probably make up the difference in vet bills sooner or later.


See my response, further down.

And: BITE ME!!!


Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food. Did you bother reading the link and
seeing whether the information makes sense?

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:39:06 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:56:09 GMT, Gandalf ingold1234(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
(Gandalf) wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:56:11 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:50:47 -0700 (PDT), Lord_Alex
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?

D) None of the above.

And if they have urinary issues, get the cat to a vet to rule out a
medial reason like an infection.

http://catinfo.org/

Don't feed them dry food except as a treat. It's easy for you and
mostly bad for them. Wet food is smelly and has to be disposed of
fairly quickly and is generally a PITA to deal with. It's also what
they should be eating. So what's more important, your convenience or
their health?

More expensive food does tend to be better. Supermarket brands like
Friskees and 9-Lives (and yes, IAMS which once was a good brand) are
pretty much junk but many cats do ok with them. My four cats mostly
eat Weruba, BFF, or something PETCO sells called Soulistic. That's
because one of my cats really only likes the very liquidy stuff and
those brands have lots of liquidy food.

Other good brands are Wellness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, etc. The stuff
you find in good pet stores.

What you can afford is important. If you can't afford Weruva or the
others, get the 9Lives and Friskees. But get them off dry food or
you'll probably make up the difference in vet bills sooner or later.


See my response, further down.

And: BITE ME!!!


Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food. Did you bother reading the link and
seeing whether the information makes sense?

**** NO.

I listen to MY veterinarian.

dgk wrote:

Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food.

Some vets may say that; others will say the opposite. Neither group
will have any scientific basis for their recommendation. It's *all*
anecdotal.
--

Wayne M.

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:55:34 GMT, Gandalf ingold1234(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
(Gandalf) wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:39:06 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:56:09 GMT, Gandalf ingold1234(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
(Gandalf) wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:56:11 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jun 2011 08:50:47 -0700 (PDT), Lord_Alex
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?

D) None of the above.

And if they have urinary issues, get the cat to a vet to rule out a
medial reason like an infection.

http://catinfo.org/

Don't feed them dry food except as a treat. It's easy for you and
mostly bad for them. Wet food is smelly and has to be disposed of
fairly quickly and is generally a PITA to deal with. It's also what
they should be eating. So what's more important, your convenience or
their health?

More expensive food does tend to be better. Supermarket brands like
Friskees and 9-Lives (and yes, IAMS which once was a good brand) are
pretty much junk but many cats do ok with them. My four cats mostly
eat Weruba, BFF, or something PETCO sells called Soulistic. That's
because one of my cats really only likes the very liquidy stuff and
those brands have lots of liquidy food.

Other good brands are Wellness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo, etc. The stuff
you find in good pet stores.

What you can afford is important. If you can't afford Weruva or the
others, get the 9Lives and Friskees. But get them off dry food or
you'll probably make up the difference in vet bills sooner or later.


See my response, further down.

And: BITE ME!!!


Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food. Did you bother reading the link and
seeing whether the information makes sense?

**** NO.

I listen to MY veterinarian.

Your vet recommends dry food? That is sort of unusual. Do read the
link though rather than just reject it unseen.

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:46:17 -0400, Wayne Mitchell
wrote:

dgk wrote:

Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food.

Some vets may say that; others will say the opposite. Neither group
will have any scientific basis for their recommendation. It's *all*
anecdotal.

It should be easy. Vets see lots of cats. Find out what the cats are
fed and what types of problems they have. Puff, instant study.

I generally think that animals (including us) should eat what we
evolved to eat. Since I'm not going to give my cats fresh rodents, I'm
going with what is closest.

Damn, this probably means that I can't eat at Taco Bell.

dgk wrote:

It should be easy. Vets see lots of cats. Find out what the cats are
fed and what types of problems they have. Puff, instant study.

But vets don't keep the necessary records for such a study, and will
only begin to do so if they are paid. So first we have to find someone
who is willing to fund the study. And it will have to be someone with
deep pockets because the study will not only have to be many years long,
it will also have to be very large in order to produce statistically
significant differences. Any differences are likely to be pretty
marginal.
--

Wayne M.

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:46:17 -0400, Wayne Mitchell
wrote:

dgk wrote:

Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food.

Some vets may say that; others will say the opposite. Neither group
will have any scientific basis for their recommendation. It's *all*
anecdotal.


Ding Ding Ding: we HAVE a winner!

There has NEVER BEEN a SCIENTIFICALLY CONTROLLED comparison of dry vs.
canned cat food.

It would require a LOT of cats (hundreds), for their ENTIRE lifetime.

Nobody is EVER going to pay for such a scientifically controlled study.

So the 'canned food zealots' point to 'articles', written by PROPONENTS
of canned cat food, that contain NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER as
their 'proof'.

If it wasn't so pathetic, it would be amusing.

On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 09:50:53 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:46:17 -0400, Wayne Mitchell
wrote:

dgk wrote:

Yes, some cats do fine eating dry food all their lives. But that is
anecdotal, not any kind of evidence. Vets, who deal with lots and lots
of cats, say to use wet food.

Some vets may say that; others will say the opposite. Neither group
will have any scientific basis for their recommendation. It's *all*
anecdotal.

It should be easy. Vets see lots of cats. Find out what the cats are
fed and what types of problems they have. Puff, instant study.

Limited number of cats, and NOT scientifically controlled. Therefore,
totally worthless.

Look up 'scientifically controlled study'.

You REALLY need to read up on it, as OBVIOUSLY, you have not the
slightest CONCEPT of what makes a study valid, from a scientific
standpoint.


I generally think that animals (including us) should eat what we
evolved to eat. Since I'm not going to give my cats fresh rodents, I'm
going with what is closest.

Damn, this probably means that I can't eat at Taco Bell.