Innova and better looking cats

Someone mentioned their cat looked better, nicer fur, using Innova, as
opposed to Science Diet. Since that thread, originally the low
phosphorus thread, is way over 100 posts and Google has stopped
numbering the posts when being viewed, for the time being, I am
starting a new thread if that's okay. If not, not sure what to do,
delete the thread?

In any case, I have been using Science Diet Light Maintenance with my
cat. It controlled the weight very well until she was overfed by some
zealots.

I did notice that her fur was dryish. So I started giving wet food,
primarily Science Diet cans at first, usually the Turkey Entree. And
her fur definitely improved. So my immediate conclusion was that dry
food was not that great. It is inexpensive and easy but my cat goes
after dry food like, oops, need an "as" here since it's a clause, as I
go after pretzels. A junk food addiction. She really just likes Science
Diet. Next comes Royal Canin Indoor Cat. Last is Purina Weight
Management Forumala, for dry foods. For her preferences. The Purina is
fabulous since she does not like it - she will eat it but more slowly
so her weight is coming down. The SD Light she loves now. It took a
while. She originally loved the original SD non-Light, even when she
was a feral. But even as a feral, she was always rather civilized and
dignified so that's curious. I cannot find any evidence that she was
ever domesticated. But when I took her in and gave her a litter box,
she used it immediately, so I am baffled as to her history. The
neighbors told me they could not entice her inside. She was too
skittish. I'm not quite sure why she let me kidnap, rather, catnap her.

wrote:

spip cat food experience

I'm glad that you've found what works for your cats

Here's my experience (which spans about 20 years):

My first kitty was fed grocery store food. Nine Lives dry free-fed and a
small can of wet food twice a day. The wet was either Fancy Feast or Nine
Lives. Her coat was usually dry, her teeth needed cleaning fairly
regularly, and she was euthanized at 7 due to acute kidney failure.

After that, we had several cats which were fed petsmart food--Nature's Best,
Nutro, Eukanuba, Iams, Science Diet, etc. They had okay coats, large and
smelly stools, and teeth that needed cleaning. We still believed in
indoor/outdoor cats then, and these kitties dissapeared before they got very
old.

For the past 10 years or so, I've always fed ultra-premium. That includes
California Naturals, Wellness, Innova and Felidae. I had a dog that had
MANY allergies, and did very well on Cal Nat, but couldn't tollerate
Innova--so I thought Cal Nat was the best, and fed that to my dogs and cats.
They looked good, but one cat, Celia, always had a greasy coat with mats.
When I brought all of my animals to my mother's house, I noticed Celia's
coat lost the grease and the mats. Mom fed Innova.

Since then, I've been a big believer in Innova. All the animals improved
when I switched to Innova. I have cats from 8-2 that have fabulous coats,
perfect teeth, no ear problems, great muscle tone. My vets always comment
on how great they look, and are surprised that the older cats don't even
look close to needing dentals.

Now, with Ginger's CRF bloodwork, I have Royal Canin Mature 27 in one
feeder, Innova lite in one feeder, and regular Innova in a third feeder. I
also have Hill's z/d out for my IBD cat, but she seems to prefer the regular
Innova and doesn't have IBD episodes when she eats it. (The dogs all eat
regular Innova dog food.)

Ginger, lest you think her issues are because of the food, is one weird cat.
I truly believe that she's highly inbred. She has quite a few issues--I
don't think she can see all that well, she has oddly shaped front legs, an
oddly shaped head, she's missing teeth, and her kidneys are about half
normal size. Perhaps I should have been feeding her a low protein/low phos
food since she was a kitten, but no vet had mentioned the small kidney size
until now. Since she's been eating the Royal Canin, and we started her on
sub-q fluids, she's been acting much better, so hopefully we're going in the
right direction regarding her labs.

So, that's my experience with cat food.

Corey

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference between
Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same company. I
chose California Natural because it has fewer ingredients and we have
some cats with sensitive stomachs. Having gone through heck in the past
with one cat with IBD/pancreatitus, I thought this might be good for all
of them.

Rhonda

Corey Kaye wrote:


For the past 10 years or so, I've always fed ultra-premium. That includes
California Naturals, Wellness, Innova and Felidae. I had a dog that had
MANY allergies, and did very well on Cal Nat, but couldn't tollerate
Innova--so I thought Cal Nat was the best, and fed that to my dogs and cats.
They looked good, but one cat, Celia, always had a greasy coat with mats.
When I brought all of my animals to my mother's house, I noticed Celia's
coat lost the grease and the mats. Mom fed Innova.

Since then, I've been a big believer in Innova. All the animals improved
when I switched to Innova.

Rhonda wrote:
Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference between
Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same company. I


There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.


chose California Natural because it has fewer ingredients and we have
some cats with sensitive stomachs. Having gone through heck in the past
with one cat with IBD/pancreatitus, I thought this might be good for all
of them.

Rhonda

Corey Kaye wrote:


For the past 10 years or so, I've always fed ultra-premium. That
includes
California Naturals, Wellness, Innova and Felidae. I had a dog that had
MANY allergies, and did very well on Cal Nat, but couldn't tollerate
Innova--so I thought Cal Nat was the best, and fed that to my dogs and
cats.
They looked good, but one cat, Celia, always had a greasy coat with mats.
When I brought all of my animals to my mother's house, I noticed Celia's
coat lost the grease and the mats. Mom fed Innova.

