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neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.
I know Orijen's about as good as it's possible for a dry food to be. I certainly wouldn't worry about them being unhealthy on it at all, so long as they're getting enough water.

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a life less
Jul 12, 2009

We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.

I switched kibble 3-4 weeks ago, and I'm posting to say that I'm pretty impressed. I was feeding Orijen 6 fish, and at the store owner's recommendation I bought a bag of Salmon Pulsar by Horizon (http://www.horizonpetfood.com/pulsar). Going in, I was really only looking for a cheaper food (which it is - it's almost half as much as what I was paying before). The transition was easy, and now that some time has passed I'm realizing how nice my dogs' coats are. They're soft, they smell good and they're not at all greasy. I found Cohen to look & feel a bit greasy on Orijen, but she looks freshly groomed all the time now.

On top of it all, the Global Pet Foods store owner advised me that the food was under a guarantee (by whom, I don't know) and if my dogs didn't like it, or if I was unhappy about it, I could return an open bag and whatever food remained would be donated to an animal shelter.

The only downside is that the kibble seems to be a bit too big and hard for my chihuahua, so she eats most of it by just swallowing it whole.

oddeye
Jul 24, 2005

Pulsar is a really good food IMO and I'm not biased at all considering its made about 250 km from where I live, and I feed it to my own dogs. As much of the ingredients possible are sourced within 100km of their plant. ..which I've toured. It's a really nice and clean facility. They are also breaking ground on a second facility to make a beef based product as well.

My only gripe with Horizon is that they really haven't nailed down a cat kibble yet. We get a lot of returns of the Legacy cat food they make.

You should add a bit of lukewarm water to the chihuahuas food. It'll help with digestion.

Braki
Aug 9, 2006

Happy birthday!
Yeah, Horizon is local to this province, and I really like them. They're doing nutrition research with my vet school too, and research with pet food companies is always a plus.

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat
This isn't a food-related question but it does involve eating: is it bad that my corgi only ever eats when I or my girlfriend is home (usually it requires both of us)? We were gone 12 hours straight yesterday, I filled up his food bowl before we left and when we got back he had touched none of it. He usually operates like this but yesterday struck as especially odd, as by the time we got home he hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours.

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

C-Euro posted:

This isn't a food-related question but it does involve eating: is it bad that my corgi only ever eats when I or my girlfriend is home (usually it requires both of us)? We were gone 12 hours straight yesterday, I filled up his food bowl before we left and when we got back he had touched none of it. He usually operates like this but yesterday struck as especially odd, as by the time we got home he hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours.

It's certainly different, but for most dogs it is not a problem.

Cats are a bit different, specifically the fat ones. Those can run into trouble if they haven't eaten for over a few days.

Tayter Swift
Nov 18, 2002

Pillbug

C-Euro posted:

This isn't a food-related question but it does involve eating: is it bad that my corgi only ever eats when I or my girlfriend is home (usually it requires both of us)? We were gone 12 hours straight yesterday, I filled up his food bowl before we left and when we got back he had touched none of it. He usually operates like this but yesterday struck as especially odd, as by the time we got home he hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours.

Par for the course for my dog :shobon: I measure food in the morning and leave it out for him during the day when I'm at work but he won't get around to eating until we're home from the dog park around 7pm.

Dogs are weird.

Spermy Smurf
Jul 2, 2004
I recently got a job at a place that makes all sorts of dog/cat/horse/cow/whatever food.

This is what I currently feed my dogs:
http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/dog-food/natural/pork-sweet-potato-flavor.php

And this is what they make:
Expensive:
http://www.poulingrain.com/product_details.php?product_id=257&category_id=7

Less expensive:
http://www.poulingrain.com/product_details.php?product_id=279&category_id=7
http://www.poulingrain.com/product_details.php?product_id=280&category_id=7
http://www.poulingrain.com/product_details.php?product_id=281&category_id=7


I can get "open bag" stuff for like half price. Anything that gets ripped or damaged during production is sold to employees for half price.

