australian cat food comparisons ? (a bit longish)

Hi everyone. Here is a comparison request for Aussie cat people, and also a
question for other Aussies and input from everyone esle would be
appreciated. In Australian supermarkets (ie. Coles, Woolworths, Bi-Lo and
Action being the main ones) we get several premium tinned varieties such as
Dine, Fancy Feast etc that retail for exorbitant prices so the average cat
owner doesn't buy them. The 'average' brands (400g to 800g tins) are
predominantly Whiskas, Friskies, Tom Kitten and Kit e Kat with a few others
that vary from store to store. Then you have the Generic brand tinned foods.
Now I've done a comparison of the tins (400g to 800g) available in my local
Coles and the best was the Coles Farmland brand, which comes in several
flavours and costs 65c for a 400g tin. The Tuna tinned food contains Tuna,
vitamin E and D3 and water. Guaranteed analysis was 18% min protein 2% min
fat 1%max fibre and 1% max salt. Seafood cocktail contained 'four varieties
of seafood', prawn jelly, vit. E and D3 and water, with analysis of 10%
protein, 0.5 % fat and 1.05% fibre and 1% salt. Pilchards in Aspic contained
Pilchards, aspic jelly, vits. E and D3 and water. protein 10% fat 0.5 %
fibre 1.1% and salt 1% This compares to Whiskas and other brands with $1.95
per 750g tin, and similar values, sometimes more salt, and between 8% to 10%
protein. Now for the questions. How does this compare to Overseas foods?
What are the Aussie cat owners here using, and with what result? I had been
feeding Jasmine Whiskas tins. Note for American posters; we have no large
pet product stores such as petsmart, we only have petstores, vets,
supermarkets, pet 'boutiques' (privately run shops offering various home
made foods and other services) and discount stores. Dry food is available in
all the Hills etc ranges, but tinned food is mainly premium small tins and
the ones described, and I still haven't seen tinned kitten food, although I
have yet to check my new vet, my old vet didn't have much in anything
unusual. The reason I am asking all this is that Jasmine gave birth four
days ago to four healthy kittens looking identical to her. She is looking
really good, hasn't lost any weight (compared to before pregnancy) and I
want to keep her that way. Any comparisons would be appreciated, especially
from Aussie posters, and comparisons to American and Uk (and elsewhere)
would also be good, as I would like to know what you are talking about when
you say to 'feed such and such' so I can have some kind of comparison to
products you mention. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

ere are many intelligent species in the Universe. They are all owned by
cats.

Anonymous

One cat just leads to another. -Ernest Hemingway

Can't recommend a particular brand from over here but the fat contents you
quoted seem awfully low. I would think Jasmine needs more fat to produce
milk right now. I suppose you could add butter to what you have and raise
the fat content and probably make it more palatable to Jasmine at the same
time.

that's a good idea...i didn't realise she needed more fat, that would
explain female cats I've seen losing weight after birth. I usually cut fat
off the meat at dinner every night, would that be good to give to her? Eg
chicken fat, pork fat etc?

--
There are many intelligent species in the Universe. They are all owned by
cats.

Anonymous

One cat just leads to another. -Ernest Hemingway


"Pat" wrote in message
...
Can't recommend a particular brand from over here but the fat contents you
quoted seem awfully low. I would think Jasmine needs more fat to produce
milk right now. I suppose you could add butter to what you have and raise
the fat content and probably make it more palatable to Jasmine at the same
time.

i gave up trying to feed the cheaper, larger tins to my cats as they
never liked the food after it had been refrigerated, and i would throw
significant quantities away. in the end it was more economical to feed
the expensive stuff to them!

they like fancy feast, but only the fish flavours.
they also get hills "oral care" kibble and whiskas treats, the cheese
flavours tidbits.
once a week or so they get fresh beef, large pieces to chew up and/or a
raw chicken neck.

i know many people whose cats are hooked on raw kangaroo meat from the
pet shops. i'm not sure it would contain all the nutrients required but
the cats love it. it's very low fat, so not so good for the nursing mum
i guess.

i'm deeply jealous of a household with baby cats ....



