Author Topic: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?  (Read 37023 times)

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Offline Lola

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What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« on: July 03, 2011, 05:20:29 PM »
 cat1
« Last Edit: July 18, 2011, 07:02:07 PM by Lola »
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Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2011, 07:05:38 PM »


Our "main" brand is Wellness.  Grain free chicken.  Grain free turkey.  12.5 oz cans
Anything with beef makes several kitties have diarrhea.
I stay away from fish as much as possible.

Our "side dish," of smaller cans, was (just finishing up two cases) Weruva Chicken.  Thinking of changing to another brand.
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Offline Shadow

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2011, 07:29:57 PM »
Main diet is all the grain free Wellness cans
Holistic Select Chicken and Lamb
Merricks Before Grain
Evo cat and kitten
Evo 95% beef
Evo 95% Chicken and Turkey ( not alot as the cats wont really eat it much)
Innova Senior
Natural Balance Chicken and Liver
Natural Balance Turkey and giblets.
Weruva once in a blue moon (too expensive)
 I would like to feed a few more brands, but am limited to these where I live, and Almo and Natures Variety is just to expensive.
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Offline Kittymom4

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2011, 10:22:14 PM »
Orijen dry - Weruva wet.  Going to be switching to raw, I hope, when I can get all of those ducks in a row.  I was feeding Wellness but after the buyout they came off of it and I went to the Orijen - now that they have sold out I'm getting them off of that and just waiving the white flag!  I'm going to be making my own and not putting anymore of my money into big companies that will sell out a decent product or sell me crappy food.

Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2011, 11:17:11 PM »
Those of you that rotate several brands...don't your kitties have reactions (diarrhea, hard stools, etc) to all the changes?

At one time, I was successful with rotating 3 brands.  When I threw in more brands into the rotation...all heck broke loose.  Changed out brands ...still didn't go well.  I finally had to go back to just two brands...until everyone was good. 

Just added in a third again this week, but I just hate having to pick a brand that I'm not 100% happy with feeding.  (Not that there is such a brand.) 
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Offline Mo

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2011, 12:36:27 AM »
Wellness Chicken
Wellness Beef & Chicken
Wellness Turkey
Before Grain Quail & Chicken
Before Grain Salmon
Merrick Surf & Turf

Why I feed those: It is something both he and I will agree on engarde1  It also gives him a good variety of protein sources - beef, chicken, turkey, quail, and salmon.  However, he only gets 2 of the 5.5 ounce cans of Before Grain Salmon a month, it isn't a huge part of his diet.

Used to also feed: Natural Balance, Holistic Select, EVO, and Innova.  Innova is out because of the P&G buyout and adding of Menadione; EVO is out because Nightmare won't eat it anymore and the P&G buyout.  Natural Balance is one Nightmare likes, but I don't want to feed anymore, because of the high carb levels.  Holistic Select is out for the same reason - though Nightmare wouldn't eat the one low carb flavor I fed him anyway.  Figuring out the carb amounts in canned food made my life way to complicated bangshead  Plus, Nightmare lives up to his name with his pickiness...

I would like to add at least one more brand in the rotation, once I can find something that both he & I agree on then I will. 

Offline KatieAndMe

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2011, 12:56:28 AM »
Katie was on a dry only diet for at least the 10 months she was at the pound and I'm sure it was cheap stuff. I've been trying different wets to see if I can find one she likes. It's not been easy. She takes a few bites and that's it. She was also used to grazing and since she has gingivitis I don't want to stop that right now. She may be in pain and that may be why she can't eat for long periods at a time.

I've tried Wellness, Chicken Soup, Royal Canin, Innova and California something(??) After reading this forum I feel I'm more educated and will read labels more carefully when I go to buy food tomorrow. Thank you all for putting it out their and caring enough.

Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2011, 11:22:22 AM »
Katie was on a dry only diet for at least the 10 months she was at the pound and I'm sure it was cheap stuff. I've been trying different wets to see if I can find one she likes. It's not been easy. She takes a few bites and that's it. She was also used to grazing and since she has gingivitis I don't want to stop that right now. She may be in pain and that may be why she can't eat for long periods at a time.

