[Jennifer B]

I have a 1.5 year old female boxer. She has always been relatively small for a boxer, about 50lbs right now. She is skinny though you can usually see her ribs. I am told she is healthy and will fill out as she gets older and less energetic. I would like her to gain at least 5 lbs though. I have been feeding her about 4 cups of Taste of the Wild dry food a day. Any suggestions on the protein content or a certain type of food I should feed her that might help her gain weight? I get a lot of looks from people who apparently think I do not feed my dog… Thanks.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari 32:
I understand the question as I had the same when I first started researching the best diet for my cats. In my opinion, Dr. Pierson has the best explanation to your question, so I would have to refer you to her website; I would just butcher and confuse the subject of wet vs. dry food for cats! She does a great job of explaining what has to go on in order for a cat to digest dry food and the reason it is so taxing on their bodies.

Ultimately he is in your hands and you will have to decide what you feel is best for him. But I do feel strongly about getting him to the Vet ASAP so you can find out for certain if he has UTI issues.

[Akari_32]

Not to argue, but I don’t see how adding water to dry food, and then adding the whole lot to wet food, would cause problems with dehydration and UTIs. Its not like I’m feeding him straight dry food.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
I totally understand why you are using the dry food. I also use some due to budget reasons. But, for right now, I’d try to just go with the wet until you get his condition resolved. I’m hoping for the best. If he has a blockage, it will either be a huge vet bill or euthanasia. Again, good luck! And BTW, Bobby Dog, I let mine drink out of the sink also!

[Bobby dog]

Hi b l:
As this site is my go to for my dog’s diet, catinfo.org is my go to site for my cats’ diet information. Dr. Pierson has a great list (and why she recommends them) of freeze dried choices, canned food, and great information on feeding a semi-raw/raw diet to cats. I highly recommend this site to anyone who has cats. If nothing else, it would be a great starting point to find what you are looking for. Catinfo has an abundance of information on other health issues and general cat care that you might find interesting as well.

My cats’ “kitty crack” has been greatly reduced but they still need their dry food fix. They are older and fairly set in their ways. I hope you check out the site and find what you are looking for!

[b l]

we gave up dry cat food, aka kitty crack years ago when we realized how harmful it all is, even the so-called “good” brands and are currenlty feeding wellness grain free canned food to my cats and only just now realized it contains fruit and vegetables, which i do not want to feed to my (obligate carnivore) cats.
do you have any recommendations for ‘ready made’ available in stores, wet or freeze dried choices which are healthy and do not contain grain, fruits and vegetables?
thank you.

[DogFoodie]

I would definitely take it back also. If it were one small bag that I’d get rid of quickly, I might go ahead and feed it (assuming that it looked and smelled OK and my dogs gave it their ultimate approval), but you’re talking about 171 pounds of food here!

There is a way to calculate the manufacture date based on the expiration date and the estimated shelf life of the product. So, for those that have a shelf life of 18 months that are three months past their expiration date, you’re talking about food that was manufactured close to two years ago! Even sealed, in the bag, fats can go rancid when something is that old. What if it wasn’t stored properly at the store, that can decrease even the 18 month shelf life.

I started accumulating a little too much kibble, so I made a spreadsheet of everything I had on hand ordered by expiration date so that it can be used well prior to then. I’m sorry that I’ve accumulated what I have because it should be the goal to buy and use the freshest food possible.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_12/features/Fats-Chance_20658-1.html

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/17_2/features/five-common-mistakes-buying-feeding-dry-food_20910-1.html

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/7_10/features/Dog-Food-Expiring_15658-1.html

[Akari_32]

I’ll check those out, thanks guys 🙂 I use the dry to basically spread out the wet food. Mix half and half, and add enough water so that the dry isn’t soaking it in from the wet. I tend to add it when I first mix, and then add more when I prepare the food for him at meal times (one 5.5 oz can or two 3 oz cans, dry food, some water, then it goes in the fridge until it’s gone, and more water is added when I warm it up in his bowl). Some times I add too much water to his bowl and it’s more like a nasty little soup, but he drinks all that up when that happens. When mom feeds him, she just slaps a can of wet in his bowl, and then he’s hungry again by the time I get home, because she only fed him enough food for a cat 1/4 of his size…. She even got mad a me for buying different flavors in single cans LOL Likes like “buy the variety pack!!” Then I asked her if she wanted to pay for it and I got no response :p

Anyways lol He won’t outright drink water from his water dish. He’s done it once, that I’ve seen, and it was because he thought it was food, and dove it with out looking. He wasn’t very happy about that LOL So maybe I should add all that extra water, then?

And on an unrelated note: this is the only cat in the world that won’t take treats. Mom bought him some Temptations treats, and he only eats them when he’s absolutely starving. Won’t touch them other wise. I don’t know if he’s smart for that, or just weird… Lol

[crazy4cats]

Yes, Akari, as Bobby Dog recommended, the catinfo dot org site has great info on UTIs. Again, the main thing is to make sure he is getting plenty of moisture to flush the crystals. If not, a blockage could be created and then the cat is in real danger. Assuming that is what is going on. Dr. Lisa Pierson even goes as far to say that it’s ok to feed a lower quality canned food rather than to feed a dry kibble to ensure they get enough moisture. To keep price down, I do feed my cats a can of Friskes Classic Poultry Platter every couple of days. It is the one flavor of this brand that at least has a named meat as the first ingredient and does not list any food coloring. I also think that Petsmart’s Authority is a decent budget canned food. I feel for you. I know what it is like to unexpectedly take ona pet with unexpected issues that you weren’t prepared for. This cat is lucky you took him in!

