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VP - I feed my boy Orijen. It's an all-natural, grain-free food with mostly meat and fish, and no by-products. I know it's Canadian made and the ingredients are local to Alberta, but I'm not sure if it's sold outside Alberta :hmm:

No wait, they're sold across Canada and the US :D Here's the Ontario store listings:
http://championpetfoods.com/orijen/storeLocator/OntarioStoreListing.aspx

He LOVES it. I tried mixing it in with the Science Diet he was sent home with, but he picked out all the Orijen and left the rest. $20 for a 5.5lbs bag, so it's not too bad. It's also high in protein, so they eat less.
 
sue4u2 said:


You won't have to twist my arm. :wink: I can go for having them around for a few more weeks. The little girl who wants snowball is so impatient. I let her take the kitten to her apt (just upstairs, to teach her a lesson and the kitten cried and cried. She came back and said she needed to nurse. I told her so. The other little girl already has food, litter box, and some toys. She's ready but the kitten isn't. :wink:

Dont forget to talk to their parents and stress how important it is for them to have them spayed / neutered. I can just see you ending up with more kittens to take care of. :crack:
 
I've considered changing Jack's food to something higher quality, but he loves his Friskies Dental Diet, and my vet always says he has great teeth because of it, so I don't want to shake up his diet too much.
 
kafrun said:
VP - I feed my boy Orijen. It's an all-natural, grain-free food with mostly meat and fish, and no by-products. I know it's Canadian made and the ingredients are local to Alberta, but I'm not sure if it's sold outside Alberta :hmm:

No wait, they're sold across Canada and the US :D Here's the Ontario store listings:
http://championpetfoods.com/orijen/storeLocator/OntarioStoreListing.aspx

He LOVES it. I tried mixing it in with the Science Diet he was sent home with, but he picked out all the Orijen and left the rest. $20 for a 5.5lbs bag, so it's not too bad. It's also high in protein, so they eat less.

Orijen is probably the best commercial kibble available, for cats AND dogs. I wanted to feed my dogs Orijen, but Innova EVO and Solid Gold Barking at the Moon did NOT go over well so I've ditched the idea of grain-free, unfortunately. More places are starting to carry it, and it can be ordered with free shipping. If they could stomach it, I would feed it. I think my cats are the same way, I've noticed problems with certain foods even though they are "better". Beckham especially used to barf a lot and some foods gave all the cats horrid smelling poop. As long as I see nice coats, skin, teeth, eyes, no urinary problems, and none of the ingredients I listed earlier, I am happy with the food.
 
The vet called today and said Worf's blood test results show that the thyroid medicine seems to be working and that her levels are within normal range :).

She said that if Worf doesn't have any problems, she doesn't need to go for another blood test for 6 months ( :yippie: no stressfull trips to the vet for a while, I hope).

I'm still concered about the lumps that Worf still has, but as long as she doesn't seem to be in pain because of them I think I'll just leave it alone. If they do turn out to be cancerous one day, I wouldn't do chemo on an almost 15 year old cat anyway, so there's not much I can do about them. I'll check with the vet again in 6 months about that too.

I'm glad Isabella is doing better :hug:


This thread does need more kitten pics :shifty:.
 
Thanks everyone, for your comments about the food. :)

I think that for now, I'm going to continue with the Purina One Chicken.

I did a lot of reading last night after I posted, including a couple of FDA pet food articles, and found some interesting stuff. A couple of things in particular stood out to me:

1) Many of the premium foods list 'whatever-kind-of-meat meal' as their first ingredient. This is essentially meat that has been cooked/processed with the water removed, and then powdered so that it can be formed into dry nuggets. Purina One and others of that ilk list meat (in my case, chicken) first, not meat meal.

The thing with this is, that supposedly in the meal kind of meat, the water is removed, so by weight, you're getting more protein than if it's simply listed as just meat, which does include the water in the weight, as in Purina One. However, there's debate as to the actual nutritional value of this (chicken, as opposed to chicken meal, for example) because in the case of meal, it's cooked and processed so many times that some are questioning whether there's as much protein actually left in it as there is in the foods that just list the meat as the first ingredient (and only needs to be cooked/processed once, as opposed to meal-type meats).

2) I also read that while people try to avoid meat by-products, it's really debatable whether or not they're actually bad, that in the parts of the animal used as by-product, there can in fact be more nutritional value than in just the 'meat' parts alone, and the main problem with by-products is that it's not aesthetically pleasing to humans to think of eating those parts.

Anyway, it's kind of interesting, and there's really no definitive answer out there, I think what it boils down to is, if your pet is on a food and is healthy and happy, then it's all good. :)


Great news about Worf, Kelly, so happy for you guys!! :hug:

Kitten pics tonight hopefully, it's been a crazy week.