meee wrote:
Hi everyone. Here is a comparison request for Aussie cat people, and also a
question for other Aussies and input from everyone esle would be
appreciated. In Australian supermarkets (ie. Coles, Woolworths, Bi-Lo and
Action being the main ones) we get several premium tinned varieties such as
Dine, Fancy Feast etc that retail for exorbitant prices so the average cat
owner doesn't buy them. The 'average' brands (400g to 800g tins) are
predominantly Whiskas, Friskies, Tom Kitten and Kit e Kat with a few others
that vary from store to store. Then you have the Generic brand tinned foods.
Now I've done a comparison of the tins (400g to 800g) available in my local
Coles and the best was the Coles Farmland brand, which comes in several
flavours and costs 65c for a 400g tin. The Tuna tinned food contains Tuna,
vitamin E and D3 and water. Guaranteed analysis was 18% min protein 2% min
fat 1%max fibre and 1% max salt. Seafood cocktail contained 'four varieties
of seafood', prawn jelly, vit. E and D3 and water, with analysis of 10%
protein, 0.5 % fat and 1.05% fibre and 1% salt. Pilchards in Aspic contained
Pilchards, aspic jelly, vits. E and D3 and water. protein 10% fat 0.5 %
fibre 1.1% and salt 1% This compares to Whiskas and other brands with $1.95
per 750g tin, and similar values, sometimes more salt, and between 8% to 10%
protein. Now for the questions. How does this compare to Overseas foods?
What are the Aussie cat owners here using, and with what result? I had been
feeding Jasmine Whiskas tins. Note for American posters; we have no large
pet product stores such as petsmart, we only have petstores, vets,
supermarkets, pet 'boutiques' (privately run shops offering various home
made foods and other services) and discount stores. Dry food is available in
all the Hills etc ranges, but tinned food is mainly premium small tins and
the ones described, and I still haven't seen tinned kitten food, although I
have yet to check my new vet, my old vet didn't have much in anything
unusual. The reason I am asking all this is that Jasmine gave birth four
days ago to four healthy kittens looking identical to her. She is looking
really good, hasn't lost any weight (compared to before pregnancy) and I
want to keep her that way. Any comparisons would be appreciated, especially
from Aussie posters, and comparisons to American and Uk (and elsewhere)
would also be good, as I would like to know what you are talking about when
you say to 'feed such and such' so I can have some kind of comparison to
products you mention. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

ere are many intelligent species in the Universe. They are all owned by
cats.

Anonymous

One cat just leads to another. -Ernest Hemingway

"meee" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone. Here is a comparison request for Aussie cat people, and also
a
question for other Aussies and input from everyone esle would be
appreciated. In Australian supermarkets (ie. Coles, Woolworths, Bi-Lo and
Action being the main ones) we get several premium tinned varieties such
as
Dine, Fancy Feast etc that retail for exorbitant prices so the average cat
owner doesn't buy them. The 'average' brands (400g to 800g tins) are
predominantly Whiskas, Friskies, Tom Kitten and Kit e Kat with a few
others
that vary from store to store. Then you have the Generic brand tinned
foods.
Now I've done a comparison of the tins (400g to 800g) available in my
local
Coles and the best was the Coles Farmland brand, which comes in several
flavours and costs 65c for a 400g tin. The Tuna tinned food contains Tuna,
vitamin E and D3 and water. Guaranteed analysis was 18% min protein 2% min
fat 1%max fibre and 1% max salt. Seafood cocktail contained 'four
varieties
of seafood', prawn jelly, vit. E and D3 and water, with analysis of 10%
protein, 0.5 % fat and 1.05% fibre and 1% salt. Pilchards in Aspic
contained
Pilchards, aspic jelly, vits. E and D3 and water. protein 10% fat 0.5 %
fibre 1.1% and salt 1% This compares to Whiskas and other brands with
$1.95
per 750g tin, and similar values, sometimes more salt, and between 8% to
10%
protein. Now for the questions. How does this compare to Overseas foods?
What are the Aussie cat owners here using, and with what result? I had
been
feeding Jasmine Whiskas tins. Note for American posters; we have no large
pet product stores such as petsmart, we only have petstores, vets,
supermarkets, pet 'boutiques' (privately run shops offering various home
made foods and other services) and discount stores. Dry food is available
in
all the Hills etc ranges, but tinned food is mainly premium small tins and
the ones described, and I still haven't seen tinned kitten food, although
I
have yet to check my new vet, my old vet didn't have much in anything
unusual. The reason I am asking all this is that Jasmine gave birth four
days ago to four healthy kittens looking identical to her. She is looking
really good, hasn't lost any weight (compared to before pregnancy) and I
want to keep her that way. Any comparisons would be appreciated,
especially
from Aussie posters, and comparisons to American and Uk (and elsewhere)
would also be good, as I would like to know what you are talking about
when
you say to 'feed such and such' so I can have some kind of comparison to
products you mention. Thanks for taking the time to read this.