Are any of these worth switching to? I simply dont know enough about it to analyze food, other than the list of ingredients.

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

What you currently feed and their less expensive brands are fairly carb heavy with lots of different carb sources, but otherwise look fine. They're nothing special.

The expensive one you posted has a lot more protein, so if you want to switch to a high protein food then that's the one to go for.

Prism Mirror Lens
Oct 9, 2012

~*"The most intelligent and meaning-rich film he could think of was Shaun of the Dead, I don't think either brain is going to absorb anything you post."*~




:chord:
My mum's visiting at the moment with her rough collie pup who is entirely raw fed. I was really sceptical at first because she's, er, a bit airy-fairy and believes in homoeopathy and all sorts, but after a couple of days I'm pretty much convinced to be honest - he barely smells of anything even when wet, his breath has no smell at all, his teeth are bright white and he never begs for food at the table because he just doesn't see anything that isn't raw meat as food. Compared to our last dog, who was fed on various wet and dry foods and constantly smelled awful and had stomach problems no matter what, it's amazing. I'm a bit concerned about her feeding the dog garlic though, all the pages I can find that say it isn't toxic are total woo about how garlic is an ~ancient natural antioxidant~?

Only problem is that he's completely impossible to motivate with regular pet store treats. He could not care less about anything that isn't dried liver. Oh, and coming home to find defrosting rabbits and blocks of tripe in the sink, and this going on in the living room (note the completely ignored mat) :barf:

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat

Eegah posted:

Par for the course for my dog :shobon: I measure food in the morning and leave it out for him during the day when I'm at work but he won't get around to eating until we're home from the dog park around 7pm.

Dogs are weird.

Does yours pick bits of food out of his bowl, lay them out individually on the floor and then eat them?

Tayter Swift
Nov 18, 2002

Pillbug
Haha no but I've known other dogs to do that.

One fun quirk he does have though: When he's finished off the bowl he'll "ring" it by tipping it slightly with his foot like a kick drum. It's a typical Correl bowl and makes a pretty distinctive ring. If he still has food left in his daily allotment I'll dutifully fill it back up, after which he verifies that yes, there is food in the bowl and then walks away, leaving the food untouched.

Emasculatrix
Nov 30, 2004


Tell Me You Love Me.
I'm starting to get concerned with my cat's (lack of) weight. She has 24 hour access to Wellness canned cat food. Is there something else I can feed her to help her fatten up a bit? In case anyone asks, she's not sick and has seen a vet recently.

Hummingbirds
Feb 17, 2011

Emasculatrix posted:

I'm starting to get concerned with my cat's (lack of) weight. She has 24 hour access to Wellness canned cat food. Is there something else I can feed her to help her fatten up a bit? In case anyone asks, she's not sick and has seen a vet recently.

Just curious, but how does she have 24 access to wet food? Are you just leaving it out?

Will she eat kibble? You could supplement with a calorie-dense one like solid gold indigo moon. It's got something like 450 cal in a cup.

E: also, is she actually underweight? What's her body score?

Emasculatrix
Nov 30, 2004


Tell Me You Love Me.

Hummingbirds posted:

Just curious, but how does she have 24 access to wet food? Are you just leaving it out?

Will she eat kibble? You could supplement with a calorie-dense one like solid gold indigo moon. It's got something like 450 cal in a cup.

E: also, is she actually underweight? What's her body score?

Yeah, we leave it out and replace it pretty frequently. She'll eat kibble, so I'll see about adding some indigo moon to her diet. I'm not sure what her "score" is, and it's hard to tell because she's got so much fur, but I can feel all of her bones. As it's started to get colder she doesn't even have a thin layer of fat over her ribs or spinal cord anymore. When you touch through the fur you pretty much just touch cat skeleton.

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~
Have you been to the vet about this? Have you tried a variety of foods (even crappy brands) just to see if she'll willingly eat any of them?

Emasculatrix
Nov 30, 2004


Tell Me You Love Me.

Kerfuffle posted:

Have you been to the vet about this? Have you tried a variety of foods (even crappy brands) just to see if she'll willingly eat any of them?