[Naturella]

Sue66b, thank you for the advice! I can definitely increase the sardine intake and the coconut oil too, I can maybe alternate 1 day sardine, 1 day coconut oil? And I use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap – Almond on him, it is supposed to be oil-based and not dry up his skin… And I use oatmeal conditioner after, but I can switch to doggie oatmeal shampoo to try it out. I was trying not to use shampoo every week when I wash the dog park dirt off so that I don’t dry his skin up too much… But I can if needed. I can also start brushing him daily, it will help with his shedding too.

I am also going to begin switching him to a fish-based food (Earthborn Coastal Catch) in a few days/week, so there will be even more Omegas and oils in his daily intake.

Thank you again, Sue, and any other advice will be also much appreciated! 🙂

[Deby G]

Hello, I am new to this forum and I am so glad I have found all of you. I recently rescued a 6 year old poodle mix. She weighs all of 7 pounds. Marley was in a foster home for about a month and was fed Dr. Harvey’s miracle food. It is dry grains and vegetables and is mixed with boiling water to make a consistency similar to oatmeal. 4ounces of protein and a small amount oil are added to supposedly make a “perfect” diet. I feed Marley twice a day. For protein I add either human grade chicken, beef, or salmon. I have never feed any of my dogs “people” food. Her foster mother also added cooked veg. and sweet potato. She doesn’t like sweet sweet potatoes when I add them but will eat cooked string beans. She is so tiny and her teeth are not the best so she needs a soft diet. She also doesn’t eat a lot at one time and keeps going back to her bowl. I am petrified of processed dog food. I have used Merrick, etc. but with all the recalls I will not buy any canned food and she can’t handle dry. Can I get some advice on the diet I am feeding her? Has anyone heard or have experience with Dr. Harvey’s? He also makes a grain free which I guess I should have ordered. I do notice she appears to strain a lot so a few days ago I started to give her a tsp of pumpkin to see if that will help. I also don’t want to over do on vitamins. This is all new to me. Help! I will appreciate your guidance. Thanks. Bunny

[Naturella]

Absolutely! And good job on learning something new yourself! 🙂

And, not to beat a dead horse, but I also keep learning new things, even when I am convinced I already know the truth.
So my friend (my success story, the one I got to switch from Shep to 3.5-5-star foods) and I recently discovered two pet boutiques, both literally 3 min from my house each, on the same street as my apartment complex! I was in heaven. Let alone the great foods they sell, they also have the awesome natural chews I like, and much more. Anywho, my friend bought 90lbs of food from Store A and maybe 50 from Store B. Well, 2 of the bags of food from Store A were on sale, which is why she bought them. We did not think to look at the expiration dates, and 2 weeks later, lo and behold, she finds out that one expired in January, and the other in February. She was pretty upset that she was sold expired food without knowing it, when Store B’s sale items are on sale with an extra sticker with the expiration date of the food right on top of the bag. She was saying that Store A has now lost her business and what not, and today I happened to be right next to Store A, and went inside to let them know how my friend was feeling because of what they had done. To my surprise, they were fully aware that they were selling expired food, and said that expired dry kibble is still good 6-8 months after the expiration date. Well, I was surprised, so I swung by Store B to ask them as well. After receiving a confirmation there, I reassured my friend that her dog will be fine (she bought the two Great Life 33-lb bags on sale for her yellow lab, along with Victor Ultra Professional 30lbs (And Victor Brown Rice and Beef 40lbs. And Simply Nourish 30lbs. And Evanger’s 5lbs to mix in. We are food nutties.). So she is much relieved, as am I, because now we know that expired food, while maybe not ideal, is still good for a little while longer. 🙂 Go figure, but I’m glad I swung by the store to tell them of the “incident” and learn something, that was also confirmed elsewhere. 🙂

Sidenote – Store A’s treats and chews are cheaper, so I will shop there for them, but Store B has more foods on sale at better prices too, and FREE SAMPLES! So I am totally in heaven! 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari 32:
I don’t have any food recommendations for you other than to make sure he’s getting moisture in his food and drinking H2O regularly. I do recommend you check out catinfo.org for Dr. Pierson’s info on urinary tract health. “Generally speaking, the basic diet recommendation for the average cat with urinary tract issues is a high protein/low carbohydrate canned food with added water.” – Dr. Pierson catinfo.org. Here’s the link for the page: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth
If you feed your kitty dry food, the other site I visit is naturalcatcareblog.com, for what it’s worth has a list of dry foods with pH levels noted that are supposedly ideal for urinary tract health. As with catinfo.org, this blog does not recommend dry food for cats. They write “in a pinch, picking a low-carb, grain-free dry food to use on occasion or in rotation with wet meals is a decent compromise.” Wellness Core Original GF is one of the foods that are listed. If this food is an option for you to feed you can always download the $5.00 coupon from their website to make it a little more affordable. Here’s the link for the dry food list: http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/08/best-dry-cat-foods-so-far/
Sending positive thoughts your way, keep us up to date when possible.

[Akari_32]

I’m going to call around tomorrow (who ever will answer for a Sunday) and I’ve been looking around online for places that may be able to help with it, and I’ve got a few on my list. If this was planned I would have had no problem affording it, after having saved up for it. But since it was like “oh by the way here’s a cat” I’ve got some working out to do with money. Unfortunately, I’m now dealing with something that needs to be done right away, and not whenever I can get it done. I’ve only got Monday and most of Friday this week that I have off during vet hours, so I’ve got to get going.