I've tried Wellness, Chicken Soup, Royal Canin, Innova and California something(??) After reading this forum I feel I'm more educated and will read labels more carefully when I go to buy food tomorrow. Thank you all for putting it out their and caring enough.

Eating dry is probably adding to the pain, for your Katie.  Dry kibble doesn't clean a feline's teeth, like we have been taught for soooooo many years.  It actually sticks to their teeth and can cause dental issues.

Our bunch was on a "quality" dry for several years.  Transitioning them to an all wet diet took a bit of time and patience.  The final hurdle was breaking the grazing habit.  
I found this info to be VERY helpful with the transition:
http://catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

To break the grazing habit, I used Fortiflora.  It took maybe two or three meals with Fortiflora on them...and habit was broken.  I was AMAZED how quickly the grazing habit was stopped.  The ickie stuff in Fortiflora is what prompts the desire to eat NOW.  I occasionally still use it (because I still have it on hand from when using it to break the grazing habit), if I have a food that no one is fond of...and I want to use it up.  They'll eat anything with Fortiflora on it. 

Other members, of this forum, have mentioned the use of MUCH better products...other than Fortiflora.  Do a search on Fortiflora and you will find the other suggestions.  I found the link for you, but am hoping other members will post Fortiflora alternatives.

http://parenting-furkids.com/index.php?topic=457.new#new
« Last Edit: July 22, 2011, 01:30:50 PM by Lola, Reason: clarity...I think. lol »
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Offline Pookie

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2011, 01:01:38 PM »
He used to get the Wellness grain-free chicken, turkey, beef & chicken, turkey & salmon along with the Nature's Variety, Weruva & raw listed below.  After the recall I can't find any Wellness that DON'T have "7W" on the bottom of the can and he won't eat those (though he'll make an exception, with encouragement, for the turkey & salmon.  I only feed that every couple weeks).

Currently he's getting (all wet):

Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit, venison, (had to stop the lamb--he may be developing an allergy to it), chicken, duck
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet chicken & green pea (this is grain free)
Go! chicken/turkey/duck (grainfree)
Weruva grain-free chicken flavors only.  I don't like feeding fish too much, though the Natural Balance has some salmon oil in it.  He gets the Weruva as a snack before bedtime, just a forkful or so.  Otherwise he gets so worked up he may bring it up for another look.

Raw chicken hearts and gizzards, once a week or so to keep his teeth clean.

Why I feed the above?  Mainly because it’s grain-free and he’ll eat it.  I keep trying other brands (Evo, Merrick, Dave’s) and he’s just not interested.  I keep hoping to find something else to add to the rotation.  He will eat the other Natural Balance Ltd Ingredient Diets, but the other flavors are duck (he doesn’t get too excited) and venison, and I still remember a homeopathic vet telling me venison is “hot.”  So is lamb, and since he seemed to be having a problem with the lamb I thought it best to limit the exposure to venison.

Katie, I agree with Lola -- my first thought was the dry food may be hurting her teeth/gums.  If she’ll eat it, wet should be easier on her teeth, esp. if it’s pate.  Pookie was/is a grazer, too – he’ll eat half the wet, walk off and eat more later.  It’s okay to leave the wet down for a while.  I leave it out all day/night but he usually finishes it within an hour unless he’s not interested.  When I first took him off the dry, he’d walk by where the feeder was and look for it, but he stopped after a while.  Maybe because I kept telling him he was never getting that stuff again.  :)

I’ve never used the fortiflora, so can’t add anything there.  Sorry.
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Offline Auntie Crazy

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #9 on: September 04, 2011, 03:21:24 PM »
Those of you that rotate several brands...don't your kitties have reactions (diarrhea, hard stools, etc) to all the changes?

At one time, I was successful with rotating 3 brands.  When I threw in more brands into the rotation...all heck broke loose.  Changed out brands ...still didn't go well.  I finally had to go back to just two brands...until everyone was good. 

Just added in a third again this week, but I just hate having to pick a brand that I'm not 100% happy with feeding.  (Not that there is such a brand.) 

