Cat Food

[alexgirl73]

I have been reading a lot of posts lately about different types of cat food and have a few thoughts on this.

Is it better to pay a fortune for your cat food than to go for a 'cheaper' type. Is it really necessary to give them breed only types of food and considering that not too long ago there weren't any of these fancy foods around and cats got fed whatever was left from the table and a bit of fish if they were lucky, are we not creating a problem for ourselves by creating cats with sensitive tummies, unable to tolerate anything but extremely bland foods!

I have always fed my mogs on store own names without any problems, until I got Teddy, who happens to be a breed , hmmm! Have the breeders (apologies to any of you reading this), helped to create this state of affairs or is it media marketing by the manufacturers?

[Moli]

I feed what suits my cats, I buy Burgess supra cat biscuits for them, which is a cheaper brand, and they usually get own brand pouches from Asda or Morrisions....They are all thriving on it, all have lovely glossey coats too...

[Donna]

One of my cats would eat anything you give her so could give her the cheapest food around. The other, on the other hand, is a bit of a fusspot who refuses to eat certain foods, so I usually buy better quality brands so that I know she is eating.

[yola]

Alex - I had an instance during summer when one of my persians developed a massive furball blockage in his intestine. It nearly killed him. I was feeding furball formula anyway (Royal Canin), but have now starting mixing that with intense furball formula. OK, I have furballs to clear up most mornings but if it means my pet survives (and I don't have to spend £800 on vet fees), then it's a small price to pay. This is, I think a case where breed-specific food has worked.

Broadening it out a bit, there are clear cases where a specific breed does suffer from health problems - congenital or otherwise, and these foods help address these particular issues. Some might have weaker kidneys, others might be prone to over-sensitive skin.

I do think there is a place for these foods. I do feel, however that some of the generic brands are 'jumping on the bandwagon' to purely create market segmentation and increase their revenue.

[Booktigger]

i personally prefer to feed mine high quality foods now, as they are oldies, so it if helps them to live a bit longer, then it is worth it. It is worth remembering that while the 'premium' and breed foods haven't been around that long, the lifespan has increased since cats were fed table scraps - although that isn't purely down to food, it is also down to vet care, and more knowledge on owners part, it might play a part.

[Kim]

I prefer to feed high quality feed with less cereal and higher meat content. I think Burns, Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved, Nutro, Hi-life and natures menu are all very good.

[CathyW]

mine have go-cat for indoor cats, and pouches 3 times a day. and u can see by the pics mine are a good weight and got nice shiney coats, oh reg also likes vegietarian spag bol LOL

[alexgirl73]

I do think that in some cases (like yolas) that specialised foods have a part to play in the health care of cats, but my thinking was that it is the selective breeding of cats that have contributed to this problem in the first place. Cats are only being fed these expensive foods and it seems to me (and its only my personal opinion folks) that by the time you have got to the 3rd or 4th generation of kittens, their stomachs cant handle anything other than the blander foods.

This was just something I've been thinking on of late as sometimes I feel guilty for only giving my cats whiskas or asdas own brand, and that I'm a bad 'mum' because of it. I honestly don't know if feeding RC or JW etc would be any more beneficial to my cats than the cheaper brands.

[Emm]

I only ever buy brand named food - I have no idea why I can't even eat supermarket brands myself so I don't give it to my pets - like I said I have no idea why I'm like this

[Mags]

Cassie has Whiskas only, she just turns her nose up at everything else........she has bright eyes and a lovely shiny coat, so it must be doing her some good.....