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With the disclaimer that I haven't yet had time to research the multiple threads about what to feed your cat to keep him healthy if you choose from the brands of wet food available at Wal Mart, I'd like some feedback about Friskies Poultry Variety Pack (32-can). (Second Disclaimer: I'm on a budget and fixed income, and the price is right.)
Foxy loves this stuff (every variety) and eats it without any apparent ill effects even though, yes, it has carbs in the formula and it's certainly not the best cuts of poultry by any means.
One of my cat-person friends said I was feeding him "kitty crack" and that it's crap food.
Okay, then, so I sent an email to Purina and got this response today:
We appreciate your response and the opportunity to address your concerns. Our products are formulated by professional pet nutritionists and veterinarians and are produced under strict quality standards. All of our ingredients are approved for use in pet foods by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the Pet Food Industry Group (PFI).
The safety and efficacy of our products are our top priorities.
Our products are thoroughly evaluated to ensure that pets can maintain their normal health and vitality when fed diets composed entirely of Purina food.
Please know that you are correct, cats are carnivores. Keep in mind, a protein molecule is made up of a combination of amino acids. The way the amino acids are arranged determines the nature of the protein. Whether protein is obtained from plants or animals is not as critical as the balance of amino acids. There are 23 different amino acids. Eleven amino acids are considered essential to a cat's diet and ten are considered essential to a dog's diet because the system of the cat and dog cannot manufacture these amino acids in large enough quantities to maintain body functions.
Animal products are excellent sources of protein, but plants also contain valuable amino acids. Plant proteins, when combined with animal proteins or other plant proteins, can provide the proper amino acid balance for every life stage of the cat and dog. The protein in Purina pet foods is obtained from a combination of animal and plant sources.
It's also important to know that we do not use fillers in our products; every ingredient has a valuable function and plays a part in providing an excellent source of nutrition to your cat.
So, are the parts of that message I bolded true, or just company excuses for using such ingredients as wheat gluten, soy flour, and corn starch?
Any thoughts on this matter, as long as you don't say I have to buy top-of-the-line wet cat food with its expensive prices, would be welcomed. (I wish I could afford Wellness, Newman's Own, and the like...)
company excuses...
dont be fooled, firslty soy has been proven to cause long term health issues (in humans too0
and cats are obligate carnivores they do not need, nore can they digest plant matter in any way shape or form...they eat it and it comes out the same way it goes in...
as for corn, the only animals that naturally eat grain are rodents and birds, untill humans came along other animals wouldnt have eaten it. so there goes the wheat gluten and corn arguments lol.
can they survive on it...yes...
but will they thrive?! would you thrive on nothing but mcdonalds?!
the best canned cat food would have a fird ingredient of meat...not corn, not byproduct but some form of meat (either meat or meat meal)
some fruits and veggies in the food wont hurt, cats would consume grasses, fruits ect in the stomach of natural prey...and even grain in the food wont hurt as long as its not the main ingredient.
since budget is a problem...have you thought about making your own "wet" cat food out of chicken or turkey form the grocery store?! if you can buy the meat in bulk and freeze batches it works out cheaper than even the cheapest canned food.
since budget is a problem...have you thought about making your own "wet" cat food out of chicken or turkey form the grocery store?! if you can buy the meat in bulk and freeze batches it works out cheaper than even the cheapest canned food.
Well, if you are going to go this route, you might as well serve it raw as well, since cooking destroys certain enzymes and nutrients necessary to fully digest and utilize the food.
Many people are concerned about samonella, and certainly, any time you handle raw poultry you should certainly wash your hands as well as any utensils used with hot, soapy water.
As far as a cat eating food with salmonella, please let me remind you that cats can eat food that has been rotting in a hot dumpster for a week, not to mention road kill, not to mention rats and mice which have a plethora of bacteria, so a little salmonella isn't going to hurt them.
Also, it has always been my philosophy that when feeding any animal raw, that you should never feed them something that they would not be able, in their natural state, to kill and eat themselves. Therefore, for a cat, chicken and rabbit are the natural choices. I have seen ground buffalo at the pet food store, and unless your kitty is particularly vicious, the odds of him/her taking down a buffalo are slim, although, I have known kitties who think they can. LOL
So, are the parts of that message I bolded true, or just company excuses for using such ingredients as wheat gluten, soy flour, and corn starch?
It's 100% true what they are saying!
That does not mean its a good food and it does not mean its a bad food. They are saying that the food meets the exact same minimum requirment as any other food in that group. This is why buying processed commerical foods (low cost, average, national names, preimum, or boutique brands) is more a matter of personal choice because the nutritional requirments are all the exact same. Now, some may use better products to get that nutritional level and others may have more of some nutrients than others, and some may used processed ingredients over natural, but if they all meet the groups manufacturing standard, they are all meeting the exact same minimum nutritional needs.
since budget is a problem...have you thought about making your own "wet" cat food out of chicken or turkey form the grocery store?! if you can buy the meat in bulk and freeze batches it works out cheaper than even the cheapest canned food.
But Foxy, muscle meat alone is not a balanced diet for a cat. She would have to buy supplements to balance it and know how much per lb of muscle meat etc. Not so easy to do. I would love to feed my cats the same meat we ourselves eat, but adding the supp's to balance it for them is the problem. Too little or too much of a supp' can be very harmful over time.
Also, it has always been my philosophy that when feeding any animal raw, that you should never feed them something that they would not be able, in their natural state, to kill and eat themselves. Therefore, for a cat, chicken and rabbit are the natural choices. I have seen ground buffalo at the pet food store, and unless your kitty is particularly vicious, the odds of him/her taking down a buffalo are slim, although, I have known kitties who think they can. LOL
20yrsinBranson
But would they eat these animals if they came across the carcasses in the wild?
i didnt go into the recipies behind home cooked but there are plenty of recipies online that do all the math for balancing phosporus and calcium, organ ect for you.
i simply mentioned it as an option that may be worth exploring.
personally i do prey model raw as a treat for the cats, (and eventually they will be switched to it as their complete diet, but many cats are finicky and unless introduced to it early wont eat raw meat (or even pre-ground raw)
my general rule of thumb for any "home made diet" is to follow a "prey model"...
my cats get mouse, rat, baby rabbit and quail, chicken is only given if i cant get ahold of the other options because a standard chicken would be too large to be a natural whole prey for a single cat (and even when living in colonies cats do not hunt in a pride...) so i prefer to pick up things that are naturally sized for them (cornish game hens will do well too but can be very expensive)
raw isnt right for everyone though...
so a home cooked option is definatly there but it would be up to the op to put in the apropriate amount of reserch...its NOT simply a case of 1lb of chicken breasts and were good to go, but its also not as hard as it often seems at first
If there was no furry little animal to chase and kill, I'm sure - if they were hungry - they would eat whatever was available at the time.
20yrsinBranson
I'm pretty sure they would also, that's why mine get some raw fish and other raw meats they wouldn't be able to kill on their own. Organ meats are getting hard to find where I live though. I'm lucky to find chicken gizzards. Only liver is always available. I did find turkey heats at Publix this week.
My conscience is salved a bit because Foxy has access to fresh meat on the hoof, evidenced by what he delivers to me nearly every morning after a night out with his buddies.
He eats a mouse, gopher, vole, or mole he's caught fairly frequently, since I find the innards left in a neat little pile when he's done. So at least his diet isn't ALL junk food!
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