She likes her food, and isn't picky at all. The vet said she's not unhealthily underweight, just to keep an eye on her in case she loses weight. Now that she's an old lady cat, I've started to keep a closer eye on her and I'd feel more comfortable if she were a little heavier. I've just been thinking I can switch her food for something more fattening.

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~
Maybe kitten food? You could give it to her in addition to her wet food.

go_banana
Oct 13, 2010
Does anyone have any experience with Black Hawk pet food? I'm in Australia, so I don't have access to a lot on the list, and this stuff is cheaper and ticks off a lot on the list of the OP, without containing the stuff to avoid. For a 3 year old Australian Cattle Dog.

oishii
Aug 13, 2006
hat
This might be a dumb question, but do some kitties just have a really difficult time eating wet food? My oldest kitty LOVES kibble and will crunch that poo poo all day, but when it comes to wet food it's like she doesn't know how to eat it. She licks it a bit and then kinda turns her head side to side and licks her mouth- the way a dog would when it gets peanut butter stuck in their mouth. The food just gets mushed into the bottom of the bowl.
Is she just bad at food? It sucks when 3 out of 4 kitties will eat whatever but then the last one won't :argh:

Crooked Booty
Apr 2, 2009
arrr
I guess it's possible your cat is just dumb, but I tend to associate what you're describing with cats who have pain in their mouths. Has she had her mouth examined by a vet lately?

I've also seen a few cats who are missing most/all of their teeth do that with mushy pâté-style foods. If you're feeding a pâté-style food and her teeth are healthy, you might want to try something chunkier.

oishii
Aug 13, 2006
hat

Crooked Booty posted:

I guess it's possible your cat is just dumb, but I tend to associate what you're describing with cats who have pain in their mouths. Has she had her mouth examined by a vet lately?

I've also seen a few cats who are missing most/all of their teeth do that with mushy pâté-style foods. If you're feeding a pâté-style food and her teeth are healthy, you might want to try something chunkier.

That's what I thought at first too... when I took her to the vet they said she needs her teeth cleaned. She does have pretty icky breath. I wondered about the pain thing too but she'll happily crunch down on kibble all day long so I wasn't sure. I can try to find some chunky ones to try (she's already super picky about wet food)... I wish they made something other than pate style in the big cans!

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
So the store that I work at cleaning small animal cages, aquariums etc... has been having problems getting Solid Gold Indigo Moon in for a month.

I'm looking for which of these would be the best dry foods to feed temporarily. Chicken is pretty much their favorite flavors so that's the reason I listed the ones below.

They have Canidae Pure Elements which is 39% protein, grain free, 1 cat doesn't like Turkey (I'm not sure about Lamb) but it's mostly Chicken, and very affordable. They also have Wellness Complete Health Adult 36% protein, has all the flavors my picky cat likes, has grains (rice and barley) and priced in the middle of my 3 choices. Last but not least they also have Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken Meal, 49% protein, grain free and priced the highest, and I'm very weary of anything that has raw ingredients in it. They have several others like Core and Taste of the Wild but they have proteins one of my cats generally refuses to eat, so those are out of the question.

The small store I work for is more knowledgeable than a Petco but they still do quite a few things that I don't agree with and cringe at, so that's why I'm asking here rather than them.

Thank you for any assistance.

Edit: Got my notes mixed up.

The store gave me a sample of the Canidae/Felidae and my picky cat ate it so that's what I went with and mixing it half and half with Indigo Moon until I can get more of that.

nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Nov 23, 2013

ButWhatIf
Jun 24, 2009

HA HA HA

nunsexmonkrock posted:

I'm very weary of anything that has raw ingredients in it.

Don't be. Raw is just as good if not better than protein that has been through high heat and pressure processing.

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
I'll think about it, it's too high of a price for me to feed daily anyway. I'm a vegetarian so I don't know much about meats, it just seems bad because raw meats for human consumption isn't good because of e-coli, salmonella, parasites, etc. How do they make sure it won't make a pet sick?