He’s not *bad* really, but several times a day he just paces the house meowing and meowing, and seems like he’s looking for trouble, which is what I was associating with a UTI. Otherwise, he’s just a cat. He likes to “help” with making his food, or making your food, or doing things around the house, likes to play in the blinds. Normal cat stuff lol

I’ve been watching him the last few days, and he’s got a slight limp. Is this something that could be caused by a UTI? We’ve got all tile in the main areas of the house, too, so he could have just landed wrong during one of his adventures. It doesn’t seem to bother him at all, otherwise. He plays and jumps and does cat things.

In the mean time, is there anything I can do to at least contain this? He’s on all wet food (half dry mixed in than canned, with water added), so that’s covered. His dry EVO is almost gone, so I could buy a urinary tract health food if they really work. Any recommendations on those?

[Chelsie J]

I’ve been giving my 12 year old Toy Poodle Dinovite for about a month now and it has helped her skin tremendously. She used to scratch and itch a lot and had awful skin rashes. Now her skin is almost completely clear. The easiest way to give the supplement to her is to mix it with a small can of wet dog food. Her regular dry food was not very good, since we have so many dogs my Dad would just buy huge bags of whatever the cheapest food was at the store. We didnt realize it was probably the equivalent to dog fast food and that she was not getting the nutrients she needed to maintain good health. You could just buy your dog/dogs a healthy dry food like Science Diet, but the bags are small and expensive. It saves money to buy a 90 day supply of Divovite and mix it with an okay dry food.

[Naturella]

Hey, guys! I need to vent… sorry to burden you all, but it’s happening…

So today I was grooming Bruno (with the Furminator – that dog sheds like an avalanche!), and my roommate saw me so he came to offer precious advice. He did help me finish Bruno up cause it was a bit of a struggle – he doesn’t like being groomed and I wasn’t doing it quite right – he was in my lap when he should have been in front of me. Either way, it all went ok, until my roommate was almost done with Bruno and noticed his doggie dander.

And then…

He began lecturing me on how I feed my dog “a bunch of random crap” (referring to the additives I have been giving him to help with his hard-ass stools, and just for general health supplementation, such as yoghurt, pumpkin, flax seed meal, coconut oil, canned sardines, raw egg, RMBs, etc.)!!! He then continued on saying how his brother’s dog (a rottie) lived to 14.5 years old (“when the average lifespan of rottweilers is 10 years”), and how he thrived on ONE food for his WHOLE life, and it was… Can you guess? THE SCIENCE DIET!!!

His next advice was that I need to not mess with my dog’s GI tract by giving him my random crap, because:
a. I will spoil him and he won’t ever eat just dry kibble again.
b. I will mess his digestion up
c. I will mess his skin and coat by adding the stuff I add.
He then went on to brag about his dog, who has only been on Science Diet as well, and how she has no pet dander and how she is the “epitome of health” according to his vet and how whatever he’s doing, he shouldn’t change ever (and he plans to do exactly that); how she never has tummy troubles because he has found one food that she likes and does her so much good and he will never change it… And how I SHOULD DO THE SAME, how I need to choose between Nutro, Blue Buffalo, or Science Diet, and find something Bruno likes, and keep him on it forever!!! GAH!

In between some of his tirade I managed to sneak in a word or 2, such as: “The random crap I feed him is to help with his stools, and is carefully researched and selected to fit my dog’s dietary needs” – response “Yeah, but you give him too much of it, plus, hard kibble is designed to be balanced and give the dogs all they need, so they don’t really need any other crap, additives, or soft food, for the a, b, and c reasons above.”
Me – “I am about to put Bruno on a fish-based food soon” (referring to his pet dander).
Him – “Why?”
Me – “Because fish is really good for dogs’ skin and coat, and has Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, just like flax seed (minus the Omega 6) and coconut oil.”
Him – “… Yeah, but lamb is better. Casey (his dog) has been on brown rice and lamb and her coat is so shiny and soft (not nearly as much as my dog’s, I promise), and she has no pet dander, and she loves the food, and you really shouldn’t switch his food so much.”

Maybe he is right, maybe lamb is indeed better, but can someone please explain how it could be better than fish, in regards to Omega 3 and 6, and skin and coat benefits?

As for the rest, the convo ended with him saying that he doesn’t usually like to tell us (my husband and I, which he NEVER tells him – he only speaks to me about the dog) how to take care of the dog, cause he feels like “we” (read “I”) get pissed off, but he wants us to do what’s best for Bruno…. I don’t know how I didn’t lose it and yell at him that I already am, and that all I do and feed is because I do daily research on it, and educate myself on what is good for Bruno… I just thanked him for helping me with the grooming and went to wash my dog…

Sigh, annoyed… The other problem/reason why I didn’t pour some emotions and knowledge down his head, is because:
a. he clearly won’t take it
b. he is helping us financially with the place a lot, i.e. paying more than us
c. I’m a chicken (or, how I like to think of it, I pick my battles).

SO, this is it… I just really needed to vent… Sigh, I will go walk my “messed-with” dog… Poor guy, having all kinds of variety with his food… I should be ashamed of my dog parenting skills… LoL,.. Sigh….

[Rose S]

I am feeding both my large dog and small dog Taste of the Wild Prairie dry food. My small dog has very soft stools when we go walking even with the addition of pumpkin puree to his meals. Do you think I should try another food for him? I like having them both on the same food. Any feedback appreciated.

[Evan O]

Hi, I’m looking for a dry dog food, grain-free, rice-free, yeast-free and with 5%+ fiber, I was hoping anyone would have a recommendation for me, I’m currently going through the list of 5 star foods trying to find one that fits this criteria. I believe my chihuahua is allergic to yeast, but I’m not 100% sure. I liked the ingredients of the Dr Harvey Oracle food, but its like $100 a bag, I was also hoping for like a 20-30 price for a ~5lb bag. Thanks for any advice!

