posted 01-21-2004 03:02 PM         

cats - Hills science diet. I have been feeding this for years and certain cats are on the prescription diets eg T/D and C/Ds
mostly they get the adult maintenance diet.

queens and kittens - hills science diet Kitten formula. excellent for pregnant or lactacting queens.

orphan kittens - start off on DiVetalact milk replacement formula then wean onto cooked chicken, then water soaked science diet kitten dry.

they all are offered raw chicken ( which has to be eaten immediately to stop bacteria growing on it and harming the cats ), cooked chicken, raw meat and sometimes chicken broth with vegetables ( soup )
they very rarely get a tin of cat food but it is only a select BRAND. After much trial and error I found my cats would get diarrhoea and vomiting after eating tinned food particularly of the WHISKAS variety ( one kitten ended up in hospital for several days due to the intolerance to the tinned food)
If I do decide to give them a tin of wet food, it is one of those tiny tins, mashed in with the regular dry food, and distributed amongst 6 cats.
I think tinned or wet food is a nice smelling tasty treat like cake or pudding, not to be given daily or as the sole diet.

Science diet is a well balanced nutritional diet and I have had no problems with it so far ( been feeding for 4 years now )

PS. the cat who gets C/Ds only gets crystals in her urine when she eats tinned food of FISH variety.

posted 01-22-2004 05:59 AM         

As for wet food, they get it every now and then as a treat and I usually get Fancy Feast. I do not give it to them on a regular basis although they do seem to love it.

I think Science Diet is a good brand so if your kitty can tolerate it I'd stick with it!

As for Innova - much more expensive than Science Diet. Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul is a newer cat food and is not available many places. Is around the same price as Science Diet and my cats loved it but like I said...bad gas issues with it. You can go to their site http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com and see where you can get a bag...maybe it won't have the same effect on your kitty!

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http://amcfoto.tripod.com/kittyphotos/index.html

http://www.anneecovino.com

[This message has been edited by amcfoto (edited 01-22-2004).]

posted 01-22-2004 06:25 AM         

But some people have had trouble with their cats having gas using this. Perhaps it's all the vegetable matter they put in it. I have never noticed it on my cats however.

They also have come out with a kitten formula.

Another good quality food is Pinnacle, it's hard to find, you have to call around different pet and feed stores.

posted 01-22-2004 08:13 AM         

THe chicken soup sounds pretty good. I hope i dont have the same gas problem though. or maybe i will try the natural science diet. see if that works. its looks like its going to be trail and error from here. What about Eukunba (!!SPELLING!!) anyone try that.

posted 01-22-2004 08:57 AM         

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http://amcfoto.tripod.com/kittyphotos/index.html

posted 01-22-2004 09:57 AM         

Before I read the horrible things about Iams and their testing labs, someone told me that the Eukanuba can cause urinary problems in cats. It was a local feed store that I went to before we moved. They carried all the brands so I didn't think they were dissing Eukanuba on purpose.

I've had four kittens and never noticed them having gas. The only cat that I have that occasionally does is my aby. He's 2 1/2 now and only has gas if I startle him or pick him up if he's not expecting it. And his poop is sooooo stinky :-P He's always been this way, no matter what I feed them. Perhaps it's just the breed? I don't know.

As far as changing foods. I would do it gradually. Mix a new one in with the old, that is if you are thinking about changing over to something else.

posted 01-22-2004 12:22 PM         

16.5 lbs 30.99
6.6 lbs 13.99
2.2 lbs 5.25

Chicken soup should be okay unless your cat farts anyway. The only ones who had problems with it were the two that farted to begin with. They didn't fart more or anything, but the farts were super stinky. You can't even imagine how bad they smelled.