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

Commercial raw diets are fairly safe as far as raw diets go. Usually the organisms in there wouldn't be a major issue for your pet (though pets can get bugs from raw/undercooked food if it's contaminated) though depending on your level of hygiene with pet food handling (or your cats tracking things around) could lead to a higher risk for yourself of getting something. If there's anyone who has any sort of compromised immune status who has regular contact with your cats, I would not feed raw.

I'm a fan of Wellness, myself.

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
Thanks for the info, anything raw probably wouldn't be good for me then. I constantly find kibbles in random places from my one cat that takes a mouthful and sometimes wanders somewhere else to eat it. But thank you for clarifying for me.

I do supplement with wet food, usually canned friskies crap because it's cheap and always on sale. But once in a while they get the expensive can of Wellness signature selects, Shredded White Meat Chicken and Beef Entree in Sauce is their absolute favorite.

Mondlicht
Oct 13, 2011

if history could set you free
A bit of background. I've been feeding my 6-7 year old cat Lola Solid Gold dry food for well almost two years now. I haven't had any problems with it, and while I meant to put her on canned at some point I ended up being out of work so I it had to wait. In a few months when my new job starts I'll be able to buy her good canned stuff, but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out what to do with her dry food situation.

She's been scratching her neck a lot lately, making tiny scabs and then eventually scratching them off. I always keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't infected, but I'm not sure if it's dry skin or an allergy. It's starting to become winter here, so I don't know if the cold/indoor heating is bothering her skin, or if she became allergic to the Solid Gold. I'm looking at trying Orijen, since I can buy it pretty easily here. I'm just curious if anyone has had any experience with a cat becoming allergic to their food. If it's something I need to take her into the vet for I'll suck up the debt and go, but I thought I would try this first. She's also gained a bit of weight, she's 10 lbs from around 8 lbs, and I'm not sure if it's the food or if she's just gaining weight due to age.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I feel like a bad cat mom being broke and not being able to do more, but thankfully she's been healthy all year up until all this scritchy scratchy business.

Dr. Chaco
Mar 30, 2005

Mondlicht posted:

A bit of background. I've been feeding my 6-7 year old cat Lola Solid Gold dry food for well almost two years now. I haven't had any problems with it, and while I meant to put her on canned at some point I ended up being out of work so I it had to wait. In a few months when my new job starts I'll be able to buy her good canned stuff, but in the mean time I'm trying to figure out what to do with her dry food situation.

She's been scratching her neck a lot lately, making tiny scabs and then eventually scratching them off. I always keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't infected, but I'm not sure if it's dry skin or an allergy. It's starting to become winter here, so I don't know if the cold/indoor heating is bothering her skin, or if she became allergic to the Solid Gold. I'm looking at trying Orijen, since I can buy it pretty easily here. I'm just curious if anyone has had any experience with a cat becoming allergic to their food. If it's something I need to take her into the vet for I'll suck up the debt and go, but I thought I would try this first. She's also gained a bit of weight, she's 10 lbs from around 8 lbs, and I'm not sure if it's the food or if she's just gaining weight due to age.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I feel like a bad cat mom being broke and not being able to do more, but thankfully she's been healthy all year up until all this scritchy scratchy business.

Certainly cats can develop food allergies, but they also scratch the same if they have a flea allergy--is she on flea meds?

Mondlicht
Oct 13, 2011

if history could set you free

Dr. Chaco posted:

Certainly cats can develop food allergies, but they also scratch the same if they have a flea allergy--is she on flea meds?

She's unfortunately not on any flea meds at the moment, like I said this year money has been pretty tight and I've neglected it. I'm not proud. I have a flea comb and I check her regularly, just in the absence of being able to prevent them I always make sure she doesn't actually have them. Especially now that she's scratching. All I get is just a bunch of dandruff.

Mondlicht fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Nov 24, 2013

Oil!
Nov 5, 2008

Der's e'rl in dem der hills!


Ham Wrangler
I just looked up Bully Sticks and no.

Dog no.

Seriously, why Dog, why.

