Cat Food

Whatever food you try introduce it in small doses with the old food. No matter how good the food they always seem to bar it up to start!
I had to go threw a few foods until I found one they didn't barf up all the time.
:)

Honestly, I feed mine whatever is on sale! I/they like Friskees Indoor formula. I also by a store generic brand that has an indoor formula.

I also have two indoor cats and I feed them Purina Cat Chow indoor blend and I have never had a problem with it. Make sure that if you do change their food that you do it slowly by mixing the two foods and slowly cutting out the old food. That way you give their stomaches a chance to get used to the change.

My cats like Evo and Taste of the Wild.

this quick website page goes over the different types of cat food and has links to recomended brands. http://www.purebredcatrescue.org/diet-nutrition

You can also google for lots of information: http://tinyurl.com/24fsghw

We ahve fed our three cats Iams Healthy Naturals for years and they have never had any issues.
Why would you want to switch?

I love my cats and have had cats all my life. But they are expensive and some of the foods out there are very expensive. I am sure they are great and very healthy for the cats but sorry feeding my children and the family is more important. I used to feed my cats Friskies all the time and my cats never had a problem. Yes I have seen other cat foods give them urinary problems. I moved up to what I would call middle of the road to the Kirkland brand from Costco. The cats seems to really like it. There is also one for seniors also in the Kirkland brands. I live far away from a Costco but that is one thing I actually plan out so that I can get them this cat food.

I fed my cats Science Diet and they seemed to do well on it. Just make sure you watch the magnesium content in cat food-- that's what could give them urinary tract/kidney problems and is usually found in higher doses in the cheaper brands.

My vet recommended Evo Innova, the no grain, purple bag. The cats love it and it is good for them.

There are a few things to consider when purchasing food.
1. In most cases the more it costs the better quality ingredients used
2. There are only four companies with veterinary nutritionists on staff: Hills (Science diet), Royal canine, Purina, and Natura. So who is formulating the other foods?
3. The AAFCO label (it is tiny on the bag but really important)
- if it says formulated for all life stages that is a kitten food and you should not feed an adult animal that food. It should say adult maintenance. If it is an adult food on the AAFCO label it should match what it says on the front of the bag. A lot of time they market adult food and it is actually kitten food.
- the other thing to look for is whether it is formulated or feeding tests done. Formulated means it was never fed to animals prior to sale and feeding tests mean trials were done to see how the food is processed and handled in pets.

I currently feed my cats a prescription diet which is Science diet. I think Science diet and Royal canin are high quality food.

Good luck. Also in case you don't know do a gradual change over a few weeks so it doesn't cause stomach upset or refusal by a quick switch.

We feed our cat Purina Kitten Chow because he is still a kitten, but he is very healthy and has a very soft, shiny coat. We are pleased with it.
J.

One thing to consider is whether or not either of your cats is a neutered male. They are prone to urinary tract problems and will do better in their advanced years if you have them on Urinary Tract Health food. I feed both of mine Purina One Urinary Health and haven't had any problems. I had them on the Wal-Mart brand "Special Kitty Urinary Health" but had problems with them shedding considerably more.
When you switch foods, be sure to make it a gradual change, adding a little more of the new food to their original food each day to avoid upset stomachs.

If your reason is to save money, feed them table scraps. The last time I saw the price of IAMS, I could buy whole fryers cheaper (chicken) and I think its better for them.

Good luck to you and yours.

You'll probably save a lot on vet bills in the long run by feeding your cats good food, like Iams. Just like people, eating junk catches up with cats! Also, with due respect to the person who said feed cats table scraps, those whole chickens would only be a good option if the bones and innards are still attached and fed to your kitty (not to be gross). The muscle part of the animal alone (meat) isn't balanced enough for a complete diet, even for carnivores.

My first question is, Why do you wan't to change from IAMS? It's one of only a few diets that are recomended by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (vohc.org) and is proven to help promote good dental health. Unless you want to start brushing your cat's teeth or spend more money for more frequent dental cleanings at your vet, I would consider that the level of your cat's oral health has been dependent on the IAMS diet up until this point.

IAMS is also available at many grocery stores making it easily accessible to pick up.

Now assuming there is a medical reason basing your decision to change, then I would consult with your veterinarian as to the best choice.

I really like the Royal Canin and Natural Balance foods. Mine mainly eat prescirption food, since one needs a urinary diet (made by royal canin). I also use a dental diet, one cat eats mainly a dental diet since it is very hard to brush her teeth like the others and it does help keep the plaque and tarter from building up.

I have only ever fed my cat Purina Indoor Formula. It is suppose to have enough plant material/fiber and everything else. Our cat has always been at the perfect weight and we keep it out and available all the time. I have been too afraid to switch since he does great with it and it is not too expensive. :)

My cat has been on prescription food for over 10 years because he's horribly obese. We haven't identified the cause, so he's been on Purina DM (diabetes management) even though he doesn't have diabetes. It's basically the kitty version of the Atkin's diet......which I don't personally recommend for humans, but it's much more like what he'd eat in the wild.

When I was laid off, and the cost of a bag of his food was over $45/month, we called the vet, and she made some recommendations.

Depending on your cats' health, I'd really ask your vet what they recommend. IAMS is good, as is Hill's Science Diet. Purina has some high end brands (Purina One, etc). I believe our cat is on Nutra Gold now, but I may be confusing that with our dog's food.

Your vet should be able to quickly and easily make recommendations. We've found stores like Pet Supplies Plus (if you have them locally) tend to carry more than PetsMart at a lower cost generally.

We feed Blue Buffalo. It is a holistic food with human-grade ingredients. You can buy it at Petsmart. However, it is quite expensive, so it might depend on your reasons for switching food.

I am not sure what we feed our cats. They are outdoors. I will just remind you that it is hard on cats to switch their food. We just switched ours because prices went up. We bought both the old and the new, mixed them together until both bags were gone. Then we just bought the new. This seemed to work fine. We had bought different stuff in the past (just because, cheaper, different store.) and a total different food did havok on my cat's insides. We were cleaning up after it, NOT fun. Good luck. Oh, we also use dry.