admin answers:

No… It’s not ok. Cat food has special added vitamins that cats MUST have or they can suffer heat disease and blindness.

Feed your cat only cat food… Even if you have to sit there and feed him one bite at a time out of your hand.

Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. It’s completely species inappropriate.

All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they don’t need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol’ house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats.

So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl.

Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions.

Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats.

I recommend varying the diet with a constant rotation of accepted canned foods that your cat enjoys. If you do this, and allow your cat the same assortment they would have in nature when eating mice, bugs, birds and rabbits, your cats’ digestive system won’t be so sensitive and you won’t have to run around looking for a specific brand when your store is out. You will have a nice variety to choose from instead.

Canned foods I recommend for your rotation:

Nature’s Variety – http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?r=0829192&page=1172&-session=naturesvariety:D04EC9250c614143FDKiM2BA9520
Wellness Grain Free Formula’s – http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_index.html
By Nature Organics – http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/catmain.php
Organix – http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix_organic_canned_formulas_for_cats
Evanger’s Holistic Pheasant – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/20089.html
Evanger’s Organic Braised Chicken – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50103.html
Evanger’s Turkey & Butternut Squash – http://www.evangersdogfood.com/cat/50111.html

admin answers:

Well stay away from brands like purina, science diet, eukanuba, iams, alpo, pedigree, ol roy. Pretty much anything u see on tv or see at walmart. Go for a better brand like canidae, innova, chicken soup brand, timberwolf organics, or solid gold. These foods r made of holistic ingredients that ur dog will love. There r no fillers and no allergens such as corn

admin answers:

Only the By Nature is organic (and it’s not completely organic-it’s not even the most organic…the dog food with the most organic ingredients, at 95% is Karma).

I think they’re all good foods, here’s the order in which I would choose them:

1. Wellness Super5mix
2. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
3. Halo
4. By Nature

The foods I would consider the best: Innova, California Natural, Healthwise, Merrick, Solid Gold, Merrick, Flint River Ranch, or Prairie.

admin answers:

A higher quality dog food might very well help your mutt.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Ziwipeak, and Taste of the Wild.

If he still experiences problems, you may need a food specifically designed for dogs with food allergies. California Natural is a good, high quality allergy food and Natural Balance puts out a few allergy formulas as well.

Darksong~

admin answers:

The best brands I know of are Wellness (which I feed my dogs), Timberwolf, Innova and Eagle Pack, all of which can be found at most pet stores (sorry, not at retail superstores). The food you are using right now has high amounts of corn and wheat (very bad for dogs and can shorten their life span and cause numerous long term health problems) and can also contain meat by-products (ground up chicken beaks, feet, bowels other gross meat toss-aways). While the pet store foods are more expensive, you dog will not eat as much because they do not have the fillers that commercial brands, including Purina, Iams, Science Diet, Pedigree, Eukanuba, etc.

I used Science Diet Natural for years because I though a natural food would be best. After years of skin problems, allergies, diabetes and other pet health problems, I switched to Wellness. Within two weeks my animals were all more energized. Skin problems cleared up as well as congestion in my one cat. The change has also alleviated some of the swelling my collie has from arthritis so she can move easier.

Also, thank you for not feeding your dog Iams (who also owns Eukanuba). They like people to think they are a good animal company but are out to simply make money off of poor quality, expensive food.

admin answers:

Nutro Ultra is a great holistic food. It’s packed with “super foods” to help with her immune system, healthy heart, brain function, vision, hips & joints, etc. Also, Nutro does not use ground yellow corn, which is a filler and big allergen among dogs. They don’t use by-products (heads, feet, intestines). And there are no artificial colors or flavors. It has high levels of essential fatty acids to help keep your dog’s skin and coat healthy. And it’s 100% guaranteed!