It smells like a farmyard now...

lorabel
Apr 4, 2013

I've been having a really hard time with my dog. She's one of those maltese and poodle mixes I got when I was a kid when I didn't know anything about puppy mills ... and neither did my parents? Anyway, she has had problems because of that but we're living still. She's 11 years old and has been a picky eater for her entire life. It drives me insane. She can go without eating for up to a week, eat some, and then keep on. I tried being stubborn this past year (I've been feeding her Magnussons Meat & Biscuit) but I usually break down in worry and give her some wet food on top of it or some water or egg. She usually will eat around the kibble and just get what I put on-- except for the water. She'll sometimes eat it when it's all soft. She's been to the vet many times, they can't find anything wrong with her.

Her teeth are okay. I've gotten them cleaned yearly for about 4 years now because her teeth suck and get gross easily. I brush them once a week but will be moving it up to 3-4 times and give her chewies once or twice a month (because she won't eat so I've been avoiding treats and so on).

But then I thought, well maybe the food is just crap. It doesn't really smell like anything to me. So I did some googling and found Applaws and have switched her over (immediately, because she'd gone about 3 days without eating anyway, she's had no poop problems). She ate a full bowl without any sides the first meal, was picky for a couple of meals after that (I took it up after 15 minutes), and now she's been eating about 10-25 grams per meal. I don't know if that's enough? She's gotten really bony because she was recently sick and lost about a kilo (she's doing better but needs to gain weight bad). She's around 4 kilos but the vet likes her at around 6. Is 20-50 g a day enough for her to gain weight? She's been on it about a week now. It's the Applaws Small-Medium dogs (I bought this hoping the kibble would be a bit smaller for her, she doesn't seem to have any problem crunching it now, though she did at first). I've been much stricter now, if she doesn't eat, I just take it up-- no more adding stuff. This seems to work because she's even been eating when the kittens get their wet food.

Onto my other pets. I got some kittens about three and a half weeks ago when they were 16 weeks (I picked them because they had gotten to be around their mom for so long and got along really well with each other. They've both turned into cuddle monsters). So they're almost 20 weeks old now, the boy is getting neutered next Friday and I'm getting the girl done in January. I feed them http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/applaws/136604 Applaws, which is where I got the idea to switch my dog over to the same brand, and Bozita wet food http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/bozita/bozita_saver_packs/358729. They get 70g wet food divided over 2-3 meals a day and I put 50 g of dry food down in a bowl that they can eat from all day. Is this good enough for kittens? Both seem to be a really healthy weight with shiny, thick fur, clear eyes and lots of energy. Their poop is fine and they drink and pee regularly.

I noticed that Applaws is on the dog premium list but not the cats. Is there something wrong with the cat version that I missed? I figured Bozita isn't on there because it's a EU brand-- is it okay too?

Obligatory pics?



EDIT: Body scores! I would say that my dog's body score underneath all her fur is 3 right now (her hip bones are obvious, I can feel her spine much more, and all of her ribs. Her tummy is tucked up pretty high too. And my kittens are 5 (I don't want it to go down or up!).

I read that kittens that are around 2 kilos need 190g of wet food a day. That's why I'm giving them around 70g per day and then the other half with dry food (recommended 40g per cat per day, so I put out around 50g in total for them to split). Should I make the wet food a little more of the majority?

lorabel fucked around with this message at 10:52 on Dec 4, 2013

DressCodeBlue
Jun 15, 2006

Professional zombie impersonator.
Is Fromm's cat food as good is its stuff for dogs? My cat stopped eating his old food (Merrick Bistro) but I finally got him to chow down again on Fromm's Game Bird.

Edit: I know wet food is optimal, but trying to get this cat to eat it consistently has been like pulling teeth. The pickiest goddamn animal.

DressCodeBlue fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Dec 4, 2013

Emasculatrix
Nov 30, 2004


Tell Me You Love Me.

Hummingbirds posted:

Just curious, but how does she have 24 access to wet food? Are you just leaving it out?