Prior to going raw, my cats were eating over 21 different flavors of canned foods (primarily every grain-free variety that was available at the time plus a few low-grain) and my fosters have all been fed at least that many as well. At no time did any cat ever have any upsets.

I always recommend canned food owners feed as large a rotation of foods as they can (Dr. Hofve's article "Switching Foods") and I can't recall - off the top of my head - that this has caused very many cats digestive upsets. I wonder, Lola, with the issues surrounding low-quality ingredients and premixes, as well as the lack of quality control in general, if your cats ended up with a bad batch of foods that required several days for recovery? Maybe too much of some vitamin or mineral, too many non-digestible ingredients, or something similar? That's rough! Hard on you and the kitties. <<hug>>

AC
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Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #10 on: September 04, 2011, 07:04:14 PM »
Prior to going raw, my cats were eating over 21 different flavors of canned foods (primarily every grain-free variety that was available at the time plus a few low-grain) and my fosters have all been fed at least that many as well. At no time did any cat ever have any upsets.

I always recommend canned food owners feed as large a rotation of foods as they can (Dr. Hofve's article "Switching Foods") and I can't recall - off the top of my head - that this has caused very many cats digestive upsets. I wonder, Lola, with the issues surrounding low-quality ingredients and premixes, as well as the lack of quality control in general, if your cats ended up with a bad batch of foods that required several days for recovery? Maybe too much of some vitamin or mineral, too many non-digestible ingredients, or something similar? That's rough! Hard on you and the kitties. <<hug>>

AC

I TOTALLY agree with rotating brands and flavors.  There is no food that I like enough that I would want to eat every day for every meal!  Not even B&J ice cream. 

21 flavors...and I assume many different mfg as well?  I'm stunned. 
There are two brands (so far) that none of the kitties show any signs of anything ickie.  No loose, runny, hard or extra smelly stools.  No crusty or runny eyes.  No hair matting.  No...that's all I can think of at the moment. 
Stool issues and barfing are my main concerns, but...  did you have more than one cat? 
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Offline Auntie Crazy

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2011, 08:57:49 PM »
I TOTALLY agree with rotating brands and flavors.  There is no food that I like enough that I would want to eat every day for every meal!  Not even B&J ice cream. 

21 flavors...and I assume many different mfg as well?  I'm stunned. 
There are two brands (so far) that none of the kitties show any signs of anything ickie.  No loose, runny, hard or extra smelly stools.  No crusty or runny eyes.  No hair matting.  No...that's all I can think of at the moment. 
Stool issues and barfing are my main concerns, but...  did you have more than one cat? 

Between my own cats and those I've fostered, I've fed over a dozen cats this way. I stopped fostering this past December (my cats can't handle the disruptions with equanimity any longer), but the following were all on the menu at that time:

Before Grain 96% Chicken ''1''; Before Grain 96% Turkey ''4''; Before Grain 96% Quail ''5''; Before Grain 96% Beef ''6''; By Nature Natural 95% Meat Beef and Liver; By Nature Natural 95% Meat Chicken and Chicken Liver; By Nature Natural 95% Meat Turkey and Turkey Liver; by Nature Organics Chicken & Chicken Liver; by Nature Organics Turkey & Chicken; by Nature Organics Turkey & Turkey Liver; Felidae Grain Free Cat and Kitten; Go! Natural Grain Free Chicken,Turkey & Duck; Innova Cat and Kitten; Innova EVO Cat & Kitten; Innova EVO 95% Beef; Innova EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey; Innova EVO 95% Duck; Innova EVO 95% Venison; Natural Balance Grain Free Limited Ingredient Chicken & Green Pea; Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck; Natural Balance Green Pea & Venison; Nature's Variety Instinct Beef; Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken; Nature's Variety Instinct Duck; Nature's Variety Instinct Lamb; Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit; Nature's Variety Instinct Venison; Wellness Beef & Chicken; Wellness Chicken; Wellness Turkey; Wellness CORE Grain Free Chicken, Turkey and Chicken Liver; Wellness CORE Grain Free Salmon, Whitefish and Herring; Solid Gold Chicken, Turkey, White Fish & Liver
 
These foods were all chosen based on the research I'd done back in 2006 / 2007. I subsequently switched my focus to raw feeding, began feeding my own cats a home-prepared frankenprey diet and did not, until very recently, go back to examining commercially-prepared foods in any real detail.

