Hills v Aldi premium cat food

Fire_Fox

MrsTine wrote: »

I think moving to a complete BARF diet from dry should only be undertaken if you do a lot of reading up first... getting the balance right of all the "parts" can be more complex than you might think Not saying paddypaws hasn't done their home work and isn't already giving the right amounts etc - just for people about to jump into BARF - make sure you read up on it first!

I think if you do the time to research BARF then it can be both good for the pet and also cost effective - but it takes dedication and sadly in this day and age it's too easy to grab a bowlfull of dry food or a tin of something or other...

You are so right, I have taken modules in (human) nutrition and I still find BARF complicated!! I do think the rise in ethical and natural consumerism in general has rubbed off on some parts of the pet food industry, and there are high quality dry and wet foods available. It's just a shame the commercial brands are so poor, and that none of the really decent brands are available in the supermarkets.

It's quite a commitment to buy a large bag/ case of food over the internet, knowing it is healthy but not whether your pet will turn their nose up! Noah loves his grub yet didn't touch the Royal Canin sample I gave him yesterday, I don't think he even realised it was food. Lucky I am not looking to feed RC regularly! :rolleyes:

MrsTinks

I agree - it's a nightmare to get hold of the decent brands to try them - I did find that Arden were pretty good about sending me a few samples to try out though And I guess any dog or cat that has been fed BARF will look at kibble and go "ehhhh you want me to do WHAT with this???"

Doubt it would be suitable for cats but my neighbours some years back had 2 old english mastiffs and they were fed tripe The would defrost huge lumps of it every day for them and I don't think I've ever seen healthier dogs But by jove the stench was something else...

If only Tesco etc would stock the decent dog food like Arden and Burns then it would be a lot easier for people to try it out before buying 7.5kg of cat food online (I'm actually expecting delivery today of 15kg of dog food and 7.5 of cat food - much easier than trying to manhandle it myself with a baby too this way the delivery driver drops it inside my door and my husband moves it from there lol)

I guess at least James Welbeloved samples can be gotten from most vets LOL

mellymeep

Is there anything wrong with feeding a cat a bit of salmon from the supermarket? I work in Marks and Spencers and get to take advantage of the staff shop where they sell the waste from that day for super cheap, so have managed to grab a few bits of good quality salmon for pittance. I was just wondering if it would be ok to feed Lily some?

MrsTinks

Boneless salmon in moderation would be fine I'm talking natural and NOT smoked or prepared in any other way here...
I would feed it as a treat though and not a daily meal... The problem with sea fish is that it's actually not a natural food for cats and they won't get everything they need from it - especially not a fish like salmon. If you could get small fish like whitebait size then that would be ideal But again as a supplement, not her main food source.

mellymeep

Yeah, I was just thinking of giving it to her as a treat, even with it being waste I don't think I could afford to give it to her all the time haha! Thanks for the help

*Chattie*

My cats get their dried food from me and their wet food in the garden/field. Now which bird/rabbit/mouse/vole is considered junk food I'm not sure but all they do leave is the little bit of intestine on the door mat.

Fire_Fox

MrsTine wrote: »

Boneless salmon in moderation would be fine I'm talking natural and NOT smoked or prepared in any other way here...
I would feed it as a treat though and not a daily meal... The problem with sea fish is that it's actually not a natural food for cats and they won't get everything they need from it - especially not a fish like salmon. If you could get small fish like whitebait size then that would be ideal But again as a supplement, not her main food source.

That's helpful as I'd like to feed Noah fresh trout occasionally (every few weeks) when I have it, as you don't really see cat food with trout in - the flavours might be 4% trout. I either bake or pan fry with no added salt or oils, but was aware it wouldn't be a complete meal.

MrsTinks

Well cats actually need a bit of veg too - contrary to common belief. However it is so slight because they would usually get anything they need from eating the prey they catch. Remember they eat the WHOLE mouse and the WHOLE bird (minus a few feathers) most of the time... sometimes you find a tail, others a head and sometimes all you get is a bunch of tell tale feathers
If you fed small tiny fish then the cat gets the bones too - but a large salmon or trout would have bones too big for a cat to deal with - whitebait on the other hand I would have thought would be ok
Think about what your cat would naturally catch and survive on in the wild... it wouldn't be dining on trout or salmon if it was wild (unless it was particularly keen and the trout very dumb ) but that doesn't mean it can't have it in moderation
Mine get a very un-natural tin of sardines in tomato once a month - I have no idea why but they're nuts about the sauce... Personally it makes me heave
I know my aunt used to feed her farm cats fish when we were kids - but we only went fishing twice a year (family event lol) and all the fish were given to the cats after they'd been cooked - not sure I think cooking was the best thing but they did de-bone the fish for the puddytats so probably not too bad... what always puzzled me was that the cats were about twice the size they should have been... then again... farm did have HUGE rats

MrsTinks

*Chattie* wrote: »

My cats get their dried food from me and their wet food in the garden/field. Now which bird/rabbit/mouse/vole is considered junk food I'm not sure but all they do leave is the little bit of intestine on the door mat.

So do mine... the down side is the £422 vet bill I just had thanks to my lazy boy cat chomping down a mouse that had eaten mouse poison... thankfully he's made a full recovery and he WAS insured

paddypaws101

Thanks Mrs Tine, and Firefox for your informative replies. I agree that a BARF diet is not to be embarked on lightly, but I have strong motivation as Paddy was diagnosed as diabetic and the BARF or ultra-low carb diet is one way to control his condition ( see diabeticcatcare.com ) I think that elements of it can be considered for most pet cats and dogs, and can certainly be counted as money saving.