Will she eat kibble? You could supplement with a calorie-dense one like solid gold indigo moon. It's got something like 450 cal in a cup.

E: also, is she actually underweight? What's her body score?

So I added some dry food to her diet. I couldn't find Indigo Moon but I did find Innova Evo. Over the past week of having both wet and dry food, she's filled out a little and I'm no longer worried about her. Success!

Hummingbirds
Feb 17, 2011

Emasculatrix posted:

So I added some dry food to her diet. I couldn't find Indigo Moon but I did find Innova Evo. Over the past week of having both wet and dry food, she's filled out a little and I'm no longer worried about her. Success!

Great! :) Glad to hear it!

Rah
Mar 9, 2006
Hi everyone. I have 2 kittens, one is around 12 weeks old and not sure about the other, but judging that she's a little bigger than my 12 week old, I guess 13 - 14 weeks (But I'll have a better idea once she has her vet appointment next week).

Currently I've been feeding the Go-Cat kitten dry food (They also get a pouch of Felix kitten wet food once per day). I couldn't find it on the list, so I was just wondering if someone could look at the ingredients and tell me if it's ok to continue feeding it to them. If it's not a good choice of food, could anyone make any suggestions of some good dry food for kittens that is available in the UK and not too expensive.

These are the ingredients:

quote:

Ingredient(s):

Meat and Animal Derivatives (Min 4% Chicken in Brown Kibbles), Cereals, Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and Fats, Minerals, Fish and Fish Derivatives, Yeast, Milk and Milk Derivatives (Min 4% Milk In Milk Kibbles), Vegetables (min. 4% Carrot In Orange Kibbles).


Also one of the kittens seems to pass wind a lot. She's been like it since I got her last Sunday so I'm not really sure yet if it's something to do with what she was being fed before I got her, whether she just naturally has a lot of wind, or whether there's something wrong. Since she came she's been on the same diet as my other kitten (Who very rarely passes wind), but it hasn't really changed much. Is it worth mentioning to the vet when we go next week?

Rah fucked around with this message at 08:58 on Dec 6, 2013

Crooked Booty
Apr 2, 2009
arrr

Rah posted:

Hi everyone. I have 2 kittens, one is around 12 weeks old and not sure about the other, but judging that she's a little bigger than my 12 week old, I guess 13 - 14 weeks (But I'll have a better idea once she has her vet appointment next week).

Currently I've been feeding the Go-Cat kitten dry food (They also get a pouch of Felix kitten wet food once per day). I couldn't find it on the list, so I was just wondering if someone could look at the ingredients and tell me if it's ok to continue feeding it to them. If it's not a good choice of food, could anyone make any suggestions of some good dry food for kittens that is available in the UK and not too expensive.

These are the ingredients:

Also one of the kittens seems to pass wind a lot. She's been like it since I got her last Sunday so I'm not really sure yet if it's something to do with what she was being fed before I got her, whether she just naturally has a lot of wind, or whether there's something wrong. Since she came she's been on the same diet as my other kitten (Who very rarely passes wind), but it hasn't really changed much. Is it worth mentioning to the vet when we go next week?
There is a US pet food called GO! that's pretty good, and there's a UK pet food called Go-Cat (made by Purina) that appears pretty mediocre. Does the box have total percentages of protein/fat/carbs on it? I can't find that info online, and UK pet food labeling makes no sense to me. :shobon:

Just based on the pictures of the box, it appears to be full of artificial colors and it's made in weird shapes, so it's probably similar to our Meow Mix or something. If you can afford it, Applaws and Nature's Menu are probably the best UK cat foods I'm aware of. Applaws makes a dry kitten food; not sure about Nature's Menu. A step down from those would be something like Arden Grange or James Wellbeloved. Maybe someone who lives in the UK will have other suggestions.

As for the passing gas, I generally take that as a sign that the food isn't agreeing with the animal. With the exception of flat-faced dogs who swallow a lot of air when they eat, animals generally shouldn't fart a lot. It may resolve as the cat adjusts to that food over the next week or two, but I'd probably shop around for a better quality kibble, transition them slowly, and see if that helps. I'd definitely mention the gas to the vet, particularly since they're kittens, because something like intestinal parasites could be contributing as well.