[Akari_32]

Oh my god kill me.

This cat needs to learn some serious manners and house etiquette. He’s a sweet boy, but he sure is naughty! He tries to get in the blinds (they’re horizontal blinds, rather than vertical ones, so he all but tears them off the wall -_-), gets on the counter in hopes of food, plays with random things all night, tries to get into a closed off room all day, and thinks it’s time to eat EVERY time you go into the kitchen (I’ve tripped over him at least 4 times in the last week…). I’ve started spraying him with a spray bottle when he does bad things, mainly pulling on the blinds. That’s not even the worse part though…

Mom caught him scratching on the furniture the other day, and told me I had till Thursday (tomorrow, at this point) to get rid of him, before she came home from out of town. This is AFTER she told to get rid of him when she first saw him, then said I could keep him, and then went back and forth another few times, all since last Wednesday. I don’t even know what the crap to think any more. It’s ticking me off. Make your freaking mind up and tell me what you want me to do (before I get rid of you!!!)! Now she’s back to me keeping him, but making feel like the biggest dick ever for it, telling me to get him declawed, and that she hates cats, and all this other crap. And then she just texted me saying to buy him a scratching post (I haven’t bought one yet because why the crap am I going to spend the money on a scratching post for a cat I’m not keeping, or apparently now, declawing???). Just, whatever. I’m not over exaggerating at all when I say all this. At least when she first found out about him, she didn’t want him simply because she’s allergic to cats, which I can respect and understand, now she’s saying to get rid of him because she is mad that the cat is being a CAT.

I’m making an appointment for the vet tomorrow to get his shots and health check, and possibly neutered (we really aren’t sure if he is or not, he’s very fluffy and it’s hard to tell). I may actually call the humane society and see what they can do. Pull the “you guys are full of cats and I don’t want to give you another, can you just give me cheap vet care” thing. They do shots and fixing, but I don’t know if they do exams for the public. Won’t know until I ask, I guess.

My sister is giving me an old scratching post, and I may look into nail caps (thoughts on those?). I will not get him declawed. I’d sooner give him to the only people who apparently want this cat other than me, the nasty indoor smoker neighbors. Their house is so gross I want to shower every time I have to go in there. They do have a cat over there, though. They had two, but one ran away. Go figure. And they feed dry only, whatever’s cheap (I’ve seen versions flavors of Friskies and 9Lives over there). But yeah, they’re the only ones to say they want him. I may be able to get them to feed him wet/mostly wet, even if it is something like the huge $1 cans of Friskies from Dollar Tree, if they were to take him.

Anyways, I got a good deal on some lesser wet foods (Purina One, Sheba, and Fancy Feast) so we’ve got about 60 cans of these. It’s better than nothing right now. I’ve got coupons for BOGO Wellness Select-whatever, which I’ll get before they expire. He’s still got some EVO dry left, but I’ll need some more soon. It was just a teeny baby bag (2.2 pounds) and he’s just a big fatty (11.4 pounds). I’ve got his mix pretty well figured out, I think. I’ve been mixing half wet and half dry, according to how much he should be eating according to the can and bag, and feeding him 2-3 times a day, about 2 tablespoons. It seems about every other day he wants an extra snack, which is when he gets fed a third time. Mom said he was so hungry the other day when I was at work that he was just walking around the house meowing and meowing. Granted I had fed him at about 10 and she said she finally broke down around 7 and fed him, so I could understand him being hungry. He also won’t take treats unless he’s starving. Kind of a weird cat lol

So anyways, all this drama is why I haven’t updated you guys. Moms given me one month to try him out, and if she’s still pissy about him, he has to go :/ If that happens, and if I have no other takers, I’d think I’d rather see him go to my neighbors rather than a shelter. What do you guys think about that? I’m honestly not so sure, either way…

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari 32:
How’s the little guy doing? I hope well. I am not sure what brand(s) of dry cat food you decided to feed, but I did some quick research for my future dry cat food purchases. I needed to find more GF and fish free options for my kitties for budgeting purposes; you never know when a good sale or coupon will pop up. I thought I would share what brands I found that meet these criteria’s with you.

My cats’ liked all of these flavors:
Innova Nature’s Table GF Chicken & Turkey – same recipe as “Prime”
Wellness Core GF Turkey & Duck Meal
Merrick GF Chicken

I haven’t tried these flavors:
Precise Holistic Complete GF – Pork Meal & Pea or Turkey & Chicken
Simply Nourish (Petsmart) GF Chicken
California Natural GF Chicken Cat & Kitten

[Mom2Cavs]

Blue Buffalo is an approved food on the Whole Dog Journal’s list of dry foods for 2014. It does say they are co-packed. Last I knew they had about 6 different co-packers! Not sure anymore, though, as I don’t feed it….I have in the past, though.

[Melissaandcrew]

Blue Buffalo? Last thing I heard was Simmons for canned and CJ Foods for the dry, but I think they may have more than one for the dry products.

[Melissaandcrew]

Just wanted to update this. Have been grinding raw components since Oct and MOSt do well with it. However, I do have two 14 yr olds and a 16 yr old who do NOT do well with raw-They lost a bunch of weight which was quickly regained once they went back on dry. No way would they eat the volume in raw to keep weight on. Lesson confirmed-raw does NOT work for all dogs.