Since then, I've been a big believer in Innova. All the animals improved
when I switched to Innova.

Joe Canuck wrote:
Rhonda wrote:
Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference between
Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same company. I

There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.

Which is? I went to the web site. The phosphorus levels for Innova were
0.90% which is a little over the top. I was a bit surprised. But it's
not too bad. I like 0.80% max, but 0.90% is okay if everything else is
in place?

Maybe the phosphorus levels for California Natural are a little lower?

Joe Canuck wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference between
Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same company. I

There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.

Okay, go ahead. I'm listening...

Rhonda

Rhonda wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference between
Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same company. I

There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.

Okay, go ahead. I'm listening...

Rhonda

Say it ain't so, Joe.

Forgive me, I couldn't help it. For those who don't know, that was what
the little boy said to Shoeless Joe Jackson about fixing the World
Series of Baseball in 1919. Four score and seven years ago... and I
don't even watch baseball. All those men running around with clubs,
shouting at each other. Is that not what cats do - minus the bats and
balls? I just can't get the cat to run the bases. No more uniforms for
her.

Rhonda wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference
between Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same
company. I

There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.

Okay, go ahead. I'm listening...

Rhonda


The differences are pretty much in plain sight and can be figured out
with information from the Natura site.

Some items to lead you in the right direction...

-Caloric content per given volume of Innova is much higher. I'd be a
little concerned about weight gain particularly if free feeding.

-Ingredient list of Innova pretty much reads like a human meal, not all
cats can adapt to this with sometimes the result being voluminous
eliminations and odor that can peel paint.

-There are differences with respect to the nutritional analysis which
you have already noted, specifically with respect to phosphorous.
Neither one is really great; however, California Natural is better.

-Natura push the notion of "human grade"; however, there is no such
thing as "human grade". That is designed to appeal more to the human
purchasing the food rather than the specific nutritional needs to the
cat consuming it.

Note, I'm not saying it is bad food.

"Joe Canuck" wrote in message
...
Rhonda wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference
between Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same
company. I

There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.

Okay, go ahead. I'm listening...

Rhonda


The differences are pretty much in plain sight and can be figured out
with information from the Natura site.

Some items to lead you in the right direction...

-Caloric content per given volume of Innova is much higher. I'd be a
little concerned about weight gain particularly if free feeding.

-Ingredient list of Innova pretty much reads like a human meal, not all
cats can adapt to this with sometimes the result being voluminous
eliminations and odor that can peel paint.

-There are differences with respect to the nutritional analysis which
you have already noted, specifically with respect to phosphorous.
Neither one is really great; however, California Natural is better.

-Natura push the notion of "human grade"; however, there is no such
thing as "human grade". That is designed to appeal more to the human
purchasing the food rather than the specific nutritional needs to the
cat consuming it.


Good summary.

One more point- Innova swapped grains for potatoes-- which have a higher
glycemic index. This could be problem for some cats- especially diabetic
and pre-diabetic cats.

Phil P. wrote:
"Joe Canuck" wrote in message
...
Rhonda wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be all that much difference
between Innova and California Natural -- they're made by the same
company. I
There is a *huge* difference between those two foods... by the same
company.
Okay, go ahead. I'm listening...

Rhonda

The differences are pretty much in plain sight and can be figured out
with information from the Natura site.

Some items to lead you in the right direction...

-Caloric content per given volume of Innova is much higher. I'd be a
little concerned about weight gain particularly if free feeding.

-Ingredient list of Innova pretty much reads like a human meal, not all
cats can adapt to this with sometimes the result being voluminous
eliminations and odor that can peel paint.

-There are differences with respect to the nutritional analysis which
you have already noted, specifically with respect to phosphorous.
Neither one is really great; however, California Natural is better.

-Natura push the notion of "human grade"; however, there is no such
thing as "human grade". That is designed to appeal more to the human
purchasing the food rather than the specific nutritional needs to the
cat consuming it.


Good summary.

One more point- Innova swapped grains for potatoes-- which have a higher
glycemic index. This could be problem for some cats- especially diabetic
and pre-diabetic cats.

Yep, good point.

....and, as you know I used to be a big fan of California Natural. But
with all the moving around I've done in the last few years obtaining
that food became very troublesome and I was starting to question whether
it was really worth it given some of your comments in this group. I also
didn't want to be constantly switching food on Molly.

So I decided to switch to a food that is available everywhere, including
northern Quebec... Science Diet. Molly has been doing quite well on the
Chicken & Rice dry formula I have been feeding.

I'd like to try moving her over to canned one more time... but I'll wait
until my personal situation stabilizes somewhat before attempting that.
I'm not even sure her digestive tract can tolerate the canned given the
troubles she had the last time I tried it. I still feel guilty for
subjecting her to all that messiness... even though she loves canned. I
can still remember her desperately tryna clean her rear... then finally
looking up at me with eyes that I'm sure said "Help!".