Oh! I need to add a 3rd point about cat foods. According to FDA regulations, the only cat foods they regulate and test for nutritional fulfillment of life stage or special needs for cats are adult/maintenance formulas, and growth/kitten formulas. What this means is, if you're buying a formula labelled as preventing hairballs, weight-loss/lower calorie, for senior cats, for indoor cats, etc, those formulas are not regulated or checked by the FDA, so there could be anything in them - it could be just normal adult food that they've stuck a special label on! So if your cat is on any of these, beware, and read the labels to make sure you're actually getting what they're claiming you are, and that you're no doubt paying extra for.
 
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VintagePunk said:
Thanks everyone, for your comments about the food. :)

I think that for now, I'm going to continue with the Purina One Chicken.

I did a lot of reading last night after I posted, including a couple of FDA pet food articles, and found some interesting stuff. A couple of things in particular stood out to me:

1) Many of the premium foods list 'whatever-kind-of-meat meal' as their first ingredient. This is essentially meat that has been cooked/processed with the water removed, and then powdered so that it can be formed into dry nuggets. Purina One and others of that ilk list meat (in my case, chicken) first, not meat meal.

The thing with this is, that supposedly in the meal kind of meat, the water is removed, so by weight, you're getting more protein than if it's simply listed as just meat, which does include the water in the weight, as in Purina One. However, there's debate as to the actual nutritional value of this (chicken, as opposed to chicken meal, for example) because in the case of meal, it's cooked and processed so many times that some are questioning whether there's as much protein actually left in it as there is in the foods that just list the meat as the first ingredient (and only needs to be cooked/processed once, as opposed to meal-type meats).

2) I also read that while people try to avoid meat by-products, it's really debatable whether or not they're actually bad, that in the parts of the animal used as by-product, there can in fact be more nutritional value than in just the 'meat' parts alone, and the main problem with by-products is that it's not aesthetically pleasing to humans to think of eating those parts.

Anyway, it's kind of interesting, and there's really no definitive answer out there, I think what it boils down to is, if your pet is on a food and is healthy and happy, then it's all good. :)



The main thing is I totally agree with your last paragraph.

1. You are correct about the meal vs. the meat, however, it kinda evens out since the meat often contains so much water/moisture that it can contain only as much or less good nutrition/protein than a meat meal. Now processing could be totally different for cats, but as far as rating dog foods, there's not much distinction between having a meat or a meat meal, as long as the first 2-3 ingredients in the list are meats or a meat meals, preferably both.

2. I agree that there is *some* value to by-products, since in the wild, the animal is likely eating ALL of the prey, not just the lean cuts. However, the problem is that commercial pet food companies are not known for actually wanting to give you the best food, they want to give you what looks good on paper and saves them money. So, if you see a "by-product" listed, it can be fair to assume that it is ALL by-product (ie, beaks, hooves, feathers, skin, and cartilage but little or no meat or other good organ meal). For me personally, a food containing a by-product as it's first meat source or only meat source is something I won't even consider. I'd rather have the animals get meat and meat meal and no by-product than only by-product or more by-product than meat or meal.
 
Sicy said:


Dont forget to talk to their parents and stress how important it is for them to have them spayed / neutered. I can just see you ending up with more kittens to take care of. :crack:


I've already spoken to one of the mothers, (upstairs) her brother in law is a vet. I will have his number thank you.. The other girls mother I haven't talked too but I told her I would have too, just to make sure it's ok and to find out -ifl she will have the kitten spayed?

Lila,
my sister came over this past weekend and took :camera: some pictures and is going to upload them tonight, she says. She and I both were doing our taxes (I'm getting $5.00 back from state- whoo hoo!! more cat litter.) and when she's finished she will upload & email the pics. Hope I do get them tonight.

Kelly, I'm so happy about Worf. That's truly good news. :yes:

Liesje - VP. I've tried the more expensive brands and my cat's aren't used to having the top o the line stuff. They will only eat Friskies Indoor Formula. I'm not going to waste money on trying to get them to eat something else. I put that IAMS out side for the strays. One of the kittens likes the Friskies chicken & gravy can food. Just like her mommy, runs out and eats like it's her last meal. :lol:
 
WildHoneyAlways said:
Moo made her way to the rainbow bridge this evening. :sad:

I just want to thank you guys for thinking about her these last few days. It means a lot to me. :(

Bless her heart, WHA, and your's, too. :hug: She'll be waiting for you!
 
New kitty pics just cause:
kittyloungin.jpg

Kitty likes the couch.

kittylikescouch.jpg

It's a tough life indeed.

kittyleg.jpg

My boy is a little attached to me :lol: :legsnuggle:

kittybag.jpg

"Oh hai, Ma, all deez braz is rong size. Pls 2 be exchangin 4 rite fit"

:D
 
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