Since taking a closer look at commercial foods, I've come to realize that some (maybe many, I haven't done a product by product analysis yet) of the above foods are not as appropriate for cats as I had initially thought. The Natural Balance foods, for example, all contain over 26% carbohydrates, even though all three are marketed as grain-free. *Yuck.*

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lola, if you don't mind, what foods are your cats on and how long have they been eating them, which two did they have digestive trouble with and how long were they being eaten, and how long ago did you try those two foods? Have you tried pre- or probiotics? Sometimes a cat's system gets hit by so much (food-related) stress ('though usually from kibble) it can't recover on it's on; pre- and probiotics have an anecdotal history of easing that recovery (Are Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes Needed?).

My intention isn't to be nosy, but to - hopefully, maybe - see a pattern that might help you increase the number of foods your kitties can eat comfortably.

AC

P.S. Have you considered natural (raw) feeding?
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Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #12 on: September 05, 2011, 10:06:23 AM »

Lola, if you don't mind, what foods are your cats on and how long have they been eating them, which two did they have digestive trouble with and how long were they being eaten, and how long ago did you try those two foods? Have you tried pre- or probiotics? Sometimes a cat's system gets hit by so much (food-related) stress ('though usually from kibble) it can't recover on it's on; pre- and probiotics have an anecdotal history of easing that recovery (Are Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes Needed?).

My intention isn't to be nosy, but to - hopefully, maybe - see a pattern that might help you increase the number of foods your kitties can eat comfortably.

AC

P.S. Have you considered natural (raw) feeding?

I don't think any of your questions are nosy!!

The only brand and flavor that is always a part of the rotation is Wellness Chicken...the big cans.  The cats LOVE it...never any issues.  Wellness is never fed for all 3 meals though.  Too risky. (IMHO)

I purchase food, by the case, once a month.  Get a discount for buying by the case.  Soooo, once a month is when I usually rotate in a new brand and/or flavor. Last month choices were very limited, due to availability of some larger cans.

In the cupboard right now: Evo 95% beef (cats HATE it, but eat it..took some coaxing using Fortiflora.), Wellness Chicken, Wellness Turkey (not a fan favorite), Wellness Core - Chicken,Evangers chicken, Friskies Mixed Grill.

Other brands that are often thrown into the mix...Weruva Chicken and Felidae Grain Free (changed labels...issues getting it in town).

Any brand that comes in a larger can, I have probably purchased at one time or another.      

For the most part, I buy brands that come in larger cans and pate style.  (Pate is the preferred texture.  Large cans are more affordable.) The smaller cans are fed so there is enough food for everyone...without having to refrigerate any extras.  I can usually get away with the smaller cans not being pate style.  

I have been thinking of adding ...(I'll have to post this and then go look at my bookmarks to post the info) http://www.platinumperformance.com/Platinum-Performance0174-Feline/productinfo/FPLAG1/ to see if changing brands and flavors all the time will work out better for the kitties. 

When transitioning the felines from dry free feeding (years ago), they were the most pizzed because they couldn't eat alllll day long.  That is the reason they are fed 3 small meals a day.  With 3 meals a day, they eat their meals in one sitting...no food gets left out, for any length of time, to "grow" anything.  Our fatty has lost weight (slowly) and the non-fatties are maintaining their weight.

My goal is to get everyone "stable" on (at least) 3 different acceptable brands of wet...and then introduce (some from or another) raw.  
« Last Edit: September 05, 2011, 10:10:40 AM by Lola, Reason: added link »
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Offline Auntie Crazy

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #13 on: September 05, 2011, 11:10:35 AM »
...
In the cupboard right now: Evo 95% beef (cats HATE it, but eat it..took some coaxing using Fortiflora.), Wellness Chicken, Wellness Turkey (not a fan favorite), Wellness Core - Chicken,Evangers chicken, Friskies Mixed Grill.