Rah
Mar 9, 2006

Crooked Booty posted:

There is a US pet food called GO! that's pretty good, and there's a UK pet food called Go-Cat (made by Purina) that appears pretty mediocre. Does the box have total percentages of protein/fat/carbs on it? I can't find that info online, and UK pet food labeling makes no sense to me. :shobon:

Just based on the pictures of the box, it appears to be full of artificial colors and it's made in weird shapes, so it's probably similar to our Meow Mix or something. If you can afford it, Applaws and Nature's Menu are probably the best UK cat foods I'm aware of. Applaws makes a dry kitten food; not sure about Nature's Menu. A step down from those would be something like Arden Grange or James Wellbeloved. Maybe someone who lives in the UK will have other suggestions.

As for the passing gas, I generally take that as a sign that the food isn't agreeing with the animal. With the exception of flat-faced dogs who swallow a lot of air when they eat, animals generally shouldn't fart a lot. It may resolve as the cat adjusts to that food over the next week or two, but I'd probably shop around for a better quality kibble, transition them slowly, and see if that helps. I'd definitely mention the gas to the vet, particularly since they're kittens, because something like intestinal parasites could be contributing as well.

Thanks for the reply. The food I've been feeding them is Go-Cat (by Purina), so I guess it's not the best food in the world. I have a bag of Hills Science Plan Vet Essentials kitten food which I got as part of the kitten package thing from the vet when I took Sophie, so I'll try giving them that and see if it helps with Chloe's diarrhea/wind problems. It's quite expensive, but the ingredients look pretty good, and I managed to find it a bit cheaper online than it costs at the vets office, so if it does help, I'll feed them that and get the bigger size bag of it for better value. Chloe also has her appointment for the kitten package on Wednesday (Includes a checkup, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment, microchip and a few other things), so I'll also mention the problems to the vet then.

This is it:
http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/Pr...CFS3JtAodtUsAbg

And these are the ingredients for it:

Poultry meat meal (min. chicken 45%), maize, animal fat, fish oil, digest, dried beet pulp, potassium chloride, flaxseed, salt, rice, magnesium oxide.

Rah fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Dec 9, 2013

Aggressive pricing
Feb 25, 2008
I just got a two month old heinz57* a few days ago. I got him with a small supply of science puppy diet, but after researching it a bit and reading the thread I want something better, and would love some recomendations. I don't have enough left to do a proper gradual transition, but I was told he switched from mystery sheep farmer food to science without any problems, so I think I might be able to get away with a straight switch, but I'd rather not risk diarrhea at 3am. Any thoughts?





*Lab, boxer, rotti, husky, retriever, and yes he's adorable.

Aggressive pricing fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Dec 13, 2013

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HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

Aggressive pricing posted:

I just got a two month old heinz57* a few days ago. I got him with a small supply of science puppy diet, but after researching it a bit and reading the thread I want something better, and would love some recomendations. I don't have enough left to do a proper gradual transition, but I was told he switched from mystery sheep farmer food to science without any problems, so I think I might be able to get away with a straight switch, but I'd rather not risk diarrhea at 3am. Any thoughts?

*Lab, boxer, rotti, husky, retriever, and yes he's adorable.

If there is one thing I pride myself on, it's science, and as of yet, you have yet to provide a source for that "adorable" claim post picture

In this case, your best chance of avoiding nuclear butt is to buy another small bag of Science Diet to use to do a nice, slow transition to new food. Many of the "premium" diets can be very rich, and so cold switches from a diet like Science Diet can be... difficult.

As far as recommended diets, I recommend Wellness, Innova products (EVO, California Naturals... the wet foods.... they had some dry food production issues recently), Orijen... Taste of the Wild (though I'm not a big fan of how many varied protein sources they put in, it's still a good food). Remember to make sure to check for the AAFCO statement of "all life stages" or "for growth." Tested is best, formulated for is fine.

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