Cat Food Questions

froggy_girl128

http://www.iamscruelty.com/

Honeydog

another vote for Hills here. Our 2 normally have the adult Tuna but occasionally as a treat I get them Hills Nature's Best which is their absolute favourite.

Just feel I should add that someone on this board once said cats should have some wet food as well because it is better for them and I have read it other places too. Ours have Felix "As good as" fishy flavours as well as their Hills.

The dog had Hills too but suddenly decided when she reached a year old that she didn't like it any more! I think she got bored.

V_Chic_Chick

davetaylor wrote: »

I've tried to understand this Barf thing but don't quite get it. Can someone explain it to me? How much does it cost?

Dave x

PS I went to Pets at Home today and they did have 3 for 2 on Hills science plan. It's not cheap though at £15.00 for a 2kg bag. At 3 for 2 it still cost £30.00 for three bags (6kg)

Pets at Home do their own brand which was cheaper, however it was only £6.00 cheaper than the Hills stuff with the Hills special offer.

It all just seems a lot of money to pay for Cat food.

If someone hadn't said that Go Cat was junk food for cats I would have gone for that.

Dave x

I don't have the purchasing decisions for feeding any cats / dogs, so I can't say an awful lot about it but the basic principle is that cats and dogs evolved eating raw meat, bones and offal, not chewing on wheat (although they did eat the stomach contents of herbivores, which is why some vegetation is included in the BARF diet). A large proportion of cat / dog food is wheat and other cereals, with meat way down the ingredients list, which by all accounts does not replicate an animals' natural diet.

Proponents of the BARF diet say that animals on it are healthier and live longer, as well as having better stools and being more trainable and less hyperactive.

The BARF diet involves feeding raw meat, marrowbones and offal to pets. I really don't know how much it costs but as few now eat offal (supply outstrips demand by a long way), and there is not much demand for bones, I'm sure that they could be sourced extremely cheaply if not free from your local butcher. The websites says that it works out as being about the same as feeding conventional pet food.

Still, there is lots of info on the website.

Mrs_pbradley936

If your cat will eat a cheaper food by all means try it. I had a German Shepherd and he was a fussy feeder (he would eat any amount of meat but they need other things when growing) so I had to give him an expensive make just to keep the weight on him you tend to need less of a premium food. When I looked after a friend’s Labrador it would eat anything and a whole bowl of food would vanish in about 4 mouthfuls.

Mrs_pbradley936

V_Chic_Chick wrote: »

The BARF diet involves feeding raw meat, marrowbones and offal to pets. I really don't know how much it costs but as few now eat offal (supply outstrips demand by a long way), and there is not much demand for bones, I'm sure that they could be sourced extremely cheaply if not free from your local butcher. The websites says that it works out as being about the same as feeding conventional pet food.

Still, there is lots of info on the website.

Years ago that is how all dogs were fed. We used to go to a local slaughter house and get a whole tripe, it was like a huge smelly coat. Butchers always had bones but now many people get their meat from supermarkets and so bones are harder to come by. The slaughter house has closed down, something to do with European regulations so we must accept that convenience food has arrived for animals too!

mirrorimage0

we used to feed our dog the barf diet, a bit finicky getting into it but once you understand it and get on with it its fine although his trumping was awfully smelly

wolfehouse

my cat has dandruff so i get james wellbeloved. her coat has really improved on this. i tried to get her to eat some wet food as well but she has gone off it and it goes bad quickly.

anyone know when the next bogof might happen at pets at home for jameswellbeloved cat food (the dog food was on bogof last week)?

davetaylor

I spoke with my Vet today as Jimmy had to get his injections. He said again that you get what you pay for and that Hills was the way forward. I think I am going to go for the largest bag I can buy and save money buy buying in bulk.

Does anyone have any other tips for the best online site or shop to get the best deal?

V_Chic_Chick

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

Years ago that is how all dogs were fed. We used to go to a local slaughter house and get a whole tripe, it was like a huge smelly coat. Butchers always had bones but now many people get their meat from supermarkets and so bones are harder to come by. The slaughter house has closed down, something to do with European regulations so we must accept that convenience food has arrived for animals too!

I believe that pet food was brought in around the time of the war to use up food that was not fit for human consumption and free up more meat to be eaten by humans. To this day, the meat in pet food has been deemed not fit for human consumption. Yuck.

rita-rabbit

Burns dried food is both best & cheapest - works out cheaper than wet food & is made organically. I changed my moggies to that ages ago & the male became more sprightly & the female's dry skin improved. I have tried Iams, James Welbeloved & many others & would say Burns is deffo the best & by far the cheapest. Best ordered online http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/Cat_issues.htm

However if you must go to shops for it Liddles & Aldies food is better than most of what the supermarkets sell.

PS - don't feed your pets IAMS - they do lots of horrible testing on pets!