Secondly, Hubby helped me grind my chicken pieces the other night-it will be at least a week for it to be shipped to the company, have gears replaced and get it back. Thankfully its under warranty and the company I bought the Tassan from does not void the warranty for grinding chicken bones in the Tassan.

On the bright side, Hubby thought the food making was taking way too much time away from other things we need to do, so he just ordered a new one. After watching some videos of the Wesson’s grinding, he ordered the Wesson 32 since it said it was good for large volumes. His thought is we can process en masse once a month or every other and save a bunch of time!

I still recc the Tassan for those grinding a small amount, or those looking to try a grinder out before committing to an expensive purchase. I figure with this one I can grind whole turkeys without worrying about damage.

[theBCnut]

/dog-food-reviews/grandma-lucys-pureformance/
/dog-food-reviews/stella-chewys-raw-freeze-dried/

I would assume it is because Mike decided not very long ago how he was going to categorize freeze dried and dehyrated foods, so he hasn’t got to all of them to add tags for the dry list, since they aren’t really like a regular dry food. You should go down to the bottom of the page and shoot him an email about it. He likes to be informed about the things like that that we find so he can fix them.

[“Blue”]

Rather than start a new thread, I will post here, where my new question seems to fit anyway. Under the 5 Star Dry Dog Foods is listed Primal Freeze Dried Formula, but not the 5 Star rated Stella & Chewys FD and the Grandma Lucy’s FD. Is there a reason for this or just an oversight?

[Shasta220]

Ah, sounds like cats are quite the problem causes LOL! Usually we buy small enough packs of meat that they don’t need to be frozen, she eats them before they go bad (if I ever add organs, then they usually get frozen since one package lasts a looooong time for Ms. Picky Britches). Millie is our raw eater, refusing ANY commercial foods, then her younger brother, Panda, loves his dry (it’s hilarious – he’s always been on the dirt cheap dry food and /only/ liked his Cat Chow. We finally switched to Chicken Soup, and it took him a few days to adjust. We still keep cat chow around as treats for the ducks/chickens, and when we left a scoop of it out, Panda was there munching away on the food! The little dork prefers the cheap taste over quality lol). Then Maddy is the least picky, she doesn’t like raw, but that’s fine since she eats canned daily.

Well, I will just have to keep playing around with proportions for the goofy kitty.

Does anyone know how to post pictures? I’d love to show her to you guys, she is a very very unique kitty. Cream/chocolate tortoiseshell and has a perfectly split face (half white, half brown). Big blue eyes, white feet.

[theBCnut]

What I know and what I can get my cats to eat are 2 totally different things. 🙂 They just don’t really want to go along with raw feeding. At least I’ve been able to get 2 of them on canned food. My oldest is dry all the way, she won’t even smell canned or raw foods. The 2 younger ones will eat about 1/2 oz of raw, then they’ll just walk away. I can’t begin to tell you how much raw cat food my dogs have had to eat for me. Gideon has a “clean up the mess” command.

[freshley]

I’m trying to switch my pup to adult food and it seems like every good quality dog food I find that is reasonably priced and fairly easy to get locally, I find out is being produced by Diamond. After all the recalls, and how they handled the situation, I don’t feel like they can be trusted. Seems like they all go to them so they can save a few bucks, problem is the quality goes down as Diamond doesn’t seem to give a crap about quality.

[Bobby dog]

Thanks for the coupon tips. I will ask them which competitor’s coupons they honor.

Just one more thought for you. If you do decide to add H2O to the dry food, I am not sure how quickly it would be absorbed and what kind of consistency your cat may like it to be. Maybe you could add just enough H2O to it the night before to break it down, put it in a container in the fridge to keep it fresh, then add more H2O prior to feeding it to him if necessary. This is how I make my horses’ meals every day. I prep their meals for dinner at breakfast and meals for breakfast at dinner time. I add just enough H2O to break down the hay pellets, then when I feed I add more hot H2O to make a mash.

[Bobby dog]

What a big kitty! I love the tuffs of fur sticking up between his toes. I would think any way you can add moisture to the food he is eating, wet or dry, is a good thing. I add one to two tablespoons of H2O to the canned food I feed my cats at each meal; it makes it like a toothpaste consistency.
Funny you mention Innova Nature’s Table. One of the pet stores I shop at always has a great 50% off section. The food I have bought is never even close to expired. They quickly discount food that doesn’t sell so they can stock more of their popular varieties. They had Innova’s “Prime” GF Chicken for 50% off. Innova renamed their “Prime” line of food “Nature’s Table,” so the store put the old bags on sale. I got a 5 lb bag for $5.00. I was afraid to buy more because I did not know if they would like it. My cats are extremely picky and they do like this food and the ingredients look good. If I make it back to the store I will buy more at 50% off. I will definately add it to the list of dry food they like. I believe Innova might have had a recall recently, but we always have to be on the lookoout for recalls. I also have a small bag of Merrick GF chicken I bought on sale that I will be feeding them after the Innova. By the way, I think you have a great line-up of food to try out on your new friend.

[Akari_32]

Thanks guys! I just weighed him myself, and– even under weight– he weighs 11.2 pounds!!! Omg lol Talk about food bills!

Just curious on the dry subject, can I add water to his dry food? He doesn’t seem to have had much water today, even though he ate all his dry food. He did drink some yesterday, though, and I refilled his bowl once (it’s not a large bowl).

Also, I ditched the Nutro Max. I traded it for EVO. But I just realized that the EVO has herring meal in it! It’s like the 4th ingredient, though. It’s only a small bag, so that’s not much of a problem (2.2 pounds). I think next I will the Simply Nourish from PetSmart. I did see that Innova Natures Table had a cat food. Anyone have thoughts on that?

