Hills v Aldi premium cat food

h007

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I am feeding Feline Fayre and Noah is normally very lazy!! Noah was pretty nutty yesterday but that was after a raw chicken wing: maybe having the correct amount of protein in their diet gives them more energy? Did you buy the tuna flavour? I think some cats are sensitive to tuna.

No it was the chicken and ham in jelly.
It might of been a coincidence. I will give her the normal food for a couple of days and then maybe 'test her' again on the feline fayre and see if she goes nuts again lol

~Chameleon~

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Vets recommend Hills because they get limited nutrition training at vet school, then Hills sponsor what they learn as CPD (continuing professional development), and Hills also sponsor most of the pet diet clubs that vets offer. This costs Hills a small fortune, but of course then the vets recommend Hills .... very shady practice IMO. :mad:

:rotfl:Who on earth told you that?!?

I've read quite a few of your posts recently and whilst I applaud your passion and conviction, I'm sorry to say a lot of your arguments are flawed with mis-information.

You say you work in healthcare? ... I'm guessing this is human related rather than animal. Feline nutrition is not the same as human!

Please be careful how you word things as, despite being perfectly entitled to hold and voice your opinion about pet food, your posts come across as very authoritative and would have many people believing you either work in the veterinary profession or are qualified in animal nutrition, which you clearly do not.

mellymeep

I think Fire Fox's posts are all excellently researched and I don't find any tone of authority in them at all. In fact she's helped me more than anyone on these boards has.

rita-rabbit

mellymeep wrote: »

I think Fire Fox's posts are all excellently researched and I don't find any tone of authority in them at all. In fact she's helped me more than anyone on these boards has.

There have been actually rude & argumentative people on this forum before & I can't say I have noticed anything ontoward (thankfully) for some time. So take a chill pill!:eek:

MrsTinks

Vets as far as I know recomment Hills because it's not a bad food and they usually offer a good deal for the vets... and they have a comprehensive range that will cover nearly all dietary requirements of your pet that might be required - which makes life easier for the vet.

Making generalising statements about their training etc I thing is taking it a bit far unless you say work for a vet and have worked for several others

Fire_Fox

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

:rotfl:Who on earth told you that?!?

I've read quite a few of your posts recently and whilst I applaud your passion and conviction, I'm sorry to say a lot of your arguments are flawed with mis-information.

You say you work in healthcare? ... I'm guessing this is human related rather than animal. Feline nutrition is not the same as human!

Please be careful how you word things as, despite being perfectly entitled to hold and voice your opinion about pet food, your posts come across as very authoritative and would have many people believing you either work in the veterinary profession or are qualified in animal nutrition, which you clearly do not.

Yes it's no secret I work in the NHS and I have specified this where I have been making 'educated guesses'. I'm aware feline nutrition is very different to human; I wouldn't dream of recommending a low grain/ high protein diet to any of my human clients, in fact I actively discourage it.

I have made an effort to research feline nutrition, reading articles written by both vets and by laymen. Most importantly I have read the ingredients list on the foods that I comment on. If you wish to disagree with any statements I make, feel free! That makes for healthy debate and is the only way I will learn.

What goes on with Hills is according to a number of vets and clients who post on the net, even on this board. I have taken that at face value because it fits in with what I know about healthcare from the inside - drug reps have been wooing consultants and GPs with boozy dinners, sponsor pharmacy lunches and 'training sessions' for decades.

Fire_Fox

MrsTine wrote: »

Vets as far as I know recomment Hills because it's not a bad food and they usually offer a good deal for the vets... and they have a comprehensive range that will cover nearly all dietary requirements of your pet that might be required - which makes life easier for the vet.

Making generalising statements about their training etc I thing is taking it a bit far unless you say work for a vet and have worked for several others

I would expect a food recommended by healthcare professionals to be better than just 'not bad'. I'd also like to know if a product is being recommended because the vet gets a good deal or because it's 'easier' rather than because it's the best food for my sick pet.

I haven't ever said all Hills Science food is poor, in fact some contain over 50% meat which IMO makes these variants one of the best dry foods. However Hills diet dry is mainly rice, inappropriate for an obligate carnivore and, more importantly for MSE, not good value. There are many who would argue a dry food designed for renal failure is illogical.

~Chameleon~

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Yes it's no secret I work in the NHS and I have specified this where I have been making 'educated guesses'.

Rather than make 'educated guesses' why not go and get properly educated on the subject then you can come back and lecture everybody on what they should/should not feed their cats. Quite frankly I find it insulting to those of us who are qualified in these areas, especially when you contradict any advice we might offer!

As I said before, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you having an opinion and doing some research into what you want to feed to your cat, but please do not try to imply that you are an authoritative expert in feline nutrition.

As for saying that Hill's Diet is "designed for renal failure" where do you get that idea? Both my own and many clients' cats are quite happily enjoying their late teen years in perfectly good health, having lived on a diet of Hill's their entire lives! I can't say the same for very many that have lived on a diet of whiskas and go-cat! The proof is in the pudding!

The problem these days is there is far too much choice available. Yes, nutritional science has played a major part in producing all these 'new fangled' modern diets even going as far as offering 'breed specific' diets! :rolleyes: but it simply adds to the confusion of 'what should I feed my cat/dog' hence the hundreds of threads that spring up on this and other pet forums across the internet.

It's all too easy to get bogged down in the detail and people can over analyse what they are feeding their pets. If only as much time was spent in analysing their own and their children's diets, eh? lol

At the end of the day people feed what they can afford to buy and if their pet looks healthy and the vet can't find any major health issues then who cares whether it's tripe or hand-peeled finest king prawns from the Baltic seas - it's PET food!

rita-rabbit

Dear me be nice to each other !!!!!!! Or find something else to do you with your time!:eek:

Fire_Fox

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Rather than make 'educated guesses' why not go and get properly educated on the subject then you can come back and lecture everybody on what they should/should not feed their cats. Quite frankly I find it insulting to those of us who are qualified in these areas, especially when you contradict any advice we might offer!

As I said before, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you having an opinion and doing some research into what you want to feed to your cat, but please do not try to imply that you are an authoritative expert in feline nutrition.

As for saying that Hill's Diet is "designed for renal failure" where do you get that idea? Both my own and many clients' cats are quite happily enjoying their late teen years in perfectly good health, having lived on a diet of Hill's their entire lives! I can't say the same for very many that have lived on a diet of whiskas and go-cat! The proof is in the pudding!

At the end of the day people feed what they can afford to buy and if their pet looks healthy and the vet can't find any major health issues then who cares whether it's tripe or hand-peeled finest king prawns from the Baltic seas - it's PET food!

You appear to be quite upset with me 'lecturing' when people have asked posted queries and implying authority when I have implied no such thing. Perhaps you could have politely PM'd me and said you felt I wasn't making my human healthcare background clear in enough posts instead of attacking me.

Hills Science: Mrs. Tine talked about a "comprehensive range that will cover nearly all requirements" - I agreed some of the variants were quality foods with a high meat content, I then went on to refer to the diet variant and the renal variant in two separate sentences.

You appear to be confusing me with someone else when you imply I don't understand that people buy what they can afford - perhaps you ought to do a little more research into my financial situation. I have posted numerous times about cheaper alternatives to the big brands such as Pets at Home Purely, Feline Fayre, Bozita. Hills is hardly cheap.

The 'educated guesses' I was particularly thinking of was comparing diabetes and obesity in cats with diabetes and obesity in humans. I wasn't aware that all the regulars who give advice based on their knowledge and experience were actually qualified in animal behaviour, nutritionists or veterinarians? Congratulations you have seen off the intruder on your territory.