Other brands that are often thrown into the mix...Weruva Chicken and Felidae Grain Free (changed labels...issues getting it in town).
...
I have been thinking of adding ...(I'll have to post this and then go look at my bookmarks to post the info) http://www.platinumperformance.com/Platinum-Performance0174-Feline/productinfo/FPLAG1/ to see if changing brands and flavors all the time will work out better for the kitties. 

When transitioning the felines from dry free feeding (years ago), they were the most pizzed because they couldn't eat alllll day long.  That is the reason they are fed 3 small meals a day.  With 3 meals a day, they eat their meals in one sitting...no food gets left out, for any length of time, to "grow" anything.  Our fatty has lost weight (slowly) and the non-fatties are maintaining their weight.

My goal is to get everyone "stable" on (at least) 3 different acceptable brands of wet...and then introduce (some from or another) raw.  

Writing in smaller text doesn't keep us from seeing what you've written you know. *chuckle*

Three times a day feedings are good, it's what I do and it's what I always recommend as a minimum (except for kittens, who should be fed at least four time per day).

With the rotation of foods you already have, I believe even more strongly that you probably got hit by some of those nasty quality control issues rampant in the PFI. :- (  Hmmm, are you aware of the issues Evangers is currently struggling with and those it's had in the past? For such an unregulated industry, to have them called out specifically by the FDA for labeling their products with meat ingredients that aren't actually present in the product is, I think, a pretty big deal. I put them with Nutro in my "never-ever buy" folder.

That supplement has several ingredients I wouldn't think you'd want to feed to your kitty (Flax Seed, Flax Oil, Rice Bran, Whey Protein, Sunflower Seed, Soy Flour, Cane Molasses)... have you looked at buying this one, "Fresh + Oasis Feline T"? Whichever one you go with, remember that commercial products are already over-supplemented to "account" for the degradation inherent in the cooking process, so you probably want to half or even quarter the recommended dosage amount on the supplement.

Raw is good! :- )

AC
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Offline Lola

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Re: What Wet Brands Do You Feed ...And Why?
« Reply #14 on: September 05, 2011, 12:37:08 PM »
Writing in smaller text doesn't keep us from seeing what you've written you know. *chuckle*

I know.  You just happened to ask me what I'm feeding when I had some reallllly bad choices in the cupboard.  I considered not mentioning them, but... that wouldn't have been honest.

Quote

Three times a day feedings are good, it's what I do and it's what I always recommend as a minimum (except for kittens, who should be fed at least four time per day).

It seems most feed their felines twice a day.  Tending to be an over-feeder, I feel the "need" to always explain the 3x a day feeding schedule.  
Quote

With the rotation of foods you already have, I believe even more strongly that you probably got hit by some of those nasty quality control issues rampant in the PFI. :- (  Hmmm, are you aware of the issues Evangers is currently struggling with and those it's had in the past? For such an unregulated industry, to have them called out specifically by the FDA for labeling their products with meat ingredients that aren't actually present in the product is, I think, a pretty big deal. I put them with Nutro in my "never-ever buy" folder.
The two foods I wrote in tiny font...At the time, I had the choice of buying all one brand or tossing in a bit of scary brands, due to availability issues.  Sooooo, I went with the "better carpy wet, than dry" theory." (That sounds lame...even to me!)
Quote
That supplement has several ingredients I wouldn't think you'd want to feed to your kitty (Flax Seed, Flax Oil, Rice Bran, Whey Protein, Sunflower Seed, Soy Flour, Cane Molasses)... have you looked at buying this one, "Fresh + Oasis Feline T"? Whichever one you go with, remember that commercial products are already over-supplemented to "account" for the degradation inherent in the cooking process, so you probably want to half or even quarter the recommended dosage amount on the supplement.

I was looking into the supplement, that I posted, because it was recommened by someone that I admire.  I'm kinda stressed out, with the kitties being on a food roller coaster ride lately.  Actually, I've been stressed out since I almost killed one of the felines feeding him a "quality" dry.  

Quote
Raw is good! :- )

AC

Raw is where I would like to end up...soon.  BUT I have to have some sort of back-up plan working first.  I think.  
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