[Bobby dog]

Hi, congrats and he is gorgeous! As far as how much to feed your kitty, if you are going to feed wet and dry food I would suggest you check out the feeding guide on the dry food you are feeding him. For example, Wellness has a guide on their bag suggesting how much to feed your cats if you are feeding only dry or a combo of wet and dry according to your cat’s weight. When you decide on an amount just observe your cat’s body condition and adjust your food amounts accordingly.
I have had cats ever since I can remember and still have lots to learn. I have two 15 yrs, one 14 yrs, one 11 yrs, and one 6 yrs, all stray cats. I wish I never fed them wheat, corn, soy, fish, or dry food. I lost two that were 15 years old about four years ago to illnesses that bad nutrition surely contributed to; digestion problems, obesity, and the male had urinary tract issues throughout his life. I have one cat that was diagnosed about five years ago with a hyperthyroid; he requires daily meds now. I have slowly changed their diets over the past five months, but at their ages change is difficult so they still need their fish and dry food fixes. Most importantly I have weaned them off of Friskies. I might not ever be able to completely ween them off of fish or dry food. If I paid more attention to their diets I truly believe I would not have had the vet bills I had over the years. About four years ago an emergency room visit in the middle of the night for my male cat’s urinary tract infection cost me about $2,000 to get him well.
My advice is to feed them the best wet diet that fits your budget. Avoid soy, wheat, corn, and fish. Stick to poultry, lamb, rabbit or beef if possible. If you are going to feed dry find a good quality GF dry.
I am with Crazy4cats, my go to website is catinfo.org. My other favorite is the naturalcatcareblog.com. They have a great list of dry and dehydrated foods and the reason they recommend them. I feed wet three times a day (totalling about 3-5 oz./cat) and give them a small scoop of dry once a day. I am on a very tight budget as well so I only buy food that I either have coupons for, on sale, or on the 50% off shelf. I feed Natures Variety raw (when they e-mail coupons), 4Health from Tractor Supply, Merrick, Wellness, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic (chic only, K3 is in the other varieties), Blue Buffalo, and Evo. I am always trying new canned foods using the information I learned about food from catinfo as a guide. I also feed them boiled chicken two or three days a week as one of their meals to help keep costs down. For dry I have been feeding Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (bought with the $5 coupon from their site of course) because there is no fish meal in the recipe. I just bought a bag of Merrick GF chic on sale which they seem to like.
Sorry for the long post, maybe something I have written will be helpful for you. Good luck, he’s one lucky kitty!

[Mom2Cavs]

Yes, definitely wet food is better than dry. I do feed my cat dry and wet. I believe I’ve posted before that she gets wet (canned food, and sometimes premade raw) in the morning and evening and dry is left out all the time (I replenish it if she doesn’t finish it in a timely manner). She likes to eat this way. She loves nibbling the dry food in between breakfast and dinner. She also drinks plenty of water. So, if you can give wet along with any dry all the better. 🙂

[Molzy]

He is gorgeous!! Congrats!

Wet food is SO important for male cats! Luckily they are a lot smaller than dogs – I can feed my 10lb cat a commercial raw diet for less than a dollar a day. His coat is gorgeous, and it keeps urinary tract infections at bay! Ralph is on natures variety raw chicken. But even canned food is better than dry (Ralph only gets dry if I leave overnight without a pet sitter).

I could do natures variety even cheaper, but the medallions are SO convenient!

[soccerman1933]

Would you review the new dry dog foods available at BJ’s Wholesle Club. They are distributed by BJ’s and the brand name is “Earth Pride Pet” dry dog food.

[Akari_32]

How much, do you think? He’s a *big* boy! I hoping for a vets visit tomorrow, so he can be weighed then. But in his defense, Bentley did eat about half of his dry food before I could stop him lol

[Akari_32]

So I need some tips. The cat is starving. He ate all his food last night, and this morning input down exactly the same (~1/8 cup of dry food, and a nice big tablespoon of canned food). He’s eaten it all, and is currently chasing around the bowl that had the canned food in it. He’s thin, but he’s in no way dangerously skinny. I can just barely feel his spine and ribs, but his hips are a little obvious when you feel around under all that fur. He’s not that bad, though, and he’s happily eaten a few crickets as well (he knocked a Kritter keeper full of them off the table, and I missed a few in the clean up lol). I don’t want to give him too much food all at once, and make him sick or something, but it’s pretty pathetic that he’s chasing his food dish around! Thoughts?

[Shasta220]

I’m sorry, but I will go through the sob story of Millie. We rescued her as a 5wk kitten. I thought she was old enough to start cat food, but Dad insisted on dropper feeding her for a few days. I have no clue if that had anything to do with it, but she refused cat food when we offered it to her about a week later.

We tried dry, canned, organic, flaked, pouched. She sniffed it and backed up as if it was rotten. We got desperate enough to try “starving” her, offering NOTHING but cat food. She went a week without any food, and still had zero desire for cat food, even after force feeding it to her.

Eventually she got to eating kitchen meat scraps, hot dogs, and cheese (I’m repulsed too, but I simply knew /nothing/ about feline nutrition back then. It’s in the past now and can’t be changed – so please don’t chew me out, I’ve scolded myself enough for letting my parents feed that to her LOL!)…

A couple years ago we took her to the vet for urinary issues. They gave her some meds and she cleared right up, but it’s back now.

Her current diet is *shameful face* raw chicken legs. I wish we could some how get some supplements into her diet, but I’ve tried adding a basic supplemental powder (I added about 1/4 of a day’s worth into some ground meat), and she immediately detected it and refused.