Here in WA we have a chain called City Farmers, I have bought Hills there
and they may give you a bit of a discount if you buy in bulk. I think they
were slightly cheaper than buying it from the vet. Ask your vet if they can
give a discount for buying in bulk perhaps.

Kathryn

In article ,
"meee" wrote:

that's a good idea...i didn't realise she needed more fat, that would
explain female cats I've seen losing weight after birth. I usually cut fat
off the meat at dinner every night, would that be good to give to her? Eg
chicken fat, pork fat etc?

I give Cleo Carrington Smith a combination diet of diced beef, diced lamb
chicken breast - sometimes I give her chicken fat for her fat needs.

I try to give her nothing but 100grams raw meat for dinner 3-4 nights a
week. I do not give her mince because of all the rubbish in it and she
won't eat it anyway.

Then she also has a processed diet.
She gets Whiskers canned food a couple of nights a week and those little
pouches that come in a pack of 12 for breakfast 3-4 days a week.

Then I also give her Purina One dry biscuits as snacks and
sometimes dinner as she likes them.

Because she is an indoors cat, her food requirements are a bit less
than an outdoor cat, but she is a little overweight. I let her
go hungry one night every few weeks, because I believe that is
natural for a cat to deal with and she doesn't pester - much....

I try to keep the diet as mixed up as possible so she doesn't get bored.
I was told that a lot of raw meat is very good for your cat
and that generally they can eat as much as you can afford!


rachel

thankyou all for your advice on aussie cat food, i have found it really
useful to hear what is working for all of you. Jasmine is currently refusing
to eat the coles farmland, for some reason she doesn't like fish it
seems...go figure. she is condescending to eat friskies kitten, although i
just read the label and it apparently contains whole milk, so i will be
watching the litter boz. she devoured two chicken necks last night, after a
bit of persuasion-she lost her appetite a bit after the birth, and is only
just getting it back. anyway we have a butcher down the road and i will ask
about pet mince, and see if a mixed diet suits her. thanks again for all the
advice...i've also now figured out who some of you aussies (and soon to be
aussies ;^) are!! keep an eye out for more kitten pix in a week or so!
"rachel polanskis" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"meee" wrote:

that's a good idea...i didn't realise she needed more fat, that would
explain female cats I've seen losing weight after birth. I usually cut
fat
off the meat at dinner every night, would that be good to give to her?
Eg
chicken fat, pork fat etc?

I give Cleo Carrington Smith a combination diet of diced beef, diced lamb
chicken breast - sometimes I give her chicken fat for her fat needs.

I try to give her nothing but 100grams raw meat for dinner 3-4 nights a
week. I do not give her mince because of all the rubbish in it and she
won't eat it anyway.

Then she also has a processed diet.
She gets Whiskers canned food a couple of nights a week and those little
pouches that come in a pack of 12 for breakfast 3-4 days a week.

Then I also give her Purina One dry biscuits as snacks and
sometimes dinner as she likes them.

Because she is an indoors cat, her food requirements are a bit less
than an outdoor cat, but she is a little overweight. I let her
go hungry one night every few weeks, because I believe that is
natural for a cat to deal with and she doesn't pester - much....

I try to keep the diet as mixed up as possible so she doesn't get bored.
I was told that a lot of raw meat is very good for your cat
and that generally they can eat as much as you can afford!


rachel