I’m just wondering what the most basic raw diet is out there that I can get away with. I can’t try ANYTHING that’s commercial, as she’s turned her nose up at it ALL, I promise. She likes muscle meat/fat from almost every protein source, and she eats almost the whole leg bone of the chicken, so I’m not at all worried about her calcium. I’ve offered her heart/gizzard/liver, and she refused. Occasionally when I grind her meat, I can sneak about 10% liver/heart into it, but that’s it. I tried adding an egg, but she doesn’t like them (occasionally she’ll eat them cooked).

So, what /will/ she eat? She, obviously, likes her muscle meat/fat/bone, and she likes cheese/milk (no yogurt), peanut butter, and coconut oil.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has a cat as miserably picky as her, and how they manage to get at least SOME of the required nutrients into the diet….because I’m sick and tired of cleaning her messes (I thought her walking into the litterbox and forgetting to turn around was just her personality, but after doing some research, I found that “missing” is a further sign of urinary problems).

Please don’t tell me “just take her to the vet” because we have. They’ve done all they can do – it’s all up to her and what she will/won’t put in her mouth.

Sorry for being so long-winded, and sorry if it was confusing at all…but I’m a bit confused myself. Why can’t she be like the other cats and just eat some balanced canned/dry food? I don’t know -_-

[Akari_32]

He doesn’t seem at all like the type to bolt out an open door. Someone dumped this cat, I’m sure of it. He’s shy and skittish, but boy can be get in to trouble! He escaped from the bathroom, then after a while jumped the step-over gate in the hallway. I figured I’d just let him roam the house. He’s already been climbing all over the kitchen table, tried to jump on both reptile tanks in the living room, found the blinds on the back door… Lol

He seems very healthy. I checked his teeth, and they looks great, his coat is solid, he’s super soft. So I’m really worried about him giving the dogs anything. I’ve got him locked in the bathroom for the night, though, and I’ll lock him in there when I go to work tomorrow. He can’t be trusted alone just yet, it seems LOL

The good news is, he knows what to do in the litter box! Thank god lol that would be terrible if he didn’t.

He’s starving, it seems, so I think at this point he’ll anything. He did end up going back for that dry food. And he got into moms room and under black hole of a bed, so I had to lure him out with even more canned food. He’s eaten two tablespoons of Friskies and about 1/8 cup (less, really) of the Max Cat. And I saw poop and pee in his litter box when I went In the bathroom to get him to stop clawing on the door lol Turns out, the litter I bought is NOT clumping. I flushed the poop down the toilet, but can’t do anything about the pee. That’s ok, I guess. I’ll buy better litter later. I bought everything but the Innova, EVO and Max Cat at the dollar store. Can’t expect much from dollar store cat litter LOL But his bowls are really cute! :p

Another friend of mine and I have decided that if I can’t keep the cat (it’s up to mom, in the end, after all), that she will take him. They’ve got another cat, and they should get along great.

[Akari_32]

HE’S SO FLUFFY! And very sweet. He’s already taken to me. And eating lol I bought him a huge can of Friskies at the dollar store, expecting much if it to go to waste while I figured out what he liked and got him eating. I put down three bowls, water, canned food, and dry food. Made a mess of the water, ignored the dry, and inhaled the Friskies. Good thing also bought a can of Innova and a can of EVO! If he doesn’t eat the dry (which, whatever) I’ll give it to my friend (It’s just the Nutro Max Kitten, nothing special).

[Mom2Cavs]

What you are giving him sounds like a good plan. The Nature’s Logic fortifier is a whole food supplement and I believe should not be “too much”. I really don’t know if you mean you might overdose him on something or if it’s too rich. But, either way, it should be a healthy supplement to add if he tolerates it. All the rest are fine, too. The doses for all these supplements for such a small dog should be small, as well. If you are worried about changing the taste of his food and him not eating, then you could use something else to help deliver the supplement, like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc…. to put some of the supplements in and give as a treat. As for the joint supplement, you could always get one that is packaged like a treat and give it that way, so it doesn’t have to be mixed into his food. The coconut oil would probably be licked right off your finger as a treat, and if the fish oil is a gel cap you could wrap it in something, like cheese, or use cream cheese and cover it and give as a treat, as well. The probiotics and enzymes shouldn’t change the taste of the food. And as far as him being healthier without all the supplementation….sometimes supplements can cause issues, like allergic ones, or loose stool, etc., so it is a choice you have to make, whether or not to give, and if you do want to give supplements to try to find those that the dog can accept either in his food or as a treat. I should know all this because I have smaller dogs who don’t eat that much food and I do like to give supplements. Lucy, my Mixed Breed, has a rare type of skin cancer (I believe she’s in remission, atm, yay!) and she takes a liquid maitake mushroom supplement in her canned/dry food every morning. I was very worried she might not take it in her food and I’d have to get creative, but she has with no problems…very good, lol. I also give Standard Process supplements, which are powders, and sometimes they will give a little loose stool, so I back off a little. If I feel I’m overloading them with supplements I tend to break it all up between morning and evening or give as a treat during the day. Sometimes I don’t give a supplement every day, but every other. I also evaluate their supplements at times to determine if I still need to give something or if I can stop for awhile. I also like to rotate supplements, too. I will give Wholistic Pet for awhile and them I’ll switch and give Nature’s Farmacy stuff, or Springtime, Inc. I’ve used cream cheese to give pill type supplements to Lucy because she’s picky. The Cavaliers tend to just eat anything I give them lol. These methods have worked with my dogs and I hope some of the suggestion help.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Honeybeesmom1]

Hi Akari, I don’t know why your sweet Bentley coughs. Maybe dry food on his throat?
I give my other 2 dry food w/ a tiny bit of water – but Honeybee only eats canned & dehydrated. He inhales dry food and he just doesn’t do good on it. He coughs when his trachea is acting up or when he gets itchy skin. I didn’t even see the pollen when I had him outside yesterday…or he never would have been out! Keeping him inside is easy…it’s COLD out and he don’t like it. LOL He also gets this way in summer with the grass. Breaks out in hives and skin turns red.
What do you think of Dr. Harvey’s Emune Boost supplement with bee pollen and other good herbs? Maybe that would do Bentley and Honeybee some good.
I rinsed his feet with water and vinegar and no outside for awhile for him. They can keep us on our toes, huh? Lil stinkers!

[tamneggs]

Do the Kyjen bowls work if you have dry & wet food mixed or is it only for dry? What is recommended for wet food or a mix? I’m using Kongs now but they are a pain to fill multiple times for a large lab mix.

[Hamlin38]

Hi Dr. Mike,

I haven’t seen a rating on Sojourner Farms, or Sojo’s.

That’s been my dog’s diet for over a year. I like it. Well, and they do to.

I prefer it over the other freeze dried raw foods because the protein/fat content is lower than say Stella & Chewey’s or Primal. Not that I haven’t heard or seen great things with dogs who’s diets consists of the latter, the price/volume ratio is greater than what I can afford.

There is a downside to Sojo’s I have to admit. After rehydration, the Guaranteed Analysis for Protein/Fat is greatly reduced. So much so I have to add my own because I have big! active and young dogs.

And it’s reported to me that the stool is greater -which I’d expect from Dry Dog Food -which I refuse to serve. Bad for the teeth, bad for the digestive tract, bad for the adrenal system -the biological filter intended to remove undigestible material like ash -which any dry dog food is chocked full of.

Quick aside: I don’t know how many people come to me and say, but what about their teeth? The crunchy’s clean their teeth. Dr. Mike, you know in your profession, Captain Crunch doesn’t do well for dental health. Nor does any carb -and that’s what it takes to bind the ingredients to make a kibble.

NO DRY FOOD! EVER!

[tjodei]

we have a 3 month old yorkie that weighs 4.5lbs.. the vet has determined he has an allergy to his current dry food and suggested we get a grain free food…I have been looking online and none of the ones I have seen are specifically for a puppy.. Help! I know he is not considered a puppy until 6 months.. any and all suggestions are appreciated..

[Dori]

My Maltese, Hannah, weights 8 lbs. She’s not the one with the allergies. My allergy dog is Katie, 7 lb. champagne color Maltipoo. Poor thing is or I should say was a real mess. More problems than any one dog should have. Have you looked on line to see what you can get? Also the Pet Supermarket probably has better stuff also. It’s time consuming because you’ll need to read the ingredients listed. Just try to find something that has the least amount of ingredients in it and that you can actually recognize what they are. Also try to find one that says it’s soap less. Not sure why Bentley would have the oily problem after shampooing and not the others. But maybe you can get a shampoo that works for Bentley and not use it on the other two that don’t have the skin issues. Does he have food issues? If so, what is he allergic or intolerant to? It’s exhausting and time consuming trying to find things that dogs with intolerances to food and environment can deal with. Took me 4 years to get Katie to a level where she’s happy, healthy. No more scratching, sores, bad breath, bad gas. There were times I thought it would never happen but I just kept lists of everything I fed her so that every time I had a problem with something I would try to figure out the offending ingredients whether it was food or shampoo. The shampoo issue was the last thing that I finally figured out. I was even trying prescription shampoos which were ridiculously expensive and did not help at all. I also found that she was having issues with the laundry detergents so I switched everything to dye free fragrance free. I no longer burn candles in the house. Nothing that can possibly bother her. Like I said. It’s been like a full time job and exhausting. But when I see her now I know it was worth all the work.

[Akari_32]

PetSmart dry list!

Simply nourish source
Organix
Natures recipe grain free
Simply nourish LID
Wellness CORE
Blue buffalo wilderness
Blue buffalo freedom

Blue buffalo’s cat food is pretty cheap, considering! I was surprised. Their dog food is outrageous lol

[Akari_32]

She hasn’t caught him yet. She told me before she only goes out there a few times a week to feed him, so I’ll give it some time.

I’ve heard about that fish thing. I’ll be using mostly poultry and beef. I figure a can of fish here and there won’t hurt though, if I have to or for a treat or whatever, but I won’t use it on a regular basis.

The Simply Norish (both kinds) is only on my list for when it’s on a good sale. It looks like a good quality, but the protein is a little low from what I can tell. Lots of people have good things to say about it, though, and I like the looks of the Source dry food. I just have to see how much is fed before that goes down on my dry list, since it’s pretty expensive.

[aquariangt]

I use Simply Nourish canned stuff for my dogs and my cat. I have trouble getting her to eat wet food, even as a topper. They make Stew style ones that I can mix into the dry food that she’ll still eat

[aquariangt]

Just curious as to some opinions on dry foods with close to 40% protein analysis. The sheltie is getting fairly active (agility) but the other two are mostly house dogs- not much more than walks, though I have a yard so they can run.

I do like to keep them on the same food, but would the high protein food be unhealthy for the others, or is it not going to cause too much unhealthy weight gain? Also- hip and joint supplements, yay or nay? Vet said she should with her agility stuff, but of course, I rarely pay attention to them re:nutrition

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by aquariangt.